Another stump removal question...

[hks003]

Hi,
My wife and I bought 8 acres to build a house on. We had about 2 acres cleared for the yard and an acre or so for a food plot. I want to clear the stumps in the yard area, at the minimum in the area the house is going. I can get the others in the yard later if needed. I'm in a relatively small town, an hour and a half from anything much bigger.

The only rental place in town has a mini excavator with an 18" bucket. He said it weighs about 7500 lbs. He didn't know the model number while I was on the phone with him.

Would this be sufficient to dig out 30-40, 6-10" pine stumps and maybe a dozen 18-24" hardwood stumps? That'd get the whole yard, and 10-12 pine stumps and 3-5 hardwood would get a 75x75 foot area plenty big for the house.

 

[RNeumann]

At 7500lbs it will do the trick. I’d hope he has a smaller bucket- say 12”.

If the “stumps” aren’t cut down yet you should be able to push the trees over with the bucket. Maybe break a few roots first and then push.

 

[Roadworthy]

Would a stump grinder be an option? You're going to have a lot of stumps for disposal.

 

[hks003]

At 7500lbs it will do the trick. I’d hope he has a smaller bucket- say 12”.

If the “stumps” aren’t cut down yet you should be able to push the trees over with the bucket. Maybe break a few roots first and then push.

Why would I want the smaller bucket? Not trying to be a smart alec, I honestly don't know anything about this type stuff...

 

[hks003]

Would a stump grinder be an option? You're going to have a lot of stumps for disposal.

Maybe for the rest of the yard, but I've been told for where there's going to be a slab, dig it out.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I had a grinder that would do a six foot stump and I wouldn't care to do 40 stumps. How high are the stumps? I don't get the small bucket idea either. Generally you use the corner of your bucket for stuff like that anyway. The rental people should know best what their stuff can and can't do.

 

[RNeumann]

Why would I want the smaller bucket? Not trying to be a smart alec, I honestly don't know anything about this type stuff...

The smaller bucket allows you to get more force on the roots you will need to break. Scoop down next to the stump and break a root or two. Then push as high as you can away from where you dug. Once you get the hang of it It should be a minute or two per stump.......lightning speed compared to a grinder.

This guy gets the hang of it. He didn’t need to dig so much on the first one. But after that he starts to get it. Dig, dig and push. Then cut and stack the stumps to burn, along with the slash and pile the firewood.

I’m guessing this is under 7500#

Bobcat e35i Mini Excavator Taking down Big Black Locust Trees & clearing trees - YouTube

I hope the machine has a thumb! Or you will be in and out with a chain.

 

[hks003]

Ah, that makes sense! Thanks!

 

[hks003]

I had a grinder that would do a six foot stump and I wouldn't care to do 40 stumps. How high are the stumps? I don't get the small bucket idea either. Generally you use the corner of your bucket for stuff like that anyway. The rental people should know best what their stuff can and can't do.

The stumps are all cut off flush with the ground. And the rental people couldn't even tell me the make and model of the excavator sitting on their lot without getting to a computer, so I don't think I'll be relying on them too much...

 

[TractorGuy]

7500 lb mini ex is borderline. You can dig most of what you want but the larger stumps may be more than you can dig with it. I rented one that size for a weekend before I bought my backhoe. Had a few I had to give up on with the mini excavator. They didn't come easy with my 15,000 lb backhoe.

You will be okay with that 18" bucket. Especially with a small machine. You don't want to try and pull stumps with a small machine. That will tear things up and blow hoses. You want to dig them out. You will have to start out from the stump where the roots are small and work your way in to it. Dig around until it falls over in the hole. Then try to get as much dirt out of the root ball as possible before attempting to pull it out. Remember to plant the grader blade for stability.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Bring in a big machine and he will make short work of those stumps. I had one do it (as he was here for another project) and didn't like the mess he was making, as I wasn't planning on doing anything with the area, still covered with mature trees. You must have other equipment coming on property anyway. That would be a no-brainer.

 

[CADplans]

A 24" stump,, with a 7,500 pound machine ?? That could take a half day per stump, depending on tree variety, and soil,,

I had a 18" maple, in clay,, it took 2 days,,
I refused to get in the trench and cut roots, that would have helped,,


That stump was ALL that my 584 IH 4WD could move,,, if it had been 24 inches DBH, I doubt that my tractor cold have moved it ,,

 

[hks003]

Everything was either an oak of some sort (mostly pin oak), or pine. The bigger stumps might have been a red oak or white oak. Most oaks around here have relatively shallow root systems, so I hope that helps me.

 

[4570Man]

That size machine is too small for that job. It would probably take a week to do that job. A full size backhoe would be way better if he had that. You really need an excavator that’s at minimum twice that big.

 

[hks003]

Reviving this old thread as it's finally dried up enough to try tackling this! I found a place through my work that cut me a deal and I can get a 13k lb excavator for the same price as the 7.5k lb above (~$300 a day). That's what I've got to work with, so now I'm trying to figure out how long I need it. Most of the stumps are 4"-8" pine stumps (at ground level) with a few hardwoods mixed in that were a little larger, 10"-16", and 3-5 24" hardwood stumps.

Now, my main priority is where the building will be, roughly 60x60 to get my parking pad and all included. Should I be able to clear that on two days? Anything outside the building site is bonus and I plan to get it a little at a time later on down the road.

 

[Peter 315]

You should in two days, start early and work late....... No lunch.....

 

[kthompson]

Are you experienced with running excavator? Depending on your soil and type of hardwood...it took me from say 30 minutes to an hour and left them with my 5 ton mini on hardwoods about 20 inches to 24 inches. Had a hardwood with roots that run not only around the tree and deep. Would not want a wide bucket for breaking roots, digging dirt is not what most important, it is pulling on the roots and stumps.

If you have a subsoiler run it beside the stumps as soon as you can to cut the roots you can save that much time for the excavator.

 

[4570Man]

A 35 series Deere mini is weaker than my M59 and I wouldn’t undertake that job with it. I just got done digging about an acre of oak stumps. There was probably a dozen in the 18-24” range but most were 12”. I dug all of them with an 18,500 pound excavator. It took me about a day to dig, load, and half way level up an acre of stumps with the 80 series excavator. Using a smaller excavator and digging twice as much I really doubt you’ll get done in 2 days. It had the muscle to dig them pretty good but it wasn’t strong enough to lift some of the biggest ones on the truck and I had to help it with the M59.

 

[4570Man]

Everything was either an oak of some sort (mostly pin oak), or pine. The bigger stumps might have been a red oak or white oak. Most oaks around here have relatively shallow root systems, so I hope that helps me.

Pines dig pretty easy and red oaks aren’t bad. White oaks and hickory put up a real fight.

 

[hks003]

Pines dig pretty easy and red oaks aren’t bad. White oaks and hickory put up a real fight.

Those stumps are a whole lot bigger underground than I would have ever thought!

Thanks for the info guys! Looks like I may have to take a couple days off and work on this for 3-4 days...