Am I thinking to big?

[Gary Fowler]

How much time are we talking about to dig out a stump with a 45 hp backhoe attachment?
Stumps here average 30-40 years old, are 14-16 inches in diameter, and roots do not run deep as they spread out in our rocky sandy soil.
Time to dig once I get the hang of the machine?

With my smallest of the Kubota TLBs, an 18" stump might take 2 hours if it has a long taproot that may go down 5-6 feet at my place. Most of my pine trees of that size take about an hour. My first one took much longer till I figured out how to do it. I position my TLB so that I can dig on the east and west side(not necessarily in this direction) without repositioning, then move it 90 degrees to get the other two sides dug out, then use the back hoe to push it over if it is a standing tree. Otherwise, I dig around it and occasionally test it with the bucket to see if it will move, if not I dig some more all the time cutting/breaking out the support roots. Sooner or later I get them all and can use the backhoe with the thumb to just lift the stump out of the hole. Most of the time, the stump will move easier in a certain direction so you have to test it by pushing/pulling etc to see which way it moves the easiest.

 

[downsizingnow48]

I've dug lots of stumps with a 12 inch bucket on the backhoe. But it is a lot easier with one of these rippers. You can just push it straight down and curl it under a root without having to dig dirt away, and it provides a lot of leverage for pulling and breaking.

 

[searcyfarms]

@pine -

trees with an 18inch diameter will have a tap root that you will not be able to chew through most likely other than a nibble at a time

my point was that an 18inch diameter tree will have a much larger tap root to deal with and get through - nothing more

 

[/pine]

@pine -

my point was that an 18inch diameter tree will have a much larger tap root to deal with and get through - nothing more

My point is that not all species of trees have tap roots...just a lateral root structure... experience in knowing the typical root structure is part of the key to easy removal of the stump...

 

[RandyinTN]

I've dug lots of stumps with a 12 inch bucket on the backhoe. But it is a lot easier with one of these rippers. You can just push it straight down and curl it under a root without having to dig dirt away, and it provides a lot of leverage for pulling and breaking.

Thats pretty cool! Going to have to get me one of those after the tractor arrives.

 

[searcyfarms]

for sure that makes a difference pine..............bigger tree bigger roots regardless of type of root and more to deal with which all takes more time - in my experience with stumps, the best way to remove them is with explosives - my neighbor had a license and we took out a lot of them, it was so much more fun than digging with any piece of equipment !!!

 

[RandyinTN]

I've dug lots of stumps with a 12 inch bucket on the backhoe. But it is a lot easier with one of these rippers. You can just push it straight down and curl it under a root without having to dig dirt away, and it provides a lot of leverage for pulling and breaking.

Do you have a link of where these can be purchased?

 

[downsizingnow48]

There are three companies that TBN folk often mention for a ripper tooth -
Bro Tek
Bxpanded
Michigan Iron & Equipment

Mine is from Bxpanded but they all seem to work fine.

 

[rngrrymd]

There are three companies that TBN folk often mention for a ripper tooth -
Bro Tek
Bxpanded
Michigan Iron & Equipment

Mine is from Bxpanded but they all seem to work fine.

If you look close, the model in the picture is a Bxpanded model. They only have listings for backhoe accessories for smaller CUT's from Kubota, Deere and Massey.

Here is a link from 2010 showing a ripper a customer purchased from Michigan Iron and Equipment for his Woods BH90X (Kioti DK40se)
https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/185530-added-ripper-my-woods-bh90x.html

Looks like Bro-Tek makes a version of a ripper tooth for almost all brands of CUT backhoes:
Bro-Tek

 

[WVH1977]

If it were me, I would buy at least the 45hp tractor and then rent a big mini-ex for the stumps. I just cleared out 3 acres on my new property that were full of big stumps (18" to 48"). Using the mini-ex, I was able to dig around the stumps with ease and as soon as the stump was out, I used the dozer blade to back fill the hole. Even with the mini-ex it still took about 45 minutes to an hour to get out the big 48 inch stumps. 10 to 15 minutes on the smaller ones. There is no way I would have wanted to do this job with a brand new 30,000 dollar tractor. JMO.



After I dug the stumps, I went over the whole area with my tractor and box blade to grade everything out and used my grapple for moving brush to the burn piles. That is the fun part. Still working on the burn piles.

As folks have already stated there are many different avenues to take to go about what you are trying to do. I am also in the camp of looking for 5 to 20 year old machines for sale. There are a ton of very nice, strong, used tractors out there to be had. The more you work on your land the more you are going to know what you want and need. Good luck with your property and whatever tractor you end up with.