Digging a Pond with a BX

[Danner]

Would it be a reasonable project to use my BX2660, the FEL, and a 48" LandPride box blade to dig a pond about 80 feet in diameter, and maybe 15 feet deep? It's flat are near the creek, and the soil is black clay without significant rocks. I was thinking I could tilt the box blade to the max, and then do circular cuts with the scarifiers and blade, and then remove the loosened earth with FEL. Basically digging a bowl shape.

I could use the earth I removed to level a few problem areas, and the pond would be fairly good to have too.

I just wonder if it's too much for the BX?

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[oldnslo]

How much time do you have and how wet will he ground be when you get down 15 feet. Black clay at 15 feet could be gumbo that will stop you in your tracks.

Add a toothbar to the FEL for greater digging capabilities.

 

[Danner]

I'm near Fort Worth, and we're coming into the dry season (July-Aug-Sep), so I think the moisture shouldn't be too bad down there.

 

[paulharvey]

I don't know about 15 ft deep, your talking about a massive amount of dirt to move, probably around 1500 CY depending on slope. That's 75 dump trucks worth of material.

 

[Danner]

I don't know about 15 ft deep, your talking about a massive amount of dirt to move, probably around 1500 CY depending on slope. That's 75 dump trucks worth of material.

OK, maybe I need to think about the size of the pond LOL.

 

[vrmnthntr]

I'm not an expert at digging ponds but that sounds like a lot of wear and tear on the BX.

A excavator and a operator would be worth the money. Have them separate the different types of soil as they go in piles.

Then use the BX to fill in the low spots.

 

[Baby Grand]

The Transcontinental Railroad was built with only one steam shovel, lots of blasting powder and thousands of laborers with picks, shovels and wheelbarrows.

Yes, you can dig it if you take your time and do a little bit at a time. That's the way the man ate the elephant - one bite at a time.

Some things to consider:
How will you deal with the hole filling with rain or ground water?
How deep of a hole can you dig before it starts to fill with water?
A FEL bucket full of clay will take most of your weight off the rear wheels and put it on your front axle - bad for traction and the front axle. You will need to keep the BB on the back - sounds like that's your plan.
How steep a ramp will you be making into this hole?
Any grade with a full bucket on wet clay makes me pucker just thinking about it.

If it were me, on my property, with my conditions, I'd hire it done or buy a drag line, do the work, then sell it. Providing the town let me do it in the first place. Many municipalities view a pond same as a dam - potential flood liability for everyone downstream.

 

[KYDan]

How much time do you have before it rains? This is a lot to ask for a BX, but if you have the time and enjoy it why not give it a try. If it becomes too much you can always call the excavator guy and have him do the heavy lifting and finish it with the BX. When it stops being fun be ready to make the call. And, good luck!

 

[Jmtodd]

Agree with the above comments.. Thats alotta work for a BX.. It can be done, without question, but it's no weekend project.. Maybe consider reducing size of pond, or using excavated dirt to build a levee and reduce the required digging depth..

 

[Kenneth in Texas]

can it be done? sure. Is it feasible? no, will take so long to do and will be a LOT of wear and tear on your tractor. Go rent something large and get it done.

 

[Flying MXZ]

If we use the 1500 cubic yards from above and assume full (struck) buckets (0.1815 cubic yards on Kubota's site with the bigger bucket) coming out we come up with 8265 loads. If we assume 5 minutes per bucket (which seems short to me) we are almost at 700 hours just removing material. I would hire it done myself.

 

[paulharvey]

There is middle ground, you could rent a Jd-544 from Sunbelt for a week, for ~$2200, and put some hurting on your pond 3 cubic yards at a time, but any way you look at it, it's a large pond to dig.

Although you mentioned clay, and a loader doesn't do well digging or running in clay, but if you rent a 20 ton hoe (jd-200, komatsu 200, cat 320) you will be limited to just digging and throwing as far as you can reach, a hoe can't really shuttle material.

 

[murphy1244]

If we use the 1500 cubic yards from above and assume full (struck) buckets (0.1815 cubic yards on Kubota's site with the bigger bucket) coming out we come up with 8265 loads. If we assume 5 minutes per bucket (which seems short to me) we are almost at 700 hours just removing material. I would hire it done myself.

When you put it that way I'd say yes you need a bigger bucket..

 

[EddieWalker]

Of course you can and there isn't any reason you shouldn't go for it. Just remember that with all digging, the hard part is getting rid of the dirt. I would start with a plan on where to put it close to the pond to increase the amount of time that you have to dig, then after it's done, you can deal with hauling off and spreading the dirt. I would also make the ramp getting into the pond as shallow as possible. Going over the same ground over and over again will either pack it down real good, or break it up and leave you with traction issues. With a full load in your bucket, your tractor loses a lot of traction in it's rear tires.

Eddie

 

[Ken45101]

Bucket capacity does NOT equal the cu ft in the ground. When figuring how many cubic feet need to be dug, that is hard, compacted soil. By the time you get it in the bucket, it will be loose ground and maybe 1/3rd as dense.

We had a pond about that size dug at a previous home. The contractor used a big excavator and two scrapers ("earthmovers") to move and distribute the soil. Took about a week IIRC and after finishing the last night water started creeping in. No way in the world that pond could have been done with a tractor, much less a small one.

 

[dragoneggs]

Hire the heavy digging. I don't know about you but as much as we don't want to figure it in the equation, your time is worth a lot even if we are not talking money. If we figure 700+ hrs you you talking 4 months full time digging one hole. Sounds pretty boring and I bet you can think of many other more gratifying projects for you and your BX. Git 'er done right. Use your machine to put the finish on.

 

[Ken45101]

5 minutes per load will probably be the minimum time to scrape loose a bucketful and climb out of the hole as it gets deeper. Remember, this is going to be a big hole. Another 5 minutes to take it to it's destination, spread it, (level it) and return? That doubles the 700 hour estimate.

The sides of the pond will be sloped. How will that impact your operation?

I once did a "pond-let", 8 feet wide (just wide enough to operate the tractor), five feet deep and 40' long, just for fun and to get some dirt I needed. It was a very slow process just for something that small. I was using a bigger tractor (M4700).

 

[Danner]

Thanks everybody. You have definitely 'cooled my heels' on this project

 

[Ken45101]

Thanks everybody. You have definitely 'cooled my heels' on this project

Sorry about that!

A pond that big is a major project.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

I agree except for the one "there is no reason not to". You can do it, but ........there are hundreds of reasons NOT TO. I've done lots of "projects" but I've also hired experienced people with the proper equipment to do jobs for me in an hour that would take me weeks and on steep hillsides that they could do safely where every minute on my tractors would have been risking life and limb. Fuel and lubrication and filters and wear and tear along with your time costs something. I've actually saved money by hiring some jobs done. An experienced good operator of a track or tired FEL or even heavy duty Skid steer can do a lot of work/dirt moving in a few hours and here they charge is fairly reasonable $65 hour for big bucket skid steer and $85 hour for mid sized tracked front loader and about the same for mid sized dozer.
Get quotes and then decide.