Dirt Moving Is a FEL truely built to "dig" or

[check]

I excavated for my 24' x 24' garage pad using my BX25 with no toothbar, and it worked fine. Every once in a while I would use the backhoe, but that was rare. I had more problems in fact digging into dumptruck piles of sandy rocky soil!, and thre, a toothbar won't really help much. When you push against a rock in the dirt pile, you go nowhere, and have to either try getting underneath, or use the BH to dig out the rocks ahead of time. (Backdragging helps as well.)

Good idea anout the box spreader. Just got a new one, and will use the scarifier teeth on my muddy driveway to loosen the soil first, although again the rocks are a big pain.

 

[wawajake]

Hmmm I better fill in all the hundreds of feet of ditches and swales I have done with my FEL (with help with a single middle buster plow to break up surface of my rock hard clay at times. That includes putting in fence posts. (Yep big hole but better than doing by hand) . I also dig four foot deep holes in the bush that I then transfer onto my ATV trails . The holes become permanent water holes for animals in this clay. I must dug a dozen of them in last two years as source for cheap fill. Just slant front entrance to them gentle and then work my way down four feet or until clay so dry toothbar won't cut it, or driving out of hole gets to slick. Four foot bucket is a loader and a digger when used within reason.

 

[tlm720]

No doubt nothing works better in tough digging then a backhoe or excavator. Still I continue to be surprised after 1500 hours over 7 years how much earth can be moved with a 4wd CUT with a loader and box blade. At least if it is not rocky.

 

[Dr_Zinj]

I use my FEL for digging all the time. All I have on it is a bolt on cutter blade, no teeth.

How?

First, make sure there's no buried wires or cables in the area. Get a professional to do the checking if you're not 200% sure.
Second, Go Slow. Slow speed & strip an inch or two at a time only.
Third, If you hit something, STOP. Small rocks in the soil matrix can feel like you hit a boulder. Or you could have hit a boulder. And tree stumps are just plain misery that you really do need a backhoe for the ones you can't chain and pull.

 

[dragoneggs]

Nice dragon! Im amazed what the mighty bx will do ( laughing) . I dug out a concrete pad w backhoe & moved it w fel about 1000# pieces! Couldnt lift it but would curl it so was good enough to carry to woods. Nice work btw

Thank you, Bota. Yes feels good to get so much done on my own and at my pace. Obviously there are better machines for major digging but technique is important too.

Good thread for the teaching the unwary



Good work. You were essentially driving into a pile of material, the hill, WITH a toothbar and picking it up and loading it.

But if Harry Homeowner's main objective for his expensive piece of equipment is to make a large basement and a trench for a new house on flat hard clay, or to dig out stumps, or graves he would be better served with a different piece of equipment then a FEL. My manuals explicitly state not to attempt to dig more than a few inches deep at a time.

Thanks for the comment Newberry... Actually I created a little flat area on the slope with the BH and the worked across the hill with my FEL. I really made hay when i could turn around in the tight space and work out in both directions. I do agree with your comment though about digging a couple inches deep at a time usually but I found the dirt and my FEL pretty much 'tell' me how much of a cut or scoop I can make at a time.