MIE Ripper on my BH92

[GreatWhitehunter]

Will the MIE unit stand the test of time? That made me laugh, there's no doubt in my mind that the MIE unit will out last most of us (and I'm only 30). I wonder is serrated edges would be good on the backside of the ripper?

Matt

 

[magicheater]

.
I don't disagree at all that a standard bucket can do the same job but it will take longer and leave a much bigger mess to clean up. This last point is important for me as I mount a grapple on the FEL to carry away the downed trees and that means I don't have a bucket to replace the displaced dirt in the stump hole. With the ripper technique the "hole" was really only a divot most of the time and could be ignored. Sometimes I'd just use the grapple to smooth over the area. See some of the photos I posted earlier to see the size of the hole after ripping out a tree.

I don't have a "standard" bucket. I use my bucket to carry away the tree and back fill the hole as well. 5" trees are child's play for my 45HP tractor. I recently did a job removing a 12" spruce stump. The land owner left a 3' stub for me. It took 20 minutes to get the stump out using only the bucket on my loader. I did however come back with my B7800 to do the final clean up because it is much quicker with the nimbleness and speed of the HST. Again I used "MY" bucket on this machine as well.

 

[nickel plate]

My MIE ripper tooth for the Woods BH90-X was purchased slightly altered from the original IslandTractor design in that I opted for a center cutout-free tooth. Other than that-all the same. Thank you IT for your initial design foresight, finding the right fabricator and pulling the trigger.

 

[IslandTractor]

I wonder is serrated edges would be good on the backside of the ripper?

Last year I found there were times with larger roots that did not break on first pass it would have been nice to be able to weaken the root with a serrated edge or tear a chunk out with a hook. IronHorse has a ripper with two vicious barbs, one front and one back each mounted about at the midpoint of the ripper blade. I wanted to add something like that to mine. I ended up just taking a couple of two inch pieces of hardened drilling pipe and welding those in place. The cut surface is sharp and will snag any root that doesn't break and then tear a chunk out as I curl or dump while pressing against the root. I haven't mounted it yet so cannot relay any experience but it sure makes the ripper look gnarly.

 

[IslandTractor]

I don't have a "standard" bucket. I use my bucket to carry away the tree and back fill the hole as well. 5" trees are child's play for my 45HP tractor. I recently did a job removing a 12" spruce stump. The land owner left a 3' stub for me. It took 20 minutes to get the stump out using only the bucket on my loader. I did however come back with my B7800 to do the final clean up because it is much quicker with the nimbleness and speed of the HST. Again I used "MY" bucket on this machine as well.

I saw your tooth on your website. Nice idea. With the quick change it would be useful to have especially for ripping out smaller stumps. I don't think it replaces the heavier duty ripper on a backhoe however. While there are advantages to a ripper on the FEL there are disadvantages too. Backhoes generally have more power than matched tractor FEL breakout for starters. I know my Woods BH90x with >5000lb digging force is more powerful than my 3700lb breakout force with my loader for example. YMMV.

It would also be harder I'd think to maneuver the whole tractor around a tree in densely forested areas as you need to get the whole tractor around the tree pretty much. With a BH you can just reach the arm behind the tree while the tractor is seven or even eight or nine feet away. I move the BH 90 degrees once after initial positioning to get all four sides of a tree. Using the FEL mounted ripper would be more like using a grapple where you are constantly moving the tractor and taking bites as you go. Surely for small stumps the FEL would be faster but for taking down whole trees, especially in a dense stand, I'd put my money on the BH mounted ripper. You might have trouble getting very close to a standing tree as the width of the FEL arms interferes but then again if there is space to maneuver around an isolated tree then you can just drive around the tree and get it from different angles.

Your FEL mounted ripper is limited to digging the length of the ripper itself as the FEL mount will hit the ground if you try to go deeper. With the MIE ripper the ripper clears it's own trench as you rip so the next pass down will be eight or ten inches deeper and the depth limit is the same as for a backhoe bucket or about six to eight feet, certainly enough for any stump.

Having the ripper on the BH leaves the FEL free to carry trees and stumps with bucket or grapple. With the FEL mount tied up with the ripper tooth on your device you either need to switch it out every time you want to move a stump or you need a BH to awkwardly carry the stump around. Maybe not a problem if you just pile up small stumps where they were removed and come back to get them later with a grapple.

I'd love to see the FEL mounted ripper in action though and imagine it would be ideal for cleaning up stumps after chainsawing stands of smaller trees.

And, yes, Spruce stumps are not a big challenge. Soft wood and relatively light. I'd prefer to use the ripper but twenty minutes with a grapple would do it too.

 

[magicheater]

I saw your tooth on your website. Nice idea. With the quick change it would be useful to have especially for ripping out smaller stumps. I don't think it replaces the heavier duty ripper on a backhoe however. While there are advantages to a ripper on the FEL there are disadvantages too. Backhoes generally have more power than matched tractor FEL breakout for starters. I know my Woods BH90x with >5000lb digging force is more powerful than my 3700lb breakout force with my loader for example. YMMV.

It would also be harder I'd think to maneuver the whole tractor around a tree in densely forested areas as you need to get the whole tractor around the tree pretty much. With a BH you can just reach the arm behind the tree while the tractor is seven or even eight or nine feet away. I move the BH 90 degrees once after initial positioning to get all four sides of a tree. Using the FEL mounted ripper would be more like using a grapple where you are constantly moving the tractor and taking bites as you go. Surely for small stumps the FEL would be faster but for taking down whole trees, especially in a dense stand, I'd put my money on the BH mounted ripper. You might have trouble getting very close to a standing tree as the width of the FEL arms interferes but then again if there is space to maneuver around an isolated tree then you can just drive around the tree and get it from different angles.

Your FEL mounted ripper is limited to digging the length of the ripper itself as the FEL mount will hit the ground if you try to go deeper. With the MIE ripper the ripper clears it's own trench as you rip so the next pass down will be eight or ten inches deeper and the depth limit is the same as for a backhoe bucket or about six to eight feet, certainly enough for any stump.

Having the ripper on the BH leaves the FEL free to carry trees and stumps with bucket or grapple. With the FEL mount tied up with the ripper tooth on your device you either need to switch it out every time you want to move a stump or you need a BH to awkwardly carry the stump around. Maybe not a problem if you just pile up small stumps where they were removed and come back to get them later with a grapple.

I'd love to see the FEL mounted ripper in action though and imagine it would be ideal for cleaning up stumps after chainsawing stands of smaller trees.

And, yes, Spruce stumps are not a big challenge. Soft wood and relatively light. I'd prefer to use the ripper but twenty minutes with a grapple would do it too.

Thank you. It's not meant to replace a backhoe tooth, but rather as an alternative that is quick and easy to mount. All your points are good and valid. There are limitations and advantages to every piece of equipment, some more than others.

 

[khromatics]

is the thumb from kubota? was thinking of getting one but they didnt let me see a pic of it @ the dealer, only the hyd thumb but 2700 dollars ill pass, 875 for the mechanical sounds better, just dont want an aftermarket weld on or clamp on. thanks for any info, also do they offer the ripper for a quick detach bucket?

 

[Kernopelli]

These guys also build rippers to size/machine/quick attach designs. Their design is very much like the one Kays Supply fabricated for his Yanmar mini ex but with the addition of a serrated cutting edge.
EXCAVATING SOLUTIONS
http://stores.ebay.com/Excavating-Solutions?_trksid=p4340.l2563

 

[khromatics]

thanks, ill give them a call.