ponds

[IndiantownFla]

hi,has anyone had any experience digging small ponds or lakes(1-3 acres+/-) with 30-50 hp tractor using fel and bh. i'm considering kubota L series,but don't know what size yet.will be using it for mowing and boxblading also. i know how i will dig,will cut and shape with fel and then go deeper with bh in different areas. i would be leaving peninsulas to work the bh off of and then remove them. thanks for your help /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[gerard]

1-3 acres isn't really a small pond and I wouldn't even THINK of doing something that size with a compact tractor. Just not worth the time or wear and tear on the tractor. You'd be better off hiring out either a dozer or excavator to do the main excavation and then do the finish work, final grading, smoothing and seeding with your tractor. You're talking about a LOT of dirt. 2 acres at 8 foot deep comes out to about 23,000 cubic yards of dirt. How old are you and do you want to complete the project before you're retired???? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[IndiantownFla]

over the years i've staked & graded miles of road & canal r/w & staked many borrow pits & then come back to X-sect. them to detemine the amount of fill that was removed. i've been around earth moving equiptment. what i wanted to know was if anyone in this forum had actually used small tractors to do any significant digging.
thanks for the help /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[MarkV]

Els, sounds like you have been around heavy equipment so you know what a dozer and excavator could do in a couple of days. If your soil were right I would think it could be done given enough time. My concern would be that I don't think it could be done in a timely way with a compact tractor. Where that is a problem in my mind is the water build up from run off or whatever water source you have. You mention cutting the shape with a FEL. Guess it depends on the soil conditions but most of us agree that compact tractors just don't dig with the FEL to well in undisturbed ground.

Do a search for ponds on the site. There was a resent photo of a pond someone dug with a larger backhoe and a smaller tractor as a helper. I do think it was much smaller than the pond you are talking.

Keep us up to date if you get the project going.

MarkV

 

[gerard]

Sorry L, You obviously have more earth moving experience than I have but that wasn't obvious by the question. I've been on this board for about two years, have dug my own small pond (about 60 foot round, 8 feet deep), and hired an excavator that did in 6 hours what it would have taken me weeks to do with my tractor and that's not even close to the scale you're talking about. Haeven't seen or heard of anyone here that's done what you're asking but I may have missed the thread.

 

[JimMorrissey]

Lsmth,

I would definitely consider renting a big, fat excavator (if one is available in your area). It will do a months worth of tractor work in about twelve hours. You can use your Kubota FEL to move the spoil around, and do some detailing work once the main digging is done. Even that will be a lot of work for a relatively small machine. Compact tractors are not designed for what you are proposing.....3+ acres is a whole lot of earth to dig and move. You can rent a excavator for a couple hundred bucks a day plus transport. They're not that hard to use either. -I just dug my foundation with one and got within one inch of where the septic was supposed to drain.....had never used one before. If you are going to rent one....get a big one. They're not that much more money than the smaller ones and they're no harder to operate, providing you have a clear area and are not bound by power lines or big trees that might damage the machine.

Don't get me wrong, excavtor work is a skill / art. It will take some time to get proficient. Although, even an unskilled operator can do way more work in a couple of swipes than a compact tractor can. -Finish it up with your machine and spare it the hours and abuse.

Dig your pond deep where the stream enters, or better yet, build-in a "silt pond". You'll be amazed how fast it will fill in with sediment. Our pond's silt pond should be cleaned out annually, but we do it about every three-four years.

Go nuts, and rent a big one /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

-Jim

 

[Pks]

Lsmth,

I have excevated an area 57ft x 47ft x 6ft deep using a B2400 FEL. The tractor worked best with Ag tires and 900 lbs of box blade and rock on the 3pt.

I started in February when it was 10 degrees F. At that time, the tractor had R4's with chains. The chains did a great job on the frozen sand. But as soon as the sand broke apart, I had to get a set of Ags. The FEL did not have a tooth bar for the bucket. Next time, I'll get the toothbar!

The project took 60 hours at an average of 2200 RPM.

If you have the time, a small machine can to a lot! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I started digging a 100' x 100' pond with my tractor, but it quickly got too wet to work, so I rented a hydraulic excavator. This year I'm going to reshape and enlarge it somewhat and I'm going to try to do it just with my 4310. The excavator was a LOT of fun, but I have complete faith in my little John Deere...

 

[theboman]

There's many a post here on the TBN about pond building on a tractor. It can be done but the way my calculator works by the time you count the hours of seat time, the wear and tear on your tractor that by getting a dozer or excavator to move the earth is by far a bargin.
There's a few posts here on the TBN about building ponds with a tractor and then water starts to accumlate in the bottom and then comes the tow vehicles.
And on the first post of LSmith, he does say he's planning on building the pond with a tractor with FEL and BH, and most here consider that a task that's a bit much for tractors.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Am I missing something? Even if you have enough time to dig a 1-3 acre pond with a compant tractor, how will you compact the soil enough to hold water year after year. Keep in mind that when an excavator or full size bulldozer is digging a pond it is doing two things at once. Its larger bucket/blade is certainly moving more dirt, but at the same time its tracks and its crushing weight (46,300lbs for a CAT 320 Excavator) are compacting the soil and creating the basin for the pond. Unless someone is digging a small pond that will have some sort of plastic liner or they are digging into pure clay that is easily compacted by the wheels of a 2,000 - 5,000 pound compact tractor, they are probably going to have problems holding water in their pond. A full pond really adds to the value of your estate/farm/property, but there are few things worse than having a 3 acre hole filled with 6 inches of muddy water on your property. I'm sure that there are a handful of people out there who know someone who dug a five acre pond with a pick ax and a shovel and the thing has held water like the hoover dam for 20 years, but do you really want to take that chance on your property? Rent an excavator or a dozer to dig your pond and use your L series to put in the finishing touches. You'll save time and frustration.

Just my $0.02.

Also, there is a great book called "Earthen Ponds" that you should try to find. I read it from cover to cover, but I can't remember the name of the author right now. It has a lot of good information.