Stump removal advice

[RWolf]

I'm glad I don't have that large of trees. Mine range from about 2" to 7". I'm using my Fel to pull them up. On the larger ones I have been pushing against them to loosing the roots but I've got another idea I'm going to try this weekend and I'll let you all know (in my other post "clearing land")

Good luck.

 

[kthompson]

I think you will find the ole timers used time. They would cut the tree deep enough to stop the flow of sap and let them die. Also used real ox power and some real hp and back power of course.

One method a friend of mine said he dad used was to plant peanuts around the roots. Let them grow and the let the hogs root up the stump to get the peanuts for food. In parts of Texas you have those wild hogs, might be long term solution. Or get some of those Arkansas Razor Backs.

 

[Ken45101]

I'm glad I don't have that large of trees. Mine range from about 2" to 7". I'm using my Fel to pull them up. On the larger ones I have been pushing against them to loosing the roots but I've got another idea I'm going to try this weekend and I'll let you all know (in my other post "clearing land")

I've had some success on 4-5" trees using the teeth on a box blade to rip loose the roots and then push with the box blade to push the tree over. That was before I had better equipment. (You know the old saying, "when all you have is a hammer, all problems look like nails." Well, when all you have is a box blade... )

I've also used one of single shank ripper teeth to bust roots.

Ken

 

[E_Sanborn]

I have about 30 - 40 tree stumps averaging about 8-18 inches in diameter, about 70% cedar (juniper) and 30% live oak ....... a small 25hp Kabota).

Note I don't need to get rid of the stumps, I just need to get them out of the ground or below grade so I can improve pasture and plow.

Questions are: which would be better to use, a stump grinder or bulldozer ? And if a bulldozer, what size would be needed to push over stumps like this or get them uprooted enough that I could get at the roots with a chain saw ? I can leave the stump 4 or 5 feet tall when I cut the trees so I can get leverage with the dozer pushing at the top if that will help.

.

bcarwell,
I live just down the road a piece from you , in the hills between Wimberley and Austin. If you're East of I-35, ignore this advice, as the ground is very different.

Ok , if you're dealing with 70% stumps "Cedar" you're in luck. Although the wood is aromatic, and has a reputation for rot resistance, this reputation is based upon confusion with actual cedars - which we do not have - they're an Ashe Juniper, and the roots & trunk will be well-rotted within a few years, your 25-Hp Bota will seems like a bulldozer to those stumps, once they've sat in the ground for coupla years. I find that virtually any Cedar stump, with at least 1.5' of stump, in the ground, cut for 2 or more years, will push over easily with my 24 HP Yanmar.


Live oaks, forget it. I still have a few 20+ year old stumps on my property, and the odd 30+ year old. Still immovable, very little rot and very hard. East of the Hwy, maybe you could move them. Will not rot in our lifetime. Be advised that our local variants of Live Oak are very hard and tough, with a high concentration of minerals. Live Oaks in the ground here for a few years become even harder, and will throw sparks off a good saw blade when cut, and will dull a good blade in a few cuts.

But you'll want to deal with them, as running into one with your FEL will likely hurt something..

 

[irwin]

So excavator is a backhoe?

Wedge

Here's a site that answers that question .How to correctly identify common heavy construction equipment

 

[ETD66SS]

Here is the worst that I have had to deal with on my lot: bhaal 's album - Get free image hosting at ImageCave.com - free image hosting at ImageCave.com

40-50 year old silver maple stumps.

I have about 50 such stumps scattered around my lot, too big to pick up, and very hard for the D6C to push.

Drilling a hole in them and using dynamite probably would be a good way to make them smaller...

 

[JoelD]

I've not read the entire post, but much depends on the soil.
Here is rockvile NH, even the smallest tree is tangled in rocks and very difficult to get out.

I vote for excavator, a 15000lb machine or so should make quick work of most none huge stumps.

I've got some on my property that would probably require something more like 30K to get out of the ground in any reasonable amount of time.

I had a dozer 12000lbs and she struggled with hardwood stumps greater than 10 inches or so around.

Good luck,
Joel

 

[Northland]

I had some 24" - 28" diameter silver maple stumps which were about 8 ft in total height with a root ball that was 8-10 ft in diameter, some of those weigh in excess of 20,000 lbs. My CAT 225 with manual thumb could not pick them up, as that machine can only lift 16,000 lbs close in.

Great information No wonder big trees can stay upright through the worst storms.

I had a trail put through the middle of my forest (up a very steep hill) a few years ago-see pictures. The man brought in small dozer and a mid-sized Link Belt excavator. He used the excavator to knock over every huge yellow birch and maple in his way and then piled them up so I could cut them up for firewood. He later smoothed the road with the dozer.

I have watched the CAT excavators make logging roads all around my property and I am always amazed at what they can do and how fast they can do it.