Taking down some trees for land clearing - how high should I leave stumps for easier removal?

[KilroyJC]

Is there a recommended height? Options include pulling out stumps with block and tackle or renting a mini-excavator.

diameters range from 3” to 30”, majority will be 8” to 16” dia.

thanks for any suggestions or additional advice!

 

[ovrszd]

To have a noticable impact you'd have to leave 3ft or more. On a 30" you'd need 6ft or more.

On the larger trees is it possible to dig them intact? That would help a lot.

On the smalls, if cutting first, I'd cut wherever it suited me.

 

[Carl_NH]

I do as overszd says for smaller trees - 3-8" leave 3' of stump to use as leverage with the BH bucket. Also a ripper tooth on a BH or excavator can rip the roots up without making a huge hole.

But anything 12" and bigger, dig around the base and push them over intact. With this approach, thin out the small stuff first then fell the bigger trees. These big trees will have a big root ball and hole.

You will need a decent sized excavator for the bigger ones - a mini excavator can do a lot, but a larger 12-15 ton excavator would take minutes vs maybe 30 minutes with a mini excavator (10K pounds).

 

[deezler]

I would only cut down the trees over ~24" diameter, or maybe over 50-60' tall. Just use the excavator to dig the stump while the tree is still whole, it makes it SO much easier to pull the whole stump out of the ground when you have a couple tons of tree leveraging it out of the ground. Then you can cut the stump off once the tree is out and laying down. Seriously, this will save you a LOT of time in getting the whole clearing project done.

In the past I did it your way, cut the trees down first and deal with the stump later. In this case, I would cut the tree as high as I safely could operate my chainsaw without standing on a ladder of something dumb like that. Safest way is still to use the excavator to knock the tree down whole by digging it's stump out. You have a lot of control as the roots get cut away; can periodically stop digging and do test pushes on the tree. Like any felling, its best to check the natural lean of the tree and go with the flow.

Edit: I essentially agree with Carl. But I get nervous trying to stump dig huge trees - they weigh too much to control with a little rental excavator, and the last thing you want is it falling on YOU or the machine you have to pay for. Depends on your machine size.

 

[5030]

If you gtind them, as low as possible. I tend to yank all mine out so I cut them high (6-8 feet) and use my M9 to yank them out. The big ones I have ground. Have a buddy with a Vermeer stump grinder.

 

[EddieWalker]

If you are going to be taking out the stumps after cutting down the tree, why not just dig out the entire tree all at once?

 

[5030]

Why dig when you can just pop it out?

 

[JJT]

Cut them as low as possible and get a big excavator. Or leave 2' stumps and push them with a big dozer. You'll get nowhere fast with a block and tackle or a mini-excavator......

 

[5030]

Why I prefer having them ground. A good stump grinder will cut them at least 6" below grade. Little ones, I pop out.

 

[deezler]

Cut them as low as possible and get a big excavator. Or leave 2' stumps and push them with a big dozer. You'll get nowhere fast with a block and tackle or a mini-excavator......

Dunno, I have rented a bobcat E35 a few times now. It digs out 20"+, 50-60' black cherry trees with ease. Maybe 10-15 minutes to completely encircle the root base with deep trenches. Anything under 6", can just yank out with the thumb. 6-18" range trees go pretty quick, dig a couple trenches and then push.

Now that I bought my used CK3510 that came with a backhoe, I just use that, but it is SO SLOW and weak in comparison to the E35.