Tips On Digging Stumps With The BX24 Hoe

[dsvaleri]

You guys did a great job with the tips on trench digging. What kind of advice do you have for removing stumps? I have taken out some small stumps that the hoe could easily break the roots and some rotting stumps that broke apart as I worked on them. I am now getting to the 30 inch stumps with solid roots that the hoe can't break. How should I attack something this size? Do I dig to expose the root then use an ax or chain saw on it or should I move back off the stump and use the hoe out where the root gets smaller in an attempt to break it with the hoe? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

 

[escavader]

HI,
30 inch stumps are tough with that size machine.They usually take hours,or days.Ive done a few with my 23,but id rather avoid them.These babys are for large hoes and excavators.Other options might be cut off as low as possible and cover with soil.Or rent a stump grinder,or an excavater.I prefer to tackle the ones say a foot or smaller,they aint to bad.
The best tip i have for you is try to leave a 4 to 6 ft log attached .it helps give you leverage to loosen them up as your digging them up.Start a good distance out from the stump and work your way in,breaking off as many roots as possible.If you can get it to wiggle its almost there.
As far as using a saw i do on occasion,but its tough on chains.Iheard a sawzall is the tool of choice cutting roots,i am usually able to break em with the hoe.good luck
ALAN

 

[Slacker]

+1 on leaving the stump at least chest high. My newest method has been to dig around the standing tree and push it over. This takes the stump up with it. I've also used my CJ5 & 8000lb winch with pulleys to pull some down.
I hate stumps....but I love tree's.

 

[dsvaleri]

HI,
As far as using a saw i do on occasion,but its tough on chains.Iheard a sawzall is the tool of choice cutting roots,i am usually able to break em with the hoe.good luck
ALAN

I also hate running my chain saw in the dirt. Some times I use the pressure washer to clear the dirt away before I use the saw. I never thought about the sawzall. I will give it a try next time out. Thanks

 

[Jabroni]

With a BX24 and a big stump, you need to get in the hole with a small limb saw and cut the roots the backhoe can't get to. Once you cut a few of those, I grab onto one of the big surface roots with the hoe, and twist the heck out of it until it comes free.

Here's picture of the one I use: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...80624d1183684844-stump-pullin-p1010384-2-.jpg

 

[ore540]

HI,
... As far as using a saw i do on occasion,but its tough on chains. I heard a sawzall is the tool of choice cutting roots,i am usually able to break em with the hoe.good luck
ALAN

A sawzall works great on roots - took out 6 pickup loads of juniper (previous owner really loved the stuff) using one. There are long blades for them with rough-cut teeth that really go. Everyone should have a sawzall anyway, a necessary part of every toy, errrr, tool chest

 

[Vern1]

Greetings,
Just tackled a big old 30+ inch black walnut that died last winter on Monday.
Even with the L35 it was a chore.
What I had to do was dig out further from the stump where the roots were smaller to be able to rip them up.
Once they were broken further out, I could rip them out by grabbing the broken end and pulling/pushing for all the hoe could do.
It took about an hour to get it dug up to the point that I could push it over and move it away and back fill the hole.
The hole was about 12 feet across and over 4 feet deep when it finally came out.
My dad watched the whole thing and repeatedly said I'd never get it down...that was my motivation to "get 'er done".....or down as the case may be.

 

[KeithInSpace]

My tact has been to dig to China all the way around the roots. I use a very sharp polished axe to whack at the 'unbreakable' roots. Goes through them like butter. I've had pretty poor luck with the sawz-all option...even with the long blade, any dirt that gets in the cut chews it up in a second to where you're sawing with nubs. If you are VERY careful about dirt, maybe, but I haven't had many holes without dirt!!! And no, I don't risk my chainsaw blade. Did it once. The fun lasted, literally, about 4 seconds.

For Pines: You can dig closer to the stump and just KEEP DIGGING. Eventually, you get below the tap-root and the whole root ball just tips over. Flip it in the hole and knock the dirt off, then lift it straight out.

For Oaks and Maples, you need to get a little further out. These, you can 'pry' up with the boom on float and using the back of the bucket for leverage. They pop up like a soda cap. Flip it over, knock the dirt up, and drop it in your trailer.

I've removed 8 or 9 Pine stumps to ~15" diameter and several Oak/Maple sumps, some of which were split-trunk monsters. Oddly, the most difficult was a smallish (~8") pine that just wouldn't let go. I had to go over 4 feet straight down on all sides before it would finally give way to the bucket...it was just flopping around the hole for a solid 30 minutes while I kept digging to liberate it. Very frustrating.

Typical dig/remove and replace soil takes about 1 to 1.5 hours.

 

[dsvaleri]

With a BX24 and a big stump, you need to get in the hole with a small limb saw and cut the roots the backhoe can't get to. Once you cut a few of those, I grab onto one of the big surface roots with the hoe, and twist the heck out of it until it comes free.

Here's picture of the one I use: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...80624d1183684844-stump-pullin-p1010384-2-.jpg

Wow! I feel inspired. It looks like you are tackling the roots three or more feet out from the stump, this is much farther out then I had to go for the little ones. Thanks for the picture; this proves it can be done.

 

[KeithInSpace]

...this is much farther out then I had to go for the little ones.

Mr. Jabroni's picture is right on the mark. Hardwood trees have those surface/midline roots and your best bet is to take a "disk" out of the ground and sort it out later. Otherwise, you'll spend forever trying to hack at those roots where they are really fat by the stump itself. The downside is that you will be at the limits of your BH/FEL/Tractor capacity to maneuver the liberated stump around enough to knock the dirt off the backside. But it is still the way to go.

With pines, you can almost dig next to the stump itself.