What Bends/Breaks First :) Stump pushing or pulling...

[Stonehaller]

Here's 16 inch Ash stump that I dug out today. It has been dead a couple years - Emerald Ash borer. I had left a six foot stump on and I tried pulling it before digging and it would not budge. It didn't take long to break the roots with the backhoe and get it loose. I used the thumb on the backhoe to pick it up out of the hole after it was loose and set it on the ground so I could pick it up with the forks. It took a lot longer cleaning up the roots and leveling the hole afterwards.

With as may stumps as you have, if they are not rotted, I would rent an excavator for a day (get one with a thumb) to dig them and then haul them away with your tractor.

 

[Baby Grand]

Thanks Jim...I like your ROPS add-on. Seems like that should help if either a rope or chain broke. I also think the ripper would be of great help...I think it might even rip the stumps right out.

Also, I think you could "work" the ripper quite hard and not damage any equipment?

Thanks for the ideas and pictures...TMR

Thanks for the kind words regarding the screen - I think it would stop a stout rope, but I wouldn't count on it to stop a 5/16" chain - though it is better than nothing.

As long as you work slowly with the ripper I don't think there's a lot that can get damaged. I still need to make a shear bolt arrangement on mine - more for when I'm using it in the field & at a good clip than when I'm grubbing roots in granny gear. Being right at the hitch pins, it can exert some whopping force when pulling up with it - way more than my FEL can deliver - and I don't get tippy or go looking for ballast. One down side is if I use it to pull the stump out I usually cut the stump close to flush with the ground - otherwise it's always in the way of the subsoiler, one of my rear tires, our the soft orange underbelly of my 'bota.

This works great for a few stumps that you can get all around. If you have a lot of stumps or they are hard to access from all sides, I'd go with the advice to rent an excavator or use a backhoe.

 

[TMR]

Thanks for the kind words regarding the screen - I think it would stop a stout rope, but I wouldn't count on it to stop a 5/16" chain - though it is better than nothing.

As long as you work slowly with the ripper I don't think there's a lot that can get damaged. I still need to make a shear bolt arrangement on mine - more for when I'm using it in the field & at a good clip than when I'm grubbing roots in granny gear. Being right at the hitch pins, it can exert some whopping force when pulling up with it - way more than my FEL can deliver - and I don't get tippy or go looking for ballast. One down side is if I use it to pull the stump out I usually cut the stump close to flush with the ground - otherwise it's always in the way of the subsoiler, one of my rear tires, our the soft orange underbelly of my 'bota.

This works great for a few stumps that you can get all around. If you have a lot of stumps or they are hard to access from all sides, I'd go with the advice to rent an excavator or use a backhoe.

Well...I think the "ripper" may work quite well. I went out to do some tree work today and took a heavy maul with me. The stumps are well on the way to "rot" I could make a pretty good mess with the axe portion of the maul. I would think I could rip near the edge and effectively pull the stump and roots out...at least what remains intact. I tried this on 2-3 and they at least 1/2 rotted.

I want to extend a trail along a ridge that has quite a few stumps...would probably work pretty well and should not be too many stumps to rip out.

BTW...I would guess a moderately heavy frame tractor is better for this type of brute force work that a small frame...and more weight is an advantage? Supports the bigger/better "urge". :thumbsup:

Thanks...TMR

 

[Gary Fowler]

I wouldnt worry too much about a chain recoiling especially if it is hooked at the drawbar. It will recoil lower than the angle it is in when it slips which will be at most up betweeen your rear tires. Chain doesnt recoil like rope or cable as the links tend to absorb the recoil. I have broken 3/8" chain and the recoil never reached the tractor. You wont get more recoil than that from a slip. I would never use rope for pulling stumps due to the stretch and recoil factor. I only have longleaf pine on my place and they dont have much root structure so I expect that your jackpine would be similar. They should come out easy enough with the FEL. I would try centering the bucket on the stump and ease into it with the tractor to check it. It may just hull right out of the ground. I push over a lot of green pine up to 8" in diameter and they usually come out easy. I dont think you will damage your FEL if you dont ram it into the tree and if you keep it centered. Trying to lift with one corner will spring the frame, been there done that before I knew better.

 

[Danno1]

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Drape a heavy rug, blanket, or winter coat over the middle of the chain. That will damp the recoil if the chain slips or breaks.

Although as Gary said, it's more of a prob with rope or cable.


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[Ford tractor]

I suggest you pull them with a chain on the tractor's draw bar. That's about the strongest part of the tractor.
You can loosen the stump with the loader...just don't over do it. But when you pull it out, use the draw bar!

I'll probably catch heck, but I disagree. A stump is a classic "Immovable" object and when a tractor tugs hard enough on one, it will flip. Many people have been crushed from having a tractor flip over on them. And I'm about as far from being a "Safety first" guy as they come.

Use a middle buster to cut the roots, then dig them out with the FEL.

You can also force them to rot quicker. Drill several holes into the stump from the top, sprinkle a cup of high N fertilizer on them and cover completely with mulch. That will accelerate the decay process 10x, costs little, takes little effort and won't harm your equipment or you.

 

[DAY]

I use chain at the drawbar, then hook it to cable (if needed- I spent today pulling dead locusts 200 feet down the hillside, with a snatchblock on a tree at the bottom.) That way any cable breakage happens at a (short) distance from the operator.

Didn't the TV Mythbusters guys disprove the "cut a man in two with a cable" myth, using a pig's carcass?

As for flipping over backwards, that was more of a problem with the old high wheel farm tractors- especially narrow front end ones. AS one of the gurus said a while back, the drawbar is below the axle, making it close to impossible to flip the machine.

 

[RoyJackson]

Didn't the TV Mythbusters guys disprove the "cut a man in two with a cable" myth, using a pig's carcass?

There's a video we had to watch for flight deck safety when I was in the Navy. One of the sections showed an arresting gear cable parting and took a sailor in two...just above the legs.
So, yes, a cable can slice a body in two.

That, of course, was a pretty extreme example. But any cable that parts under tension can do damage or injury.

 

[crazyal]

If it was me, and because I have the choice between a full size backhoe and a dozer I would rent a small dozer. A stump that size is real easy for my Case 450 to push out of the ground.

Why do I say rent a dozer? Because your life is not complete until you've had a chance to play on one. Tractors are great but the dozer puts a smile on your face that even the worst wife in the world can't remove for days. Everyone who has come up and played, I mean worked, with the dozer has left with a sh^t eating grin from ear to ear.

If you do try it with a tractor I would use some caution. I once watched a neighbor turn his 2" receiver into a pretzel because he though his 3/4 ton could rip shrubs out of the ground. I don't know much about the Deere's but the GL3x40 line is a nice solid tractor.

 

[puckgrinder85]

I'd try the tractor, use common sense. If it doesnt work it out relatively easily, get something bigger and made for the task.