Will a Stump Bucket damage my FEL?

[TN8Man]

Was thinking of getting a backhoe for my Kioti NX5010 but the dealer told me I might consider a stump bucket and save some money.

Has anyone damaged their tractor using a stump bucket?

 

[RjCorazza]

Don't have a stump bucket, but I think I would prefer a centered implement to torquing the side of a normal bucket.
With common sense usage I wouldn't be overly concerned.

 

[Notforhire]

I would say a lot depends on how big a stump. Let's face it you can break anything if you push it too hard. RjCorazza summed it up.
I've owned two different stump buckets. I used them for transplanting shrubs and small trees. The most useful one I owned had a curved bottom and a grapple.
IMO the curved bottom penetrates the soil easier than the typical flat bottom style.
I sold my stump bucket to friend shortly after getting my TLB. My friend has a NH TC40DA and has removed quite a few stumps.

 

[The Gaul]

I recently purchased a stump bucket for my NS6010. If you use common sense (i.e. don't slam your machine into tree stumps trying to knock them over), this is nice to have tool. It will not replace a backhoe for trenching, but even if you were to buy a backhoe, I would say it makes more sense to rent an excavator for a large trenching job.
There's amply videos on-line on how to use them in a proper way.
Since this is just welded steel and not high-end technology I went with the Titan large bucket. Deals can be had if you wait for their sale.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

It can. I've seen a number of bent loader cylinders

 

[4570Man]

With reasonable use probably not but it certainly can and will with abuse. Loaders are made for loading not digging stumps.

 

[garry1p]

I have one and have used it quite a bit.
It is not a backhoe but it does have it's place
It takes some getting used to and the problem child is the stumps with a "deep" tap root.
Best to use it in damp soil after a rain.
The easy ones is the old stumps, 3+ years and they just dig out with very little digging (most of the time).
I have not worried about damage to the FEL since the my stump bucket comes to a narrow point on the end and I am able to keep it centered.
It's great for digging holes for planting trees and stuff.

I am satisfied with mine and would buy again.

Pictured is a group of 8 trees bunched up, largest was over 6" and 15ft tall. Most difficult was the one remaining standing. It took an additional two hours to dig this one tree out, the tap root went down over 4 ft and I was worried about getting stuck when the hole kept getting deeper and deeper.

 

[Vigo327]

Damage is down to user error. A stump bucket is not inherently dangerous to the loader, but a lack of grasp of physics is. I think the most important thing is to go in with patience and realistic expectations. There are not too many stumps that can just be 'popped' out of the ground without a lot of work. Almost all of them will require digging around and breaking a bunch of roots before going for the main stump.

 

[Torvy]

Not something the loader was designed to do.

It only takes one mistake to serious ruin your day. It is much cheaper for me to rent the right tool (mini ex) than risk my investment.

Have people used them successfully? Sure. Others have bent the c-rap out of their loader.

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

I have one and its great tool.
Operator needs to understand the power of a lever (leverage)
Easy to damage stuff as the bucket can work as a big lever.