Stump removal

[yellowdogsvc]

My .02 cents is a 10k lb machine won't dig much in the way of stumps. My mini ex is 10,700 lbs. for comparison and my Bobcat is 9,200 lbs with a grapple on the front. A decent backhoe is about 16k lbs and can still struggle on big stumps.

Burning doesn't cost much except in diesel but it's time consuming and stumps don't burn easily plus you are releasing years and years worth of energy that could but put back into your soil. I burn, rarely, but try and use things like logs and stumps for erosion control or to feed the ground in places where I can mulch or stump grind them. I have several hundred acres of varying terrain and have worked on 1000's of acres of properties. Burning is sometimes necessary but the healthiest properties I've visited over my 20 plus years in the industry are the ones that have organic material put back into the earth.

I've had horses and I understand the concerns of holes so I'd recommend compacting to some extent the stump holes that were back filled. You may need to bring in some more soil from someplace else to get the holes filled back.

 

[Oldpath05]

Years ago when I operated a 550 JD grapple skidder, sometimes we had to make a landing for chip trailers on a wood lot, the wood sheer operator would cut the trees, I'd go be hind them with the grapple skidder and sink the grapple a couple time around the stump, 4 times the most on big stumps, and that skidder would rip those stumps out everytime, fairly quick to, on most stumps sink the grapple once put in reverse, lift the grapple same time, and the stump is out, clamp in the grapple. But the problem is none of us have a grapple skidder.

 

[kthompson]

Murph I do not see where you have shared what you want to use the land for. There have seen some good suggestions but hold little value without knowing what you want to use the land for.

Rotting is the lost cost method if you have the time and will improve the land but there is a hold there that needs to be filled in. And yes as been pointed out filled in more than once.
Grinding gets the stump to dirt level or some lower quickly but can be costly and leaves chips which may be an issue but back to having to fill in probably more than once as what is left rots.
Digging leaves a hole and leaves a stump you probably need to move and either haul off or burn or pile to rot. Depending on the type and size of the stumps can be rather large holes left. May need to haul dirt in to fill those holes or you may be able to use a blade and pull or push dirt into them. It might be the costliest method the digging and loading and hauling but might not be. However it is the quickest method to get the land graded and ready for about any use you would have for it. Crop, animals or what ever.

I have a 5 ton mini excavator and have taken out many 2 foot stumps and two acres would not scare me a bit. But it all depends on the size, type of stump and the dirt. Very quickly agree with a bigger excavator that could just pull the stumps would be faster than one that has to dig them out. Stumps often have bigger root balls than you will think they do and hauling them probably more loads than expected.

 

[murphy1244]

Murph I do not see where you have shared what you want to use the land for. There have seen some good suggestions but hold little value without knowing what you want to use the land for.

Rotting is the lost cost method if you have the time and will improve the land but there is a hold there that needs to be filled in. And yes as been pointed out filled in more than once.
Grinding gets the stump to dirt level or some lower quickly but can be costly and leaves chips which may be an issue but back to having to fill in probably more than once as what is left rots.
Digging leaves a hole and leaves a stump you probably need to move and either haul off or burn or pile to rot. Depending on the type and size of the stumps can be rather large holes left. May need to haul dirt in to fill those holes or you may be able to use a blade and pull or push dirt into them. It might be the costliest method the digging and loading and hauling but might not be. However it is the quickest method to get the land graded and ready for about any use you would have for it. Crop, animals or what ever.

I have a 5 ton mini excavator and have taken out many 2 foot stumps and two acres would not scare me a bit. But it all depends on the size, type of stump and the dirt. Very quickly agree with a bigger excavator that could just pull the stumps would be faster than one that has to dig them out. Stumps often have bigger root balls than you will think they do and hauling them probably more loads than expected.

We are going to replant hardwoods as I run a Tree farm. I don't want to break my or any else's legs while walking back there.

 

[adventure bob]

I might have confused some with the 10K front end loader ref. Its not a loader that weighs 10K, its a loader rated to lift 10K or more. Like a JD 344 which just happens to weigh about 18K lbs and can lift about 12K lbs (tipping load). Havet seen a stump my guy cant get out. Generally he can push them over root ball and all. I leave about 3 feet of stump when I ccut them down so he something to push on. The ones he cant just push out he digs a little to one side where he can get under the root ball and pops them out. The holes are generally only the size of the root ball.

The ash from our burns gets tilled back into the pasture. Wood ash is mostly calcium carbonate and helps as a ph buffer in the soil.

Generally have not used diesel to start fires, tend to just hit the kindling with a torch and away we go.

 

[hawkeye08]

Just took one (just one) recently, dug around it with FEL, then went in under it and cut the rest of the roots off with the bucket. The bucket wouldn't lift it so pushed it out of the hole, hooked chain to it and towed it to the edge of the field, then pushed it out of field with bucket. It sits just right a target out the back door.

 

[ovrszd]

Few years ago my Brother thought the best way to remove trees was a Shear. Today I finished clearing the stumps that he left........ Small ones I can get out with the Grapple. Larger ones have to dug out with a backhoe. Even then you have a LOT of roots and debris, even after carrying away the stump. Nasty business. I blame it all on the person that let the patch of Earth be covered with trees in the first place.

 

[roadhunter]

My .02 cents is a 10k lb machine won't dig much in the way of stumps. My mini ex is 10,700 lbs. for comparison and my Bobcat is 9,200 lbs with a grapple on the front. A decent backhoe is about 16k lbs and can still struggle on big stumps.

Burning doesn't cost much except in diesel but it's time consuming and stumps don't burn easily plus you are releasing years and years worth of energy that could but put back into your soil. I burn, rarely, but try and use things like logs and stumps for erosion control or to feed the ground in places where I can mulch or stump grind them. I have several hundred acres of varying terrain and have worked on 1000's of acres of properties. Burning is sometimes necessary but the healthiest properties I've visited over my 20 plus years in the industry are the ones that have organic material put back into the earth.

I've had horses and I understand the concerns of holes so I'd recommend compacting to some extent the stump holes that were back filled. You may need to bring in some more soil from someplace else to get the holes filled back.

I like your style. If you really want to turn wood into a valuable soil amendment that last for hundreds of years in your soil try making biochar with your wood waste. Letting wood rot does put some organic matter in the soil but it is typically short lived as the carbon is released back into the atmosphere where biochar lasts thousand of years and can make some serious improvements to your soil..

 

[CADplans]

I use a barrel to burn stumps,,, it burns so clean, after 15 minutes, there is no smoke.

Twigs and branches start the fire,,, if the stump is wet,, I will add seasoned oak firewood.

This stump was so large, it took three "burns",,

 

[dickfoster]

That would take excruciatingly long to clear even two acres of stumps. One or two maybe but not very many.

 

[roadhunter]

CAD, that is an interesting setup for burning stumps in place. Does the barrel make it draft like a rocket stove and burn the stump from the top down?

 

[Dadnatron]

I had an hour left on a rental mini excavator after finishing up putting in culverts so I took it out to a stump in the middle of a pasture thinking "I'll just pop this out of the ground". It was a Very old stump given the weathering and rot. No idea what it was, but I ended up with a hole about 12ft across and 6ft deep before that sucker could be loosened enough to take it out.

First time I've ever used an excavator to pull out a stump. Easier than a shovel by far... but it was no 'pop this thing out' like I thought it would. I think the ex size was 3T, so it wasn't huge.

 

[ovrszd]

I hired a large Linkbelt excavator to do some work recently. Hey, while you are here dig out this 24" Honey Locust stump, been dead 3 years. Took him 20 minutes.... depending on variety stumps come out hard.

 

[prichard]

I hired an operator and a dozer. She took out 20 trees and rough graded the house site. It was fun watching her knock the trees down stump and all.

 

[ovrszd]

I hired an operator and a dozer. She took out 20 trees and rough graded the house site. It was fun watching her knock the trees down stump and all.

Yep. Best time to remove a stump is when the tree is attached.

 

[farmer2009]

BIL rented a 25 ton CAT excavator a few years back. Was not impressed with its ability to remove stumps. Even stumps down around 20" took some digging. Most were 5-10 minutes per stump some longer. Now tree removal was fast. He could clear stumps just as fast with the D5.

 

[k0ua]

Yep. Best time to remove a stump is when the tree is attached.

Amen, I can pull over trees with my tractor and a chain, that I could never dig out/push over the stump.
If you get a chain up high enough in the tree, you can pull over some pretty good sized ones even with a tractor the size of mine. Especially a day or so after a good soaking rain. Trees become weaklings after a good soaking rain.

 

[yellowdogsvc]

I like your style. If you really want to turn wood into a valuable soil amendment that last for hundreds of years in your soil try making biochar with your wood waste. Letting wood rot does put some organic matter in the soil but it is typically short lived as the carbon is released back into the atmosphere where biochar lasts thousand of years and can make some serious improvements to your soil..

This is an excellent idea

 

[prichard]

Amen, I can pull over trees with my tractor and a chain, that I could never dig out/push over the stump.
If you get a chain up high enough in the tree, you can pull over some pretty good sized ones even with a tractor the size of mine. Especially a day or so after a good soaking rain. Trees become weaklings after a good soaking rain.

Hence the reason for the dozer. We haven't had rain in months and according to the weather guessers we likely won't have any for a couple more months. I would have prefered doing it myself but by the time I rented heavy enough equip for current conditions and took time off work it wasn't worth the cost difference.

 

[blooper]

Cheapest way around here is to hire an excavator. Blueberry growers this year paid about 7/800 per acre (cdn) for stumping and clearing. Most operators do around an acre a day.