Clearing a Pond

[paccorti]

Ok, here is the situation. I have a small pond (100' by 60' by 1' deep max). The pond is really choked with weeds and could use some digging out. My overall goal is to have the pond 1' deep all around. Ignoring the issue of traction for the moment, would the tractor be harmed if fresh water was swirling around the axles? I thought I'd try the loader for this. I have some other ideas, like dragging a "boxblade like" device behind with the tractor safely out of the water. Kind of a cheapo' dragline. I might also try draining the pond but that is not my preference.

Peter

 

[Anonymous Poster]

You could find someone renting one of those long reach excavators (45-55 feet). Or if you can get all the way around it a "normal" excavator would do it. I'd also mention, driving in it or using an excavator, any drops of hydraulic fluid/ oil etc spread out to an unbelieveable size.

 

[Alan L.]

In our clay soil the tractor would sink about 3 feet into the mud.

 

[Thomas]

paccorti,
What size tractor are you considering?

The pond about foot deep could there be softer spots or deep areas?
The last thing you would want is to get stuck./w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

I'm not sure if the engine fan would blow the water mist over the engine/w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif/w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

Maybe a local rental has the equipment to do your job? /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Be careful...okay./w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif
Stay safe and be/w3tcompact/icons/cool.gif

Thomas..NH

 

[Bird]

When I read the original question, my first thought was that these things were made for rice paddies, weren't they?/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif And my second thought was like yours, Alan, a long chain or cable and 4WD (on the other tractor out on solid ground) would be the only thing that could get a tractor out of my pond if it's wet./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Bird

 

[EddieW]

Bird, I agree. Last year I had a guy brush hogging my pasture and he drove out on a dry, cracked spot at the edge of my pond. He broke through and sank to the axles. We had to get a chain and a pickup to pull him out. I filled it in this year because it wouldn't hold water. I rented a 300 gal/minute pump and pumped it dry then built a pad on one side and started filling it in across the pond. I was working on top of 3-4 feet of fill dirt all the way across and it worked pretty well. The pump cost $35/ day. there wasn't but a couple of feet of water in the pond so it pumped it dry pretty quick. It was one of those projects where everything went right and I really felt smart when I was done./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[paccorti]

Thomas,

I have a new TC35D with R4's. It has a claimed ground clearence of 14". Still wondering if water around the axles is bad. Are tractor axles watertight? I guess I should call NH....

Peter

 

[EddieW]

Peter, I suspect the reason you can't get an answer is that nobody really wants to commit to something that might be potentially damaging to your tractor. I personally would not drive my tractor into water that might get into the axle or other areas that need lubrication but the dealer or manufacturer are the only ones that can possibly give you anything but an opinion. Water seems to be able to find a way into about anything no matter how well sealed it is. Just an opinion worth exactly what you paid for it. Sorry I can't be more helpful.

 

[Hawgee]

My 2 cents would be like EddieW's. Most of my 4 wheeling in a Willys was finding water mixed in the oil of anything that was below water line. You also have to know where any case breathers are located. You may find that in normal operation, no oil comes out a seal. Most of these seals are made to do just that. It might not be until you look at the bigger construction equipment that you find seals made to keep things in and out.
My try would be to pump down water and hope there is a solid bottom and then proceed with care. Otherwise I'd be looking for a hired machine. Some draft horses pulling a freznoe and a good driver can do it.
Another quick way is with a Dupont Spinner. The kind poachers use for illegal fishing. Six sticks and a 2 minute fuse should do it. I heard of a lot of duck ponds built this way. Here, we would have to do a impact statement and permits and lawyers and . . . . . /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

"What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered."
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by Hawgee on 8/4/00 01:35 AM.</FONT></P>

 

[Bird]

Peter, In all seriousness, I'd be very reluctant to get the front axle into the water. My tractor has a dipstick/cap for the fill port on top of the right side and the O-ring might seal that enough to keep water out, but then it has a curved vent tube on top of the left side and if I ever got that under water, I'd sure be changing the oil in the front axle. This reminds me of a cousin who had a habit of backing his pickup's rear axle into the water to load and unload his boat. Too late he learned that there is a vent with a hose running from the rear axle up above the gas tank, but that hose was broken, so he had to replace the entire rear end under his truck after filling it with water.

Bird

 

[gerard]

I wouldn't try it with the tractor as long as the water's still there. Other than the reasons already mentioned, (tractor damage, getting stuck etc) trying to move mud with a loader is not too easy. First it sticks to the bucket and doesn't dump easily, second it's a great lubricant and even with 4wd I doubt you'd have much forward traction trying to dig. Your job calls for a backhoe or preferably a tracked excavator AFTER you pump it dry. Shouldn't take too long if so shallow. Also you might want to make it a little deeper. You must have a real algae problem with such a high ratio of surface area to volume.

 

[RICK R]

I believe I would drain the pond.There might be some deeper holes you do not know about.Or something in there you could burst a tire on.

 

[paccorti]

Thanks everyone for the sound advice. I think I'll skip the tractor in the water part. Not real comfortable with it now that I that I hear so many opinions. Plus no doubt traction would be an issue. I'm real hesitant to rent or hire a machine. I'm just a real do it your selfer. Must be that time I spent digging a footing with my father with shovels! I'll put this at the bottom of my to do list (rotary cut lawn, install fence...). I'll keep everyone posted with my result.

Gerard, excellent point, there is a lot of algae. How deep would you recommend?

Peter

 

[gerard]

Normally algae is a function of how deep the sun can penetrate the water since it's actually a single cell plant. With such a shallow pond the sun goes all the way through and the algae thrives. You want the surface area to be as low as possible in relation to the volume so the answer would be to go as deep as you can dig. (8-10 feet at the middle wouldn't be bad. Also the deeper you go the less problem you have with shallow water plants rooting where you don't want ie cattails etc.) That way you also reduce daily tempeture flucuations also so if you ever decide to stock it with fish it would be more compatible. (I keep Koi so have some experience in this area) Another idea which I've heard but have not tried would be to throw some bales of barley straw in the pond. (Put in a a mesh bag to keep it from dispersing). It apparently exudes a natural algicide. There's a formula for how much to use based on volume but a couple of bales should be ok. Re the do it yourselfer issue: go rent a tracked excavator during the off season for your area and have some fun! Renting equipment doesn't mean your not doing it yourself although sometimes you can hire the operator and equipment for the same price as the equipment alone. (I'm in the same boat as you with a small pond, 30 ft round, that's overgrown and needs to be dug out. It's on my to do list but I'll probably hire it out unless I ever break down and buy a backhoe, then I'll do it myself.) Happy digging!!