Digging pond out

[lej]

I started doubling the size of our pond without draining it. My son brought me a Yanmar 35 to play with. It has plenty of power but not enough counter weight as I did test its limits. I now have a Cat 303.5se that my son’s work will sell me at $10,000.00 plus below value. I dug a section 3’ by 40’ by 5 to 6 foot deep during the dry period with the water level down 3 to 4 foot. After 200 loads with my tractor loader I learned that this is not going to work. I’m considering buying a dump trailer to take the load off my tractor as I have to haul it behind my woods to an area before my farm field. I know I will still have to double dig to let the dirt dry out before loading to haul back. Anyone have any better ideas?

 

[EddieWalker]

When I dug my 3/4 acre pond, I used a full sized backhoe. Digging was easy, hauling dirt took forever. At first I hauled the dirt off to a ditch I wanted to fill up, but that took forever and I was worried that Spring would get here and I'd still be hauling dirt if I didn't do something different. So I dumped all the dirt right next to the pond and created a giant mountain. Then I worked at hauling that dirt off to where I needed it on my land over the next couple of years. Eventually I just dumped it at the edge of a pasture, and it's sat there for the last 15 years. I still get dirt from that pile, but there is so much dirt that it will be there for another 15 years!!!

When I dug my 4 1/2 acre pond, I used all the dirt to make the dam wider. The back slope of my dam is so shallow that most people have no idea that it's a dam. It's very easy to mow and looks great.

 

[bdhsfz6]

When I regraded one of my fields, I had to move a huge pile of soil about a quarter mile. To minimize the number of trips with just the FEL bucket, I used a 3pt to SSQA adapter and attached another FEL bucket to the 3pt hitch. Using my hyd. top link, I scooped up a load by backing into the pile before filling the bucket on the FEL. That way, I could carry two loads in the same trip.

 

[lej]

Digging is easy but getting rid of all the dirt is not. I was thinking if I picked up a dump trailer that I could haul at least ten tons at a time plus when I need more rock I could haul from the gravel pit and save money since rock now runs $550.00 a load. I have a brushy grass area between my woods and farm field and figure I could brush hog it and use a dump trailer to haul it back and pile it up. This is not good dirt as we are on reclamed ground. Where the pond is was originally 200 foot deep and they shoved it in there. I have found this is where they shoved a lot of the mine trash. I have dug up old blasting signs, multiple steel cables, and remains of 55 gallon drums. The dirt at least 30 to 40 percent rock.

 

[Seven Gables]

Here’s what I bought and really like , might fit the bill for you also.
Notch 18K gvw dump trailer, designed to haul and dump heavier loads much faster than a regular dump trailer. 7ga (3/16”) side walls, full 1/4”. Floor. Greaseable pivoting beam axle, wide 10ply implement tires. Has a mechanical rear gate that automatically opens as the bed is raised, will dump the load in just a few seconds never having to leave the seat of tractor, huge time saver. Hydraulic hoses simply plug into tractor rear outlets, no onboard pump or battery needed. I started out with adding one 10” side board but added another as the lift has the capacity.

 

[yanmars]

200 feet deep, was it a strip mine or a quarry? That is a deep hole especially depending on how much of the fill you want to move.

 

[lej]

That trailer looks nice! We have a strip pit that runs down the whole south side of our property and a small pond about 75 yards behind our house. When we first bought the property we had to take the trailer around every spring and pick up rocks that the freeze and thaw would bring up. After a few years that subsided. Can’t dig anything with a shovel. We mow about 12 acres and now have about 7 acres of it in soyzia grass.

 

[sld]

When we dug the 1 acre pond we used to have we used some dirt to build up three sides and the dam. We also made an island that was about 15 feet above the high water mark. The island was a great place to put dirt.

 

[lej]

When we dug the 1 acre pond we used to have we used some dirt to build up three sides and the dam. We also made an island that was about 15 feet above the high water mark. The island was a great place to put dirt.

When we bought the property about 15 years ago I fortified the dam with rip wrap. The water from back flows down and into the pond and flows over the dam and runs into the lake. I think it will be a work in progress. We put a new house in exactly a year ago. This will enhance the view from the back porch.

 

[jk96]

You mentioned the dirt was not good. What are using to seal the pond after the new section is dug out? Or does it have a spring to keep it full?

 

[KenBike]

I expanded my pond 20 years ago, used two dump trucks, a dozer, and a 28000 lb excavator.
Hauled about 150 loads of black muck to a low area that took a few years to dry out and today grows great grass and trees.
Hauled another 150 loads of clay to an area to level out to put up a 45 x 90 horse barn.
Math is 300 loads at average of 14 tons. Each load equals about 9.5 cubic yards or close to 2850 cubic yards. If tried to move with my tractor L6060 that would have been 3500 loads.

If you are moving a lot of dirt you need big stuff to dig and move. My brother is a operator and said you always bring the biggest equipment that can fit on the job!

 

[lej]

It seems to hold water. What I have dug so far is totally full. Which digging in water seems to be a lot harder because can’t see what you’re doing.

 

[lej]

I expanded my pond 20 years ago, used two dump trucks, a dozer, and a 28000 lb excavator.
Hauled about 150 loads of black muck to a low area that took a few years to dry out and today grows great grass and trees.
Hauled another 150 loads of clay to an area to level out to put up a 45 x 90 horse barn.
Math is 300 loads at average of 14 tons. Each load equals about 9.5 cubic yards or close to 2850 cubic yards. If tried to move with my tractor L6060 that would have been 3500 loads.

If you are moving a lot of dirt you need big stuff to dig and move. My brother is an operator and said you always bring the biggest equipment that can fit on the job!

I don’t have that at my disposal but would sure be nice.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

I hired out dump trucks for on site work when I did mine. 15 yard trucks and averaged about 4-6 loads per hour per truck. I used one for a little over a week and a 2nd when I decided I needed to hurry before the rain got there. One charged me $60/ hour and one charged me $80/ hour if I'm remembering correctly. The excavator I used had a 1 yard bucket so I could load the trucks pretty quickly. It seems like a little hole generates about 10 times the dirt you would expect.

 

[EddieWalker]

After spending so much time moving dirt out of my small pond, I bought a cheap dump truck to help move dirt out of my big pond. It's only 5 yards, but that's five times more then I can carry with the loader!!! I paid $3,000 for it since it's not street legal and pretty rough.

I don't know how many yards I've moved with it, but it adds up pretty quickly. On a good day, I think I've done 200 yards. Most of the time I just have a few hours, so it's a lot less than that.

I haven't started it in years. It's a big block gas engine. When I get round to moving a bunch of dirt to build up the pad for my barn addition, and when I build my workshop, I'll buy a new carburetor and battery for it and get it going again. After that I'll sell it.

 

[lej]

I hired out dump trucks for on site work when I did mine. 15 yard trucks and averaged about 4-6 loads per hour per truck. I used one for a little over a week and a 2nd when I decided I needed to hurry before the rain got there. One charged me $60/ hour and one charged me $80/ hour if I'm remembering correctly. The excavator I used had a 1 yard bucket so I could load the trucks pretty quickly. It seems like a little hole generates about 10 times the dirt you would expect.

You are so right, what little I have dug gave me a heck of a lot to get rid of. Really surprising. The excavator I have has a 2’ bucket.

 

[deezler]

You are so right, what little I have dug gave me a heck of a lot to get rid of. Really surprising. The excavator I have has a 2’ bucket.

Yeah its crazy. Plus "fluffed" or expanded dirt has anywhere from 20 to 80% more volume after you dig it out of the compacted ground.

How much does soil expand when excavated?
AI Overview
Soil expansion when excavated, also called bulking, can range from 15% to 80% or more, depending on the soil type, moisture content, and the amount of rock. For example, light soils might swell 15-25%, while compacted clays can expand 20-40%, and blasted rock can swell 40-80% or more. This expansion is due to the creation of voids and air pockets when the soil is disturbed from its natural, in-place state.

Expansion by soil type

• Clay: 20-40%
• Clayey gravel: 50-60% when wet
• Gravel: 20-30%
• Rock: 40-80% (Blasted rock can be as high as 85-90%)
• Sand: 20-30%