Digging with an L39

[ryer]

Hey guys,
Man has it been a while since I posted, although I still actively visit the site daily. I thought I might include a few phone camera pics of the L39 and Durabuilt dirtpan in action for those who have an interest in pond excavation. I purchased this tractor new 15 months ago and now have 1000 hours in road building, rotary cutter, tree removal, trenching and pond digging. Before the L39 I had a B26 for 1 year and logged 500 hours on that unit..so I get a lot of seat time. The photos are not that great but you can see I also added a Kubota 4 n 1 bucket and it sure helps with back dragging and hauling logs and brush. The pond now stands at 2 1/2 acres that have been excavated. I do not know how many yards but it is tens of thousands over the last couple of years. I dam off the finished sections with sand bags and let them fill with rain and underground well water as I go. The shallow areas are 2-3 feet and the deepest area so far is 14 feet. This is some tough clay to dig so I use a combination of the backhoe, box blade with rippers and dirtpan scraper. With the dirtpan and the loader bucket full I am hauling about 2 yards at a time and spreading about 100 yards away. The dirtpan sure has sped up the process. If anyone has any questions about the L39, Kubota 4 n 1 bucket or Durabuilt dirtpan on this size tractor, I will be glad to answer any question I can.

Happy Thanksgiving from Ryer!

 

[powerstroke444e]

Sweet looking set up. I used a 5-8yrd pan on a M108x and it was all it wanted. How does the L handle that pan I have M5400 and was thinking of getting one to pull with it but its not powershift like yours.

 

[ryer]

Powerstroke444e,
The pan is a DP60 which is 1.5 yards heaped with 5 ft cutting edge. In the sand you can fill it pretty easy but to heap it you have to feather the 3 point lift up and down a few times. On hard pan and clay it is a different story. If the clay is slightly wet but not too wet...you can actually peel it up about 1 inch deep and get a level bucket. If it is dry or smooth hard pan on top...forget it. You will either spin your wheels or stop dead in your tracks. I have learned to drive over a large area with my box blade and the rippers set fairly shallow with an extra 700 lbs riding on top of the box and dig the clay about an inch deep over a large area...then I simply switch back to the dirtpan and come back and scrape the loose material with ease. As long as you don't have any big chunks of clay like you get when you dig with a backhoe...it works pretty well.

 

[crazyal]

2 1/2 acre pond, wow. Sounds like you will be reaching lake status soon.

 

[ryer]

Crazyal,
I'm not sure when a pond becomes a lake but everytime it rains just a few inches it takes me 2 whole days with 2 large gas pumps to drain the areas that I am currently trying to finish. It sure can slow you down. I also have to dig connector creeks to connect the 3 largest areas of the pond so it will in the end be one body of water. You can see in these 3 photos what just 2 inches of rain does and it receives no run off

 

[crazyal]

What are your plans for the pond? I have a spot I would like to make one but there's plenty of large rocks and possibly ledge to deal with.

 

[ryer]

Crazyal,
We have a wildlife preserve here for the native wildlife. So the water is for them and the large "water bird" collection we have built up over the years. Also, we love to fish and use the paddle boat. The front pond which has been full and stocked for the past 12 years contains blue gills, rio grand perch, blue and channel cats, carp, alligator gar, stiped bass and large mouth bass. So we are trying to duplicate a natural river in a self contained smaller scale project. Some of the fingerling bass stocked here exceed 10 pounds now and some of the catfish 25 pounds. It's a lot of work and a lot of feed for all the wildlife but it sure is a lot of fun...even when you attrack 400 lb boar hogs and the occasional mountain lion

P.S. When you have an unfinished pond with rain this equals mud and the hogs and mud are a perfect match. They hang around so much...some have tamed down to the point of walking in my garage and chasing the cookies I throw to them. I included a recent photo of two of the smaller hogs that are so tame that they continue to feed and even chase my tractor when it goes by...much to the dismay of my mastiff.

 

[crazyal]

Sounds nice. I've always wanted my own stocked trout pond, that and for fire protection. I know a few people that have made them but being in hilly country with lots of ledge and rocks it's not as easy as just digging down. I'm also not sure if the hardpan would work well enough for a dam.

 

[ryer]

Crazyal,
It is amazing the different topography and soil conditions that the members on this formum from across the country have. What is amazing and interesting to me is where you are in Vermont you have hills and rocks and the only hill I have would be the mound of sand I dump in a pile . Also, I have never seen and there is not one rock on my entire property...not one. Nothing but pure sand almost like the beach...I guess you could say more like the desert. We actually have to go out and pay good money and buy rocks if we want them around the edge of the pond and they are not cheap.

P.S. Just send me a truckload of your rocks and I will send you a truckload of the best water holding clay in the country to build your dam and the sand to top it off so it doesn't get muddy and you can grow vegetation. HA HA :laughing:

 

[crazyal]

You're welcome to all the rocks you want. When I built my house I had to blast twice to get enough ledge out of the way to get the foundation in. I usually just dump them in the woods, I bet I have a dozen or so piles of ugly looking rocks.

I know what you mean about being a wide range of types of soil (and land in general) that different members here enjoy.

 

[ryer]

Crazyal,
I have never been to Vermont. It sounds like you have some real rugged land. I have family that has land in a small mountain area in northern Alabama, they have huge rock ledges and bluffs by their house. That land has some of the thickest wooded areas...mainly pine trees...that I have seen, it's really neat there. This sounds like it might be similar to your place. I would love to see a picture of your land if you get a chance. I notice you have a full size backhoe and a dozer along with your Kubota. Do you use that equipment in your business or is it just for working your land?

 

[ryer]

It takes a lot of extra weight on the box blade to penetrate the clay but after driving around over it for a while it will pulverize most of the clay chunks into almost like a powder where the dirtpan becomes like a broom pan. You just sort of drive around and sweep it up with no resistance. After about 20 passes you can see this powder in one of the connector creek areas. It looks almost like regular sand.

I started this thread in the hopes that I could share 3 years of experience with smaller (B26/L39) type tractors and large excavation projects. After trial and error I hope to show other members who have smaller equipment and are on a limited budget, like myself, that you can tackle large projects. All you need is patience and the enjoyment of seat time and picking at it here and there when you have time and feel like it. Yes, I have had dozers, large backhoes and skid steers on different projects but sometimes I guess you just like doing it yourself.

 

[ryer]

For those considering a Kubota 4 n 1 bucket for doing a lot of digging compared to a Kubota HD bucket here is what I have found. The L39's 72" HD bucket has a 15.5 cu ft capacity heaped where as the 72" Kubota brand 4 n 1 has a 13.3 cu ft heaped capacity. You can see from the images the HD bucket because of the taller lip on the top of the bucket will carry that much and then some but the 4 n 1 heaps pretty good also because it has a longer lower lip. The difference in the two buckets is when you are actually scraping, digging, and pushing into a pile or peeling a layer of clay...the design of the 4 n 1 is far superior to the standard bucket. So it is basically a trade off. If you actually need to dig, the 4 n 1 is a good investment besides the advantages of being able to grapple. But if you are hauling a lot of loose piled up material the standard HD bucket...being 200 lbs lighter and holding a couple more cubic feet is a better option.

 

[bikerdib]

Ryer, you think you are working with small equipment, I recently picked up a used B7300 and had a BushHog FEL installed. I'm currently pulling down some small white oak and Chinese tallow trees in an old creek bed where I plan to excavate some of the dirt and then dam the end to make a pond. This will only be about 1/3 to 1/2 acre surface area of water and I'll probably only have 5 or 6 feet max depth. This will be a wildlife water supply pond and I'll only stock some bluegill and minnows since the pond will probably go dry in longer drought years. The creek is damed farther upstream by a pond so it is pretty much a dry creek (that sounds funny doesn't it?).

I'm using a subsoiler to bust roots and the harder soil (my area is mostly sand till you dig down enough to hit the clay) and a 1500 lb capacity dump cart that I load with the FEL. I then pull the cart with the tractor to place the removed soil around my camphouse. I use a quikhitch and leave a drawbar attached to the trailer. That way I can load the trailer with the FEL then back up to it, quickly put the drawbar in the quickhitch and move the load. I use jackstands for support at the front and rear of the dumpcart while loading. Since with the FEL I no longer need tractor weight plates on the front of the tractor, I welded brackets to the quickhitch to hang the three of them there for FEL counterweight. I just ordered a toothbar for the FEL hoping that might help bust up some of the harder soil for loading.

I know I could get someone in with a dozer that would do the work in a day that will probably take me a year or more but I kinda take pride in doing it myself (or at least trying to). I at least want to get the trees cleared and enough soil removed to build up the areas I want before hiring a dozer if I find it necessary to to complete the pond.

Funny reading in the thread about the rocks. Just a couple of days ago I was joking with someone about the fact that in the Houston area people pay good money for rocks to use in landscaping and in other parts of the country, people curse rocks on their property because they get in the way.

BTW, if you were closer I might have taken you up on the offer of some clay for my dam. :laughing:

 

[ryer]

Bikerdib,
I hear ya. I guess I am getting a little spoiled as I move up the Kubota ladder. I know where you are coming from cuz when I started my first pond project the only equipment I owned was my trusty Toyota Tacoma 4x4. So I went to Walmart and bought a 10 cubic ft dump cart, jerry rigged it to the truck hitch, picked up a shovel and went at it. That dump cart lasted about a week till the weight of the sand (about 100 lbs per cu ft) twisted that metal cart into an unknown object. Then I happened to see a TV spot for the "Load Handler", do you remember this product? It is a sheet of woven material of some type on a roller with a hand crank that connects to the tail gate when open. So I rushed down to Kmart and for $100 I was in business again:thumbsup: So for months I would shovel sand into the pickup, drive out in the field, turn that crank, dump a bed of sand in about 5 seconds and thought I ruled the world. I did manage to get a 1/3 acre dug this way over a 1 yr period. Then I bought my first tractor...a B26, then a L39 a year later, and now I am eyeing an M59...so my fate has been sealed! I do not have a dime left over from all this equipment but I sure am flinging a lot of dirt. I just keep my eye on the prize which is sunsets over some of our water...like this.

 

[crazyal]

Bikerdib,
I hear ya. I guess I am getting a little spoiled as I move up the Kubota ladder. I know where you are coming from cuz when I started my first pond project the only equipment I owned was my trusty Toyota Tacoma 4x4. So I went to Walmart and bought a 10 cubic ft dump cart, jerry rigged it to the truck hitch, picked up a shovel and went at it. That dump cart lasted about a week till the weight of the sand (about 100 lbs per cu ft) twisted that metal cart into an unknown object. Then I happened to see a TV spot for the "Load Handler", do you remember this product? It is a sheet of woven material of some type on a roller with a hand crank that connects to the tail gate when open. So I rushed down to Kmart and for $100 I was in business again:thumbsup: So for months I would shovel sand into the pickup, drive out in the field, turn that crank, dump a bed of sand in about 5 seconds and thought I ruled the world. I did manage to get a 1/3 acre dug this way over a 1 yr period. Then I bought my first tractor...a B26, then a L39 a year later, and now I am eyeing an M59...so my fate has been sealed! I do not have a dime left over from all this equipment but I sure am flinging a lot of dirt. I just keep my eye on the prize which is sunsets over some of our water...like this.

Wow you have more drive than I do. There's no way I would pick up a shovel to move a pickup truck load of sand. I dread filling a half dozen sheetrock buckets with sand for the ice on the driveway.

I started off with a case 580k, kind of the opposite direction :laughing:. But I haven't upgraded yet, just added to the fleet.

 

[newbury]

RE: Lake vs pond
My very first class in limnology, back about 1970, went to great pains to say both are a body of standing water and there was no distinction by size or anything else.

Things have changed.

The international Ramsar wetland convention sets the upper limit for pond size as 8 hectares (19.768 acres),

Pond - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Although it's not agreed on by everyone.

 

[ryer]

Just so I dont piss off the Ramsar wetland convention dudes i"ll just call it ......me water

 

[crazyal]

RE: Lake vs pond
My very first class in limnology, back about 1970, went to great pains to say both are a body of standing water and there was no distinction by size or anything else.

Things have changed.

Pond - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Although it's not agreed on by everyone.

Are they the same people who decided that Pluto is no longer a planet?

 

[bikerdib]

Bikerdib,
snip: Then I happened to see a TV spot for the "Load Handler", do you remember this product? It is a sheet of woven material of some type on a roller with a hand crank that connects to the tail gate when open. So I rushed down to Kmart and for $100 I was in business again:thumbsup: So for months I would shovel sand into the pickup, drive out in the field, turn that crank, dump a bed of sand in about 5 seconds and thought I ruled the world. I did manage to get a 1/3 acre dug this way over a 1 yr period. snip.

Funny you mention that; I considered trying to find one of those to put in my Dodge 4X4 and using it to haul the dirt. I'd load with the FEL, drive the truck where I wanted the dirt and then unload using the crank. Two things stopped me. First, I don't have a "road" going into where I'm making the pond, just a curvy hiking trail through the woods. I don't think I could easily get the truck in and out without LOTS of paint damage. And I really don't want to make the trail wider. I like having the small trail; that's one of the reasons I bought a compact tractor. Second, I didn't think the fabric of the load handler would slide in the bed of my truck since I have it coated with spray in bed liner.

I've already had to do some welding to beef up and modify the way the dump cart works. I also had to put some higher weight capacity tires on it. Hopefully, it will hold up for a while yet. I bought the heaviest duty one I could find without spending TOO much. If this cart doesn't hold up to my abuse, I have a friend that told me he'd give me a straight axle with automotive hubs on it. I will then make a dump cart from scratch if I have to but I don't want to go through the extra work if I can avoid it.

BTW, looks like you have a beautiful place. How about a few more pics of the completed areas.