Excavator for cleaning pond??

[Western]

Hey guy's, need a little comment on this please.

SITE:
I have a small pond, maybe 70' across, 8' deep so the banks are somewhat steep but manageable.

PROBLEM:
I have cattails over 80% since the drought last year. I have intentions of spraying them With Rodeo, but also kicking around the idea of digging them out first.

QUESTION:

I Have looked at different excavators for rent and was wondering if a small "mini" say a 4000#er would be up to the task?? I have never operated one so there is a learning curve.

Anyway, it was just a thought so I figured I'd throw it out for some ideas.
Thanks

 

[robs660]

Depending on how far into the pond you have to reach you can do it with a mid sized machine. We have rented a 22,000 machine a few times with a extra long stick (over 30' reach) to pull and dredge the bottom out a little. Works great and if you drive carefully you will not do too much damage.

I was able to reach over 25' into the pond to pull them out. Took my time removed very little soil from the bottom and then had by neighbors son go pick up all the floaters.

Good luck!

 

[Western]

robs, thanks for the reply. 25' would be nice, I think the one I was looking at had like 16'( only 4000#) I could probably do it with that reach since the waters down so low, I just don't know if that small of excavator would be stable enough on a slight incline.

I "really" liked the 45000# one, man what a machine, but the wife would kill me spending that much on rental for a pond.

I will see whats available in the # class you mentioned. If I was 30 years younger I'd go in with a machete

 

[McCaskey]

I cleaned up my cattails last summer with a york rake on the tractor loader. I used a skidsteer plate to 3 point adapter. Overall, it worked well when the banks had a slight slope. Backing up with the hydraulics in the 'float' position to rip the cattails out by their roots, then curl the rake to pick up the mess. I had traction problems on steep slopes when trying to pull material and back up the incline. An excavator would work better, but this was a no-cost quick solution for me. This setup also worked well for scraping brush out of a ditch without removing any dirt.

 

[Toddao]

Hook a his your rake on the end of your rental excavator

 

[Birdhunter1]

Instead of cutting the pond dam to drain you might do a pond syphon instead. 'letsdig18' at youtube shows a great way to drain it down a few feet.

YouTube - How a siphon works

YouTube - How a 4" siphon works

Also that guy does alot of pond dredging work, might watch his videos to get some ideas on how to stabilize the machine on a hillside and work on soft ground.

 

[BoonvilleKid]

Couple of problems: (1) it's nearly impossible to get all the water out by siphon. (2) it takes a long time. So, after days and days of siphon, one good rain overnight and you have to start all over. (3) nearly impossible to keep the debris out of the line when you reach the lower level of water.

Fowler from Marion says there aren't any quail around Murphysboro!! ('course, that's true about everywhere)

 

[Western]

Thanks again for the reply's.

The pond is so low right now (2' maybe) I would have enough reach with a small excavator. I am going to look into the "rake" idea.

I have been trying to burn it, but it's been so dry and windy. I was able to burn the grass on the dam and some of the surrounding grass when we had a little moisture.

I don't think I want to cut my dam, If we don't get much rain again this year it will be dry by August! I have thought about a trash pump though.

I'll try to get a photo today.

 

[lhfarm]

My backhoe doesn't have quite enough reach, but works well for those I can grab. I have a thumb too and that helps. You aren't going deep, so I think the reach would be the biggest factor.

I'm going to try the rake mounted on the FEL, since I have everything on hand. An issue for me is disposing of the cattails and muck you dig out. I have a little dump wagon I tow, but it is inefficient process when by myself; load the wagon (doesn't take long), dump the load, move BH, repeat. I haven't wanted to dump the cattails on the bank since I don't have a grapple and think it would be hard to gather them up.

I'd be interested in hearing how folks have handled the cattails they are digging up.

 

[EddieWalker]

Cattails spread by a tuber root system. You have to get all the roots out to get rid of them. If not, they will just come back and be just as bad by the end of the year. Poison kills them down to the root and after enough applications, will get rid of them for good.

Cattails do not like deep water. Depending on the clarity of the water, 4 to six feet is it for them. Making your banks as steep as possible makes it very hard for them to get established and easier for you to take care of them if they show up.

Problem with the mini is that you will fill up that bucket as soon as it hits anything. You will spend ten times as much time with it then you would with a bigger machine. DON NOT make the mistake of thinking you will get a lot done quickly with a smaller machine. Half the power takes four times as long to get the same thing done. Depending on the size of the machine, how steep your bank is and how deep those roots are, you might find the small machine to be very "tippy"

What are you going to do with them once you dig them up? Digging is the easy part, getting rid of what you've dug is where your time goes and ends up costing you the most money.

Good luck,
Eddie

 

[Western]

Eddie,

Kinda what I was thinking as far as the "tippy" part goes, That was my primary concern.

I think for best kill, I will use the Rodeo herbicide with whatever method I go with. I knew about the roots, also about drowning them, but I don't have a reliable way to fill it with enough water and can't count on mother nature to fill it.

Waste would be a lessor headache to me than having them in my pond. I can dry them out and till or burn them in my feed plot which is beside the pond. I already went in and cut all the "pods" earlier this last fall.

 

[Western]

Here is a photo.

2 more month's without rain and I'll be able to jump in with my tractor!

 

[Birdhunter1]

Boonville you are right there are no quail anywhere near Murphysboro and that is my final answer and I am sticking to it.

 

[TracTrac]

Talk with someone who has experence operating heavy equip. on soft ground.
Years ago I nearly flipped a backhoe in a pond while trying to break a dam. I had the hoe sitting at 90 degrees to the bank. While lifting the heavy muck my outriggers started sinking,,,fast. I had to jam the bucket on the pond bottom to save the hoe.
Your dam looks just like the on I was working on.
Rent the big hoe.

 

[Western]

TracTrac,
I think your right, if I do go that route, the bigger one would allow me to work from the upper side and avoid being on the dam.

I will have the guy that dug the "hole" out soon for a half day's pushing stumps, he may have some valuable input.

Thanks

 

[20 20]

Hey guy's, need a little comment on this please.

SITE:
I have a small pond, maybe 70' across, 8' deep so the banks are somewhat steep but manageable.

I would be quessing that your pond drops 1' for every 3.5' to 4.3' you go out depnding on where the 8' depth occures? Just quessing do you have any pictures? If this is the case that's not that steep, normal drop is 1' for every 3' out. A mini can handle that angle with out an issue. I have taken my 4000lb mini on much steeper angles.

PROBLEM:
I have cattails over 80% since the drought last year. I have intentions of spraying them With Rodeo, but also kicking around the idea of digging them out first.

Many on here disagree with me but PLEASE stay away from the chemicals if at all possible, exhaust all other efforts 1st. I did what you are thinking about and have a very safe natural pond that is easy to keep under control. I don't care what the "safe" label on a chemical says sooner or later it will bite back some how.

QUESTION:

I Have looked at different excavators for rent and was wondering if a small "mini" say a 4000#er would be up to the task?? I have never operated one so there is a learning curve.

Anyway, it was just a thought so I figured I'd throw it out for some ideas.
Thanks

The only problem with a mini for this job is...... the reach. If you can reach all of the cattails then it will do the job with ease. If you've never operated a mini, especially on inclines, then yes you are in for a learning curve . Mini's can tip much easier then their larger sibblings, but they can also get into tighter spots.

 

[20 20]

I posted before I noticed your photo, sorry.
I would not have any problems clearing that pond with my mini, nor getting the weed on the bank for later removal. Your experience will give you the answer on what you can handle as far as this job would go. You could also cut a small road/ramp into the pond so the drive down would not be so steep. Eddie is correct digging is the easy part getting rid of the spoils is the pain. I have a ditch bucket on my mini {30" wide with water drain holes} it can move one heck of a pile of cattails in no time. Digging weed is a lot different then digging dirt and IMO easy to get rid of.