- Joined
- Aug 28, 2012
- Messages
- 16,715
- Tractor
- Challenger MT655E, Massey Ferguson 7495, Challenger MT535B, Krone 4x4 XC baler, Kubota F3680 & ZD331 Ram 5500 Cummins 4x4, IH 7500 4x4 dump truck, Kaufman 35’ tandem 19 ton trailer, John Deere CX-15
I was approached by a new hay farming customer about doing some winter work. Clearing thousands of branches cleared from around hay field by previous farmer and trees he cut down. They were all hauled to one central pile-probably 10 years worth. Roughly measured about 175’ long by 50’ wide and 6-8’ high. Heres a view of it at about 7 am 16 degrees out. My Ram and a rental Brush Bandit 18x chipper on the other side of the pile.
Burning was NOT an option.
Here’s a view looking in the opposite direction. All the brush was tangled, from years of criss-crossing the material into a big tangled mess. My helpers, who have been with me for years feed the chipper, while I used the M135X and single arm log grapple to pull the brush out into manageable clumps. One clump could be stickers & vines, the next could be a 14” log.
Back to the side where picture #1 was taken. You can see after a couple days. The clippings pile is huge. I’d estimate 2-3 triaxle loads. But we are making progress. It was pretty cold. Usually mornings were about 15-16* Thank the Lord for glow plugs! Lol
Fueling up at 6:30 AM. As challenging as this work I do is, I love being outside with nature. Sunrises and sunsets are favorites of mine and although the money pretty much sucks, I wouldn’t trade it for an indoor job-even when it’s this cold.
Another view early AM, making real good progress. In the middle of the pile is a ravine. They first started by filling the ravine with logs, limbs and brush. That material is too far gone to chip, so the customer agreed to leave in the ravine and let nature turn it to soil.
Some of the older junk borderline for chipping. One of the challenges of chipping frozen logs is chips accumulate and freeze inside the steel chute, eventually clogging it. It takes 15 minutes to unclog and get going again.
We are making great progress, a larger pile on this side of the ravine, but a warming trend with rain is coming, so we bugged out for the day. Will update the thread as the project progresses.
Burning was NOT an option.
Here’s a view looking in the opposite direction. All the brush was tangled, from years of criss-crossing the material into a big tangled mess. My helpers, who have been with me for years feed the chipper, while I used the M135X and single arm log grapple to pull the brush out into manageable clumps. One clump could be stickers & vines, the next could be a 14” log.
Back to the side where picture #1 was taken. You can see after a couple days. The clippings pile is huge. I’d estimate 2-3 triaxle loads. But we are making progress. It was pretty cold. Usually mornings were about 15-16* Thank the Lord for glow plugs! Lol
Fueling up at 6:30 AM. As challenging as this work I do is, I love being outside with nature. Sunrises and sunsets are favorites of mine and although the money pretty much sucks, I wouldn’t trade it for an indoor job-even when it’s this cold.
Another view early AM, making real good progress. In the middle of the pile is a ravine. They first started by filling the ravine with logs, limbs and brush. That material is too far gone to chip, so the customer agreed to leave in the ravine and let nature turn it to soil.
Some of the older junk borderline for chipping. One of the challenges of chipping frozen logs is chips accumulate and freeze inside the steel chute, eventually clogging it. It takes 15 minutes to unclog and get going again.
We are making great progress, a larger pile on this side of the ravine, but a warming trend with rain is coming, so we bugged out for the day. Will update the thread as the project progresses.
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