Slash piles

[jmfox]

I'm grubbing a large parcel and would like to pile the brush and grind it later. I am not dealing with mature trees, but I'd rather knock them down with stump intact than grind them first and dig out the stumps. Is there any down side to grinding a slash pile rather than grinding vegetation where it grows?

jmf

 

[curtisfarmer]

Handling dry, year old brush with machines is difficult as it tends to break up into small bits while if green will stay together. I would yank the trees whole, stump and all, and have at it.

 

[Robbie Hegwood]

It takes a different technique to grind slash piles but is doable. If we tackle slash piles it's best if there windrowed and not to high at that. The problem with slash piles is as you start to grind at the top the chips fall down into the pile and you end up regrinding alot. If all else fells you can use another piece of equipment to seperate/deal with the piles for the grinder.

You could call a grinding company local to you and ask them the same question and see what they say if your not planning to grind yourself.

Also side note. It takes alot of H.P. to grind slash piles. Not a job for anything under 250 h.p. Dead wood is hard.

 

[jmfox]

Yikes, 250hp! The undergrowth I'm dealing with is less than 6" in diameter. It is comprised mostly of bushes and 2-4" softwoods. Does this mean an attachment for my ASV SR80 won't do the trick?

jmf

 

[Robbie Hegwood]

Okay, with that size material you should be fine. Just keep the piles low and long, it will make it tons easier. Try to do it after it rains to keep dust down.

 

[jmfox]

Okay, with that size material you should be fine. Just keep the piles low and long, it will make it tons easier. Try to do it after it rains to keep dust down.

Will do. I guess it also makes sense to keep trunks running length wise the same as the pile. Would it be easier to attack a pile with a cutter like a timber ax or a carbide head?

jmf

 

[Robbie Hegwood]

Probably a carbide head due to the material being dry and hard. A timberax prefers greener, softer material it can grab and pull into itself. A slash pile you are truely grinding. And yes material longways to mulch down the tree. Also letting it sit will let the rain wash alot of the dirt the root balls.

 

[Terra Firma Scott]

Just mulched some piles that had been sitting 4 months 4-6 inch diam..Very dry and very high 4-5 feet..all criss crossed in the pile lying different directions etc....doesnt feed into the front of the mulcher to well that way..you find yourself trying to mulch/cut material sideways etc...just pushes it up into the pile and skims the trunks and branch surfaces halfway through..
Robbie is right, the mulch drops into the pile and actually starts to bury the unprocessed limbs etc..eventually you get to a point where your remulching mulch....extremely dusty
The next day I mulched piles that were fresh cut still green same diam 4-6 inch and i didnt stack them high 2-3 feet..also layed them in rows as best possible...What a difference! Timber Ax ate them very quickly and took less than half the time...virtually no dust...

Regards,Scott

 

[EddieWalker]

I cleared an area that might be two acres last year. It's mostly small 4-6 inch pines, but other stuff is mixed in there too. I tried real hard to spread them out and NOT pile them up, so I could get them to the burn pile this year. The rains made it impossible to get there until just a few weeks ago.

One problem that I'm having is untangleing the mess. Just sitting for alost a year has left them tangled up with weeds and new growth. The second issue is wasps. There are nests all over the place. My dad is helping, and he's been stung about once a week for the last four weeks. The first time they hit him pretty hard with five or six stings. Now we both cover ourselves in DEET and carry a can of wasp spray. The second we see one, we start spraying. If it's not raining wasp spray on us, they will get through!!!!

Bees are bad too, but they tend to attack the tractor first and then work there way up to me or Dad. The biggest hive I've seen has been a couple thousand, I'd guess. Dad says the one that got him was even bigger, but there stings are not as bad as wasps. hahaha

With the wasp spray shower that we give ourselves when the come at us, we've avoided any more stings.

If you can get rid of it now, then don't create another headache to deal with next year.

Eddie

 

[yellowdogsvc]

I cleared an area that might be two acres last year. It's mostly small 4-6 inch pines, but other stuff is mixed in there too. I tried real hard to spread them out and NOT pile them up, so I could get them to the burn pile this year. The rains made it impossible to get there until just a few weeks ago.

Eddie

A large skidsteer and brush mower like fae, fecon, or magnum would handle what you are describing. If the piles are shorter rather than tall, you can mulch them down even if they have stumps. The taller pile's shreds will cover limbs and logs and it will necessitate turning over the shreds to get to the bottom and make sure everything is shredded.