stump removal

[browns40]

Hi debunshau,

A logging winch is a great tool when it comes to moving wood of all sorts...

For trees "less than massive" I cut them high (up 4 or 5 feet) to allow some leverage... I attach the cable up high, run it out a ways, then winch the stump out... it is very effective for trees 12 inches & under that are not too intertwined with other trees.

Given that you have shallow soil into shale, they may not be too strongly rooted, & a good piece or nylon rope or chain on the drawbar or rugged 3 point implement may be able to accomplish pulling smaller ones out.

Good luck--trail clearing is fun stuff!

 

[daBear]

For 40 stumps I would pay a day and a half rent on a grinder. Get it on Saturday take it back Monday morning and be done with it unless the slop is too much for a grinder to work. Be careful which grinder you get as the ones with really small wheels and look like an old gravely tractor mower on two wheels aren't so hot. A big wheeled Vermeer with sharp teeth will melt them.

 

[flyngti]

This might be a bit extravagant, but you can get a fellow with a 27,000 pound excavator for about $110 an hour. (That's what I paid) It adds up to a lot of money, but that bad boy can pull those things out PDQ. He'd pop them out, shake them off, swing around and drop them. You pick 'em up and haul them to a burn pile. It's a heck of a show too. I don't think there's any faster way to take care of it.

I second that. We had an area covered with about 150 alders ranging from 6"-16" in diameter. While we could have slowly done the clearing ourselves, we just bit the bullet and paid a guy to bring in his big Cat, mow everything down and haul away the stumps. It was truly amazing to watch him pluck the stumps out of the ground like kid toys and shake the dirt loose. In the end we had an area that just needed final smoothing and a HUGE pile of neatly stacked logs. Sure it was pricey but nothing can beat how quickly it was done.

 

[orlo]

Hi:

Sounds like you have some work ahead of you. Here is my 2 cents. I bought a Woods BH6000 for my 2305 (Before the JD260 BH was avail) with the intent of digging out stumps. It actually works respectably but you leave a big hole and a mess when you use it. And remember this is a tiny backhoe but I took out some big stumps with it. When I went to take out some stumps in my other lot I found that it was filled and even digging 6' down I couldn't hit roots. I tried digging around then chainsawing off the stump below ground but that was a pain in the A##.

Last year I got a tractor mounted Stump grinder - a Shaver SC25 and use it on my 3720. It works like a dream. 10-15 minutes for most stumps and that's with multiple passes. The SC-25 will grind to 10" below the surface and it's neat. I could use it on Lawn (I did for a couple of stumps) and all I have left is a neat little chip filled hole instead of a 6-10' diameter 'bomb crater' I'd be left with if I had used the BH. It's much faster than the BH also. Having it tractor mounted is a dream. Just position it, take a 1-4" bite (depends on how soft/hard the stump is - even more if it's rotted), then swing it and go again. Grinds very fast and is pretty smooth. On my 3720 this was all from inside the cab with the A/C on - Sweet. I did manage to bend my driveshaft (it's very, very long) and need to straighten it out. I actually bent it while raising it to transport, not while using it. I have maybe another 10 stumps in one location and maybe 20 in another I still have to take out. Also, the 'filled' lot will have more trees dying (Trees don't like their roots too deep) so I know I'll be using it in the future even more.

I guess in a nutshell I'd say use a grinder if you can, it's a lot neater. The only drawback I've heard about using a grinder is that eventually when the sub-dirt stump rots you'll get a little depression in the dirt that you'll need to fill in. I have yet to experience that yet but I could see how that could happen.

 

[ttkeeler]

Be aware that the self propelled stump grinders do not work well on hilly terrain. I know from experience that they are difficult to move from stump to stump unless you are going straight up or down the hill, they do not turn well and to get good traction you have to lock the differential and that means straight going only.

Just got the tractor back this afternoon with the 8B backhoe installed, will be trying it very soon on some stumps.

 

[debushau]

Thanks for all the replies. I have looked at the Shaver SC-25, not in the metal but just on the website. My main concern with it is that it would be too aggressive and would beat up the tractor. I guess since you're using it on a 3720 (which is much the same as a 3520 other than the motor) that must not be the case. Sub dirt roots dont concern me much as it's just a rough trail that will follow a portion of the perimeter of the land. Did you buy it direct?

The case for the BH is that it offers more flexibility though almost all of the my land is wooded so I figure I will have plenty of use for a dedicated grinder over the years.

So many choices. The grinders as dedicated equipment should do a better job but I am more inclined to rent/try as my budget for a weekender project is limited. I should probably get out the chainsaw and go on shank's mare to plot out the remainder of the trail and see where I am. There is a particular patch of about 50 yards that is steep - I'd drive up or down in an SUV but not so sure about a tippy tractor with a grinder/BH, etc. strapped to the back. That argues for paying someone with a dozer unless I can figure a way around.

 

[Rara Avis]

The prices are real eye openers...
Stump grinder
Get rid of your tree stumps with the new StumpBuster from Shaver Manufacturing. The SC-25 model mounts on a 3-pt. hitch to any 15- to 35-hp tractor. Its 24-in.-dia. cutting wheel with carbide steel teeth will grind a stump 10 in. below ground level. Suggested retail price: $4,450.

Shaver also offers a new model for a skid-steer loader. Model SC-25-H is powered by a minimum 15-gpm hydraulic hookup. It will cut a 45-in.-dia. stump down into a 10-in. hole with a single pass. This model features a ｾ-in.-thick, 24-in.-dia. cutting wheel with carbide steel teeth. Suggested retail price: $5,450.

Contact Shaver Mfg. Co., Dept. FIN, Box 358, Graettinger, IA 51342, 712/859-3293, visit Shaver post driver, hole digger, stump grinder, log splitter

 

[AndyMA]

debushau, what I did when I dug my stumps was get the stump out of the hole, dig the hole a little deeper, drop the stump back in and then you have plenty of fill.

This is pretty much what I do. I've done trails 20 years ago that still haven't sunk since the stumps haven't rotted out. Occasionally I've dug out a long buried stump and observed negible signs of rotting.

Andy

 

[Land Skipper]

It takes a long time but they will rot.

I have a few sinkholes out in my front yard.

Not a big deal though because all you need is a few shovels of packed down dirt to fill them.

Two months ago I had 28 stumps ground down. They ranged in size from 8" to 30". The guy had a tracked grinder that had a 44hp Cat diesel and cost $250k. It shook the ground from 25 feet.

I paid $750.00 total and it was worth every penny. He was done in 1 hour.

The back yard is now smoooooooth....

LS.

This is pretty much what I do. I've done trails 20 years ago that still haven't sunk since the stumps haven't rotted out. Occasionally I've dug out a long buried stump and observed negible signs of rotting.

Andy

 

[sandman2234]

When they cleared the 2.3 acres next to me, they dug a big hole in the back of the property and put all the stumps in it. I figure 5 years from now they will have a sinkhole and a useless are in that piece of property, all because the owner didn't want to spend the money to haul it off, or get a burn permit which would have required removing a few of my trees to get the required distance from the fire. I pretty much told him we could work out something on my trees, but he took the clearing peoples word that it wouldn't sink and that he could build his son's house back there later. Wake-up call coming one day for him...
David from jax