Tips on getting large stumps out of the ground?

[future_vision]

I thought about that. I have a 8K lb come-along but I am not sure if it will reach to the nearby tree. At least not one with any ability to yank a rootball that size of the ground

 

[woody]

Show us some pictures when you get that stump to give up

 

[Sprinkler Fitter]

that's how I would do it if one wouldn't budge, I would dig a big hole behind it, snap the roots around it then push it in the hole.

Then you always seem to get a sinkhole. When we had this house built we had the builder haul all the stumps away and not bury them for that reason.

 

[MattB4]

I have a few stumps this size and a bit bigger. I've done completely around them but they do not budge. Any tips how I might be able to get them out? I'm running a CAT 306 which I believe is around 15,000 lb. I want to say that I pulled a stump out bigger than this with roughly the same size excavator before, but I don't remember exactly what I did.

If you can see the root holding it, clean it up as much as you can, put a near worn out saw chain on the chainsaw and cut it. That out to make pulling the stump a lot easier.

 

[Rockbadchild]

Then you always seem to get a sinkhole. When we had this house built we had the builder haul all the stumps away and not bury them for that reason.

I do not suggest to leave it there, I only said how I would snap them free if they are stubborn by the method I describe once its free it's up to ops to do what he must with it I did not suggest ether or.

 

[Suburban Plowboy]

I saw a neat tool on the web. It was a long wooden beam with chains attached. They attached one end to stumps, and on the other end, there were horses. They would walk the horses in circles until the stumps twisted out. I wonder why nothing similar is made for tractors.

 

[big bubba]

OP: am sure you've considered to hire grinder? or rent one?

 

[pacosperson]

I have a few stumps this size and a bit bigger. I've done completely around them but they do not budge. Any tips how I might be able to get them out? I'm running a CAT 306 which I believe is around 15,000 lb. I want to say that I pulled a stump out bigger than this with roughly the same size excavator before, but I don't remember exactly what I did.

There's not much left to the top but several snatch blocks and some cable will quadruple your pulling power. Enough so that you need another tree as an anchor because your pulling device will simply be tugged backward. Snatch blocks are miracle workers.

 

[Mudfarmer]

Looks pretty rough in the background, what are you planning to do with the land that the stump even needs to come out? I usually just cut a stump off at ground level so I can drive over it.

 

[DGF]

I have a few stumps this size and a bit bigger. I've done completely around them but they do not budge. Any tips how I might be able to get them out? I'm running a CAT 306 which I believe is around 15,000 lb. I want to say that I pulled a stump out bigger than this with roughly the same size excavator before, but I don't remember exactly what I did.

I have had really good luck by tapping the stump with the bucket to see where the ground shakes to determine where the bigger roots are. Then expose the root 2-3 feet out and slip the bucket under it. Don't try to pul it out at first, just curl the bucket so it stays against the ground. This way the force isn't all on the machine. Work it to free or break the root. Sometimes a large portion will break free and can be pulled out. Then move on to the next one. After the roots have been cleared grab the base of the stump itself and give it a tug using the same technique and they usually pop out. If not find the next root and repeat. I've been able to pull stumps well beyond my machines capability using this method and a couple were too big to even lift afterward. The best I could do was to slide them across the ground.

 

[jk96]

You'll need more undercut. As much as possible. It's amazing how much hold even a few large roots have. Here's one of the biggest and most challenging I've done.

 

[cwjones]

I have a few stumps this size and a bit bigger. I've done completely around them but they do not budge. Any tips how I might be able to get them out? I'm running a CAT 306 which I believe is around 15,000 lb. I want to say that I pulled a stump out bigger than this with roughly the same size excavator before, but I don't remember exactly what I did.

Neighbor has helped “rip” many stumps for me. He has what I like to call a “dinosaur tooth” welded to the back of his bucket that he can curl through the roots around the stump and even right through the middle of the stump. It makes mince of the whole thing in minutes. The “tooth” is kind of semi-circular, maybe 1.5”-2” thick metal with the leading edge serrated. Photo grabbed from the internet. Kind of like what he has.

 

[bgr]

One thing I have done to cut roots underneath after digging all I can around the stump. Take a 50 foot 5//16 trucker chain, wrap it one full turn around the stump below where you have not been able to dig so one end is out about 6 feet and the other end is out 40 feet. Have the two chain ends coming out about 45 degrees apart. Attach something heavy(a big log, for example) to the 40 foot end. Attach your tractor to the short end and pull straight away. The moving chain will saw through the roots under the stump and loosen dirt.

Repeat as necessary till stump is loose enough to remove. A smaller diameter chain is better than larger. If your machine can't pull the chain, open the angle between the chain ends until it can. You may have to start with the ends 180 apart if your machine does not have good traction.

 

[TGM5040]

I've got a Komastsu PC78MR-6 that is just a bit bigger than the 306 (it's 308 size) and it digs out some pretty big cotton wood root balls pretty easily. The bucket curl provides the most prying force. As someone said, leave more of the tree sticking up to act as a lever. You can always try to soak the ground around the tree to soften the dirt as well.

 

[jwmorris]

Leaving the rest of the tree attached and pushing it over from above, as high as you can reach, is easier.

 

[Bill Guenthner]

I grind them even with the ground and leave them. I've probably done 30 that way. As long as the brush hog or mower can go over them I'm good. Fill in the holes as they rot, which takes a very long time.

 

[Rockbadchild]

What to do with the stumps all depends on Ops plans, I would assume he has a reason for wanting them out.

 

[CoyPatton]

Get a ring (fire ring if 55 gallon drum won’t fit around it) fill with dead downed limbs and other burnable debris. Soak the stump with diesel about every 3 or 4 days for a month, then set it on fire. Might drill some holes in the stump to get fuel in deeper. Once it starts burning, it may burn for a couple of weeks.

 

[pmsmechanic]

I grind them even with the ground and leave them. I've probably done 30 that way. As long as the brush hog or mower can go over them I'm good. Fill in the holes as they rot, which takes a very long time.

This is what I have done in the past. If you cross hatch the top of the stump with skill saw cuts 2" apart I find the stump decomposes considerably faster.

This spring I bought a stump grinder. Now the stumps will disappear even faster. It's not that difficult to periodically level the resulting divots with a bit of dirt.

 

[D&D]

You'll need more undercut. As much as possible.

Exactly, nice thing about an excavator, you can set the angle of the bucket by raising one track on a dirt pile or digging one track down. With a TLB, you just offset the outriggers.