Removing stumps w. excavator

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Treewolf

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I bid on a tree removal job and the written specs said "stump removal", which I took to be grinding. Now I have been informed that the stumps and major roots need to be dug out as the organic material cannot stay in the soil (road bed). The largest stump is a 4 foot eucalyptus. Can anyone advise me on the size of equipment I need? A local rental place can get me a CAT 301, 302, maybe a 305. Will I lose money :/? Good thing is the stumps can be left on site. Thanks, Treewolf
 
For production sake I would go with a 315 Cat. A 30,000lb machine will rip through stumps that an 11,000lb machine will struggle with. A 48" stump will be beyond a 305's ability to excavate efficiently if you ask me. The Cat 315 cost me $800/day plus $150 each way for delivery plus fuel. The grapple is useful for stumps as well.
 
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I have dug some big stumps out with a mini excavator that you can rent around here for around $200 a day and $40 for the trailer rental. It is not the ideal one for the job but it did it i got 3 30" tree stumps dug out in less than 8 hours.
 
I have one to do this week as well, thing is it's on a shoreline (insurance is paying for it) was from a job I did in June, can't believe they are paying for it (not that I am complaining) It's a 30" Ash, most of the roots are exposed and will be easy to get at. Biggest thing we can take across there lawn is our 743 Bobcat or rent a mini ex. An excavator would scoop it up in one shot but too big to drive across (septic tank and bed) I told them how much it will cost ( a lot) !!! We are taking it with us as well! Should be fun! (not):laugh:
 
I rented a Cat 312 CL in 2008 for 34 days. . . It cost $7,400 for the rental and mobilization. I ran 10-12 hours a day everyday I had it -- I burned approximately 30-40 gallons of diesel a day.

In the end, it cost right around 13k for 34 days with a near 30k machine. Let me tell you, the amount of work done in that time was mind blowing.

Renting a month at a time is cheaper than renting for just a few days BTW.
 
I would see if you could get a bigger machine. That would be a bit much for a mini excavator. It is also dangerous.
 
How many stumps do you have to remove, and what sizes? I had a 32K lb Komatsu excavator and it would dig with authority. Tractors are like saws. You can take down a large tree with a 16-20" bar, but a 660 will do it in a cost effective time.
 
I'd recommend nothing smaller than a 320. A JD 200 would be as small as I would go in John Deere. You will want a "thumb" on it. You may be able to find a small grading out fit that will come dig them for you with their own machine for close to rental on a machine.

A 200 is what we use day in and day out clearing. It's small for the job of clearing and stumping, but a good operator makes it happen.
 
ive dug a bunch out with my 580 backhoe ,some fir and maple i have a heck of a hole when done if trying get all the roots out ,it takes some time on some of them 4-6 hours sometimes if they are deep rooted ,i had a 2800 excavator on the property for a bit ,5 min they are out ,but takes a low boy to move em that big ,most smaller stumps i can dig out pretty quick with a backhoe
 
How much time you have is the biggest thing...and time is money! I wouldn't even think about a 301 302 305 or 30anything CAT for stumping. A 313/314/315 size CAT would be the smallest excavator I'd wanna stump with and still be productive...just me though. 200 size is even better......
 
Thank you all for the good advise. It is 11 stumps total, from 1 to 4 feet diameter plus any root 3 inches and larger. It is supposedly an urgent job, needs to be done asap before the road crew can start, but I still have't gotten the official notice to proceed (bureaucracy). I will get the biggest rental available locally on short notice when I get the go-ahead.
 
If it were me, I'd contact all the local owner/operators and try to find someone on their way to a job that could drop by and do it quick for cash. 15 stumps with a big machine and an experienced operator is under two hours, including unload and load time. Like others have said, the bigger machine the better, a big machine can do most stumps in one curl and sweep the hole in under two minutes, a mini could be there for an hour on the same stump.
 
We dig just about anything with a cat 310 backhoe. Mini excavator would just piss me off. Did use the midsize excavator a 310 i think and it wasn't bad just a little on the light side. 310 or 410 backhoe should be all you need.
 
If there going to be building a road there going to have at least 20 tonne excavator coming out for that. Just contact the road building company and pay them a small fee to yank the stumps. Should take only a couple of hours at most.
 

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