stump removal and excavator/back hoe

[Bill52]

Hope to rent chipper this week and get rid of slash and brush and stack logs. At the edge of aborist work, what size excavator and how long should it take? Watching youtubes and planning. Largest is about 12" diameter and previously missidentified as white pine, I now think Scotch (Scot's?) Pine. 12 or 14 stumps. Several in the 12" range, several 3-4"; other's in between. Looking at little Bobcat excavators in the 20 hp range or wheeled back hoes in the 30 hp range as listed by rental company. Would like to level pad at same time - about 30" in one corner to less than 0" diagonally opposite, roughly 36 x 40 pad for 28 x 32 garage.

Too much detail?

 

[Bill52]

one more pic

 

[ElevatorGuy]

I think that’s going to take a long time with a mini ex if it will even get the bigger ones. A cat 320 would do the trick.

For leveling the pad, totally different machine. Skid steer for that.

 

[Bill52]

what's a long time? a week's rental of even a larger machine is around a half day of operator and machine. If I only did one stump an hour, I'd be fine.

As far as leveling, mostly to remove slope and probably - building department against post frame so looking at thickened edge slab and other options - trench for footer which needs the excavator I believe.

 

[TheJollyLogger]

How much excavator time do you have?

 

[Bill52]

How much excavator time do you have

Not sure but guessing you're asking me how much previous excavator use? Easy - none. Kind of looking forward to it.

 

[TheJollyLogger]

Then the bobcat should be fine... more power isn't going to necessarily make it go faster for an inexperienced operator, and could get you into trouble... I recognize your secondary motivation is new experiences as much as the fastest cheapest way to get the job done. You remind me of Huskystihl, if he is still around... he was a surgeon that played lumberjack on the weekends, lol, great guy.

 

[Bill52]

Thank you. I think one of the goals is not to dig too big of hole but since most stumps are on "high" ground that needs to be lowered a couple feet, seems less of a problem. And for $750 for a week, seems like better entertainment spending than $50k for 10 minute flight to near space.

I'm guessing first stump is several hours at least, but probably get near an hour after that learning example.

 

[TheJollyLogger]

Start small, start slow.... have someone take video of your first fifteen minutes on the machine so you can watch it a week later to see how far you have come.

Pro tip: especially starting out, only use as much throttle as you need. It will make the controls less sensitive and smoother.

 

[Bill52]

Yeah, I got that throttle sense from the YouTube's. Probably a week away.

 

[J D]

he was a surgeon that played lumberjack on the weekends...

Kinda fitting if you know what chainsaws were first invented for

To the OP, I think you're on the right track size wise (compromising between experience & practicality)... Well done for leaving a bit of trunk to lever on, you'll appreciate that. Will likely need to dig up a decent amount around em to get em out, I've had trees that size leave a +6" wide hole by the time they're out. Pine shouldn't be so bad but they can have pretty decent tap roots. Wrapping a chain around some of the bigger roots & pulling them up individually can work well. Be wary of the stumps pivoting & twisting as they come out & you move them around, doesn't take much to ding a panel or damage a hydraulic hose (I'd be hiring a "well used" excavator as opposed to a "shiny new" one if you have the choice).
Be sure to get one with a blade

 

[Bill52]

Well done for leaving a bit of trunk to lever on,

Probably learned that here. It was nearly my first time with a chain saw and definitely first time felling trees. All but one fell exactly as planned and luckily the one that didn't only resulted in carrying slash further.

I plan to take it slow and the ground is nearly all sand, no stones so far. Doubt I can remove them all in a day or two, so that's a week rental. something seriously wrong if I can't average 1 1/2 per day.

Danger is temptation to use machine while I've got it. As long as I call 811 and stay on property......

 

[ErnieG]

That size excavator should do the job just fine and I would definitely go the excavator route ..much more versatile then the rubber tire backhoe IMHO
If they are all pine they should be easy digging with the shallow root system .. especially if it's all sand.
Dig your way around the stump braking all the roots then it should come out easy ...flip it over and clean all the dirt you can off the bottom of it making it lighter and easier to move for you .
Just take your time at first and you'll do just fine !
Ernie

 

[ATH]

see if you can get mini-ex with a thumb. they are the same price at the place I rent from most of the time... will be easier to move the stumps around when you are done. Downside, if you are diffing a narrow trench for the footer (if the bucket is narrower than the thumb) the thumb can limit your depth.

 

[Ted Jenkins]

I have been working on a removal project for about a month. About a dozen trees have come out and I have taken most of the wood. I will try to get pictures soon. At the very center of the planned building project is a fir tree that I think is about 7' across. I have not measured to know for sure. The owner hired three different excavation contractors to remove the fir tree but can not. He has had a decent backhoe in there and several excavators. The tree has a trench around it 8' to 10' deep but has not wiggled yet. He has asked what I would charge to pull it out. I said about a $1000 during off season which is nine months away. now he is saying that he wants it sooner. I guessed it would take at least a week to get all my snatch blocks in order and another week to set them up. Now I am figuring I need at least $2500 to $3500 to pull the tree out. So some what hoping he does not call. If I had several trees to pull out seems worth while. Thanks

 

[J D]

Probably learned that here. It was nearly my first time with a chain saw and definitely first time felling trees. All but one fell exactly as planned and luckily the one that didn't only resulted in carrying slash further.

I plan to take it slow and the ground is nearly all sand, no stones so far. Doubt I can remove them all in a day or two, so that's a week rental. something seriously wrong if I can't average 1 1/2 per day.

Danger is temptation to use machine while I've got it. As long as I call 811 and stay on property......

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how quickly you can remove them once you've got a couple done. Sand will work to your advantage in several ways here, just be wary of trenches etc collapsing under you more readily than soil would & also how the sand will pack itself into your track gear when turning etc

 

[Bill52]

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how quickly you can remove them once you've got a couple done. Sand will work to your advantage in several ways here, just be wary of trenches etc collapsing under you more readily than soil would & also how the sand will pack itself into your track gear when turning etc

Lot of learning on the way. Thanks!

 

[fordf150]

just to give you a reference...not a very good one but its a reference.

i have a cat 303 ho...about 9000lbs.

i clear cut about 2 acres a few years back and went up to dig the stumps out last fall. some 12" stumps took 5 minutes while others took 3 hours. dug a couple 20-24" stumps out and most of them were done in under an hour. in total i spent almost 2 days digging which only got about 1/4 of the stumps on that 2 acres. ended up with some nice holes that were 6-8' across and 3' deep. now to where this isnt a very good reference...all my trees were hardwood and on top of a hill so 3" of top soil then into shale and clay.

9000lb ho will do the job just fine...it will be slower but you can actually haul it home instead of paying 500 to $1000 extra to have it delivered but i am with ATH on get a ho with a hydro thumb....i dont know why they even make excavators without one. And your paying by the hour to rent it....run it at about half throttle to get used to the controls then run her wide open....hours dont care about throttle position and you'll get twice as much work done at full throttle as half throttle.

 

[ATpro]

Get a backhoe big enough to do the job. Been running heavy equipment for going on 50 years and there is nothing more frustrating than working with equipment to small for the job. The stumps in the vid that the fellow is working on would only take a few min. to clear, most can be simply pushed up and save all the digging. With an 80 hp or more backhoe you can remove the stumps and do the excavation needed in much less time.

Personally I would crank up my D6 and be done with the job . You could hire a Bulldozer for a half day and do more work than you could in a week or more with these small machines. My hoe is 100 hp, weights 16,000 # a Deere 510D Backhoe and it would make short work of what the fellow in the vid is doing. If your going to move much dirt hire a Bulldozer with a ripper, make dirt moving much faster and cost much less in dozer time. Having the right equipment for the job ends up being the cheapest in the end.

 

[Bill52]

I understand quicker but I don't plan to start building till spring, so not really time crunched. And I have in mind not the smallest, but something like:

That's under $1000 for a week and I'm pretty sure I can do in a week what a pro with their machines can do in half a day, and for less. Plus I'll leave debris for hauling away where I can most easily hand load it into my utility trailer, not wherev they would leave it for a machine to load into their truck. And I have free dumping at transfer station, contractors do not.

All secondary to the enjoyment of playing with the machine.

Coloring this, I have a kind of inside track with equipment rental company that I prefer not to take advantage of, but would if needed, probably in the form of delivery and pick up.

I really appreciate the advice of the experienced folks here.

Now, should I remove furthest in first and work back - there is room - or start at entrance to site and work in? Seems smarter to start way back and back out but could be missing something.