dig out stumps vs grinding?

[GirlnAgarage]

8"? Easy. If no rush on timeline, fell the trees and burn the stump using the burn barrel method. Stump gone in a week, no cleanup and you can refill and reseed/grass the spot in no time.

For the last 4yrs or so I've dealt heavily wooded properties and large oak trees, 20"+. Burning in barrel makes it easy if you are not on a time constraint.

I can elaborate, but gotta run for now. Just ask.

 

[Jazz1]

Blasting stumps is cheapest method..I had a vendors permit when i hauled explosives.. a stick of 1” 75% was less than $2.00 back then.

 

[Superbowl]

If you want to push or pull them over let a hose dribble on the roots overnight. Then they will come out easy if you cut the roots with an ax as they pull up into view.

 

[ATC]

Twinfin is right, a Skid Steer with a standard bucket can rip up 8" stumps easily, no grinder necessary. I up rooted 4 stumps, 16" diameter in hard clay with the standard bucket.

It's even easier with a stump bucket!

 

[Innovate1]

8"? Easy. If no rush on timeline, fell the trees and burn the stump using the burn barrel method. Stump gone in a week, no cleanup and you can refill and reseed/grass the spot in no time.

For the last 4yrs or so I've dealt heavily wooded properties and large oak trees, 20"+. Burning in barrel makes it easy if you are not on a time constraint.

I can elaborate, but gotta run for now. Just ask.

Sounds interesting but wondering if that will work on green stumps. More detail please. Technically we are only supposed to burn on particular days of the week (makes no sense but that's a whole different issue) but they aren't visible from the road so could probably get away with multiday burn. Might be a good plan for the ones that are already short stumps. Those are by the edge of woods and not as concerned with reseeding but don't want a stump sticking up to hit with a mower. Might just dig down 6" and clean off the bark and dirt and cut them off low for those.

 

[ATC]

This is in the yard so would be nice to get grass back in. Guessing if I grind I would want to remove the majority of the chips and replace with dirt.

I would definitely grind them if this is in your yard. The damage to the surrounding grass and dirt will be very minimal. Using a mini-ex will destroy a 10' diameter ring around the tree. Less if you dig on a couple sides then push it over. A skid steer will obliterate a 20' radius around the tree. A little less if you push it over, depending on how you go about doing it.

Grinding it will leave only a ~2-foot circle to patch up.

 

[micromind]

I would definitely grind them if this is in your yard. The damage to the surrounding grass and dirt will be very minimal. Using a mini-ex will destroy a 10' diameter ring around the tree. Less if you dig on a couple sides then push it over. A skid steer will obliterate a 20' radius around the tree. A little less if you push it over, depending on how you go about doing it.

Grinding it will leave only a ~2-foot circle to patch up.

If you use enough dynamite, it'll obliterate a larger area...........

That stump bucket looks like it'd be the most effective and do the least damage.

A normal standard backhoe would work too and do less damage than either a skid-steer or a mini-ex.

 

[pcmeiners]

"Blasting stumps is cheapest method..I had a vendors permit when i hauled explosives.. a stick of 1” 75% was less than $2.00 back then."

I wish, dug up by hand and burned 14 large stumps.
At the time I did not have access to a skid steer or backhoe, dynamite would have been fun.

 

[Quickstep192]

When you fell the tree, leave about 3’ - 4’ above ground, then use it as a fence post. Once it’s a fence post, it’ll rot away in no time.

 

[Punkinhead]

I prefer grinding just because it's easier to deal with chips than a complete stumps. Stumps are full of moisture and take a long time to burn. And if you just set them aside somewhere they'll still be sitting there intact a decade later. The 8" stumps the OP is wanting gone can be ground in just a few minutes.

 

[CraigStu]

I ended up making a vision fence out of 6ft chunks of tree trunks about 20 ft into the woods. I had already hidden as many root balls behind trees as I could and had to hide the rest.

 

[rooster59]

Not what you asked -

My usual- Need a steel drum with the bottom cut off. Dig around the stump to expose the main side roots below ground. Then may have to rinse off dirt so help save the chain. Chainsaw everything down and in as much as practical. Cut stump off as low as possible. I've even drilled holes after sawing with a good corded drill and a big ship auger bit. If you can wait and let the stump dry out so much the better. Add diesel, let soak. Build wood fire on top of the stump and get that going. Then on goes the oil drum chimney. Make sure plenty of air can come in from the bottom. Add big bag of charcoal. Biggest stump was prob 18", there was nothing left.

Dynamite story-

Farmer uncles neighbor had a huge cottonwood stump he wanted gone. Went to the Farmer's Union and bought dynamite (1950's). Of course locals came over to watch. Stump was guessing less than 200 yards from house. How much dynamite? Make sure it's enough doncha know. Lit fuse just like Roadrunner & Coyote. Wife inside house doing wife stuff. Dynamite goes off, stump is gone. Hurray! Wife comes out, screaming at everyone. Shockwave blew out all the windows on that side of the house. Guy was an instant legend, still talked about over coffee.

 

[manwithtools]

I think we'll be digging this one out. Probably 40" at the base, I'll need to bury it in the back 40 and use the dirt from burying it to fill in the hole left by this stump.

 

[theoldwizard1]

To the OP, it really depends on the size of the stump, both diameter and height !

If you are going to dig/pull first you need an axe and a mattock. Reasonable at HF. Then you need a good reciprocating saw and some long carbide tipped demolition blades.

Again, depending on the size, you will need 3 or 4 ****** blocks, maybe 4-6 shackles, and a couple of straps. You also need a good solid anchor point. Again depending of the size of the stump and how many ****** blocks you use, you will need 100'-250' of solid nylon (no polyester or polyester core).

I have done it without the rope and pulleys. It took several days ! Getting the stump out of the hole took 2 men ! The remaining hole was about 8' diameter and over 2' deep.

DIY stump grinders work well, they are just slow. And you have a huge pile of chips (you may have to stop 2 or 3 times to clear chips).

 

[jblnut]

Forget about keeping the grass nice. Mess it up and you can play with more equipment !! I dug this one out with a 9,000lb excavator and said screw it and went and got my Cat 330. That was a whole lot more fun.


This one popped out in 10 minutes and most of that was spend tracking around it. I’m dragging it with a 150hp tractor and it’s all it wants. Mess the yard up and have some fun !!

 

[Innovate1]

To the OP, it really depends on the size of the stump, both diameter and height !

If you are going to dig/pull first you need an axe and a mattock. Reasonable at HF. Then you need a good reciprocating saw and some long carbide tipped demolition blades.

Again, depending on the size, you will need 3 or 4 ****** blocks, maybe 4-6 shackles, and a couple of straps. You also need a good solid anchor point. Again depending of the size of the stump and how many ****** blocks you use, you will need 100'-250' of solid nylon (no polyester or polyester core).

I have done it without the rope and pulleys. It took several days ! Getting the stump out of the hole took 2 men ! The remaining hole was about 8' diameter and over 2' deep.

DIY stump grinders work well, they are just slow. And you have a huge pile of chips (you may have to stop 2 or 3 times to clear chips).

I gave sizes and heights before...

recip saw might be good and blades are cheaper and easier to replace than chainsaw.

No rope for me, at least not for this. I have about 200' of 1/2 steel cable in several different lengths, two blocks, and several straps. With both blocks I can get 4 x advantage.

 

[ATC]

I used a 4:1 setup on the last oak tree I took down. I left 12' of the trunk, and hooked a chain to it about 10' off the ground. I poked around the bottom with my stump bucket and ripped through a couple larger roots I found. Dirt was dry and hard.
Hooked my skidsteer to the setup and immediately snapped the 3/8" G70 chain that was hooked to my bucket. Tree didn't move more than a few inches at the top.

I had to spend an hour with the stump bucket actually digging it out after that...

 

[manwithtools]

From another post I made:

Today was stump removal day. Excavator showed up at 8:00 and by 8:20 we had hit a gas line. I did not have 811 mark the location because they had in the past for other projects and it showed nowhere near this tree, let alone 2 feet from it.



An hour later leak was fixed and we were back at iit. After about an hour of digging, the beast of a stump came out. It's a beast about 8' in every direction. It was thie 19k Mini-X wanted.



Zach dug a hole in the back acreage and we dumped in the stump. Now I'll be burning the last couple of years of accumulated burn piles in the stump hole. Hopefully it will help reduce the stump size some and then I'll cover it all up.







The new compact track loader is sure helping make quick work of things.

 

[TOWLC]

Rent the mini and have some fun. I have this 7200 lb mini as well as a skid steer and stump bucket, and a stump grinder attachment. Almost never use the stump grinder unless someone really insists on it. I prefer a clean takeout. With the mini it's easier to knock the dirt off the stump and track it back in.

This was a monster I did. Had a pic somewhere of me moving it holding it up with the blade. Was about as big as the machine, but got it done.

 

[Codyboy]

From another post I made:

Today was stump removal day. Excavator showed up at 8:00 and by 8:20 we had hit a gas line. I did not have 811 mark the location because they had in the past for other projects and it showed nowhere near this tree, let alone 2 feet from it.



An hour later leak was fixed and we were back at iit. After about an hour of digging, the beast of a stump came out. It's a beast about 8' in every direction. It was thie 19k Mini-X wanted.



Zach dug a hole in the back acreage and we dumped in the stump. Now I'll be burning the last couple of years of accumulated burn piles in the stump hole. Hopefully it will help reduce the stump size some and then I'll cover it all up.







The new compact track loader is sure helping make quick work of things.

Railroad commission around here would have a field day for hitting a gas line. Probably even more if you failed to call 811 first.
Oof.

 

[manwithtools]

Railroad commission around here would have a field day for hitting a gas line. Probably even more if you failed to call 811 first.
Oof.

The point being the gas line was nowhere near what they had marked in the past. Calling 811 would have not helped at all.

 

[Firebrick43]

Blasting stumps is cheapest method..I had a vendors permit when i hauled explosives.. a stick of 1” 75% was less than $2.00 back then.

I was spanked by my kindergarten teacher and my principal on a Monday after blowing out stumps with my dad for lying about using dynamite. My father, while under the D7, let me touch the wires to a 12v lantern battery.

Another funny story, I had a neighbor up the road that has since passed but evidently he took great joy in blowing out stumps in a field he cleared behind his house. I guess one was resistant to the several normal charges so he loaded it up (what that amount he wouldn't admit to) and blew the stump up and and over far enough to land thru the roof above his wife's kitchen. She never let him or any of the neighbors forget that transgression.

Doesn't anyone burn out stumps?

For the most part if my dad and I clear land or cut a tree down its usually in the fall or early spring. Bore a couple of 1" holes in the stump with a bit brace after cutting and load the holes up with potassium nitrate. Pour some in several times during the winter and come may push an old metal funnel in the holes and pour in kerosene leaving it soak. After a day or two just put some BBQ charcoal or trash wood on top and light it up. It will burn the roots and all.

 

[PCustoms]

The point being the gas line was nowhere near what they had marked in the past. Calling 811 would have not helped at all.

I got your point, but I'm trying to figure out what the railroad has to do with gas lines....

 

[InsanePyro]

Burn 'em

 

[Firebrick43]

I got your point, but I'm trying to figure out what the railroad has to do with gas lines....

In Texas, the railroad commission is in charge of gas, propane, pipelines, and oil/gas wells.

Probably should have been name utility commission or something else but it is what it is.

 

[TOWLC]

I suppose tannerite isn't an option. We had a big tree blocking our view of the lake and it had the keebler elf opening, so it was just a matter of time until it came down anyway. Neighbor brought over 5 lbs of it. First pic was one pound, second two are after 4 pounds. That did the trick. Have a video of it but can't upload it I guess.

 

[NUTTSGT]

If I was building in the spot, I would dig it out.. .fill, tamp, fill, tamp and repeat.


Not building over it, I'd probably burn with a barrel. I burnt a decent sized stump out last fall while cutting wood. Just kept adding downed dead trees. Let it go the last time with a large pile of stacked downed material over it and let it go. Was back there earlier this year and it pretty much gone.

 

[larry4406]

From another post I made:

Today was stump removal day. Excavator showed up at 8:00 and by 8:20 we had hit a gas line. I did not have 811 mark the location because they had in the past for other projects and it showed nowhere near this tree, let alone 2 feet from it.



An hour later leak was fixed and we were back at iit. After about an hour of digging, the beast of a stump came out. It's a beast about 8' in every direction. It was thie 19k Mini-X wanted.



Zach dug a hole in the back acreage and we dumped in the stump. Now I'll be burning the last couple of years of accumulated burn piles in the stump hole. Hopefully it will help reduce the stump size some and then I'll cover it all up.







The new compact track loader is sure helping make quick work of things.

Dan

Does that attachment pivot so you can grab a standing tree trunk? That would be cool.

At the day job, their tree machine does that, then a wicked hydraulic shear cuts the tree off at the stump and operator is left holding the now loose tree and moves it for manual processing.

 

[Codyboy]

The point being the gas line was nowhere near what they had marked in the past. Calling 811 would have not helped at all.

I get it. I'd have probably done the same.
However, locates do expire.
By calling it keeps you in the clear from a liability aspect.
If they mark it wrong then that's on them.

Pretty sure that gas line did not just appear there and has always been marked wrong. But I wouldn't just assume its not there or across the road or 10ft away.
Seems that it worked out and a good ol boy showed up after the hit.
It can be like that here too depending on who shows up. Some are real assholes and will slap you with a hefty fine.
They are pretty serious about gas around here.
On new installs each fitting has a serial no. and is recorded as to its location before buried.
T's, valves, junctions....everything, even the poly pipe. I think its in case of a recall on parts.

In Texas, the railroad commission is in charge of gas, propane, pipelines, and oil/gas wells.

Probably should have been name utility commission or something else but it is what it is.

Yes. It seems the RR commission has a say in just about everything. And they're pretty much assholes about it.

 

[jar944]

I think we'll be digging this one out. Probably 40" at the base, I'll need to bury it in the back 40 and use the dirt from burying it to fill in the hole left by this stump.

I'd guess 4lbs would do it (using something over 7k meters per second det velocity).. though I haven't shot a stump in 20+ years.

They go sort of likw this.

 

[manwithtools]

Does that attachment pivot so you can grab a standing tree trunk? That would be cool.

Not on this machine Larry. The bigger excavators have that capability, I'm super impressed what this 75HP machine can do with a stack of brush and logs.

 

[manwithtools]

However, locates do expire.
By calling it keeps you in the clear from a liability aspect.
If they mark it wrong then that's on them.

House is three years old, we are the only ones to live here. Last utility locate was 18 months ago and it was wrong. Landscapers hit the gas line 6 feet away from the marked location. This line location was wrong as well based on the last locate, it was shown to be 6 feet to the south. There was no reason to have a new locate called in as I had pictures of the prior one. No expatriation on a locate 18 months old on property that has not been disturbed in my mind

After backfilling the stump hole, I'm tempted to call them back and see where they locate it now.

 

[Innovate1]

If I was building in the spot, I would dig it out.. .fill, tamp, fill, tamp and repeat.


Not building over it, I'd probably burn with a barrel. I burnt a decent sized stump out last fall while cutting wood. Just kept adding downed dead trees. Let it go the last time with a large pile of stacked downed material over it and let it go. Was back there earlier this year and it pretty much gone.

I think burning is a reasonable plan for the ones that are already stumps. Would take quite a bit of digging and no plans to build anything there. They still have a few shoots coming out so aren't completely dead.

 

[Dodgeboy2020]

I don't really have much to add but one thing that might be useful if you did decide to use a mini excavator would be to see if a frost tooth is available with the machine. This is pretty much what it sounds like, designed to help break thru frost in the winter but I have found it to be very useful to help rip apart roots around a tree. Being that it is just one big tooth instead the the width of even the smallest bucket for a mini it helps getting maximum force of the machine to the ground and root. Just another tool in the tool belt if its available in your area.

 

[PCustoms]

I don't really have much to add but one thing that might be useful if you did decide to use a mini excavator would be to see if a frost tooth is available with the machine. This is pretty much what it sounds like, designed to help break thru frost in the winter but I have found it to be very useful to help rip apart roots around a tree. Being that it is just one big tooth instead the the width of even the smallest bucket for a mini it helps getting maximum force of the machine to the ground and root. Just another tool in the tool belt if its available in your area.

If I had a mini excavator I would definitely have some variation on this:

 

[PCustoms]

This just popped up on FB:

 

[Firebrick43]

This just popped up on FB:

that would be a prime candidate to pile branches or trash wood up and just burn it after it dries out

 

[Bunsen Honeydew]

Here if you don't call 811, and hit a utility, you will be fined by the state, and billed by the gas company for all equipment, labor, and materials used for repair, as well as the costs of the gas lost. This usually results in being an emergency repair, so most of the time the guys will be getting overtime, also.
One village had to pay $10,000 in gas alone when they hit a line under a sidewalk.
If you do call, then blame and cost for error shifts to the locator.
That's well worth the phone call.
I know this because my daughter is a supervisor for our gas company.

 

[PCustoms]

@manwithtools was it a public gas line, or a branch to your house?

 

[manwithtools]

@manwithtools was it a public gas line, or a branch to your house?

Lower pressure branch to our house. We are about 1000 feet from the road. Repair tech said there are no shutoff's at the road. I was kind of surprised at that fact. He used a big set of clamping pliers to clamp the poly line shut while he made the repair.