Has anyone used a ripper attachment on a backhoe? I have several acres to clear with large stumps and cutting the roots with my bucket is the most time-consuming part of the process. Is there any time savings from cutting the roots with ripper? I saw machine on a trailer on the interstate with a homemade ripper that looked like it was made from an old bucket. How about using a 12" bucket with special teeth for cutting?
I have, but not for cutting roots. A 12" bucket with tiger teeth on it will cut them. I would rather have a wider bucket and dig out far enough from the root ball so that the roots will be looser and smaller in diameter. Big roots have to be split and that makes them easier to cut off.
additional bucket side cutter with the grinder give it an edge or make it serrated curl the bucket to cut
Not mine just an idea
I use the 2' on the 120, it helps. If you can quarter a big stump at the bottom of it, that takes all the fight out of them. A narrow bucket or ripper is a great idea, the downside is having to change it frequently.
Agreed, that's my method too. I've found that unless you have a very large machine vs the size of the stump it's far faster to move dirt than than try to rip roots (easier on the machine too). Move out a little ways from the stump and start bailing out dirt. You'll end up with a bigger hole, but in my experience the time spent digging/back filling is faster than doing battle with the stump up close. I run a 18" or 24" bucket on my backhoe and usually a 24" on my 5-ton mini (sometimes the 12" if it's really hard digging.)
When I use a ripper on a mini, I start by putting it in the ground against the stump and loosening the dirt between the roots (dig parallel to the roots, which can't be done with a bucket because it's too wide). Once all the dirt between the roots is loose as deep as the ripper will go, the stump will often just pry out of the ground. Sometimes I can even get under the stump loosened up by reaching over it and wiggling the ripper tooth beneath it. Breaking roots isn't usually necessary since the dirt is now loose and not holding them in.
For a $100 at a Case dealer I bought tiger teeth and pins. They rip roots up pretty good and have lasted for 6 years and over 5 acres of stumps so far.
I agree with Tinkerer and MG84 that’s the way I do it too. A 24” bucket and dig my way around and undermine as necessary.
Nice clean rootball, should be easy to burn.
Fixed it for you!
We don't even try to burn those, we have an area in the woods we call the stump dump, just for those. It's a great place for stuff to compost over time, and a great habitat for all kinds of critters.
At one point I lined em up down one side of my property and just left them there. When they started to develop the property next door I began to put them on the burn pile. It might take a few days but they would eventually burn up if they were dry enough.
I don’t have the patience to wait for stumps to dry out enough. Heck I drive down the road and I see brush piles sitting in fields that look like they’ve been there ten years and I think man why wouldn’t you get rid of that pile. The ones with furniture and trash mixed in are worst for me. My OCD kills me when I see that. Burn baby burn. Lol
I have burnt stumps up to 48" as soon as I dugem up. I put them stump side down on top of a decent size pile of branches. I scratch the dirt out of the roots as the stump shrinks from burning. A big oak will sometimes takes 3 or 4 days before it is a pile of ashes. If the root side is not up it won't burn because the dirt embedded in the roots prevents it from burning.
If you have a HD bucket you can get rippers and pockets for them that weld on the back off the bucket. Then you can curl the bucket up and rip the roots/stump and then dig out the stump with the bucket. You can easily remove the ripper shanks if they get in the way.
If I've got all kinds of room to rip and repair the holes, I use my rock bucket. Cramped or not wanting to tear the $#@& out of everything, I put the ripper tooth on and slice roots up a little ways away from the stumps, lot smaller footprint, can pop stumps right out given decent soil. But then of course you've got loose root ends to get rid of.
What kind of machine are you using ? Size makes a difference in what method is used. The op (Bote) is using a Case 580M.
442 Bobcat with a little bit of weight modification and a thumb.
The area I'm clearing is for a series of small ponds. Initially, I cleared all the trees as I went. It's bottomland and the water table is close to the surface; the deeper holes quickly filled with water. Without the roots for support, the land was so soft I kept getting my backhoe stuck. I hired a guy this spring to clear two acres with a Hyundai 220 excavator but he had some issues and can't get to it until next year. My plan was to have him clear the trees and wait until next year to excavate in the hope everything dried out. So far what works best is to cut all the trees where the stumps are small enough to pick up in a couple scoops. I leave the big trees for last. I cut roots on one side with my backhoe and either push it down or pull it down (with a cable and snatch block) from the other side with my dozer. I select an area I can clear and excavate in one day. Once the roots are gone, I can rock and roll with the excavation. My clear time/excavate time ration is 3/1. I'm just looking for a faster way to clear with the equipment I've got. JPSouth, how much faster you think the Bobcat 442 is than my 580M? The bucket force and digging depth are about the same as my backhoe. That's the largest size excavator I can tow with my equipment.
Only got a few hundred hours on backhoes, so I'm probably not the best source for comparison. Speed of course depends a lot on the operator hours, technique, etc. I would think with the exception of speedier re-positioning a 442 and 580 would dig about the same. There are a lot of guys on here that do a lot more of this kind of work, my time is pretty limited. Most of it is clearing for irrigation canal upkeep/access, roadbuilding, that sort of thing. Usually have a lot of room to make a mess, then clean up and re-grade. When I have to punch above my weight class, I'll cut the roots further away, smaller diameter, then can work back towards the stump - that way you're only breaking them on one point of contact instead of two, can peel them back easier. My ripper tooth shines at this. And I'm not above cheating; if I have to remove something that a 210 or so would be about right, then I bore a 1" hole in the middle, short piece of 3/4" PVC pipe and a small dose of kapow. Takes about 10 minutes to prep, a few seconds later the stump is splintered apart and comes apart like butter. Saves a *huge* amount of time and wear and tear on the machinery. ;-)