Hey guys, new to the forum, this is actually my first post. Glad to be a member, it seems like there's a lot of great people and information on here. Anyways, I'm going into my first winter running my excavation business, and a little concerned about the frost. I have a job coming up that involves clearing some brush and pulling up some large bushes/shrubs, and rough grading the areas that are cleared. I will be using a CAT 304 mini excavator. By the time I do the job, we will have had about a week and a half of nights averaging 15-20 degrees, and one night at 0 degrees. Will I be able to do this job with this size machine, and be able to pull shrubs and brush out of the ground without just breaking them off (need to get the roots and all), or do you guys think the frost will prove to be too much? I just hate to put it off until spring as work is slow and money is tight. Thanks guys!
Sounds like this job my be more work then it's worth trying to do it this time of year. If the jobs close I would go give it a try and if thing look like it gonna take to long just tell the owner you will be back in the spring.
How frozen is the ground right now? Being in Wisconsin, dealing with frozen ground is the norm. Some jobs justify ripping the ground, other times it has to wait until spring! What you describe; if it's at all frozen will probably just rip roots and rough grading might be tough. Keep us posted.
How much snow on the ground?
IF the are to be cleared is in a wooded area with existing leaf/mulch covering the ground you "should" be fine. It's my experience here in the northeast that you are typically able to dig in the woods or areas with leaf pack pretty much frost free. I would suggest heading over with a pry bar and see if it will penetrate the ground effortlessly or with a little muscle, an inch or two of frost should be no problem for your machine, but 6" to a foot and you'll wish you waited till spring....
How wet is the ground? Wet ground freezes harder. What type of soil is it? Has it been drove on or is it undisturbed? If undisturbed and if the brush is thick it also helps hold the frost back. Sometimes you just have to try.
As long as nobody has been tramping around to pound the frost into the ground it sounds like you should be ok. I firmly believe in doing as much grubbing work as you can in the winter especially if your piling and burning it as your less likely to start a wildfire. lol However once you have started clearing you'll have to work quickly to do any levelling or grading. A good set of tiger or I think they're called twin tiger teeth will help with working in the frost and work great for raking up all the little sticks and stuff. If you do have some nasty frost then if it's still profitable you might want to think about renting a heavier machine like a 312 or 120 size.
If you try doing your job and it's not froze to bad.Try to clear only area that you will be able to grade in a days time.Don't clear it all then come back the next day and try to grade it.Always easier to finish it as you go if possible.
Welcome to the Forums Mike1589!:drinkup I don't have to deal with frost on a regular basis down south but it's been cold enough down here the last few days that my 321 was froze to the ground. We cleaned the undercarriage prior but it still froze solid and took a little work to get it free'd up and moving. The T250 has been frozen solid for 2 days. Temp's are warming up this weekend, with rain coming.
With a machine that size I would guess any frost more than3" thick will give you a hard time. A narrow bucket with a fresh set of teeth go a long way when working in frost.
Thanks for all the responses guys. Didn't expect so many people to chime in, glad I picked this forum to join. Anyways, I was at the job yesterday and went over to the area I will be clearing, and as many of you suggested, most of it is covered in leaves and such, and really isn't frozen bad at all. Had no problem breaking through with a pick axe. There is no snow on the ground and the next couple days are supposed to be above freezing during the day. I definitely plan to grade as I'm clearing, that way everything behind me is 100% and I won't have to worry about dealing with any frost more than once in an area.
If it does snow it will only help protect the ground from freezing. A loggers worst nightmare here in Minnesota is an early snowstorm with no cold weather to freeze the ground first. Makes a long winter when fighting wet ground under the snow.
Makes sense.. Not much snow here now though. Most we've gotten this season is a dusting. Lots of rain today which I'm sure will freeze everything up nicely tonight. I'm starting the job tomorrow morning.
Well I finished up the job, everything came right up no problem. The only thing I couldn't do was pull a couple stumps that were in the lawn, which was frozen solid. Thanks for all the info, I'll post a couple pics if anyone's interested.
Looks good. What did you do with the brush?
Thanks. I hauled it off and dumped it at a local landscape supply yard.
Good looking finished product.:thumbsup
Thanks!