Hi everyone, I’m hoping to get some advice. Last year, I had 15~ acres clear cut. I then paid to have stumps grubbed and moved into piles with the intention of burning. However, after seeing the sheer amount of stumps and limbs in four piles at approx 30ft high, and 100x100 on the ground, I didn’t feel comfortable burning myself. I received some quotes that were all north of $20k. With the low-end of these quotes just pushing the piles into the trees and not even burning. I’ve looked into renting a wheel loader for a month with a grappler to just move the piles to other parts of my land where they won’t be seen. I can get a 3.5 ton loader delivered and picked up for $5k for the month. I’ve never worked with machinery this big but own a tractor and have used skid steers and mini ex in the past. My question is: am I in over my head trying to do this or is it possible given my timeframe? I just can’t afford to pay someone at this time. Thanks for your help!
I think you might have a problem with flats. You could accomplish your goal, but I probably would rent a track loader with a grapple bucket. I just think you will have lots of tire problems with a wheel loader. Plus, what happens if it rains. Can that loader still move around the site without problems?
Hey @mowingman - really appreciate the response! The flats were definitely something of a concern. However, the entire lot is clear with no stumps and minimal debris (talking about little sticks less than 1" in diameter). Would flats still be a concern? I considered a track loader but my concern there was the speed and whether not I could get it all done. Especially since I've never operated a machine of that size. At least with the wheel loader the controls and what not are very similar to what I've used and still use. Would a track loader be that different? I'm also assuming you're talking about one of the large ones, right? Not a skid/compact? As for the rain, planning to do this in October/November where rain should be pretty minimal. If it gets really bad I would just not run the machine during that time until it dried up in a couple of days.
I was thinking a large track loader, but after rereading your description, I believe you could just use a larger size CTL. Over a 14 year period, I cleared, to the bare ground, over 1000 acres for a large landowner/developer. The only machine I had for stacking/piling brush and trees was a T300 Bobcat CTL, with a root grapple on it. Later , we did get a new Bobcat CTL, with about 74HP as I recall. We dug up everything with a track hoe, then made temporary piles with the CTL. Later used the CTL to consolidate these into larger piles for chipping/shredding. I remember doing 15-20 acre tracts in about 1-2 months each. The moving brush and trees, and piling everything took longer than digging it out. But, I actually moved everything into piles with the Bobcat CTL. With experience, and a proper root grapple, you can carry/push a pile of brush 6 or 8 times the size of the little machine. People used to tell me the only way they could tell where I was, was to look for a big pile of trees/brush moving slowly across the property. The loader was barely visible. Just saying this so you realize you do not need a really big loader to accomplish you goals.
So, one more aspect that I forgot to add above was that I won't be working full-time on this for a month. Just weekends and taking a few days off here and there. Is that still feasible for a CTL? The largest CTL I can get is one of those JCB's with the telescopic boom. Rated 3,400lb op capacity. Once again, thank you for taking the time to guide me along.
Any CTL that has a HP rating just less then the DEF use mandate. I think this would include most any CTL in the 74-74.5 HP category. I know Kubota has one, I think it is the SV75. I do not know what brands are available to rent in your area, or the pricing. Be sure you do not get one that uses DEF, which I think is anything over 75HP. All brands of these are generally nothing but trouble. Also be sure you get one with a sealed, A/C/heated cab. You will be generating a lot of dust moving those piles around and need to keep that cab sealed up for your comfort, and safety. You also may root out bees and skunks. The open-grid type root grapple is what you need to use on it. Most good rental companies should have this attachment available.
How big are the stumps? A 3.5 ton wheel loader is pretty small and wheel loaders will tip over easier. A midi excavator with a grapple bucket or thumb and a dump truck or dump trailer might be a good option especially if you want to move the stumps a fair distance. One bucket at a time over a distance longer than a couple football fields would get old fast.
@Welder Dave - they’re not huge. 40/50ft tall Pine tree stumps. I’ve attached a couple of photos of what I have to deal with. There’s quite a bit of limbs and logs in there too. Stumps underneath. The issue I’d have with a dump trailer or truck would be that this is in the middle of a field now and the location I need to move this to is in the woods and there’s quite a few dips and hills to get there. There’s four piles that range from 300 to 800 yards from where they’ll need to be dumped. That’s why I was focused on the speed of the wheel loader. However, the terrain isn’t level. It’s not mountains or anything but if a wheel loader would be more susceptible to tipping, I’d prefer not to go that route. Overall, this is why I was looking at big machines that would be capable of handling big grapplers. I have a grappler for my 50hp tractor but it would take forever going down that path. Would you also recommend a CTL?
Wait for wet weather and light up the piles, or do them one at a time. If its pine, it will burn fast. Wait for a still, no wind day, Right after a heavy rain, or even during a light rain. Or when there's a good snow cover, so you don't have it get away from you. Call your local rural fire dept. and tell them what you are doing, so when people call it in, they know what's going on. Disk or rake/ mow a fire break around the piles. Why go to all the work and rental expense, if you can burn it where it sits? Scoop up what's left after the fire, and move that.
Crane Op said it, burn that stuff. If you are worried, start with small fires and make them bigger as you go/get more comfortable. If you have $5k, rent a machine and take 2 weeks off from work, You will get the majority of it done.
Get a good size excavator and dig big hole with a fire brake around it push small piles in and burn it Ps 811 call before you dig and let local authorities know so when people call 911 they won't bother the local fire/ police.
I agree with the others, just burn it. You are setting yourself up for 100x the work moving all that. Your 50hp loader tractor can keep the burn piles pushed up. Still day, damp weather, bare dirt fire break around it and you should be good to go. Start the fire at one end of the pile and it will work it's way from one end to the other in a slower more controlled manner than if you just set the whole thing ablaze. Once it's burned down use your tractor to keep pushing the piles up to get it all to burn. A year or so ago I cleared 5-6 ac and burned all the tops, stumps and slash. Kept piling it until 98% of it had burned, was only left with a pile of ash a little bigger than a pickup.
Would be a lot of work to move and you'd need a good sized grapple bucket. Do you have a disc or cultivator for your tractor or a neighbor has them? Make a wide fire break around the piles and get a burn permit. Might have to wait till there's snow on the ground. Sometimes the fire dept. or volunteer fire dept. in some counties will be interested in coming out to practice on a controlled burn. If you start at one end, start at the far end of the wind and let it burn back against the wind. Don't do it on a real windy day though. Have some water handy just in case it gets a little too big. If you push unburned material back onto a pile make sure it's not hot enough to blow your tires out.
Thank you all for the feedback! One issue with the burn is that one of the piles is within 50 yards of my house. And all the piles are close to the woods. Any thoughts or concerns there?
What Gilligan said. Rent a 25 ton excavator, dig a trench next to the piles and feed the trench with the excavator. A trench 40-50' long 10-15' wide and 6-8 deep will suffice. Take the spoils and build a berm around the back side of the trench. Back side being the side of the trench farthest from the excavator. Pile the driest brush in the trench, light it up and keep it fed. Be careful to drop the brush quickly into the trench once the pit gets red hot so the fire doesn't damage anything on the stick. If you have a nice log you can use it as a poker/fire stirrer if the excavator has a thumb. This is a very safe and efficient way to burn brush.
Feeding the fire with a blower helps too. I setup a dumpster with a leafblower to burn the junk wood and scraps off my firewood processor.