Poplar Stump Removal

Описание: Next to last major stump to be removed and the last one is the biggest, though not all that much larger than this one, but it's a red oak and about 29" in diameter at the cut point. This one is 27" and a poplar. Took an hour and 45 minutes to break free, then a few minutes to knock off several hundred pounds of dirt from the root ball.

For anyone viewing this video that might be thinking about using a CTL and stump bucket to remove stumps instead of having them ground down, here are a few tips that will save you some time and aggravation. Stumps as large as the one in this video would be very difficult, if not impossible, to remove with a Mini-Ex as those don't provide a way to deal with the roots at the bottom of the root ball...you'd probably need something in the 15-20K lb range to be able to break it loose and lift it.

Using one of these Stump Buckets to remove a large stump takes some patience and a plan...and enough space to access all sides of the stump. In the case of this stump, I had more limited space on the upside of the slope, so did most of the digging from the low side and sides. You're going to end up with a much bigger hole than you might imagine, so plan for it...pile your removed dirt and roots far enough away to allow room to work, especially as you get to the point of dealing with any bottom roots. Pine trees, depending on the soil they're growing in, can have a much more robust deep root system.

Generally, hardwood trees have a root system that mostly spreads out radially fairly close to the surface, so the key is to work your way around the stump and break off the roots as you go, working your way deeper. For the larger roots, I split them up with the bucket teeth as necessary to the point that I can break them off. Having a bucket with sawtooth side wall top edges would help, too. Hindsight being 20/20!

Once you've worked your way around all sides, depending on the type tree, it's likely that, next, you'll have to start digging deep enough to jam the bucket teeth under the stump to sheer off any major roots that come off the bottom of the stump. Back up, get some speed and jam the teeth under the root ball a few times, twisting left and right as you withdraw. You'll get a sense of how strong the bottom root structure is while doing this, as well as when you were breaking off the last of the side roots and noticing any movement of the stump as you do...a push or two at the top of the stump is a good indicator of how much more work you'll have to do.

Usually, working under the stump from 3 sides will get it to the point where you can push it over and break loose and bottom roots that remain. Typically, I try to be able to easily push the bucket teeth at least half the length of the bucket under the root ball. You can try lifting the root ball from below, but other than with small stumps, a 75hp or smaller loader will not be able to lift it, you have to push it over and it helps having the leverage of a substantial amount of trunk left of the stump.

Have fun!