Anybody us a mini excavator for brush removal

[Turkey Creek]

Probably going to be undertaking a fairly extensive invasive honey suckle removal project late this year into next. Sure I can just spray and kill it but I really don’t want to be looking at that much dead brush forever. Potentially can run a fire through it, but burn days are few and far between and not sure how well a leaf litter fire will burn up dead standing brush.

Since Honey Suckle is so shallow rooted I have been wondering how a mini excavator would work to grab and rip it out and stack it to later t move it out with a skid steer and grapple bucket to wear I can burn it.

Does anyone think that the mini-excavator can pull the brush like I am talking on an efficient manner?

 

[Brian662]

I think a skid loader would do the job more efficiently but either will work for pulling honeysuckle.
A burn would be a great way to kill the re-sprouts, IMO.

 

[Turkey Creek]

I have a lot of junk trees in the area as well. Thought maybe the excavator would give me the ability to reach between trees where I can’t get a skid steer into without dropping trees.

 

[SwampCat]

How wide is the bucket. I have cleared with an excavator with a 24” bucket and did fine. The reach and bucket width might slow you down.

 

[Whang_Bang]

A tree picker on a skid loader is very efficient for popping out honey suckle but excavators are cooler. Just get one with a thumb and have your fun.

 

[goatman]

My friend has both for his brush removal business and swears by the tree puller on the skid steer. But a mini will be able to do more things.

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

Mini 10/10 for me on a job like that. I can pluck and place with it

 

[SD51555]

Mini 10/10 for me on a job like that. I can pluck and place with it

100%. Pluck, place, pile, and bury, and then push blade the spot smooth.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[FeelsLikeFar]

I took a chainsaw to several big batches of it this afternoon that was surrounding two apple trees.
But I stopped. I really need to treat the stumps, but I couldn't remember what I needed to use to NOT kill the apple trees a couple feet away. Not having cell service out there I couldn't double check. I realized I was wasting my time and didn't want to gamble on killing the trees.

 

[bjseiler]

I have Danuser tree puller. For anything 3" and under it is great. Clean rips out of the ground.

 

[jsasker007]

Mini ex works pretty good for brush removal. If the brush is too small to grab you can just use the blade to scrap the brush away. Pretty minimal ground disturbance and if you are digging a bit you can easily smooth it all out when you're done.

 

[Turkish]

What’s the learning curve like, using one for the types of work discussed here? I’m experienced with a tractor, grapple and skid steer. Mini ex seems like a different animal. How much so?

 

[Brian662]

Couple hours to be proficient enough to be effective from my experience. Each machine is a little different so there is always a little learning curve.

 

[jsasker007]

What’s the learning curve like, using one for the types of work discussed here? I’m experienced with a tractor, grapple and skid steer. Mini ex seems like a different animal. How much so?

After playing around for an hour you'll be getting stuff done. Just have to get past the "thinking" about what does what. It becomes muscle memory. Start slow with the lifting to learn how much you can SAFELY lift and move. Gets a little trickier on inclines. Just be ready to lower the bucket arm to eliminate tipping. It's really not bad and if you've run other equipment this will climb to the top of the list of your funnest machine to work with. It's addicting and you look for more projects. Take before and after pics of your work and you'll be surprised what a difference these things make. jmho

 

[Ohio Darin]

Yes. I've cleared a fair amount with a mini. I have a 24" root rake and thumb attachment that does wonders. I have more hours on my track loader though and feel like I can rip it out faster with a toothed bucket and push it up into pile. Haven't tried the root grapple on the loader enough to see if that's better. Geometry is different than just putting a bucket an inch or so above grade and blazing a trail. It's perfect for stacking burn piles. Either a mini or skid steer will get the job done.