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Drag Line Crane for digging a pond is needed #8225569 04/05/21 02:40 AM
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B_Man Offline OP
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Fellow THF Members,
My FIL has a place out in West Texas near Floydada Texas that he used to grow cotton on.
There was a large pond that has silted in over the years and wants to see if he can get it dug back out.
He believes it will need to be someone who has a drag line type of crane to dig it out. Does anyone
know somebody who does this type of work out in West Texas?

Thanks for the help.

Re: Drag Line Crane for digging a pond is needed [Re: B_Man] #8225589 04/05/21 03:02 AM
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I would be looking for someone with a long reach trackhoe. Get some dimensions on the pond before calling them.

Re: Drag Line Crane for digging a pond is needed [Re: B_Man] #8225705 04/05/21 10:58 AM
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will do -thanks

Re: Drag Line Crane for digging a pond is needed [Re: B_Man] #8225735 04/05/21 11:51 AM
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I haven't seen a drag line in years. I think they started going away when they started making excavators.

Re: Drag Line Crane for digging a pond is needed [Re: B_Man] #8225791 04/05/21 01:08 PM
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Friend of mine, who passed away a couple of years ago, hired a large tracked loader to clean out the silt on his pond in North Texas. They guy cut a ramp into the pond, then hauled out the silt, one load at a time. I think it was a 3 yard bucket. At first, he would drive into the pond to get a load, then back out. He did this until he had enough out of the pond that he could turn around in there. I forget where he dumped the silt, but I do remember that it was a massive amount and it took years to dry out enough to be able to spread it out.

A long reach excavator would be faster for getting what it could reach, but it's horrible at moving material any distance. Silt is also very "liquid", which makes it harder to haul in a dump truck.

Re: Drag Line Crane for digging a pond is needed [Re: B_Man] #8225914 04/05/21 02:46 PM
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The last time I had to fix silt, I first diverted the water and gave it a couple of years of Montague County heat. Then started the process. Two years wasn't enough.


Without a sense of urgency, nothing ever happens.

Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley, Rancher Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
Re: Drag Line Crane for digging a pond is needed [Re: B_Man] #8226007 04/05/21 04:14 PM
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[Linked Image]
I am glad I have never stuck a loader.

Re: Drag Line Crane for digging a pond is needed [Re: Dave Davidson] #8226008 04/05/21 04:17 PM
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Originally Posted by Dave Davidson
The last time I had to fix silt, I first diverted the water and gave it a couple of years of Montague County heat. Then started the process. Two years wasn't enough.



Yep!

If you think it's dry enough, it's not! grin

Re: Drag Line Crane for digging a pond is needed [Re: B_Man] #8226047 04/05/21 05:15 PM
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After we tore down my house on Miss Gulf coast , they underestimated how wet the ground was.

[Linked Image]

Re: Drag Line Crane for digging a pond is needed [Re: B_Man] #8226077 04/05/21 05:46 PM
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Re: Drag Line Crane for digging a pond is needed [Re: TKM] #8226293 04/05/21 09:00 PM
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Originally Posted by TKM
I would be looking for someone with a long reach trackhoe. Get some dimensions on the pond before calling them.


Heed TKM. Don't know him, but I can tell he knows what he is speaking of.

Re: Drag Line Crane for digging a pond is needed [Re: B_Man] #8226301 04/05/21 09:08 PM
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LOL, excavator with mats is the answer. If you were closer we could solve the problem but your outside our area. Better find a company that deals with it often or live to regret the day roflmao

Re: Drag Line Crane for digging a pond is needed [Re: B_Man] #8226302 04/05/21 09:10 PM
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If you can't find a guy with a big heavy trackhoe, then mats may be in order. I've personally seen the long arm track hoe works - quick and efficient.

Someone who has done it before should be desired.

Re: Drag Line Crane for digging a pond is needed [Re: B_Man] #8226346 04/05/21 09:44 PM
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Farmers used to deepen ponds with explosives, but that might be tough to get done nowadays.


?
Re: Drag Line Crane for digging a pond is needed [Re: B_Man] #8226347 04/05/21 09:44 PM
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If you need examples of what can be done with a trackhoe and mats, go watch Letsdig 18 on youtube. Just saying, been a lot of mud pits from drilling sites covered over with lgp 5's and trackhoes with mats back in the late 70's, early 80's.

Re: Drag Line Crane for digging a pond is needed [Re: don k] #8226352 04/05/21 09:47 PM
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Originally Posted by don k
[Linked Image]
I am glad I have never stuck a loader.



That's why they dug a ramp into the pond. Solid ground under the tracks at all times!!!

Re: Drag Line Crane for digging a pond is needed [Re: B_Man] #8226779 04/06/21 10:31 AM
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Gentlemen,
Thanks for the feedback, tips and other suggestions. I knew the THF is the place to get help and I
always appreciate it. One follow up was to list the dimensions of the silted in pond. My FIL says
the original dimension when it was first built was 150' x 300' and 10' deep.

thanks again.

Re: Drag Line Crane for digging a pond is needed [Re: EddieWalker] #8226825 04/06/21 11:35 AM
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Originally Posted by EddieWalker
Originally Posted by don k
[Linked Image]
I am glad I have never stuck a loader.



That's why they dug a ramp into the pond. Solid ground under the tracks at all times!!!

[Linked Image]
Actually it wasn't solid ground and I had to pull it out.

Re: Drag Line Crane for digging a pond is needed [Re: B_Man] #8226829 04/06/21 11:40 AM
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Originally Posted by EddieWalker
Originally Posted by don k
[Linked Image]
I am glad I have never stuck a loader.



That's why they dug a ramp into the pond. Solid ground under the tracks at all times!!!

[Linked Image]
Actually it wasn't solid ground and I had to pull it out. [Linked Image]
And I don't seem to learn. Here is another one of my "Thought it was dry enough".

Re: Drag Line Crane for digging a pond is needed [Re: B_Man] #8226998 04/06/21 03:06 PM
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Cleaned out a 3 acre tank years ago with a Link Belt crane and big rubber tired loader. The dam was large and wide enough and we built a road to get the crane on it and he could drive it around it as needed. Had a 1 to 1 1/2 yard bucket on crane and a very good operator. The tank was about 1/4 full and he would dump the silt and clay on back of the dam and loader would spread it out. Worked on it for around a week and had a lot deeper tank. Restocked it with more fish after it filled up.

Re: Drag Line Crane for digging a pond is needed [Re: B_Man] #8228563 04/07/21 07:54 PM
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I doubt you can afford a true 'dragline' as these typically come with 20 yd buckets and cost several million dollars. I ran one for years in my mine operation so I have a pretty good feel for what it can do. You could probably get by with a long reach excavator however it sounds like its going to be very sloppy to haul the material and deepen the hole.
Good luck.

Re: Drag Line Crane for digging a pond is needed [Re: B_Man] #8229278 04/08/21 11:51 AM
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thanks again everyone for taking the time and providing feedback and suggestions.

Re: Drag Line Crane for digging a pond is needed [Re: B_Man] #8229384 04/08/21 01:10 PM
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Have you though about making another tank below it and then breaking the dam to put some water in it and let the other one dry up?
After it has dried (a year or two) then dig the original out and then rebuild the dam and have two tanks? Might be cheaper in the long run, give you more water and not lose the fish in the first one.

Re: Drag Line Crane for digging a pond is needed [Re: B_Man] #8229502 04/08/21 02:36 PM
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There are still quite a few small crawler style draglines out there (and I've actually seen them used a few times here in VZ county), but they are probably cost-prohibitive for what you're wanting to do/get done.

IMO the most cost effective way is going to be to breach the dam and drain it - dig it out - and go from there. The size you described is a little over an acre - so it's not some small hole in the ground that will be easy to do with even a long reach.

Re: Drag Line Crane for digging a pond is needed [Re: B_Man] #8230538 04/09/21 01:29 PM
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If you want to see the difference between what a good operator with mats can do vs what happens when you’re beyond your skill set, watch this video. This shows that a good operator with mats can do a lot of things even when the ground is really soupy, including digging a pond.



Podcast: Reasoning Through the Bible
ReasoningThroughTheBible.com
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