Digging a 1/4 acre pond with a Tractor?

[muzzlebrake]

Rent you a Kolbeco 210 and dig it deep.
You can use your tractor to spread the dirt around for the dam.

http://www.kobelco-usa.com/north-american-excavators/conventional/sk210lc-9

[dustoffer]

Buddy of mine has land near Llano and has had 2 tanks dug by dozers. Neither will hold water and both have been re-worked at least once. I think a soil test is a wise thing to do before you start on something that may not work at all.

[kcmarullo]

I did mine with a 335 hp tractor and a belly scraper.

[rjtkdplus]

I doubled the size of this one with my 23 hp John Deere with a bucket on the front and a box blade on the back. It is now 100 yards long by 40 yards wide by 7 ft deep with a peninsula extending across the northern 1/3rd. When it was smaller it dried up in 2011 and I took the opportunity to enlarge it. Every time it has gone down since, I'll go around the edge and make it a little deeper. I probably have 100 plus hours in it.

[dclifton]

Sidebar question. Have a smaller sized, but fairly deep stock pond for our horses.... And there is a leak. If I add bentonite is it safe to drink right away or will I need to keep the horses away from it for a while?
Thanks

It will be fine. bentonite is just a type of gray clay.

[Uncle Saggy]

Thanks

[Skinny]

Save your equipment. Hire a dozer.

[MadHatter]

If you have time, and you want to do it for the heck of it, go for it. When I was 17, me and my uncle dug a well, simply because it struck his fancy as something he wanted to do. Almost 2 months later we had it done. 27ft down, and 4ft around.

[gvick]

Well they used to dig them with mules and a slip. Then they started with cable operated dozers. I have done this with the cable dozers and I am pretty sure I would rather use the tractor. Main thing is you can do it with just about anything have fun with it. If I was doing it and could afford it I would have a cat 375 trackhoe and a D10 pushing the dirt away from me.

[Skinny]

These two made quick work of two nice size tanks for us.

[Atfulldraw]

These two made quick work of two nice size tanks for us.

How big is that drag bucket?

Couple of yards?

Whenever I retire, there's going to be some dirt moving equipment bought and some soil displaced

[Skinny]

How big is that drag bucket?



Couple of yards?



Whenever I retire, there's going to be some dirt moving equipment bought and some soil displaced

Something like that. That rig can move a lot more dirt than the dozer as it moves a lot faster.

It was moving and dumping its load on the other side and then the dozer would push it up on the dam.

[Dale Moser]

Quarter of an acre pond isn't very big at all. With my dozer (if the conditions are right). I can dig a 75'x75' 10' deep in 12hrs. That would run $1,020. I don't know what size tractor you are planning on using but it's going to take you along time to dig it. Save yourself a lot of time and hire a dozer.

This would put you ahead in both time, money, and wear on your tractor.

[macVsog]

Yes, as others have stated, use a dozer if it is within your budget.

[Bob G]

Curious as to how all this went??? Update???

tending the fire,
Bob G.