What to use for laying Water Lines?

[oscarlovel]

Being a newbie with a new Farmtrac 270 DTC w/FEL, and several old implements, I'm in a learning curve. Need suggestions. I need to install some water lines on my 15 acs. farm in NE TX. Ground is soft now with recent rains. I have a middle buster plow and was wondering about using it to dig my trenches. We're out in the country so renting a trencher is a big deal. Besides, I want as much seat time on my new tractor as I can get. Will this work, or is there another 3 pt' implement, short of a BH that will help me get the job done? Subsoiler, maybe?

 

[shaley]

What part of the country are you in?

 

[Cidertom]

Your milage may vary:
I built a device like a subsoiler, but it has no lifting action. It is shaped like a knife except for a small portion at the very bottom. It has an eye bolt that I use to pull in the pipe. I dig a starting hole and then glue my pipe sections together, drill a hole in the end of the pipe. Place a slip cap over then end. I use a 1/4 inch steel cable through the hole to the eye bolt and then pull the pipe in. My old place I pulled in over 400 ft of pipe in a day this way. the smaller shank area keeps the pipe from lifting out. I have not tried it at the current place.

 

[flusher]

Being a newbie with a new Farmtrac 270 DTC w/FEL, and several old implements, I'm in a learning curve. Need suggestions. I need to install some water lines on my 15 acs. farm in NE TX. Ground is soft now with recent rains. I have a middle buster plow and was wondering about using it to dig my trenches. We're out in the country so renting a trencher is a big deal. Besides, I want as much seat time on my new tractor as I can get. Will this work, or is there another 3 pt' implement, short of a BH that will help me get the job done? Subsoiler, maybe?

I've used both my subsoiler and the middle buster with my Kubota B7510HST to cut trenches for landscape irrigation pipe that's buried about 12 inches. They work OK in soft ground, but be prepared with your trench shovel to clean out the trench. You can backdrag OK with your FEL to backfill the trenches.

There are many threads on TBN describing how to use a subsoiler to drag flexible poly pipe into the ground. Use the search function on "subsoiler".

I believe there are a few threads that describe using a subsoiler to bury rigid PVC pipe. Never tried that myself.

 

[diyDave]

Take the middle buster shoe off, and put a subsoiler blade on. Subsoil along the path of your pipe. No matter what you do after this, it will be easier. If I had a bunch of pipe to lay, I'd rig up a pipe layer to the subsoiler and do it all at once!

 

[rickmacheske]

Your milage may vary:
I built a device like a subsoiler, but it has no lifting action. It is shaped like a knife except for a small portion at the very bottom. It has an eye bolt that I use to pull in the pipe. I dig a starting hole and then glue my pipe sections together, drill a hole in the end of the pipe. Place a slip cap over then end. I use a 1/4 inch steel cable through the hole to the eye bolt and then pull the pipe in. My old place I pulled in over 400 ft of pipe in a day this way. the smaller shank area keeps the pipe from lifting out. I have not tried it at the current place.

Do you have a picture of how you attach the pipe? I'm planning on doing this with PVC this summer and have been considering how to attach to the subsoiler.
Thanks,
Rick

 

[rickmacheske]

Do you have a picture of how you attach the pipe? I'm planning on doing this with PVC this summer and have been considering how to attach to the subsoiler.
Thanks,
Rick

I found this but can't seem to get ahold of the company to find out where I can buy it.

 

[Cidertom]

Do you have a picture of how you attach the pipe? I'm planning on doing this with PVC this summer and have been considering how to attach to the subsoiler.
Thanks,
Rick

I will take photo this weekend and post. I may try it here in this stuff we call soil. I call it something else, but I don't want to use that language here.

 

[schmism]

the subsoiler will only get you about a foot deep...

if you need deeper than that you need to look at a comercial vibatory plow or a trencher

 

[JRobyn]

Hope you don't have rock! That rocksaw in the background was a little pricey.

- Jay