Trencher or Backhoe for 1500'

[955Lincoln]

I'm extending power onto my property and I have a dilemma. The trench needs to be 1500' in length, 40" deep, and 8" minimum width for 3" conduit.

I own a full size Deere 410 backhoe with a 12" bucket but 1500' seems to be an aweful long trench for a backhoe. I bought the hoe to build up the property and would love to use it but I'm thinking a rented trencher would be the smart move. I haven't dug much on the property yet but I'm expecting that rocks could come into play.

What say you?

 

[Soundguy]

i put in about 1200' of ag-use water line using a rental walk behind trencher. trencher was rated for 36" but at full down on the cutting bar was really cutting 40" or so.. width struck me as being at LEAST 8" probably more like 10".. piled the till on one side.

I grabbed it at 7am and started trenching at 7:20am.. let my buddies teenage nephiew run it after we flagged the lines runs for him, in the meantime we were unloading pipe and running it parallel to his trench and gluing and sticking, then hand digging the riser and manifold and T' off areas. we finished all the trenches by 11am, and loaded it up and took it back and only had to pay the half day charge.. before we left we dropped the lines into the trench and added valves and all and then pressurized it with the pump and left a gauge on it. after lunch no pressure change.. so we covered it up and flushe dthe line then hooked up all the waterers... finished by ? 4pm or so with 3 of us covering trenches..

I can't imagine how long that would take with a backhoe...?? ( really.. not sure... )

soundguy

 

[MikeInEburg]

Even though I consider myself somewhat "thrifty", I'd rent a trencher. You'll get the job done in a fraction of the time. While you have the trench open, be sure to add in other utilities such as telephone and cable (note that these must be separated from AC power).
Mike

 

[alchemysa]

How much diesel are going to burn in 1500'?

 

[Soundguy]

true that. this trencher did everything on what had to be a couple gallons of gas too.. tank was small like a small lawn mower..

 

[955Lincoln]

Thanks for the replies!

I suppose I could rent a trencher for the weekend and finish up with the hoe if I'm not finished by then. According to some other posts on this subject, a larger ride-on would be the hot ticket givin the length and depth.

Alchemysa, I was considering fuel usage but I don't have a clue how long this will take with either machine. I would guess a lot more with the hoe.

 

[Sumpter]

I rented a ride on ditch witch for 1500' of irrigation. Had it dug in three hours. It would have taken alot more time and diesel with a back hoe. Of course I would have had to rent that also since I don't one.

 

[Mace Canute]

I'll cast my vote for getting a ride on trencher. Unless you are really proficient with the backhoe, you won't come close to the speed of a trencher. Trenchers have a couple of advantages over a hoe too, they don't disturb as much soil which translates into an easier time getting the surface back into the original condition and I like the way the "crumb" left at the bottom of the trench provides a built in cushion when you lay your conduit. Just as a side note, if there's rock in the backfill, some people like to "shade" the conduit by hand a few inches deep after it's laid to make sure all that's laying on it is pure dirt and not any of the rocks which have the potential to damage the conduit.

 

[kf4uda]

I will recommend the trencher as well. I have a Ford 555 TLB and dug a 800ft power ditch 4ft deep for our property. Before I was finished I was thinking a trencher might have been a better idea.

 

[Soundguy]

the ride on will cost about 3x to rent vs the walk behind... and really.. for the amount of work it is (isn't ).. save your money... as others said. this is a 'hours' job.. not a 'days' job. I had 1200' which was 1 main run and 2 side runs don in just a few hours and the pip in the trench and pressure testing all in less than 4 hours.

DO get the self propelled one though.. don't go for the non self propelled one.

soundguy