cable laying

[schmism]

I know trenchers and vibatory plows usually pull there pipe/wire thorugh the ground, so the more pipe you pull in the harder it gets...

big profesional rigs (i see pulling fiber conduit) carry the spool and slit it into the ground so they dont pull any of it through the ground... just open the ground and deposit the wire/pipe.

while i saw a silt fence installation tool on the back of a TC33 the other day up at the dealer (blew the front hydrolic cooler hose, actually had to help the guy open the hood, cause he didnt know how)

so has anyone rigged up a ripper tooth to deposit wire a few inches below the ground. cable TV is usually only a couple of inches deep, and im considering putting a couple thousand feet of radio fence in for my dogs.... it would be real slick to rig up a ripper and a spool of wire, and just start driveing around the property.... (btw the search on this site sucks)

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Yes, several of us have used Sub-Soilers to install cable, pipe, & hose under ground. I've posted photos of mine several times. Some people have pulled pipe, others, like me, installed a piece of pipe on the back of a sub-soiler that had a 90-degree bend to it and fed wire and hose down through the pipe as we drive so you can lay long distances without actually pulling the wire through the ground.

You may want to do a search on the topic. Try using search words: Sub-soiler cable layer

 

[schmism]

perhaps i should have been more specific.... ive searched... didnt come up with much. what i did find was like this thread...

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...-buster.html?highlight=Sub-soiler+cable+layer

is basicly worthless as all the links and pics dont work anymore

for instance

cable layer in the search returns "cable, layer" not "cable layer" so any thread that had anything to do with "cable" got included.

even more fun "cable plow" (81 threads) somehow 99% of those have nothing to do with what im looking for. (for instance drop the same thing in google and click images... hear i did it for ya )
cable plow - Google Image Search (is exactly what im looking for in google... not so much on TBN)

so ya there you have my mini rant on the "worthless" search "feature" of TBN.

back to reg programming of

cable laying
cable plows
cable sub-soiler
cable trenching
3pt wire puller (search just drops the 3pt part, but hey now i know how to strech fence wire?!?!)

 

[Bob_Skurka]

OK well you tried. So here is mine.

Mine is a Howse brand unit that is convertible from a Sub-Soiler to a Middle Buster to a trailer hitch. It comes with 2 bolts that must be used to attach the blades but I found them a PITA to use so I just substituted 2 short top link pins so it only takes a few moments to change a blade.

On the back edge of my sub-soiler blade I drilled two holes. I used simple hose clamps to hold a plastic pipe to the trailing edge of the sub soiler blade. To use the cable layer you simple run the cable down through the pipe and out the back, it can be tied around a stake that you drive into the ground. You simple drive the tractor forward with the sub-soiler blade down and feed the wire (or hose) through the pipe. I've also seen people use muffler pipe instead of the plastic pipe I used. Using muffler pipe would give you a larger radius curve and might allow for a semi-rigid pipe to be buried, or at least a large diameter hose.

 

[Neophyte]

I have pondered this one before.

I would use a conduit 90, either schedule 80 rigid PVC or metallic. It would give you a nice even sweep. Make sure you use a bushing on the top side of the 90 to prevent the conduit edge from cutting into the cable. One better would be to mount (duct tape) a funnel to the top of the conduit to help feed the cable into the 90 while protecting it from being cut by the conduit edge.

Also, you could make a simple bracket to mount off of the ROPS (see attached). This would feed the wire directly down to the 90. If you didn't feel comfortable with modifying the ROPS in this manner, than you could build this bracket off of the cable plow frame.

One other note. Before plowing in the cable, I would make an initial pass with the subsoiler by itself to make sure you have a clear path.

Once the cable is secured on the one end, this should work very well and should be very inexpensive to accomplish.

 

[Eric_Phillips]

Schmism,
What size wire are you going to pull for your dog fence? We actually spent the money for Invisible Fence at out last house and when we moved I took the transmitter. The wire they had used was about 12ga. Seeing some of the generic fences around they look like 18ga or smaller. Just curoius what you have found.

Eric

 

[schmism]

the wife just ordered the fence kit like 20 min ago.

ill be putting in ~1500 ft of wire... most of that i hope to find in a 1000' spool of ~16-18 gauge single strand coated wire.

i think the kit comes with like 20 gauge. its not big stuff. berry depth of 1-3"

so im working on an idea based around something like an upside down cross out of some 1/4 (2" wide) plate. the "wings" are used to skid across the ground with only 1 or so barried in the ground. My cable layer will consit of some 3/8 soft coper tube brazed to the steel plate, with in a gental 2" radius bend at the bottom and a flare at the top.

this whole device will bolt to the back of my back blade.
ill use the float on the 3 point so it follows the countour of the yard better (thus the use of wings) and reley on the 400 lbs of the back blade to keep the 1" barried.

something like

edit... id make the wings adjustable so i could varry the depth based on need.

 

[kennyd]

Here are a couple pics of one that I made...
The "tooth" is just a box blade ripper that you can get at TSC for $20.00.

 

[jimmysisson]

One other note. Before plowing in the cable, I would make an initial pass with the subsoiler by itself to make sure you have a clear path.

**************
Hmmmm, you must live where there's rocks??? That's a very good suggestion.
Jim

 

[Neophyte]

Kennyd,

Nice setup. Good idea to adapt the trencher to your 2" receiver hitch, which matches up to your iMatch. Did you make the 2" receiver setup or did you purchase it?

Good idea to use a conduit 90, it has a nice even sweep.

What type of wire were you pulling in the picture? What was the project?

Did you have the reel on the tractor or did you have someone feed the wire into the conduit as you trenched forward?

How did it work? Did you have any problems? Would you do anything different?

 

[gabby]

edit... id make the wings adjustable so i could varry the depth based on need.

You don't need a spool. You can just lay the wire out to the side and have a helper guide it into the pipe by hand as you creep along.

I think your wing idea will just drag up piles of dirt and sod and be more hurt than help. Skid plates on the blade, away from the furrow, would be better because they will slide on undisturbed grass. However, I would just go real slow and control it with the 3ph and not worry about any skid plates.
gabby

 

[Mike120]

Thanks guys! I need to pull telephone and fiber over to my new barn (about 500'). I was not looking forward to fighting a trencher as I couldn't find a vibratory plow to rent. Rental cost for the trencher would probably be more than the cost of a sub-soiler and I'll have a new toy at the end!

 

[darkviper]

acutually i have made one of these for the exact application of installing radio fence for my pets. You do not wnat it deeper the 3 inches and a subsoiler sucks for this. I made wone from metal from tractor supply for aout 50 buck of materail and an hour of time with the right tools. I have the design in a autocad drawing. It attaches to my cultivator. I will try a get it posted

 

[kennyd]

Kennyd,

Nice setup. Good idea to adapt the trencher to your 2" receiver hitch, which matches up to your iMatch. Did you make the 2" receiver setup or did you purchase it?

Good idea to use a conduit 90, it has a nice even sweep.

What type of wire were you pulling in the picture? What was the project?

Did you have the reel on the tractor or did you have someone feed the wire into the conduit as you trenched forward?

How did it work? Did you have any problems? Would you do anything different?

Nice setup. Good idea to adapt the trencher to your 2" receiver hitch, which matches up to your iMatch. Did you make the 2" receiver setup or did you purchase it?
Thank you.
I made the receiver, mainly use it to move my trailer witch I keep in the woods.

Good idea to use a conduit 90, it has a nice even sweep.
It was cheap and easy, I used 1"...

What type of wire were you pulling in the picture? What was the project?
I pulled a 12-2 romex and a 5 pair 22awg BSW (Buried Service Wire) for a telephone and alarm to the location where I am going to build a shed, I did this when I built my house and before the lawn was in.

Did you have the reel on the tractor or did you have someone feed the wire into the conduit as you trenched forward?
No reel, I just laid the wire out on the ground and fed it myself as I drove forward. I only needed to go 225' and it was a straight run. If I had to go around corners or turn I would have rigged it onto the tractor.

How did it work? Did you have any problems? Would you do anything different?

It worked GREAT! I did make a "dry run" with it first to loosen the soil as I have clay and shale.
No problems! The wire was buried about 12" deep.
If I was going to use it more, I would find a better way to attach the conduit, it got real loose at the end of the run and probably would have come off soon. I would (and may in the future) weld a piece of 1" angle to the back of the ripper tooth to "cradle" the conduit, and hose clamp the conduit to the angle. Does that make sense? I can explain better if need be...

I think dog fence wire this setup would be perfect. You can use 1/2" or 3/4" conduit, it would be easy to hang the spool or reel on the ROPS to feed down into the conduit. Just be sure to plan your route through the yard and not make real tight turns if you can avoid them.

 

[Neophyte]

Kennyd,

You could always use a metallic conduit 90, which may reduce the need for the angle support.

 

[kennyd]

Kennyd,

You could always use a metallic conduit 90, which may reduce the need for the angle support.

The problem I had at the end was that the round conduit kept wanting to "roll" off of the ripper shank. With the angle iron "point" welded to the shank like this >- (top view), the conduit would rest in the "V" of the angle and thus could not roll off.

Clear as mud?

 

[johnnylight]

kennyd,

I just picked up The king kutter subsoiler from TSC am ready to start the mods.
Did you resolve the rolling issue?

Thanks

 

[kennyd]

kennyd,

I just picked up The king kutter subsoiler from TSC am ready to start the mods.
Did you resolve the rolling issue?

Thanks

No, Only because I haven't used it again, no wire to bury!

But, as i showed in previous post's, just a 1" peice of angle iron would be all that is needed.

Good luck

 

[Harry c]

I plowed in an Invisible Fence several years ago with my old Cub Cadet lawn tractor. I used my Brinley cultivator with all but 1 tine removed. You don't need a huge cut from a turning plow or such. It just makes it harder to backfill and clean up. I used a couple of hose clamps to hold a piece of 1/2 inch metal conduit to the back of the tine. Put the clamps around the tine and conduit with the conduit extending down to 1/2 inch or so from the tip of the tine. The conduit was just a straight piece, 6 or 8 inches long. No bevels, bends, etc. The wire is only going through it once so abrasion is not a problem. Insulation's not a concern with the invisible fence anyway. I used a bent coat hanger to hold the spool of wire and let it roll off. I stripped off about 10 feet of wire before I started plowing. By the time the wire pulled forward to the start of the cut, the dirt provided plenty of resistance to spool off the wire. I put in 1,000 ft of wire in about 20 minutes. You just need this stuff under the ground. 3-4 inches is enough. Deeper is not better in this case. After the wire is pulled in, just drive back over the cut and the tractor wheels will pack the dirt back in the narrow trench.

The whole process worked great. It worked so well in fact that last year I installed an irrigation system inn my lawn by pulling in 1 inch PVC (yeah, that's 1 inch PVC, the white stuff) Note: I "pulled in" the irrigation pipe not "plowed in" as the wire above. But that's another thread for another day if anyone is interested.

 

[WVBill]

Here's my post from a couple of years ago with pictures. Same technique others have used (subsoiler/middle buster with 90 degree metal conduit sweep).

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/14926-laying-pipe.html?highlight=laying+pipe

WVBill