digging a ditch
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gwdixon
Elite Member
Wow, going to need a lot more information than is in the post:
1. Do you have a FEL?
2. What is the current condition of the pasture? Plowed, disced, compacted?
3. Does the box blade have scarifiers (diggers)? How wide is it?
4. What other ground engaging equipment do you have?
5. Do you have front weights on the tractor and/or filled tires?
6. How deep will the ditch be and how long?
1. Do you have a FEL?
2. What is the current condition of the pasture? Plowed, disced, compacted?
3. Does the box blade have scarifiers (diggers)? How wide is it?
4. What other ground engaging equipment do you have?
5. Do you have front weights on the tractor and/or filled tires?
6. How deep will the ditch be and how long?
3' wide, 1' deep, and roughly about 200 feet long
gwdixon
Elite Member
Thanks for the information.
Since you only have the box blade, this job will be an adventure.
First you'll need to rip the compacted soil to the depth the scarifiers will reach. Probably six inches at best. It will take many passes back and forth with the scarifiers to completely loosen compacted soil. Then lift the scarifiers and remove that soil from the intended ditch with the box blade.
Not having a FEL complicates the matter since you really have no way to completely remove the soil from the area. You'll likely have to spread the removed soil on one side of the ditch. Just drive down the ditch and drag it out and away while slowly lifting the box blade to spread it thinly.
A 3' box blade won't hold much soil so the removal procedure will have to be done every three or four feet. Then circle back and pick up the excavating. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
Once you get the first 6" out you will have to start all over again from the beginning to get the next 6" out to make the desired 1' depth. Not having seen your box blade you might only be able to get 4" of ripping done so will have to do the procedure three times.
With a 21 HP, 2 WD tractor the job is going to take a lot of time to go 200 feet. Just an out-of-the-blue guess would be 30 to 40 hours depending on the soil composition. I'd also want the soil to be a bit damp so the scarifiers can dig to maximum depth over several passes.
Good luck. It can be done but patience is going to be a major requirement. Also, within the first hour you will get an idea of what needs to be done and how to do it. Go with what works.
Since you only have the box blade, this job will be an adventure.
First you'll need to rip the compacted soil to the depth the scarifiers will reach. Probably six inches at best. It will take many passes back and forth with the scarifiers to completely loosen compacted soil. Then lift the scarifiers and remove that soil from the intended ditch with the box blade.
Not having a FEL complicates the matter since you really have no way to completely remove the soil from the area. You'll likely have to spread the removed soil on one side of the ditch. Just drive down the ditch and drag it out and away while slowly lifting the box blade to spread it thinly.
A 3' box blade won't hold much soil so the removal procedure will have to be done every three or four feet. Then circle back and pick up the excavating. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
Once you get the first 6" out you will have to start all over again from the beginning to get the next 6" out to make the desired 1' depth. Not having seen your box blade you might only be able to get 4" of ripping done so will have to do the procedure three times.
With a 21 HP, 2 WD tractor the job is going to take a lot of time to go 200 feet. Just an out-of-the-blue guess would be 30 to 40 hours depending on the soil composition. I'd also want the soil to be a bit damp so the scarifiers can dig to maximum depth over several passes.
Good luck. It can be done but patience is going to be a major requirement. Also, within the first hour you will get an idea of what needs to be done and how to do it. Go with what works.
Last edited:
Ken45101
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Would a box blade be the "best choice?" Probably not the best choice but it can be done. Most of us here operate with less than ideal attachments.
Actually I would go at it a little different than gwdixon suggested. I'm assuming the sides will slope down to the bottom? I would go at it with one side deeper than the other and drag the dirt out at an angle as you loosen it, assuming that you can spread it out alongside the ditch.
The small tractor will slow you down but it doesn't mean it can't be done.
Good luck.
Actually I would go at it a little different than gwdixon suggested. I'm assuming the sides will slope down to the bottom? I would go at it with one side deeper than the other and drag the dirt out at an angle as you loosen it, assuming that you can spread it out alongside the ditch.
The small tractor will slow you down but it doesn't mean it can't be done.
Good luck.
Gary Fowler
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I am with Ken on this. Just use the adjustable linkage on the right side of your tractor to lower one side of the box blade then proceed to dig so the one side digs a trench and the high side carries out the diggings. You will end up with a V ditch rather than a flat bottom one, but it will require less soil to be removed and dispersed. If the box blade is the width of your tractor, then just put your tires against the trench as you reverse direction, if not, it will be a bit harder to gauge where the wheels should be to align the cut. If you insist on a flat bottom, then you will have to make it the width of your box blade and that will require a lot of soil removal and dispersal of the spoils over a large area (don't want a hump between the ditch and what it is draining) In this case you might want to do a technique similar to GW
Dixon's comments and loosen up the soil with the scarifiers as much as possible for the width of the box blade then pulling 90 degrees to the ditch, drag it out to each side. I think I would alternate dragging one load to the left of the ditch and the next to the right so that equal amount of dirt is distributed to each side. This will take some finesse with the controls to get the elevations the same all the way thru.
A better alternative might be to hire a small dozer with a 6 way blade to cut that ditch for you and spread out the spoils. An hour with a dozer would make that ditch easily.
Dixon's comments and loosen up the soil with the scarifiers as much as possible for the width of the box blade then pulling 90 degrees to the ditch, drag it out to each side. I think I would alternate dragging one load to the left of the ditch and the next to the right so that equal amount of dirt is distributed to each side. This will take some finesse with the controls to get the elevations the same all the way thru.
A better alternative might be to hire a small dozer with a 6 way blade to cut that ditch for you and spread out the spoils. An hour with a dozer would make that ditch easily.
LD1
Epic Contributor
IF it were me, I would start looking craigslist for a rear blade. A decient match for your tractor would be 5-6', and would likely only cost a few hundred used.
THEN, I would use the BB and rippers to break up the soil, then put the rear blade on and angle everything up and out of the trench.
THEN, I would use the BB and rippers to break up the soil, then put the rear blade on and angle everything up and out of the trench.
This is how i planned it out it out in my head make two passes down one side at an angle and then come back the other way and make two more passes the other side of the trench. Now im dealing with a decently wide v trench. If i have to do a third pass then so be it. At. This point the majority of the soil is onthe side of the trench and ii couldeun down the middle with my blade leveled out and try to flatten the bottom out. What I am trying to achieve is a trench my horse wont run the risk of breaking her keg if she happens to run through it. I was wrong in the BB, it is 4'. Also I'm not opposed to buuying another implement. I just wasnt sure on which one to look into.
gwdixon
Elite Member
Ah, this changes the plan a bit. Look at the other guy's posts for a better method to get what you are looking for than in my post.
Used back blades are usually fairly inexpensive and would be the recommended attachment as already mentioned. 4' to 5' would be my recommendation for 21 HP / 2WD tractor.
Still, the soil will need to be loosened first with the box blade scarifiers since you have a compacted pasture and a light tractor. LD1 has a plan close to this.
284 International
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I would submit the idea of using a dedicated ripping implement like a potato plow/middle buster to speed up the work. Use that tool to make several passes to get your width where you like it, and then use the method outlined by Ken45101. You could make the ditch however wide you want it, surroundings permitting, and keep a relatively shallow slope. Even a turning plow will make a pretty nice ditch, very quickly, when reworked with a box blade.
Around here, a wide slope like that would be instantly full of pocket gophers, taking advantage of the downslope to dump their tunnel spoils. That might be a worse danger to your horse than a smaller, sharper ditch cut with just the middle buster and/or a corner of the box blade.
Your conditions, experience, and implement situation will affect the time, but I think a realistic estimate of getting a suitable ditch done with my similar Yanmar machines would range from 45 minutes to GWDixon's estimate of 30 to 40 hours. I think trying to cut it with just a box blade really might take that long, while using a middle buster or turning plow to make a couple trips each direction, and a box blade to smooth it out, would take under an hour.
How much water does it need to carry? An honest 1 foot deep trench seems like it would be carrying a LOT of water. Is there any other way to ameliorate your ditch requirements?
Around here, a wide slope like that would be instantly full of pocket gophers, taking advantage of the downslope to dump their tunnel spoils. That might be a worse danger to your horse than a smaller, sharper ditch cut with just the middle buster and/or a corner of the box blade.
Your conditions, experience, and implement situation will affect the time, but I think a realistic estimate of getting a suitable ditch done with my similar Yanmar machines would range from 45 minutes to GWDixon's estimate of 30 to 40 hours. I think trying to cut it with just a box blade really might take that long, while using a middle buster or turning plow to make a couple trips each direction, and a box blade to smooth it out, would take under an hour.
How much water does it need to carry? An honest 1 foot deep trench seems like it would be carrying a LOT of water. Is there any other way to ameliorate your ditch requirements?