Sub soiler, middle buster or moldboard for trenching?

Chuck K. · Apr 26, 2008

Shortly I will be needing to trench for 1/2" PVC water line and 12/3 romex. I really dont want to dig a 16" wide trench with the BH. Which 3 point attachment would work best giving me the most depth ~12-18" deep?

Thanks for any input, Chuck.

Nuru · Apr 26, 2008

Chuck K. said:
Shortly I will be needing to trench for 1/2" PVC water line and 12/3 romex. I really dont want to dig a 16" wide trench with the BH. Which 3 point attachment would work best giving me the most depth ~12-18" deep?

Thanks for any input, Chuck.

You can use a middle buster and tie the piping to the tool and pull the pipe into the ground as you trench with the too. I ran a 125 foot section of conduit with my middle buster., all in one pull and the wire was already inside of it.

There is also a trencher tool i bought that does not do as much soil disturbance as the middle buster. Now that I mentioned it, i need to remember what its name is!

but it was less than $400 bucks and you can put it on via a receiver hitch. i did that with the tool installing 3/4" conduit for a set of outdoor lampposts - total length, ~ 500' Once you are through all you do is roll over the area with your tractor tires and it looks pretty much undisturbed, especially of it grass.

laurencen · Apr 26, 2008

do you have any pictures of your setup

ctpres · Apr 27, 2008

Subsoiler-the only way to go. I ran 250' 3/4 in pvc and 1/2 elec at he same time in less than 30 min. Cut two long thin metal straps (I used 24 in left over from deck project)in half and drill two 1/4 in holes one at bottom rear and the other a couple inches above and bolt straps on each side. Pre glue conduit at starting point and beyond if you have room. I did all 250 ft. Bolt ends of conduit detween straps with two or 3 1/4 bolts make starting hole and lead in trench and pull. I put elec on bottom so water line provides some protection. Probably won't work with lots of rocks. I have gumbo and sandy soil

daBear · Apr 27, 2008

For me, using the subsoiler first was a must because of underground roots and sticks from construction of my house. If the subsoiler can not break through them you know they are large and you will have to do a bit of digging and cutting with something like a chainsaw. Once I have the trench cleared the subsoiler works fine pulling pipe. I am in the middle of putting a sprinkler system in on about 2 acres and this is the way I am going at it.

Redbug · Apr 27, 2008

Ctpres, Nuru, Dabear,

I have a subsoiler but have never used it to pull pipe/wire. I plan to bury a phone line down to my workshop this summer. You just use metal strapping to attach the pvc to the subsoiler? Do you use a 90 degree elbow at the bottom end and glued to the pipe, and then pull it? Or can you just drill a hole in the beginning of the pvc, and wire that onto your subsoiler, (drill hole in the back of the subsoiler blade for the wire to attach)?

Nuru · Apr 27, 2008

ctpres said:
Subsoiler-the only way to go. I ran 250' 3/4 in pvc and 1/2 elec at he same time in less than 30 min. Cut two long thin metal straps (I used 24 in left over from deck project)in half and drill two 1/4 in holes one at bottom rear and the other a couple inches above and bolt straps on each side. Pre glue conduit at starting point and beyond if you have room. I did all 250 ft. Bolt ends of conduit detween straps with two or 3 1/4 bolts make starting hole and lead in trench and pull. I put elec on bottom so water line provides some protection. Probably won't work with lots of rocks. I have gumbo and sandy soil

I just used duct tape and a little wire and I had no issue with either implement pulling through the rocky filler soil my builder left for my lawn! The PVC conduit and the 1/2" wire went where I wanted it to go and no worries!

Nuru · Apr 27, 2008

daBear said:
For me, using the subsoiler first was a must because of underground roots and sticks from construction of my house. If the subsoiler can not break through them you know they are large and you will have to do a bit of digging and cutting with something like a chainsaw. Once I have the trench cleared the subsoiler works fine pulling pipe. I am in the middle of putting a sprinkler system in on about 2 acres and this is the way I am going at it.

That is one of my future tasks (sprinkler system), only on about 1.5 acres though.

Nuru · Apr 27, 2008

Redbug said:
Ctpres, Nuru, Dabear,

I have a subsoiler but have never used it to pull pipe/wire. I plan to bury a phone line down to my workshop this summer. You just use metal strapping to attach the pvc to the subsoiler? Do you use a 90 degree elbow at the bottom end and glued to the pipe, and then pull it? Or can you just drill a hole in the beginning of the pvc, and wire that onto your subsoiler, (drill hole in the back of the subsoiler blade for the wire to attach)?

Redbug, I did not drill at all, I just used wire and duct tape and my soild is loaded with rocks from contruction, roots from trees, and has clay, so there is a lot of friction and I did not have any implement to conduit seperation issues. Bolting and drilling is essentially a 100% guarantee though, but I am sure you will marvel how easy it will be once you are set-up.

You know if I would have drilled, I probably could have used less duct tape and would have saved me the 15 minutes it took to cut it off and clean up!