Tips On Digging A Trench With The BX24 Hoe

[x703jko]

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Line the machine up on the line and put it in neutral and lower the stabilizers. As was mentioned earlier, take long shallow bites rather than short deep ones.

When you get to close to the machine, point the teeth straight down close to the machine and lift the stabilizers. Extend the forearm of the backhoe (push right hand away from you) while using your left arm to control the height of the main arm. You want the teeth to dig in enough to push the machine forward, but not too much to lift the machine. No big deal if you do lift it, but it is less of a ride if you don't.

As you are pushing yourself forward with the backhoe, you can reach around to steer the front wheels if you start getting off track.

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Good advice. Thanks

 

[x703jko]

If you haven't planned so already, I'd also strongly recommend placing a french drain somewhere along your conduit run, in a low spot along the trench. Because your pipe is open to the outside world, air will flow thru it. The earth below grade stays cold longer than the surface, warmer moist air will condense out inside the pipe and eventually it will collect a large quantity of water. If given enough time, it will eventually completely fill with nasty, slimy, water. A tee placed in the run pointing down into a hole filled with crushed stone will allow the water to drain out of the pipe.

Thanks. Standard practice with most hams.

In my case either end of the conduit will be a low point. I will have a large french drain (boxed in - 2 feet by 2 feet cross section) on both ends. The conduit will end in the box so water drains into the french drain (gravel bed will be 12 inches below the conduit). Cables will have a drip loop on them. Cables then proceed to an interface conduit that rises to the surface and into a NEMA enclosure (at the tower) and and lightning protection system for entrance into the shack on the other end.

LOT of work...but the BX24 will, I hope, make the digging easier.

 

[hazmat]

...And, I also need a dump cart (anyone have any advice) so I can more easily haul stuff around the property....

Country manufacturing has a great "homeowner" grade dump trailer. Some info here

assembling the dump trailer

More threads on the subject use the search feature...

 

[x703jko]

Can your tool find fiber optics? It's real real real nasty when you pull up a broken fiber bundle. If you didn't call dig-safe, diggers hotline or similar - it's 100% out of pocket.

It's not very likely that there is anything in the woods that will bite you, but it's free to have it checked out and that transfers the liability. Checking it yourself - keeps the liability on your shoulders. Mine are too wimpy and narrow for that kind of load!

I like the idea of the site line stakes, but paint on the ground is still an old favorite!


Lbrown59 - Your supposed to rent the kind of tencher that you sit on and drive. No back ache. It also is towed to the job site. No dented tail gate. You and your buddy must have really got beat up with a manual trencher! I'll bet it must have gained about 1000# when you had to put it back in the truck at the end of the day!

Got it...thanks. Jeff

 

[x703jko]

What a great thread!
One tip I would suggest for a first trench is to just spin the seat around and move the tractor the normal way. He'll probably want the parking brake set while he is digging. I know when I was new the tractor was bucking around quite a bit. After you get the hang of it, you can leave the parking brake off and just lower the FEL and stabilizers to the ground to stabilize the tractor. Then, when you want to move the tractor don't spin the seat, just raise the stabilizers, reach around and raise the loader, then reach down behind you and pull UP on the reverse pedal. That is the same thing as pushing down on the forward pedal.
That seems easier than using the backhoe to push the tractor.

Great idea...I'll try it.

 

[The Gardener]

take a grocery bag and tie it to your pull string.

Paper or plastic? This is a great trick. I must try this when we trench some wires to our out building(s).

Thanks for sharing!

The Gardener

 

[bx24]

Plastic grocery bags. This works slicker than snot with dry conduits not to mention they work with various conduit sizes without modification. With water logged conduits, you will need to either blow the bag with a compressor or suck out as much water as possible.

Greenlee and other companies make sponge "mice" or as they call them "pistons" for this, but for the better part of 10 years, we simply used the bag that we bought dough nuts in where ever we stopped for coffee that morning. The sponge pistons tended to get heavy when they got wet.

GREENLEE 613 2" CONDUIT PISTON FOR BLOWERS/VACUUMS

 

[crazyal]

I'll be using 4 inch diameter pre-drilled septic pipe - $7.00 per 10 foot section from HD or Lowes (drilled to allow drainage). I'll be getting 10% more than I need to allow for mistakes etc.

Are you talking perforated pipe? If so then you might want a really big vacuum to suck that plastic bag, lol. Otherwise the vacuum trick does work well. When I trench I try to dig at roughly a 45 angle. Scraping works as long as you don't dig too deep otherwise you tent to pull the tractor into the work not the dirt to the tractor. Up here in the hills of Vermont there's lots of rocks just below the surface that don't like to move. Not sure of your soil but you might find a straight trench is not possible, ledge, large roots (not wanting to kill too many trees), etc. God luck and remember to have fun.

 

[ore540]

Very interesting & informative thread. I'm looking to pick up a BX24 by the end of the month (is that a great early birthday present or what?) and learned quite a lot.

How about backfill? What's the favorite method? For a 24" deep trench, how and how high would you mound the backfill? If it matters, I live in and area of decomposed granite / loam that can dry hard as a rock but, with a little moisture, loosen very nicely.

Thanks,
Larry

 

[bx24]

If you happen to have a rear blade that you can drive backwards with the blade angled, that works the best for long trenches. Otherwise, just use the FEL. When you have about half the spoil back in the trench, you can drive over it to compact it a bit. If the trench is not too long, you can use a hose.

If it is a long trench, I would only backfill it enough so that it is a couple of inches below the normal grade and let it rain a few times. Being lower, it will hold the water and help settle things better. After a few storms, you can do the rest.