Trenchers?

[MtnViewRanch]

Your not burying water pipe are you? You need to bury that at least 4 feet to be a good way out of the frost line. You may know this but just making sure

May I ask how you know what his frost line is? :confused3:

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Terry,
while what you have said is what worked well for you, what has you thinking that this is what the OP needs to do? We have over 4800 feet of 3" line buried about 54" deep. Over 1000 feet of 2" buried 18"-24" deep. No problems so far going on 12 years. I just wish that the other 10,000 feet of pipe that needs to be in the ground was. Now what we have done has worked excellent for us, but I would not even think that it would work for someone in a different location without at least knowing the persons location. I think that it very well may be just a bit over kill for the OP. I will agree about the doughnuts though, doughnuts go a loooong way towards good will. In fact I would go as far as to say that not only will everyone treat you better, but you may very well save hundreds of dollars with additional visits.

Here are some pictures of what we use for trenching, nothing faster than the ditcher for a nice quick 20" deep trench though.

 

[ecky]

How about this - the Rip and Dig.
Ratchet Rake, LLC - Tractor attachment, Bucket attachment, Loader, Skid loader, Kubota, Skid steer, Landscape rake, Brush remover, York Rake, Harley Rake, Rock Rake, Tractor rake attachment, Construction attachment, New Holland, Bobcat, Fire safety, (Go the the 5 minute mark of the video.)

This looks to me to be exactly what you are looking for. Not sure of the price. Hope this helps. Cheers.

 

[cmhyland]

Brother -

I have been slowly improving our small ranch over the last few years...doing some work as we save up the cash....and have buried 1500 feet of primary power line 5 feet deep and then the same length 2" water main at 4 feet...

The Short Story is: Go Big or Go Home....

Don't succumb to the lure of the lower rental cost of a tool designed to bury irrigation tubing in a suburban lawn or a home-brew or even a purpose-built commercial attachment for your tractor....and for GOODNESS SAKES don't even THINK about a walk-behind unit...that is madness...

You need to bury your water mains deep...don't scrimp...

18" is not a lot of overburden on a 2" water line...the pipe motion / deflection during pressure cycles or ground temperature changes may be enough to dislodge or flex your pipe, allowing enough motion to stress and break the glue joints...pin it down with enough weight...smaller lines of say 3/4" or so might be fine at a shallower depth, but consider that a 2" line at 40psi will exert 250 pounds against a closed valve, elbow or cap. 36" would not be too deep...48" would be better...

I went with a gasketed water pipe for my 2" mains to avoid the issue of glued joints almost entirely....but I had to account for a lot more motion of the pipe in exchange...a little enginerering work...

If you must do this work yourself...it won't easy, but you will save a bundle...

Have your right-of-way well marked with flags, paint, breadcrumbs or whatever...then call "ONE-CALL" or whoever surveys for buried utilities in your area....and let them certify it free of underground utilities....fail to do that and snag somebodies unmarked fiber-optic data line and you will regret it for the rest of your life...

Once you have the "One-Call" certification in hand -

RUN....do not walk....to the nearest sizable town....stop at a decent donut shop along the way and buy the BIG box of assorted sweets...

Find the local equipment rental dealer and schedule delivery of the BIGGEST ride-on trencher they have on the lot for early on the morning you want to do the job....then give the donuts to the crew in the shop and ask them to give you a good lesson on operating the beast....find a machine in the yard you like....one that you can operate confidently and smoothly....specify THAT machine....don't forget to buy a damage waiver....

Well before delivery day, have your pipe glued, pressure tested and laying to one side of the right-of-way...ready to bury...

Make sure you have a good spot to back the delivery truck into...check out EVERY switch and control on the machine....take pictures with your cell phone to show and settle who damaged what....

Get it on....

You will cut more trench faster than you will believe possible....the big machines will chew through hard-pan and roots, dislodge stones and buried trash that will choke a smaller machine....the heavy machine will give you almost perfect control of the depth and allow you to accurately pitch the line if you wish...and leave a level trench bottom covered with fines that will make a perfect bed for your pipe.

If you break the machine....a nice man in a service truck will come and fix it for you...or bring you a new machine....remember and rejoice in the money spent on that damage waiver...

Once the trench is the way you like it, lower your line into the trench and then use the blade on the front of the machine or a box-blade on your tractor to back-fill...

Knock the mud and crud off the machine...park it for the pick-up...have a cold bottle of water handy for the delivery driver...

After you wave goodby to the delivery guy, step back, pull the pin on a cold adult beverage and then admire your work and the roughly $5K - $10K you just saved...

...and next time you are going thru town, drop of a few more donuts off at the rental yard....you may need those folks again...

Be Safe and Good Luck....:thumbsup:

Terry

Never underestimate the power of donuts....

Regards,
Chris

 

[yelbike]

Perectly well said Mtnviewranch!:thumbsup:

Around here (Winnipeg, Manitoba) a trench to a out laying barns should about 8 feet deep ( approx. 2' deeper then the frost) but that doesn't mean every where is the same.

Don't forget the OP said he has more time than money!!

 

[Tractor Beam]

Perectly well said Mtnviewranch!:thumbsup:

Around here (Winnipeg, Manitoba) a trench to a out laying barns should about 8 feet deep ( approx. 2' deeper then the frost) but that doesn't mean every where is the same.

Don't forget the OP said he has more time than money!!

We bury waterlines about 4 to 5 feet deep. This is just for summer irrigation. In my area, if you go more than 18 inches, you hit rock city. My electrical will be in a seperate pipe chase. I stumbled on to a fella in my area, that has a subsoiler modified to dispence up to 2 lines as I go. He has agreed to rent the unit to me for cheap.

 

[204saskman]

Perectly well said Mtnviewranch!:thumbsup:

Around here (Winnipeg, Manitoba) a trench to a out laying barns should about 8 feet deep ( approx. 2' deeper then the frost) but that doesn't mean every where is the same.

Don't forget the OP said he has more time than money!!

8' thats it lol. Our one outdoor hydrant it 10' deep and it got the frost bite one year. And i had to dig our well up one year and his frost at 3'(it was may) and it went right to my pitless adapter. Some years there is more frost than others. If you can find a big eough trencher, 8'-9' is ideal for water and power we did ours at 24". trencher is sure nice and quick thats for sure.

 

[Shutesbury]

How about this - the Rip and Dig.
Ratchet Rake, LLC - Tractor attachment, Bucket attachment, Loader, Skid loader, Kubota, Skid steer, Landscape rake, Brush remover, York Rake, Harley Rake, Rock Rake, Tractor rake attachment, Construction attachment, New Holland, Bobcat, Fire safety, (Go the the 5 minute mark of the video.)

This looks to me to be exactly what you are looking for. Not sure of the price. Hope this helps. Cheers.

--------------
I looked at the video, then checked their website for info. Nothing there. Here's an email response I got from them.

Hi Paul,

We are hoping to have the Rip and Dig available by late spring to early summer. Price is not set yet but probably it will retail between $300.00-$350.00. Please check back to our website for updates.

Thank you for your inquiry,
Barbara Kostyak
Ratchet Rake LLC

Ratchet Rake, LLC - Tractor attachment, Bucket attachment, Loader, Skid loader, Kubota, Skid steer, Landscape rake, Brush remover, York Rake, Harley Rake, Rock Rake, Tractor rake attachment, Construction attachment, New Holland, Bobcat, Fire safety,

 

[Tractor Beam]

Terry,
while what you have said is what worked well for you, what has you thinking that this is what the OP needs to do? We have over 4800 feet of 3" line buried about 54" deep. Over 1000 feet of 2" buried 18"-24" deep. No problems so far going on 12 years. I just wish that the other 10,000 feet of pipe that needs to be in the ground was. Now what we have done has worked excellent for us, but I would not even think that it would work for someone in a different location without at least knowing the persons location. I think that it very well may be just a bit over kill for the OP. I will agree about the doughnuts though, doughnuts go a loooong way towards good will. In fact I would go as far as to say that not only will everyone treat you better, but you may very well save hundreds of dollars with additional visits.

Here are some pictures of what we use for trenching, nothing faster than the ditcher for a nice quick 20" deep trench though.

You know? I just saw these pictures and had actually thought about trying this with my $1,599 frontier back blade that actually pitches a bit steeper than this photo. Seeing it actually being done gives me some inspiration now.... I have the offset feature, so I could offset it to miss my rear tire so I can straddle the ditch and really burrow in.

 

[sandman2234]

Never underestimate the power of donuts....

Regards,
Chris

you apparently missed the post I had deleted several years ago, about going after donuts and a few seconds later... or however it was titled. Anyway, got the pleasure of meeting a bunch of new people due to 2 boxes of donuts, got to spend a bunch of my retirement fund, and after almost 7 months of unemployment, got to start a new job.
I don't do donuts very often anymore....if ever!
David from jax