trenching

[dirt clod]

I need to rent a machine to trench 3000' of 1" water line. My soil is sandy/loamy with clay layer 2-3' down. A lot of the areas are very soft and muddy. I will be going by some trees so I'm sure I will hit roots. The pipe needs to be at least 24" deep. I can rent a ride on type or a walk behind. Which would be better? Would the ride on type be bad about getting stuck? Is either one faster than the other?

 

[LarryD]

I used a ride on to do 700' of waterline at my house. It took most of 8 hours but I'm in very rocky soil and had to move a few times to let my friend in with his backhoe to pluck out a boulder (nothing bigger than a VW engine...) For 3000' I'd spend a little more and sit down. If memory serves me right, it had some wide turf type tires that would do well in soft ground.

We also did a line for my neighbor a couple years later and for 100' we just got the walk behind.

 

[riptides]

I rented a walk behind ditch-witch. I think it is a brand name. I did some drainage work trying to move water. The trench was down about three feet and wide enough for drain tile. I did about 600 feet. I had it for the day, but after about one hour I was done and walking around asking the neighbors if they needed anything with it. I busted more of a sweat putting in the rocks and tile than I did walking the witch.

 

[flusher]

I need to rent a machine to trench 3000' of 1" water line. My soil is sandy/loamy with clay layer 2-3' down. A lot of the areas are very soft and muddy. I will be going by some trees so I'm sure I will hit roots. The pipe needs to be at least 24" deep. I can rent a ride on type or a walk behind. Which would be better? Would the ride on type be bad about getting stuck? Is either one faster than the other?

I dug about 1100 ft of 24" deep trench with a Ditch Witch 1330 walk-behind trencher that I rented from Home Depot. It worked pretty well.

However, that particular trencher is a bear to line up at the start of a trench since there's no differential steering on the two wheels. You have to muscle the 1330 into position and then start the trencher going.

If you rent a trencher be sure the cord on the recoil starter is in good condition. I was on the last 100 ft of trench when the cord on that 1330 starter broke. Took me 30 minutes to fix it--aggrevating after nearly 10 hours of work with that beast.

 

[Kays Supply]

I hope you don't plan on getting much water out of 3000' of 1" pipe. The friction loss will be so high you could probably pee harder than what will come out the end. Not being a smart a__ but I am a plumber and you won't be happy.

 

[srs]

I can rent a ride on type or a walk behind. Which would be better? Would the ride on type be bad about getting stuck? Is either one faster than the other?

Personally I would rent a rider. 3000' (for me) is quite a long distance and using a walk behind would be tough on you physically. If you decide to get a walk behind trencher what ever you do get one that is self propelled. You body will let you know if you don't!

 

[powerstroke444e]

If you rent one make sure you get a 1820 ditch witch or something bigger that has hydraulic steering or a 4wd ride on 3000' would be a long day with a walkbehind or a boring day with ride on.
If you hire it you should get someone to dig it for about a $1.25 per foot. And may be a cheap way to-go if you haven't ever tied in to a project like this. Don't forget to call for locates on the underground utilities. And be very careful and have fun.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

I hope you don't plan on getting much water out of 3000' of 1" pipe. The friction loss will be so high you could probably pee harder than what will come out the end. Not being a smart a__ but I am a plumber and you won't be happy.

What size would you recommend?

 

[Egon]

Could you Plough the line in?

Make life a lot easier.

 

[tommu56]

I need to rent a machine to trench 3000' of 1" water line. My soil is sandy/loamy with clay layer 2-3' down. A lot of the areas are very soft and muddy. I will be going by some trees so I'm sure I will hit roots. The pipe needs to be at least 24" deep. I can rent a ride on type or a walk behind. Which would be better? Would the ride on type be bad about getting stuck? Is either one faster than the other?

The size is dependent on the flow if you only need a gallon or 2 a minuet 1" would work.

The other thing I would suggest is polyethylene pipe you can get long lengths of pipe and save the splices.

You need to know the pressure to select pipe.

tom