Trenching

[Jeff396]

Can anyone point me in a direction for an attachment capable of digging trenches large enough for laying pipe for an in ground sprinkler? I don't think I could justify the back hoe to the wife and it would probably make a bigger mess than I would like. Or would I just be better off renting a ditch witch for a day or so? Also, do the tractor places rent attachments for the 3 pt on our tractors?

Jeff

 

[MikePA]

What about a subsoiler? There was a thread on it (that I started /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif) in the Attachments forum.

 

[RobS]

Jeff, you're looking at either a vibratory plough or a chain trencher. Neither are common attachments for a compact nor would they be affordable. You're better off renting a stand alone rig. Depending on your soil though, maybe a middlebuster plow? Seems someone else had success with that approach.

As far as rental three point implements, one dealer in our area does have a few available and our local "NationsRent" has some. NationsRent was pretty reasonable and has a tiller, pulverizer, rake, rear blade and maybe a couple of others as well as a tractor for those tractorless customers /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[cowboydoc]

Jeff,
Just call up some rental places and find one that has the stand alone that digs on it's own. It's on 4 wheels and has a lever that you push and it goes on it's own. The push, walk behind, ones are a bear to move and don't dig very well. Here you can rent them from $160 for 24 hours.

 

[mikim]

Boy Howdy - those folks in I.C. really gitcha don't they? I rented a walk behind ditch witch in Austin last year for $50 a day and it came on it's own lil' trailer.
mike

 

[MikePA]

Jeff,

We don't have a NationsRent, but attached are the 3 trenchers a local United Rental place has. The first number is how deep, the second how wide. No prices at the web site.

 

[Jeff396]

Is it safe to assume that the depth listed is a maximum depth? Not a whole lot of freezing going on down here. They seem to set the pipes around 6" to 8" deep....if even that much.

Jeff

 

[MikePA]

Yep, maximum depth.

 

[RobS]

Jeff, even up here the sprinkler pipes are only about a foot down. The routine is to have your system blown out in the fall, or install self-draining valves. In either case, no water in the lines to freeze, so it doesn't matter how deep /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Tom_Trees]

Jeff --

Whatever you do, don't go for the 30 X 4 model! That front wheel is fixed and you turn by tilting the thing back on the rear wheels. I weigh 275 and didn't have the heft to tilt it. Luckily, the clay was a bit damp the day I rented, and I could lift the weight off the back enough to slide the sucker sideways./w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

Next time I do any trenching (probably next year for sprinklers, like you) I'm going to make sure I get a steerable unit!

Tom