Backhoe Using backhoe bucket to compact soil?

[chatcher]

I'm expecting delivery of a new tractor and backhoe shortly, and one of the first backhoe jobs will be to patch a leak in my pond. I'm going to be cutting a trench across the leaky area and backfilling with a mixture of local clay and bentonite. My question is on the use of the backhoe bucket to compact the fill.

Since this is not a rental unit, and I expect my tractor and backhoe to last the rest of my life, I don't want to abuse it in any way. I understand side loads on the bucket are a no-no, but I haven't found any advice against using the bucket for tamping. Is it OK, and if so, what is the most effective way to do it?

 

[GuglioLS]

I thought about this as well but decided against it. My thinking on it was:
1. Build a 6"X12" Ret angular plate attachment to mount in place of the bucket. This gives me 72 square inches. The down force of the boom is about 2500 pounds so 2500/72 = ~35 PSI - hardly nothing..
2. I did not want to drop / hammer the boom into the ground repeatedly for obvious reasons.
3. Therefore it would not work and is a bad idea.

I deduced thats why there are soil compactors / tampers for rent.

 

[btolle]

We did that on construction jobs for years and I never saw any harmful effects from it.

If you can use the bucket to lift the trator up and move it sideways why would it hurt it to press down on the dirt?

The best way for tamping no matter what you tamp with is to put thin layers in and tamp after every layer.

It's a tractor, not fine china!

Bill Tolle

 

[chim]

Using the bucket is just a teensy bit better than putting your work boots on and jumping on the dirt. Do yourself a favor and get a Whacker.....................chim

 

[chatcher]

I was thinking more along the lines of sort of reverse-curling the bucket. Since the bucket has more digging force than the dipper or boom, I thought it might work in reverse. But I do get the point - pressure=force/area, and there is only so much force available.

I've heard moving the tractor sideways with a CUT backhoe attachment may twist the hoe. OK to pick it up, or to push or pull forward or backward, but not sideways. (I have done it with a rented Terramite, with no apparent damage.)

 

[PineRidge]

Why not use your BH to take out a swath as wide as a plate tamper.

Then use the plate tamper to do your compaction.

Never used one myself, but it sounds logical.

 

[notamustang]

If you cant build a sheeps foot for your BH /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif than I would go with a vibra plate tamper as PineRidge suggested. I would use a plate over a regular wacker. The reason it is not as hard on the surounding soil (dam). You would have to go in shallower lifts but you would get the same results.

 

[EddieWalker]

I've used mine for smaller digs, but it's not really effective.

My prefered method is to drive over the fill material. It will sink half a foot most times from the weight of the tires from one side going back and forth.

From what I understand, the betonite will expand to fill any voids when it comes into contact with water, sealing off your leak. Compaction will help, but the betononite is whats' going to fix your leak.

 

[Tom_H]

Did you know that you can take off the bucket and put on a packer wheel? These are often used to compact soil in trenches after pipes and conduit have been laid in the center of what will become a roadway. You put down pressure with the bh arm and roll the wheel forwards and backwards. This one by Bobcat has spikes, but there are others which have more like "nubs" on the wheel.

 

[Catmando]

You can use the backhoe. And you will get some compaction from it. But don't expect miracles.

Sand/gravel likes to be whacked to compact it. Clay likes to be Kneeded for compaction. If you look at construction jobs that are backfilling with clay material they always use some form of a sheeps foot roller.