What "tool" do I need?

[Sully2]

What \"tool\" do I need?

Im not sure if this is the correct place to post this or not..so bear with me fella's.
Spring, summer and fall of 2006...Im totally redoing my back yard. Prior to all the flower beds..planting of shrubbery..etc..I want to "trench" a few ..??.."lines"..?? so that I can bury directly burial electric wire AND some 1/2" PVC water pipes. ( Either only need to be about 6 inches below existing soil level) They will be all straight line runs.

I thought about buying a cheap "sub soiler" from TSC and using it..? But some tell me NO! It wont make a large enough trench and all the dirt falls back in the narrow trench..????? Then I saw this .??"plow" sort of thing at TSC..kinda looks like a sub soiler except the "plow" part is REALLY wide..and I dont really need to make a trench a full foot wide to bury these things.

I'll probably only ever dig ( less than actually) about 200-300 foot of "trench" so I really dont need a honest to god Trencher... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif...so Im sort of stumped.

The game plan is to open a trench..lay what I need down in it and cover it over all by myself..so I cant use something that takes 2 or 3 to operate either.

 

[Cliff_Johns]

Re: What \"tool\" do I need?

Well, seems like you need to rent a trencher if it's a one time need. A four hour rental should be enough they are quite fast.

You may want to consider putting the trench a little deeper if you're running water pipe -- or even electrical. I think code for electrical is al least 12 inches in conduit and 18 without for electrical. Could be wrong about that, but I'm sure someone will correct me if that's the case.

Also, make sure you bury yellow caution tape above the wire and pipe so someone digging later will hit that first.

At six inches, your material may surface over time.

Cliff

 

[gmsssi]

Re: What \"tool\" do I need?

You might get better response in the "Attachments" forum!

 

[Sully2]

Re: What \"tool\" do I need?

OK...thanks guys! Merry Xmas

 

[flusher]

Re: What \"tool\" do I need?

Last June I rented a Ditch Witch 1330 walk-behind trencher from Home Depot ($125 for 24 hours) and dug about 1100 feet of trench in about 8 hours for water, gas and electric conduit at my jobsite. Depth varied from 12" to 24". The trencher weighs about 1000 lbs and has only rudimentary steering so it's hard to line up at the start of a trench (lotsa of muscling needed).

IIRC you can put UF direct burial electric cable in a 12" deep trench if you use a 20-amp GFCI circuit breaker. Otherwise the trench has to be deeper (24" IIRC) to satisfy code.

You can find several threads on TBN describing ways to use a sub-soiler for laying PVC pipe and direct burial electric cable. I have a 21HP B7510HST tractor and just picked up a King Kutter XB middle buster/sub-soiler ($135 at Tractor Supply). I plan to install about 1000' of PVC irrigation pipe next month. I'll try the sub-soiler approach for laying pipe and see if I can master the intricacies of that method.

 

[Sully2]

Re: What \"tool\" do I need?

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Last June I rented a Ditch Witch 1330 walk-behind trencher from Home Depot ($125 for 24 hours) and dug about 1100 feet of trench in about 8 hours for water, gas and electric conduit at my jobsite. Depth varied from 12" to 24". The trencher weighs about 1000 lbs and has only rudimentary steering so it's hard to line up at the start of a trench (lotsa of muscling needed).

IIRC you can put UF direct burial electric cable in a 12" deep trench if you use a 20-amp GFCI circuit breaker. Otherwise the trench has to be deeper (24" IIRC) to satisfy code.

You can find several threads on TBN describing ways to use a sub-soiler for laying PVC pipe and direct burial electric cable. I have a 21HP B7510HST tractor and just picked up a King Kutter XB middle buster/sub-soiler ($135 at Tractor Supply). I plan to install about 1000' of PVC irrigation pipe next month. I'll try the sub-soiler approach for laying pipe and see if I can master the intricacies of that method. )</font>

I found the threads on using the subsoiler...mucho thanks.

LOL...wont be any "to code" or 12" deep on this job... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif...its to run power for a birdbath heater and maybe a watering "pond" dribbler water pump. No worry about it being too close to the surface...because about 6 inches or more of dirt are going in OVER the existing ground.

Water pipe will be the continious stuff on a roll ( PVC??? or whatever it is) to get to a remote location for a faucet for a water hose...so I dont have to drag 200 feet of garden hose around...and will be shut off and blown out with compressed air when fall arrives.

Im debating the "King Kutter" ( or similiar brand) middle buster as you specify. It will make MORE of a trench than I relly need..but then again..I can always use all 30HP to backfill it... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Thanks again guys!