Which machine would you use?

[workinonit]

He's done. The grass has probably grown back over his trenches by now.

 

[Kasamoto]

I need to dig 4 trenches. Each trench needs to be 6-8" wide and about 50 feet long. I'm going to lay pipe in the ground to carry gutter downspout water farther out into the yard. Currently it's dumping about 6 feet from the house. I want it to dump 50 feet away. So I'm going to bury pipe for 50 feet and then terminate onto the grass above grade (the yard has a nice slope to it).

I'm going to rent a machine for one day to dig these 4 trenches. I can't decide whether a Ditch Witch style trencher would be best, or a mini ex. I figure that the trencher would be more precise with depth, width, and staying in a straight line but would probably require two passes to achieve the 6 inch width I want to lay my pipe in the ground. A mini ex would give me a 12" bucket or slightly less so one pass would do the trick, but it may be hard to keep a consistent depth/fall on the trench as I move along. I have rented both machines a few times in the past so I'm no pro operator but I'm decent.

What machine would you use? Or is there something I haven't considered?

In the amount of time it would take to pick up and return the trencher and dig the trenches (not counting the time to earn the money to pay the rental) you can dig a trench with a sharpshooter shovel.

 

[charlessenf]

I figure that the trencher would be more precise with depth, width, and staying in a straight line but would probably require two passes to achieve the 6 inch width I want to lay my pipe in the ground.

The one I used at a Habitat build only required the one pass. Relatively flat, cleared, sloping terrain. Real simple to use - I thought.

 

[charlessenf]

He's done. The grass has probably grown back over his trenches by now.

Yeah, why'd I get an email with this thread this morning! Something amiss with this site's algorithms!

Yo, Moderator, you list'ning

 

[olenjohn]

CALL FOR LOCATES. Kentucky and Virginia laws require excavators, including homeowners to contact operators of underground utilities before performing any excavation work.
There is NO charge and it covers your butt.phone 811
Trench only if it can be done in one pass. Two passes side by side will not work.

 

[Atlfinfan]

Very helpful thread. I'm about to do the same thing, and I also live in a blue house I had built 2 years ago. Trencher it is.

 

[LouNY]

I know the original poster is done with his project but thought I'd mention one thing.
I really like daylight drains when ever possible. However open pipes attract vermin which will get in and plug lines.
My preference is to use a dry well, can be a purchased concrete one or even just a plastic drum with holes and some screening and stone fill with the drain line ending in the dry well and stone to keep most critters out of the system.

 

[tonynz]

if you already have a slope away from the house, I would use a trencher, much faster and cleaner. Here in New Zealand it is a requirement that all roof water is piped at least 20 metres away from the house. If the soil is free draining then at the end of the run, a large soak pit is dug and filled with rocks. This is to enable the system to cope with sudden downpours and give a buffering action. The alternative is to have a large drainage field of slotted pipes but it is not as good at coping with heavy rain.

 

[kthompson]

I was young once. Today, would never consider a shovel for that job.

 

[CaseyinAL]

Trencher - hands down!!!!!!!!!!!!