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Implement Alley Discussion Forum

Homemade trencher

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plowboy1

02-17-2008 19:07:25




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Well, I've come up short, so it's time to ask for help. I built what looke like a giant tooth for the 3ph. It measures about 2&1/2' long, 6"X4", made out of heavy gage I beam. The idea was to be able to "trench" for laying down 4" plastic drain pipe in a wet area of hay field, going down to 2' (best conditions).It's not working and I'm not real familiar with how this hitch works. When it starts to dig in, the "pressure switch"(?) automatically trys to raise it up. If anyone has any idea what I'm talkin' about, I'd appriciate your thoughts!

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plowboy1

02-21-2008 18:49:05




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 Re: Homemade trencher in reply to plowboy1, 02-17-2008 19:07:25  
You guys have given me some good ideas, thanks. I think the draft control was what I was missing, but the angle of penetration and a few other things will have to be tinkered with. And your right, a backhoe is what I really need.... but can't afford!!



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tim[in]

02-19-2008 16:45:47




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 Re: Homemade trencher in reply to plowboy1, 02-17-2008 19:07:25  
What you could do also is make a "mole" for your subsoiler. THis should work for a few years until you can afford to rent a backhoe or hire it tiled . i'm thinking of taking a coffee can and cutting out both ends and putting a length of chain thru it and putting a couple of plastice lids back onor figuring out someway to make it cone shaped so it goes thru the soiland creates an earthen tile that will last a few years. Not permenant or ideal but for those of us with low dollars and or horsepower it will work. There are books on it.

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Don Hooks*

02-19-2008 15:50:32




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 Re: Homemade trencher in reply to plowboy1, 02-17-2008 19:07:25  
BCnT has the answer to the question you asked but the other folks may have the answer to what you should have asked... I have used a subsoiler with a curved 2 in pipe welded to the back edge to bury polyethylene pipe but only 15 to 18 inches. It is the draft control (or the angle of the digger) causing it to ride up. The draft control can be turned off on some tractors but on others you need a rigid spot for the top link to fasten to the tractor. If you have an older Ford or Ferguson you can make an adapter to let the top link fasten to the flex pin that holds the draft rocker in place. If the angle is causing the ride-up then welding on a foot like a subsoiler with a slight down angle might do the trick - otherwise, you will need to load on all the weight the lift can handle. If you want to put drain pipe in I have a hard time seeing your tool working - but good luck and let us know what you end up doing.

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johns48jdb

02-18-2008 04:40:20




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 Re: Homemade trencher in reply to plowboy1, 02-17-2008 19:07:25  
from the sound of things your putting in a drainage line and to do that you need to be able to control the angle that the pipe is laying at in order to not get high here and low there. your best bet here is a back hoe with a water line pipe bucket on it. most are 6 - 8 inches wide and don't mess the ground up that bad. you need to get a back hoe to dig the ground up where the water is standing at any way and go down a foot or so deeper than the trench your going to put in. fill that hole up to level with the bottom of your trench with 3/4 to 1 inch size gravel and then put field line pipe in a circle in the hole with one end of it sticking into the drainage pipe. fill the hole with another foot of gravel and then dirt. use the drainage tile with slits in it and not round holes. it would be best if you wrapped the drainage tile in land scaping fabric to keep it from filling with dirt over the years. if you have a lot to wrap you can buy the same material that septic tank installers use and its real cheap compared to the landscaping fabric. i worked for a man who row cropped 6000 acres and we spent all one spring fixing holes like your talking about and fixing it like i described and we never had one fail.

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JMS/.MN

02-18-2008 13:49:34




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 Re: Homemade trencher in reply to johns48jdb, 02-18-2008 04:40:20  
This is not the normal way to install field tile, trenching deeper than desired grade, and backfilling above and below with rock. No need to. Over the last several years I"ve put in at least a thousand feet with my backhoe, just eyeballing it- ok, gentle slopes, so I didn"t have to use my transit, and water still runs downhill. Even before laser technology, field tiling was done down to grade, tiles set, and just moving on. Trenches over concrete tile were filled in, plastic tile was covered, or currently, with the tile plows- just drive the installing tractor over the bump in the field to squash the evidence. Field tile comes in three types- solid, where the dinglenutz fed guy says you are going through a wetland, and it cannot be drained, and normal "perforated" (slits), and what you were referring to with a cover to keep sand out- that is "perforated, with a sock". Had over 6000 feet put in back in "83, some concrete, some plastic- covered as it went along with the trencher. Last several years it"s been another 14-16ooo feet of perf plastic with a tile plow. One pass, it is in and buried. Never seen anyone backfill with rock, unless it"s a building foundation.

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johns48jdb

02-18-2008 19:36:24




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 Re: Homemade trencher in reply to JMS/.MN, 02-18-2008 13:49:34  
when it's hard to find the exact spot of a wet springs source without digging down a mile then is when the pit with rocks comes in handy. just get close to the source and then put in the tile in a circle getting smaller as you work toward the center. the rocks let the water get to the pipe quicker without having to soak for a while to get to the pipe and thus making all the ground back into the same mud hole you started with.just running the pipe is ok, but if you want to drain it quicker and can't find the source of the spring then go with the pit.

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JMS/.MN

02-18-2008 01:26:49




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 Re: Homemade trencher in reply to plowboy1, 02-17-2008 19:07:25  
Do some google searches for tile plows- like Wurdinger, Soil Max Gold Digger, etc. to get some ideas on them. You won"t get yours 2 feet into the ground if it"s only 2 1/2 feet long. 3ph on many tractors drops only 22 inches, and the dirt billowing up in front will interfere. Problem is compounded by a wider frontal face. 3ph tile plows have a boot that must run level, and that is controlled by a leveling cylinder on the frame, letting the 3ph float. I"m just starting to build one now of a different design, with the plow set in a square sleeve, raised and lowered by a cylinder. Pix by summer?

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skyharborcowboy

02-17-2008 20:57:20




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 Re: Homemade trencher in reply to plowboy1, 02-17-2008 19:07:25  
Post a photo of what you made. I was thinking of making something similar from the sounds of it.

Joe



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Lee in Iowa

02-17-2008 20:32:53




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 Re: Homemade trencher in reply to plowboy1, 02-17-2008 19:07:25  
Don't know what you're using but an IH tractor has a draft lever beside the raise/lower lever. Set the draft to the heavy side to keep it from raising the implement. Sometimes the draft system is stuck from not being used for years. The first time I plowed with my 856 in several years it took a while for the draft system to loosen up and work. Lee



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BCnT

02-17-2008 20:28:53




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 Re: Homemade trencher in reply to plowboy1, 02-17-2008 19:07:25  
i've never tried 4'' but i used a subsoiler to bury 1.25'' pvc...i'd think muliple passes mite work better on bigger pipe or possibly rig a point on bottom of i beam and tilt it so its digging down to overcome the draft control.



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RalphWD45

02-17-2008 19:37:56




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 Re: Homemade trencher in reply to plowboy1, 02-17-2008 19:07:25  
Most 3pt hitches are in float position, when they are down, and it is normal for them to ride up a little with the contour of the ground, your implement is lowered on. On my AC-B I built my own hydraulics( with the help of Northern Tools), and I have enough down preassure to lift the rear end 6" off the ground, which I did when trying to do the same thing you are doing. I split an oxygen bottle ,in 1/2 long ways, and made myself a rounded edged moldboard, to replace the original, on a 1 bottom 3pt plow. Complete waste of time, and resorses. Finally bit the bullet and rented a trencher,and done the job. Hope you have better luck than I did.

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