Dug a ditch for a water line

Tom N MS

Well-known Member
What kind of olow do I need to buy to dig a ditch for a water line? Want it deep enough
whatever deep enough is and don't want it to dig a wide ditch to have to cover--but not a
problem since I have a never used boxblade with gouger fingers on it..Reckon one gouger on
the box blade will dig the ditch??ditch 60-80 ft long.. Tks
 
(quoted from post at 23:26:14 08/20/15) What kind of olow do I need to buy to dig a ditch for a water line? Want it deep enough
whatever deep enough is and don't want it to dig a wide ditch to have to cover--but not a
problem since I have a never used boxblade with gouger fingers on it..Reckon one gouger on
the box blade will dig the ditch??ditch 60-80 ft long.. Tks
n warm MS, a middle buster sounds good, unless it is one of those 108 inch lines.! :wink:
 
A subsoiler might work but you will only get down 18"/2' so it may not be deep enough for winter in your area. They also had a steel thing shaped like a bullet to pull behind to open up the trench a little more room also you could hook up a plastic pipe to it and feed it in as you go. Landscapers use something like it to lay sprinkler line. Maybe google it for some ideas.

Kirk
100_3221Small.jpg
 

I used a subsoiler to lay 130 yards of water line.

Here is a link to my method:

http://forums.yesterdaystractors.com/viewtopic.php?t=1190984&highlight=

(Just copy & past to browser)



Good Luck!
 
If the only use for it will be to dig one trench I would recommend that you rent a trencher. A trencher will do a better job and you can go deeper. Use a back blade to push the dirt back in the ditch. Run one of the front tires of your tractor in the ditch after backfill to compact the dirt.
 
if it doesn't need to be too deep,
I use a middle buster/potato plow (whatever they are called in your area)
Couple passes and they work well.
On most of them the plow blade will unbolt, leaving you with a sub-soiler if needed.

good investment too, I use mine constantly.
burying electric cable and antenna feed lines, cleaning small ditches, making water run-off depression guides,
even busting thru small roots while working trails in an area with trees.
 
Subsoilers will also help pop out those pesky garden rocks. A middle buster might be easier and cheaper then a true subsoiler. You can take off the plow and put a flat chisel or point for subsoiling and then when not used for that can put the plow on for use in your garden for potatoes and such. Post some photos when you get it done.

Kirk
100_0748.jpg
 
(reply to post at 20:26:14 08/20/15)
The farmer that I worked for as a kid also had a campground. He ran water lines in the campground by removing a bottom from his two bottom land plow and moving ahead slowly and putting the pipe in right behind the mold board, then stomping the dirt back down. Kind of a three man job.
 

Good thread. I need to dig ditches for our private road so this is very informative to me.

Kirk, that's a sweet tractor there!
 

If you have to buy something, I would just rent a ditch digger and do a better job. I ran a water line line around my shop and rented a ditch digger and I was done with the job before I knew it.
 
Where I live a water line needs to be buried 8 to 10 feed down if the area will not be disturbed in the winter. Reports are that frost will go down as much as 25 feet under the highways.
 
I ran water line all over my place. Use a middle buster as deep as possible and then laid the pvc line and made two angle passes with my scrapper blade and ran over with tractor twice and done. It appears you live in Mississippi as I do. Freeze is no problem but wet soil and big cows could cause breaks.
 
I would encase the new line in plastic pipe and maybe lay a spare just to run something else are even a new line in...

I first welded a pipe to a subsoiler but could never get it to feed right are get it deep as I wanted... I was ruining 1 1/4 pipe...

I have done my fair share dig'N with a shovel its not bad if I can catch it when the ground is wet..

A local guy will trench for 35 cents a ft and cover it up he has a min of $60...


http://forums.yesterdaystractors.com/viewtopic.php?t=779872&highlight=uncle
 
When I ran 110V power to my deer stand I used a one bottom plow. Plowed both directions a couple of times and got it about 14" deep. Worked good.
I didn't have to worry about the electrons freezing though.
 
At one time I worked with a crew doing telephone construction projects, part of which was installing buried cable to houses. The crew helped me replace the water line to the family farm one weekend. We installed about 300 feet of 1" Schedule 40 PVC water line in less than two hours using a small hydrostatic vibratory cable plow. The plow was a Case Maxi-Sneaker and we towed a "bullet" behind the plow blade that held the front end of the pipe with a Chinese Finger Trap grip.

We dug holes at each end of a run using a small backhoe. We lowered the blade into the hole and drove to the next hole, towing the pipe through the opening left by the "bullet", with one person guiding the pipe into the entry hole.

This pipe has been in service for 35 years with no leaks. The pipe is the old thin-wall version of Schedule 40.

Pulling the pipe is more practical than ripping open a trench to bury it, unless you have a bunch of short runs or sharp bends.
 
Weld a length of two inch steel pipe to the back of a sub soiler and curve it 90% with a pipe bender. The lower opening just above the bottom of the sub soiler blade.

Heat the inlet top side of the pipe by heating it and hammering out a funner shape.

Run the subsoiler over the place you want to put the pipe and then start the plow with the end of the pipe pushed into the opening of the weelded 2" pipe and have someone feed the plastic pipe as you advance with the sub soiler deep as you want the pipe to go.

Easy as pie. No back filling. When you get to the end you are through.

Zane
 
Good plan-why didn't I think of that-My Dad has one--I bet I can borrow it since he will
never use it again..
 
Thanks everyone..Probably just rent a trencher--Son is 34 YO and is his water line so he can handle it --I couldn't..I'd have to figure out a way to ride and do it..Tks again..
 

I have laid a many water line on top of the ground till i could dig it in... When all the stars in the universe line up in this clay I can dig 15ft in 30/40 min with a shovel I stop and go back at it again later (its a old man thang)..

A 34 year old needs to learn the long end of a shovel its not that bad...

This spring I put in 20 plus hours with a shovel just to prove I could still do it.. Come June around here you will need dynamite a shovel is not much help... :cry:
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top