field tile

This first picture is a close up of the machine. I know it has Deutz air cooled engine and is all wheel drive. It has a laser set up so I suppose it controls depth automatically. This is where they were running when a thunderstorm came up yesterday morning.

These three show the part that does the work. We call this type of machine a wheel. It has buckets that rotate on a wheel that is spinning. It picks up the dirt and drops it on a belt conveyer and piles it out one side or the other and the tile is put in the ditch behind the machine and small amount of dirt is pulled in the ditch.

These pics show how the tile is brought to the farm. I threw my hat on the ground in the first one to give a little perspective on the size ot the rolls. A tag on that roll said it was just over 3000 ft. The weather forecast is for a 80% chance of rain tomorrow and we really dont need it as these last pictures show. bill

I have never seen a problem yet with plastic tile properly installed. Clay tiles over time do break or shift and cause sink holes that need to be fixed every so often.

Some people in dry years will plug tiles to conserve water but in the end your better off to have the well drained soil in my opinion. It really depends upon the area.

We have a 3pt hitch tile plow that we use to put tile in with. We have to start a run with the backhoe to get the depth and then plow it the rest of the way. Little faster than the wheeled scoop but you do have better control with the scoop. We are suppose to tile one small patch this spring if the weather would cooperate I will try to post some pictures of it if I can.

The big boys have a truck with a gps and laser unit. They drive over the field and it maps the ground elevations. Then the feed the data into a computer and it spits out a map of where to lay the tile according to the lay of the land

The tile improves the soil, so the roots grow better in spring, and the plant will be able to survive a drough period much better.

When the ground is saturated, the roots don't grow, then when it does dry out the roots can't get down fast enough to reach water.

This time of year (or about 3 weeks ago mostly...), it is not unusual for 1/3 of my farm to be under water from a deep snow melt. Heavy clay soil, doesn't drain for months on it's own. The tile helps move the water away & let the water table drop to 2 feet or so below the surface, so I can get in the fields.

Before tile, dad never could farm 1/4 of this place - it was just hay medow for the work horses.

--->Paul

Water flows into the pipe through small perforations around the diameter. Generally the pipe is pitched to flow water away from an area.

It remains in the ground forever.

Usually it is several feel below the surface so that water will have a chance to absorb into the ground before it is drained away. Basically it prevents the ground from staying super-saturated with water; it can't actually wick the moisture away. Yes the farmer might want the water back later in the season, but if it was too wet to get onto the field in the spring, moisture in the late summer isn't going to be much help.

Around here we have a lot more rocks and need a little more traction. The tile layers I have seen are Caterpillar D8's with a trencher on the back (that feeds the roll of tile). The fancier ones are guided by a laser level to control the depth of the pipe.

Should have another mile or so put in....

Anyhow, the tile need to drain to somewhere - ditch or county tile. You get assessed taxes for the ditch.

There are little slots in the plastic tile to allow water to drain into them. Plastic tile are often 4, 5, 6 inched is diameter. Can be bigger.

Before plastic there were concrete tile. And still are, for bigger sizes. Think going up to 2 feet is common. Old days a lot of 6 and 8 inch tile was run.

Before that clay tile were laid. Just a baked clay tile.

The cracks between the concrete or clay tile allows the water in.

The tile needs to ever so slightly drop to the ditch.

It really needs to be 2 feet deep, and you don't like to go deeper than 3 feet, but 4 feet is pretty common. Can go much deeper if you need to get through a ridge or something.

--->Paul