Ditch Witch Trenching

[BentBierz]

Hello,

Rented a Ditch Witch this weekend to trench out a 200 foot, 6" wide x 42" deep trench to lay 3" PVC so that the power company can later pull 400 amp service to my building. I had never rented a ditch witch before but everything went smoothly until near the end. The problem was that I was trenching in between two fixed points, my building and the power pole. I started at the building and trenched to about 10'-15' of the pole and then turned around and started trenching from the pole back towards my newly made trench.

Little did I know that once you start going back the other way into an OPEN trench that the auger will no longer move dirt up and out to the side and instead just keeps moving the dirt pile down the trench as you go...it is trenching but it isn't excavating the dirt. What I ended up with was a pyramid mound of dirt that was approx. 12' long at the base tapering up to the top of the trench...this is a ton of Texas gumbo that has to be hand shoveled out. Further...it ain't easy shoveling out a 42" deep, 6" wide trench as you obviously can't stand in the trench to shovel so it is all done from above with a trenching shovel and post hole digger that is only about a foot or so taller than the trench.

Am I missing a trick that people who trench all the time know that I just couldn't figure out? I was so beat by the end of yesterday that I wasn't able to finish clearing the trench and probably have easily 2-3 hours of hand trenching to go today...maybe longer, not as spry as I used to be and my body is killing me today. Thanks.

 

[txvwnut]

I’ve never had this problem and how you did it is they way most utility guys do it. There is a shovel just for trenching that you use to clean out any spoil when your done with the machine operation.

 

[Jim greengo]

That's why I've always said that a trencher without backhoe on other end is pretty useless unless you're trenching in an endless field.

 

[Jim greengo]

Theres a reason most contractors use trenchers like this one.

 

[Hot Rod Grampa]

Would it have been possible to trench beyond the power pole? Go along side of it as close to where you want to be. Go a few feet past and you may still gave to dig along side the pole by hand, but what you break off can fall into the trench where the ditch witch can scoop it back out.

 

[BentBierz]

I’ve never had this problem and how you did it is they way most utility guys do it. There is a shovel just for trenching that you use to clean out any spoil when your done with the machine operation.

Not to question your own experience but it became quickly obvious that when I turned around and went the opposite direction into an open trench, I no longer had the untrenched ground as a backstop for the dirt to pile up and allow the auger to move it to both sides...all it does is push the pile ahead into the trench. At least that was my experience with the Ditch Witch I rented...others mileage may vary.

 

[BentBierz]

Theres a reason most contractors use trenchers like this one.

I rented pretty much the same thing with the obvious exception of not having a backhoe on the front...it had a blade instead. Because I need to keep the trench open for conduit inspection long after when I need to return the trencher, the blade was of no use but, man, that backhoe would have been. I could have been drinking a nice, cold IPA by 4 PM yesterday instead of just now settling down for my first one in two days (was so whipped last night I showered, ate, sat down and watched my Astros lose and then went to bed sore as hell).

 

[ard]

Been there, done that. No other way to do it really. (with only a trencher, backhoe you can clean it out...)

Never really struck me as a major issue- just another hour or so of digging, but its all fine loose, dry dirt. I dont trench in the wet.

 

[Bert_]

Usually there is a spot you can do a 45* or 90* turn in the trench. Makes it easy to meet in the middle and clean it out. Conduit complicates that since you have to watch the amount of bends. Still works out most of the time.

A 2x6 is good to keep dirt from filling in other parts of the trench. A trench shovel takes care of the rest.

My ditch witch has a chain trencher, vibratory plow, backhoe and a blade. The trencher and the blade are great. Plow is to big for my machine and the backhoe is painfully slow but good for a hole at the end of a trench.

 

[outdoorspace]

Sounds like it's wet dirt. If it were dry, a wet/dry vac will **** it up no problem. With wet clay it still works, but tends to clog up.

I cleaned out the bottom of all my pole barn footings with one. Would have been pretty much impossible to shovel at 5' deep.

 

[BentBierz]

Sounds like it's wet dirt. If it were dry, a wet/dry vac will **** it up no problem. With wet clay it still works, but tends to clog up.

I cleaned out the bottom of all my pole barn footings with one. Would have been pretty much impossible to shovel at 5' deep.

Not necessarily "wet" but for anyone that lives in clay they know that no time of year, rainy, dry, in-between is ideal for digging...clay ***** to dig out at anytime for anything.

We used to watch a DIY show called "Rehab Addict" and I think she split her time doing shows between Detroit and somewhere in Minnesota. On many of her shows they showed landscapers digging and trenching and planting and whatever else and were hardly breaking a sweat. The soil looked amazing!

 

[Norcal]

Not necessarily "wet" but for anyone that lives in clay they know that no time of year, rainy, dry, in-between is ideal for digging...clay ***** to dig out at anytime for anything.

We used to watch a DIY show called "Rehab Addict" and I think she split her time doing shows between Detroit and somewhere in Minnesota. On many of her shows they showed landscapers digging and trenching and planting and whatever else and were hardly breaking a sweat. The soil looked amazing!

You would love Vina loam soil, EZ digging and no rocks. Then there is the soil around my house,"10 minute soil" too wet to work in the winter, too dry to work in the summer, it is workable for about 10 minutes in the spring, plus full of passion stones, AKA effing rocks, about a mile and a half away + from me the Vina loam ends and this nasty dirt starts.

 

[checkthisout]

Yes. Trenchers are not the best tool for most utility trenches.

They really **** in rocky rooty soil.

 

[RPH]

Yes. Trenchers are not the best tool for most utility trenches.

They really **** in rocky rooty soil.

Size if the machine matters. Mine weighs about 10,000 pounds with carbide rock teeth. It’s pulled whole stumps out that I didn’t know existed. It’s an old Vermeer M475 unit. Trencher will reach 72” down.

 

[outdoorspace]

Not necessarily "wet" but for anyone that lives in clay they know that no time of year, rainy, dry, in-between is ideal for digging...clay ***** to dig out at anytime for anything.

We used to watch a DIY show called "Rehab Addict" and I think she split her time doing shows between Detroit and somewhere in Minnesota. On many of her shows they showed landscapers digging and trenching and planting and whatever else and were hardly breaking a sweat. The soil looked amazing!

Yeah, I'm in the southeast US and it's all clay, with a little sand mixed in here and there.

Although it's one my least used tools, the back-hoe on my tractor is one of the most rewarding!

 

[BentBierz]

Although it's one my least used tools, the back-hoe on my tractor is one of the most rewarding!

I thought about buying a backhoe when I bought my tractor but passed on it at the time. I read on a few forums where some recommended getting a used dedicated backhoe instead of a utility tractor with a backhoe attached to it. Living on acreage there has been a quite a few times I could have used a backhoe but found other ways to do it. Admittedly though, there are a few projects I would do JUST BECAUSE I had a backhoe.