Blue Barrel Culvert Idea, Is it Crazy?

[nwut05]

Hello everyone, I have a ditch that is about 8 ft across at the top tapers to about 3 ft at bottom, around 6-8 ft deep and about 75 feet long . The pond drain runs in this ditch all the time as i have a spring fed pond. The pond drain is 10 inch and handles the pond water just fine until heavy rain then the overflow takes over. What i want to is tile the ditch as cheaply as possible and i have had a few ideas. Truck tires, old Tanks welded together, Barrels welded together, and then Blue Plastic Barrels. Ideally i would just buy a culvert new or used in the 24 to 36 inch range and go from there, But they aren't cheap and the blue barrels around here are sometimes 5 bucks a piece and i was thinking if just getting those and cutting both ends out and using treated 2by's to screw them together. they would be at least 4 feet under ground and all that would be ever going over them is 4 wheeler and tractor and cows. Would they hold up? would they work? would i need to reinforce them somehow? just something i am mulling over here.

 

[/pine]

Hello everyone, I have a ditch that is about 8 ft across at the top tapers to about 3 ft at bottom, around 6-8 ft deep and about 75 feet long . The pond drain runs in this ditch all the time as i have a spring fed pond. The pond drain is 10 inch and handles the pond water just fine until heavy rain then the overflow takes over. What i want to is tile the ditch as cheaply as possible and i have had a few ideas. Truck tires, old Tanks welded together, Barrels welded together, and then Blue Plastic Barrels. Ideally i would just buy a culvert new or used in the 24 to 36 inch range and go from there, But they aren't cheap and the blue barrels around here are sometimes 5 bucks a piece and i was thinking if just getting those and cutting both ends out and using treated 2by's to screw them together. they would be at least 4 feet under ground and all that would be ever going over them is 4 wheeler and tractor and cows. Would they hold up? would they work? would i need to reinforce them somehow? just something i am mulling over here.

Before I resorted to using something that is most likely going to cause problems much sooner down the road I would look for used culverts...there are several sources...municipalities and the contractors that do work for them are good places to start...leaving your name with local utility suppliers (anyone that sells culverts etc.) won't hurt either...scrap and salvage yards are another possibility...

Good Luck...

 

[Streetcar]

Problems would be strength of material and sealing joints. Surrounding backfill would put large load on pipe. Save the future problems and use correct materials

 

[LouNY]

On a smaller scale we have one made from 5 gallon buckets,
just cut the bottom out and keep stacking till you get the length you need.
You only get 3-4 inches per bucket, it has held up to trucks and tractors for a couple of decades and is still working.

 

[BrokenTrack]

Have you ever thought about just building a wooden bridge?

I built this 8 foot bridge (an 8 foot span, 12 feet wide) that is plenty strong enough for my tractor for $16.50. I could have used a culvert, but it would have been more expensive, and culverts are kind of ugly.

 

[JerryK]

I would procure a double wall plastic culvert of the size you want, and bite the bullet on cost. Concrete culverts are great, too, but a little more complicated to get installed correctly. Plus, they are really expensive. I would stay away from steel culverts, unless they are thick wall steel pipes that are astronomical in cost. You have to figure the cost of the culvert long term, and ' fixing it right ' instead of patching up something that you will have to redo... probably correctly the second time anyway. A barrel would probably eventually cave in just like a corrugated steel pipe eventually rots/caves in....

 

[oosik]

Blue 55 gallon barrels were never designed to be used as a culvert. However - properly laid & backfilled they just might work. Then again - they might soon collapse. I certainly would NOT consider them where equipment would be crossing. Do something else.......

 

[Shaneard]

Once you cut the end off the side strength would be gone. I wouldn't use them.

 

[CADplans]

Nothing is free,, you are comparing a DIY plastic blue barrel drain pipe that has many parts and pieces that need assembled,,,
to a simple culvert that is dropped in place, and covered up.

By the time you total the cost of the blue barrels, bolts and lumber, then the value of your time,,
the standard plastic culvert will end up being cheaper.

The other negative of the blue barrels is that the interior is not smooth,,,
the blue barrel drain system will catch trash, roots, twigs, leaves, etc,, and soon clog,,

The smooth interior of a plastic culvert can only possibly clog at the entrance, or exit,,
The center is so smooth, anything that gets in,, will exit when the water flows,,,

Buy the double wall plastic culvert (NOT the stuff at Lowes,, which is single wall, and rippled inside)

 

[Egon]

Chances are good that it will work as long as there is sufficient fill over the top.

Do price things out first though.