buried electrical service

farmerpsv · Aug 22, 2005

I have to trench 2000 feet @36"x6"wide for electrical service to my new house. electric co-op is not making it easy. they want to set the cable but it have to trench and go behind them and bury the cable as they lay it. they won't let me use a vibrating plow. any advice on how to do this? is there a trencher that will open and bury?
thanks...
getting burned in va

Cowboyjg · Aug 22, 2005

For that distance and that depth the trencher you rent should have a small blade at opposite end from trencher. Most units the size you need have them. This will let you trench the entire run and then turn machine and follow behind them filling it in. You can come back after and compact and fill some more if needed.

farmerpsv · Aug 22, 2005

thanks cowboy,
i do have a box on my tractor. can't angle it like a blade, but do you think this would work for this?

EastTexFrank · Aug 22, 2005

Like cowboy said, the trencher you hire should have a small blade at the back to backfill in the trench. You can do it with a box blade, I've done it on shorter runs than you have, and the best way I've found is to back into it and move the pile of dirt back into the trench, at least initially. After that you can compact it and smoothe it but 2,000' is a lot of to..ing and fro..ing. Hope you have hydro.

farmerpsv · Aug 22, 2005

tex,
yeah, that's what i thought. was hoping there was something obvious that i was missing. at that rate, i'll just use the loader.
paul

MarkLeininger · Aug 23, 2005

I buried 3" PVC for mine and left a rope in it, but it wasn't as long as yours. I think mine was about 500 feet. The power company came and pulled the line. We have very rocky soil and our old line had been penetrated several times in 30 years, which required digging up the lawn and once the driveway to get at it. They said the PVC would prevent that from happening again.