Digging up gas lines

patrickg · May 13, 2002

///I'm sure going to tell you that you won't have a fire or explosion, I don't think you will.///

Thanks Bird, I think I got the gist of your thoughts: don't bother with a "sniffer" just go ahead 'cause you practically guarantee it is safe. Thanks, I feel better now that I feel justified in using a torch.

Actually, since they left one end 3-4 ft in the air when they backfilled their trench just so I could pull it, I could fill it with water. Even if it doesn't fill completely along the entire length, the part I'm cutting will be filled. Somehow I'm not sure this is a job for my lil Kubby. Maybe my 4x4 Dodge turbo diesel in low range or the 12,000 lb winch doubled to 24,000 with a snatch block. Need to figure a way to keep the truck from going to the pipe instead of the other way 'round.

I wonder about how much lateral force applied at bumber level a Mark I Mod I standard issue wooden power pole can handle without causing problems??????? How about at ground level?

Patrick

EdKing · May 13, 2002

I wonder about how much lateral force applied at bumber level a Mark I Mod I standard issue wooden power pole can handle without causing problems??????? How about at ground level?

I would use a "deadman", bury a 6 ft log lengthwise about 6 ft in the ground with a chain attached. It is a bit of work, but easier than dodging downed power lines and explaining what happened to the electric company.

patrickg · May 13, 2002

Ed, How much dynamite do you suppose it would take to make a hole six ft deep and six feet wide in heavy moist clay?

Patrick

Dozernut · May 13, 2002

I think Ed's idea has merit. In my neck of the woods if you snap, or damage a utility pole, a ball park figure of $1,500 is quoted. That could buy new equipment for the tractor./w3tcompact/icons/cool.gif

I have used a deadman with good results, but we only put it down a couple of feet. We only made the trench a little wider than the log. You want to dig a T shaped trench and run your cable in the vertical part of the T, so the force won't pull it out of the trench. Good luck patrick!

EdKing · May 14, 2002

Ed, How much dynamite do you suppose it would take to make a hole six ft deep and six feet wide in heavy moist clay?

I take it you don't have a backhoe.

You don't have to go 6 foot deep with a 6 foot log, that's just how deadman was defined to me while I was in the Marines. You could probably go with a 3 foot log 6 inches in diameter, buried 3 feet deep. You might even try driving some long pipe or drill rod into the ground, use a couple for anchor points. Or maybe a couple of those screw in anchors the electric company uses to brace the poles.

When we dig graves, we can usually go 3 feet wide by 7 feet long by 5 1/2 feet deep in about 3 to 4 hours, unless we hit rock. And yes, that is digging by hand.

Kodiak · May 14, 2002

Why would you dig a grave by hand?

EdKing · May 14, 2002

Why would you dig a grave by hand? 

Trust me, its not by choice. It is and old country cemetary, and there are places you can't get in with a backhoe. We can't dig at all in the oldest section, as we don't have a map marking the individual graves. Even on the mapped section, we sometimes come close to other vaults. The head stones are so close in places where I barely have room to get a quad in to haul the excess dirt out.

Soundguy · May 14, 2002

You may find that surface area firction is a dit hight for that pipe, but you never know.

An idea to make it possibly less explosion prone would be to take an old towel, wet it, and wrap it into a ball, and tie with twine... make it just a bit bigger than the pipe ID.. use it as a plug, and just push it into the pipe with a shovel handle or similar device... push it just past the place you are cutting, it should provide a decent seal to isolate the section you are cuting from the rest of the pipe... add water to keep the plug expanded, etc.

Soundguy

rf33 · May 14, 2002

You may find that surface area firction is a dit hight for that pipe, but you never know

Soundguy, I think that your keyboard might have been broken when you typed this one??/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Soundguy · May 14, 2002

Good grief!... I don't understand it. I've seen this happen a few times now. I still had this page saved in my browsers 'back feature', and those spelling mistakes arent there! I find this very odd. Problems in posting?

Soundguy

""You may find that surface area firction is a dit hight for that pipe, but you never know

Soundguy, I think that your keyboard might have been broken when you typed this one?? ""