Help with selecting a trencher for my BX

[dragoneggs]

I have several hundred feet of glacial till (hard rocky ground) to trench to lay water pipe around my property. I have looked on line at BXpanded and BroTek products and I own several products from each company and can attest on the quality and usefulness. But what else is out there? That said, I am wondering what experiences you have all had. I thought about building my own but too many projects and think this is one that I ought to pass on so I can get 'real' work done. Help!!!

 

[mendodave]

I don't think you'd be happy with the ripper/trencher from BroTek...I have one, it works fantastically on my soil, but I have very few rocks. I would just rent one of those big chainsaw trenchers, unless you have other uses for the trencher or ripper tooth. That tooth is awesome.

 

[dragoneggs]

Yes I am also considering renting a 36in trencher on tracks from Home Depot. About $70 for 4 hours or $100 a day. Eventually want to put in a couple hundred more feet of trenches for water and wiring so figured I would get plenty of use at my pace if I had my own trencher attachment.

 

[HeLa]

i would suggest renting a mini-excavator or a large backhoe for rocky soil. heavier than your BX and with longer reach.

those smaller "chainsaw trenches" are pretty well worthless when they encounter stones larger than what can be pulled up through the narrow trench.

 

[dragoneggs]

i would suggest renting a mini-excavator or a large backhoe for rocky soil. heavier than your BX and with longer reach.

those smaller "chainsaw trenches" are pretty well worthless when they encounter stones larger than what can be pulled up through the narrow trench.

Thanks HeLa... actually my BX has done quite a bit of trenching... (100+ feet already). I just don't want a 12in wide ditch as I will be tearing up a gravel road I made a couple years ago. Most of the 'boulders' are softball size or smaller. A few may be volleyball size... those I know will be a pain in the arse if I don't catch it right with the trencher.

 

[Sprinklerman]

I have a bx , I am not easy on it , I dont think it would handle a chain trencher , I dont think it has enough hydraulics . I just rented a nice 3 foot walk behind , all hydraulic ,I fought it with rocks , constantly going from foward to reverse . Rent one , or find a used one

 

[Coyote machine]

Lay water pipe for what? Irrigation? Auto watering of lawns? Depending on what you want to do and where could determine which equipment to use, rent, buy.
Give us more details so we can suggest best practice.

 

[dragoneggs]

I have a bx , I am not easy on it , I dont think it would handle a chain trencher , I dont think it has enough hydraulics . I just rented a nice 3 foot walk behind , all hydraulic ,I fought it with rocks , constantly going from foward to reverse . Rent one , or find a used one

No I think you are misunderstanding me. I am debating on buying narrow bucket or trencher attachment for the backhoe vs renting a 36un trencher walk behind in tracks.

 

[dragoneggs]

Lay water pipe for what? Irrigation? Auto watering of lawns? Depending on what you want to do and where could determine which equipment to use, rent, buy.
Give us more details so we can suggest best practice.

Well, I have about an acre of pretty steep land that I want to supply water to instead of long hoses and auto timers. I want to tap into my main water line before it enters the house from our well. A couple hundred feet or more to run down to my wife's garden, install a few risers around the property and also a Rainbird lawn/garden watering system. I have done some trenching to my greenhouse near the house but I want a much narrower ditch than 12in wide that makes a serious mess to get down to the lower part of the property that is flatter and where the vegetable garden and lawns are at.

 

[Coyote machine]

Steep it is. You need dynamite and a dozer to level things off some!:laughing:
Try MIE, (Michigan Iron & Equipment); they can size a ripper tooth like I have, that will get you trenching a path just wide enough, but not as wide as 12".
They do custom work, that would fit your hoe to your specs.