Making a small trench for drainage

DmansPadge · Dec 30, 2004

I finally got the county out to set my culvert and dig my ditch out. I have one side of my property that is holding water. I plan on hauling in quite a bit of dirt this summer but for now I'd like to dig a small trench to help drain the side that is the holding water. My neighbor has a middle buster I can use. Would this be ok for digging about a 6-10" trench? Or would I be better off using something else?

Thanks.

KiotiJohn · Dec 30, 2004

It takes a good bit to dig with a middle buster, but if your tractor will pull it, it would do well for digging a small trench. I'm not sure of the gradation of the property in question, but you may only need a small rut that could be dug with one of the rippers on your boxblade. If you needed a little wider trench, you could make another run beside the first. If there's a little too much dirt in it, adjust your right lift arm to angle the edge of the boxblade so that it will dig in with one edge for clean out of the excess dirt. You would need a good angle on it to be effective, and make sure you adjust the top link so that only the inside rear blade is catching ground. I hope this is clear enough John

DmansPadge · Dec 31, 2004

John... thanks! I've never even thought about using the ripper on the boxblade. Thanks for the great info. I would imagine the middle buster would take some hp to get the job done. But maybe a few passes with the middle buster would do ok?

Thanks for the info John.

KiotiJohn · Dec 31, 2004

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( But maybe a few passes with the middle buster would do ok? )</font>
Oh yes, don't get me wrong, it can be done with the middle buster, but they can sometimes be tricky to use, and of course, by design, they drag right on down into the dirt if you don't have them adjusted just right. Depending on your tractor's ability, it may bring you to a dead stop right away. Lift it up higher, make a pass, come back and lower it a little, another pass should work fine. I was only picturing a small trench, temporary, that would divert the water. I've dug similar ones with just one ripper down on the boxblade and then tilting the rear blade part to dig out the left over material with great success. Hope you have a great new year. John

DmansPadge · Dec 31, 2004

Thanks John. It will be temporary but I also want to make sure it does what I need it to. The idea about using the ripper on the boxblade is great and that may be all I need to do. I was just asking your opinion on making several passes with the middle buster to make a decent size trench.

Thanks again.