Trenching a downspout drain

[bhh]

I wanted some advise on options for this. I'm getting ready to put down about 6" of fresh gravel on my driveway this spring and I wanted to dig 2 trenches about 30' long (each) and install 4" schedule 40 pipe in them to drain my downspouts under the driveway and out to daylight before I have the gravel delivered. I have a Kubota L3800 with a FEL, 66" bucket (no teeth), 48" grapple (big teeth) and a box blade. I think if I can get down through the soil about 10-12", that would leave 6-8" over the pipe and then another 6" of gravel over that. I could of course rent a trencher but that seems like a lot of hassle and big expense for 2 relatively short and shallow trenches. Once the soil thaws, I thought about scraping the existing gravel clear with my FEL or box blade and then making a couple of passes with one of the ripper teeth of my box blade lowered as an alternate to a pickaxe and then the loose dirt would hopefully shovel out pretty easy. I could also buy a subsoiler for about $150 but am hoping to do this with tools on-hand if possible. Any ideas?

 

[Ed of all trades]

I use a one shank sub-potato plow, and swap back and forth to get the ditch I need.

 

[rekees4300]

Any ideas?

Do you have a garden tiller? That would be enough to get down a foot. If not then just do it by hand with a ditching spade.

 

[RDrancher]

I dig them all the time with the FEL and flat cutting edge. The first cut takes the longest, especially if the clay we have around here is really dry. After that, just cut a half-a-bucket width at a time. If you have room, use one scarifier and rip it first to make it easier.

 

[avc8130]

Either buy a potato plow or rent a mini excavator.

ac

 

[6011Artist]

buy the potato plow, use it for the ditch for the pipe. Later you can use it to put down electric wires, water lines, subsoiler or actually plow up potatoes. More uses for a potato plow than plowin' taters.

 

[bhh]

I think I am going to give it a whirl with my FEL and if no luck with that, try the potato plow - also know as a middlebuster?
Thanks everyone for the input.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

How deep do the rippers on your box blade go? A single shank on the box blade is the functional equivalent of the potato plow. What will limit you is how deep it can go. I've buried downspout that way, as long as you have an unobstructed pass with the tractor it's not hard. Do one or two passes with the ripper to break up the ground, then clear it with a shovel. A hole 60' by 5" wide by 12" deep is slightly under a cubic yard. I figure with already broken soil shoveling a cubic yard an hour is a measured pace, it's about the pace of filling a 5 gallon bucket every 90 seconds. One key is not to move any more dirt than you have to, you want to use a straight-sided shovel so your hole has straight sides.

The nice thing is if you work neatly you don't really disturb the landscaping. I would think to dig a hole like that with a FEL you would have to make it quite wide and really make a mess of your yard.

 

[aczlan]

I would think to dig a hole like that with a FEL you would have to make it quite wide and really make a mess of your yard.

You would put the edge of the FEL parallel to the trench and dig straight down with it, works fairly well.

Aaron Z

 

[texasjohn]

This is what I would do. Scarifier tooth on box blade set as deep as possible, rip up the trench, remove dirt with FEL parallel to trench. If you need more digging power because of tough soil or to go deeper, get a tooth bar and have it for countless future projects. Finish with shovel as needed. A wife or buddy to help direct bucket placement will improve digging efficiency.

I dig them all the time with the FEL and flat cutting edge. The first cut takes the longest, especially if the clay we have around here is really dry. After that, just cut a half-a-bucket width at a time. If you have room, use one scarifier and rip it first to make it easier.