Rented a trencher (for the first time) because I'm dropping my utilities underground. I will still have about 230 feet above ground from the power pole across the street to a pole on my property , but the last drop from the pole on my property to the house is getting moved underground.
The power and phone companies have been great, but Comcast..... It took an hour of yelling to finally get them to agree to have someone call me to talk about the specifics. Verizon heard what I wanted to do (without interrupting me -- Comcast, take notes please!), and immediately suggested that as the best option. I didn't even have to ask! And then Comcast wants their own conduit at least 18" from both power AND phone. Power I understand, but they can live in the same conduit as phone with no problem. But no, they are Comcast....
So, three 90' trenches. Oy. No, four, counting the one that's going out to where the new shop will be located.
Anyway, here's the biggest lesson learned:
1. If you live in a county where the electrical inspector's nickname is "By The Book Bob", and the code requires power to be 36" deep, do NOT rent a 36" trencher. Rent at least a 40" trencher. Better yet, 48". That way, when it bounces or hits a rock, you're still below your 36" minimum so you don't have to go back and hammer away at that part of the trench that is only 34". BONUS: You don't have to shovel out the loose stuff at the bottom, saving you HOURS of backbreaking labor.
2. Get the biggest, most powerful trencher you can possibly afford. I would not have thought a 22 hp Ditch Witch would be stopped by an 1 1/4" root, but it was. Repeatedly. And I I wouldn't have thought a 22 hp Ditch Witch would be slowed to a crawl or completely stopped by clay soil. But it was. Constantly. We did a lot of the work with two of my grown sons (big guys) helping to drag the trencher backwards with nylon cargo straps attached to the trencher and wrapped around their waists. The tracks would just start digging a hole instead of puling the trencher along. Still had to go at a crawl (several minutes to go a foot!), or the chain bogged down to a stop.
All in all, a very disappointing experience for my first time using a trencher. I was not expecting two days of hard labor, I was expecting a few hours of running a machine.
The power and phone companies have been great, but Comcast..... It took an hour of yelling to finally get them to agree to have someone call me to talk about the specifics. Verizon heard what I wanted to do (without interrupting me -- Comcast, take notes please!), and immediately suggested that as the best option. I didn't even have to ask! And then Comcast wants their own conduit at least 18" from both power AND phone. Power I understand, but they can live in the same conduit as phone with no problem. But no, they are Comcast....
So, three 90' trenches. Oy. No, four, counting the one that's going out to where the new shop will be located.
Anyway, here's the biggest lesson learned:
1. If you live in a county where the electrical inspector's nickname is "By The Book Bob", and the code requires power to be 36" deep, do NOT rent a 36" trencher. Rent at least a 40" trencher. Better yet, 48". That way, when it bounces or hits a rock, you're still below your 36" minimum so you don't have to go back and hammer away at that part of the trench that is only 34". BONUS: You don't have to shovel out the loose stuff at the bottom, saving you HOURS of backbreaking labor.
2. Get the biggest, most powerful trencher you can possibly afford. I would not have thought a 22 hp Ditch Witch would be stopped by an 1 1/4" root, but it was. Repeatedly. And I I wouldn't have thought a 22 hp Ditch Witch would be slowed to a crawl or completely stopped by clay soil. But it was. Constantly. We did a lot of the work with two of my grown sons (big guys) helping to drag the trencher backwards with nylon cargo straps attached to the trencher and wrapped around their waists. The tracks would just start digging a hole instead of puling the trencher along. Still had to go at a crawl (several minutes to go a foot!), or the chain bogged down to a stop.
All in all, a very disappointing experience for my first time using a trencher. I was not expecting two days of hard labor, I was expecting a few hours of running a machine.
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