Digging trench with tractor?

[Tony in SD]

I am needing to dig a trench to run electric to my garage, running it through pvc conduit so I’ll bury it around 20 inches deep. What would be the best way to do this with a tractor? Subsoiler, ripper? Any ideas?

As a contractor, my company has buried hundreds, maybe even thousands of miles of cables of all types. So I can speak with authority that there are many ways to bury cables. That said, of all the responses given, the answer that best matches your question is by Waugh62. Second best is by ed12345. ed12345 does not work well in rocky areas. Therefore if you have rocks do not use ed12345's method.

I can also tell you that the conduit debate has just as many that say you need it as those that say you dont need it. In my experience conduit is justified under some not all roads and in very rocky digging. Conduit adds to the cost of the project and very little to the longevity of the cable itself.
As others have said, make sure you have a big enough cable for the load and distance you plan to use.

 

[Swittig]

I did a roof drain line in a yard with a 1 bottom plow and a shovel. The plow got 8" and the sod out of the way. I was going between a foot and 2.5 feet went good but most of the time was using the business end of the shovel. I would recommend rent a trenches for the road area. Packed road is n fun by hand.

 

[Jim.ME]

As a contractor, my company has buried hundreds, maybe even thousands of miles of cables of all types. So I can speak with authority that there are many ways to bury cables. That said, of all the responses given, the answer that best matches your question is by Waugh62. Second best is by ed12345. ed12345 does not work well in rocky areas. Therefore if you have rocks do not use ed12345's method.

I can also tell you that the conduit debate has just as many that say you need it as those that say you dont need it. In my experience conduit is justified under some not all roads and in very rocky digging. Conduit adds to the cost of the project and very little to the longevity of the cable itself.
As others have said, make sure you have a big enough cable for the load and distance you plan to use.

Given he said he going to run the cable through pvc conduit as a qualifier leading up to his question, how are the responses from Waugh62 and ed12345 the best answers to his question? Based on his saying he going to run conduit, 20" deep, across a soft yard and hard packed drive, a trencher rental would seem most appropriate.

 

[Tony in SD]

Given he said he going to run the cable through pvc conduit as a qualifier leading up to his question, how are the responses from Waugh62 and ed12345 the best answers to his question? Based on his saying he going to run conduit, 20" deep, across a soft yard and hard packed drive, a trencher rental would seem most appropriate.

We have used both methods to bury conduit more than 40 years ago. In fact we have buried a pair of 2" conduits using a vibratory plow pulling a bullet ahead of the conduit. Of the options given these are the 2 that require the least amount of clean up. Additionally the trench will be fully healed in less than a years time. The other methods require a significant amount of trench compacting or letting it settle over time (could be years) and of course reseeding the trenched area.

The most appropriate way to bury the cable/conduit would be to use a directional drill. But that wasn't an option since he asked "What would be the best way to do this with a tractor?"

 

[Tgrasher]

Boy, sure got a lot of help, how about a little more. Protecting your electric cable is a must. No rocks in my area but neighbor had a failure on his unprotected underground service because of that. I used 1 1/2" black plastic water line to protect two runs of a hundred feet on mine. Costs less and does everything conduit does. To get the electric wire through the plastic line, use a kite string with a small strip of cloth tied on it. Take an air hose and blow the cloth through the line. Tie the string to bigger rope until you have one strong enough to pull the electric line through.

 

[Hdonly]

I'm lucky here in Florida. Nothing but fine sand here. No rocks. Direct burial is the cheapest and safe way to go here.

 

[olddavid]

Ran power to my mobile home using direct burial cable. You are supposed to lay it in a squiggle or "s" shape in the bottom of the trench. Put mine around 2 feet deep almost 28 years ago and have had no issues but I rarely drive over it. If you have a lot of heavy traffic going over it conduit might be needed. Like has been said vertical conduit coming out at the ends for protection above ground.

According to the 37th edition of "Wiring Simplified" (caveat: 1992 copyright, changes may have occurred) when laying direct burial wire lay it in a snaky way in the trench with an "S" where it goes into or comes out of the ground. Should be 2 ft deep but if there is a roadway or tilled ground above it go deeper and lay a board or some similar protective material over it. Screen the backfill to remove any stones that might damage the cable. Sand was mentioned as a very good material to backfill with.

 

[Duner Wi]

Digging trench with tractor?​

I use my narrow front with manure loader made into dirt bucket.

 

[olddavid]

According to the 37th edition of "Wiring Simplified" (caveat: 1992 copyright, changes may have occurred) when laying direct burial wire lay it in a snaky way in the trench with an "S" where it goes into or comes out of the ground. Should be 2 ft deep but if there is a roadway or tilled ground above it go deeper and lay a board or some similar protective material over it. Screen the backfill to remove any stones that might damage the cable. Sand was mentioned as a very good material to backfill with.

Just wanted to add that I didn't screen or use sand to backfill. I was just careful. I couldn't find a way to edit the original message.