Sometimes the missile will hammer through were a HDD will just grind away.
Rocks are bad no matter where you find them. That is why Vermeer has a monster
rock saw for trenching through it.
From: Gerard Dupont III
Sent: Thursday, March 23, 2017 2:41 PM
To: af@afmug.com
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Vibratory Plow
Basketball sized limestone rocks either deflect the bit, same as a pneumatic
mole/missile, or the bit will crack the rock and still possibly deflect. It's
not that uncommon to bore half way through and have to pull out and move over
12" bc of a rock. It's easier/quicker to move than it is to try to go through a
stubborn rock.
We had one yesterday where we hit a limestone shelf and the bit got bound up
and the torque from the machine snapped a drill rod in half. I don't know what
a shale shelf will do. We haven't run into that yet.
On Thu, Mar 23, 2017 at 7:48 AM, Adam Moffett <dmmoff...@gmail.com> wrote:
What happens when the topsoil contains rocks the size of basketballs?
What happens if it hits a shelf of shale?
They never seem to have that in the demonstration videos. Google fails to
answer these questions for me.
------ Original Message ------
From: "Joe" <j...@highspeedcrow.ca>
To: af@afmug.com
Sent: 3/22/2017 10:54:09 PM
Subject: Re: [AFMUG] Vibratory Plow
We did extensive testing…
Our LM42 we bought was great with direct burial, but not good with a chute
for ¾” pipe.
It was reliable, but in harder ground it was an issue – no setting for the
angle when going shallow.
We even custom built a chute… great concept, but not practical for our
ground conditions
Single tires with good rubber is OK, duals are better for harder ground.
We went with a zahn (mini skidsteer) that is tracked and articulated.
The angle of the plow can be fully adjusted to the conditions
With a serrated blade, we can easily go through roots… even a couple inches
of frozen ground
We use a “Bullet” style to pull the conduit with a carrot or kellum grip
(Chinese finger trap)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9JhOQYxbwM
video is for a silt fence, but it gives the idea of why this works very well
A team of 2 guys can easily do 5-8 houses in a short day (conduit).
Tracks, and articulation…. Is the secret. So is slow and constant speed
Rushing the install….. results in stretched/broken conduit.
We also bought the “mighty mole” attachment for compaction boring under
cement driveways.
This wasn’t cheap, but it is very effective / clean / fast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fGpRuNXjnM
make sure to sleeve under driveways with good conduit before pushing
through fiber or a smaller conduit where needed
For some of the bigger acreages, we pull in with the RTX1250 and use a
bullet with 3/4 conduit or chute with 1.5”
The ground disturbance is more, but doing this… it impresses the farmers
when we are “rolling black coal”
We also protyped a conduit pressurized with water and a jet where we attach
a carrot. The water helps for sure, but at some point… the added work for the
water/equipment was just a little bit too much to be practical. Another one we
looked at was sending a stream of water down the plow itself, but then we need
the water source moving… and it used a lot of water to be effective. Think of
how a big tree mover sends the big knifes into the ground easier with
water…that was the model we compared it to. Very functional… just impractical
in practice.
From: Af [mailto:af-boun...@afmug.com] On Behalf Of Jason McKemie
Sent: Tuesday, March 21, 2017 2:55 PM
To: af@afmug.com
Subject: [AFMUG] Vibratory Plow
I'm trying to decide what make/model of plow to get. The options, as I see
them, are the Vermeer LM42, Ditch Witch 410SX, or Case Maxi Sneaker. I'll be
using this for customer drops as well as some main-runs.
I like the mini excavator attachment for the LM42, although I don't know
how limiting this will be for the machine if I'm also using it for customer
drops. The drill attachment for the 410SX also seems like it could be useful.
Anyone have experience with these machines? Recommendations?
Also, does anyone know what model of Case Maxi Sneaker this is?
http://i.imgur.com/APCL4TK.jpg
Thanks.
-Jason
