Odds are if you’ve worked in Irrigation you’ve used a trencher before- or perhaps you should have and were working too hard! Trencher’s come in a variety of sizes for a variety of trenches, from the small to the vastly huge. But they all share in common the same principle: using a metal chain with teeth, the chain rips into the ground like a chainsaw eats into a tree. Ripping up the soil and roots that may be in it’s path in the process and dislodging the soil from the newly created trench in the process. Trenchers are the perfect answer for a business looking to expedite their workload, or just the homeowner looking to avoid hours of painful shoveling and blistered hands.
It’s for this reason you’ll find trenchers used so often in irrigation, as the trencher makes easy work for creating drainage trenches for water or even sewage runoff. You should be sure to provide piping for the latter, but perhaps that’s for a different article! Trenchers are great for creating trenches with their strong metal ‘teeth’, but you should be wary of using them around rock prone areas. The teeth are often not created to cut through solid rock or very hard, rock like sediments. While obviously knowing what’s beneath your feet can be difficult to know beforehand, you should be wary when using the Trencher, taking it slow to ensure the ground won’t reveal anything too unexpected. In the event that you do strike rock, you should consider stopping the machine and pulling the chain from the ground to inspect the teeth. Torn teeth can mean shards of metal may have struck the machine or be lodged somewhere that may cause larger problems in the future. Some Rental Companies may even have a forgiveness clause or just the opposite- hold you responsible. Be sure to know your rental rights before finding yourself in this situation.
Most often you’ll find landscapers using trenchers before running sprinkler piping for instance. This saves not only time, but money in the manpower needed to dig dozens of feet into soil in what otherwise could be described as ‘back breaking’ work. But trenchers aren’t secluded to just landscapers, electricians too have found great use in the machine. Digging trenches for electrical wires that are expected to run from power pole to a home can at times mean a very lengthy path for the trench. Time saved here, can mean more time directed to the actual job at hand- properly securing the electrical wires into the ground, protected by piping or a protective material.
Regardless of how you plan on using your Trencher, you’ll be saving your back and hands some serious grief. Trenchers are a critical tool in every person working irrigation, landscaping or even electrical work. Don’t find yourself in the critical position of hours being wasted when this simple, effective machine could be saving you hours of work. Also don’t forget to review your rental company’s policy on renting, based on the wear and tear of the tool you’ll be using.