DIY Ride-on Yard Irrigation Trencher

[@rockyhill3]

I love to see ingenious projects like these, amazing!

[@murraymadness4674]

Awesome, why so few views on such a great idea! btw I "untrenched" a power line doing similiar thing, winch hooked to truck and pulled out the cable. Slow but works, no digging, use pressure washer to loosen dirt as it went.

[@markrainford1219]

The idea is certainly not new, but to make one for your own garden is really rather clever. I like it.

[@Patriottoo2]

I made this DIY ride-on trencher to install poly pipe for underground sprinklers. It will cut a trench 8-12" deep. Then the sled is turned around and the pipe is pulled to the depth of the trench. The sled is steered by weight shift on the "wings." I like to re-appropriate materials for projects... the sled base was picked out of a trash bin at a local welding shop. It had held a receiver hitch, which had been removed. I had to add "ailerons" to accommodate my size 13 feet. The handle was picked from a pile of exercise equipment that the high school had thrown away after getting a grant for a new weight room. The leverage provided by the long handle allows the knife to, easily, break though small tree roots. The winch cable is attached to a tree, or to a hand crank winch, inserted into a vehicle's receiver hitch. ATV winch is from Harbor Freight. Since this method provides for insertion of the poly pipe by pulling it to depth after the knife has cut the narrow trench, there is very minimal digging, except for near the sprinkler heads. Almost a year later, the narrow cut trench has "healed" without leaving a trace... except for the working sprinklers.

[@ifyoutip]

Very Clever. I like it. However I say the handlebars need more chrome. The frame needs black and orange paint, and the operator needs a black leather jacket and sunglasses.

[@Patriottoo2]

@@ifyoutip I was hoping to find a shapely, young female model in a bikini to ride on and demonstrate the trencher. Couldn't find one, so had to settle for the old guy. I'm hoping to return to the project next summer, and if I can find the appropriate model, I'll be sure to have her wear the jacket and sunglasses, as you suggest. Great idea.

[@ng4410]

Needs a harley badge. wildest invention on ytube. like it....

[@Patriottoo2]

Thanks for the good word. I had hoped it would to be a cheap, easy way to insert pipe underground, and it evolved into just such a tool. I hate to dig, and move dirt. I made a tubular drill that is turned by a 1/2" drill to make holes for the sprinkler heads. If I survive the winter, my plan is to make a more thorough movie, come spring, to explain all of the steps from layout to working sprinklers.

[@rich.trails]

What are you anchored to? Seems like it should do okay for straight runs. Just beware of the short duty cycle if you are pulling a significant amp load.

[@Patriottoo2]

I anchored the cable to trees in the backyard, and to the receiver hitch on my car, so I could move it around for the front yard. Sled is easily guided for making graceful turns by weight shift on the "wings." Since I set a soaker hose along the route for the pipe, prior to cutting the trench, the knife penetrated the mud, easily, without challenging the amps. 🙂

[@billforrest4205]

Very ingenious 👍

[@workaholic5066]

I like your design. But it will only work in wet sediment based soil like in Louisiana or very soft wet clays. The winch idea is genius though!!

[@Patriottoo2]

You don't know dirt! (I didn't think I'd ever be able to write that on KZbin.) I failed to mention that I, first, used string to lay out the course for the sprinkler pipe. I used the string as a guide to cut through grass roots with an edger. I laid a soaker hose on top of the cut, and watered just long enough to turn the dry soil into mud, which the knife, easily, penetrated. The topsoil on my yard transitions to clay, which is at least 25' deep, but I only needed to go 8" deep to lay the poly pipe. My trencher will work in many soils across the country... wherever the topsoil is rock-free, and deep enough to accept the blade.

[@theMekanik]

Even has the Ape Hangers 😻

[@theMekanik]

Dude is a Fkn Genius!!!! 🤘🏻😎🤘🏻

[@Patriottoo2]

Thanks for the attribute.

[@originalfallinggirl]

Awesome!

[@rlm98253]

Ingenious.

[@BS-Fact-checker]

The amount of time and effort put into this machine it would have been quicker to dig it by hand.

[@Patriottoo2]

Your comment defies logic. I've, always, hated to dig, and at my advanced age digging is a real pain. Plus, I love to invent and fabricate stuff, so the project was satisfying to me. Plus, once the time building, and proving the success of the sled, any use of the machine is just gravy... no more digging. Following your logic, few things would ever be developed. Consider for example, a chainsaw... how many trees could have been fallen by a handsaw, while the chainsaw was being developed? Geeeesh! Go troll somewhere else.

[@BS-Fact-checker]

@@Patriottoo2 defies logic? How do you think we built pyramids, roads, brideges, temples and cities hundreds if not thousands of years ago? Obviously you're offended by my comment but I do mean it, I'm 61 and I still use manual tools along with farm machinery. I live on 60 acres off grid and have been self sufficient for over a decade. Tinkering with slow and backward inventions is not something to be proud of.

[@Patriottoo2]

@@BS-Fact-checker You are a prime example of why folks like you should not be allowed to vote, or serve on juries... you prove, one again, that you are incapable of rational thought. I think you are full of BS... Fact-checker. Referring back to your original comment... I wasn't interested in digging trenches, quicker. I wanted to come up with a method to dig trenches, easier. Obviously, that notion is beyond your gasp.

[@Patriottoo2]

I was trolled, yesterday, by someone calling himself, "BS-Fact-checker." He, apparently, decided that he would attempt to put me down (and, assume superiority) by posting something to the effect that I could have saved a lot of time by digging the trench by hand, instead of spending time, making my sled trencher. It was obvious that he thought I was stupid to have put so much time into building my trencher. When I countered with a logical argument, as to why I made the trencher, he decided to run and hide... and, deleted his post. He is just one example of how some people are incapable of thinking things through before posting comments. As I tried to explain to him, I was not in a hurry to place underground piping for my irrigation. I, eagerly, spent my time, fabricating the sled, as proof-of-concept to learn, if such a contrivance could be used to trench and lay pipe, easier than digging. The results were better than what I had foreseen. I spent no time digging, and did not have to back-fill the trenches after laying pipe... since the dirt was just pushed aside by the knife, the narrow trench filled back in on its own (the cut healed by itself). I was so elated by the results of using the sled, I, actually, was high for a few days after the first use.

[@jebediahjohnson7788]

This guy should work for NASA or something.

[@Patriottoo2]

Thanks for the compliment! 😎

[@jrm163]

Novel idea but it’s dangerous! The steel cord can hurt you if it’s broken.

[@Patriottoo2]

Lots of things can hurt you, if you are not careful. The load on the cable is too slight to cause concern. More likely to fall off of the sled, and break an arm.

[@villijs33321]

Well the Idea is old as the first winch, people in EU for many decades doing smal garden work with winches in sted of horses. pulling plows, seeders, trenchers, snow sleds, firewood, logs...

[@Patriottoo2]

Perhaps, you can list some things that the wheel has been used for.

[@villijs33321]

@@Patriottoo2 nope, not relevant to this video...

[@Patriottoo2]

@@villijs33321 Troll.

[@Patriottoo2]

BS-Fact-checker's comment makes no sense. His comment defies logic. I've, always, hated to dig, and at my advanced age digging is a real pain. Plus, I love to invent and fabricate stuff, so the project was satisfying to me. Plus, once the time building, and proving the success of the sled, any use of the machine is just gravy... no more digging. Following his logic, few things would ever be developed. Consider for example, a chainsaw... how many trees could have been fallen by a handsaw, while the chainsaw was being developed? Geeeesh! Perhaps, he can go troll somewhere else.