In a previous post on setting up a water distribution system I discussed the installation of an underground water storage tank with reference to the future installation of buried water distribution lines. This current post documents the installation of our first buried water line which runs about 800 feet downhill from the water storage tank to a frost-free hydrant near our camper and work area.
Many places sell attachments that enable subsoilers to bury pipe, but, because they are very simple in design, I decided to build my own. This photo shows the entire apparatus (above ground) with the plastic pipe inserted. I later found it to be more effective to have the pipe uncoiled and laid along a course parallel to the tractors anticipated path. This eliminated the need to stop and move the coil every so often and reduced the likelihood of kinks in the pipe.
Initially I had constructed the pipelayer to have some freedom of movement (left). However, I later opted to make the attachment to the subsoiler much less flexible (right).
To bury a pipe I anchor the end of the pipe to a t-post with a chain, completely lower the tractor's three-point hitch control lever, begin moving forward. The subsoiler and pipelayer quickly sink into the ground burying pipe as they move forward. In normal operation the subsoiler's point helps to draw the shank
down into the ground as the tractor moves forward. However, the
pipelayer attachment has the effect of widening the shank and reducing
the effect of the downward pull of the subsoiler's point. To correct
for this I attached two large concrete blocks to the top of the
subsoiler, which are visible in this photograph. In addition to the extra weight I also make several passes without pipe along the planned burial line beforehand. This ensures that all large rocks, thick roots, or anything else are encountered and dealt with prior to the pipe burial.
Once the pipe was buried I finished by installing the frost-free hydrant. In this photograph I am about to connect the pipe to the hydrant.
