Trenchless excavation

Anybody here doing residential pipe bursting type trenchless excavation?

I just about took a job offer for exactly this chose carpentry instead though. I watched a few videos to see what it was though and it looks pretty wicked, though I guess they wouldnt say any downsides if there is any. Im interested to see if the smart fellers on this site got anything to say about it.

WE do it on certain jobs where it is theasable. It has its place but not for every job, homeowners like it due to the minimal damage done at the jobsite.

JBGASH said:

WE do it on certain jobs where it is theasable. It has its place but not for every job, homeowners like it due to the minimal damage done at the jobsite.

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Good.Let me re-phrase now.What hydraulic puller,hydraulic power,and fusing equipment would you recommend to do mainly 4'' sewer service work?Just started looking into this,seems that Powermole is the big name out there but their prices seem ridiculous.Appreciate any info you can give me.

NoCrapmatsu said:

I just about took a job offer for exactly this chose carpentry instead though. I watched a few videos to see what it was though and it looks pretty wicked, though I guess they wouldnt say any downsides if there is any. Im interested to see if the smart fellers on this site got anything to say about it.

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I used to do the pits needed for the hydraulic puller for a local company by me.I will tell you the noise of the steel ''bullet'' crashing through an old terra cotta sewer pipe is unreal and what's real cool is the giant SUCK noise when a giant ball of wet nasty roots and other deleterious matter exit into the pit just before the ''bullet'' gets there.

Experienced Heavy Equipment Operators please help a new guy

[Can someone please help me?
Using a backhoe I have to dig a 50ft trench 4ft deep but the top 3 ft of the trench needs to slope at 1.5 to 1 ratio I understand the ratio that the trench must go out 1 1/2 feet for every 1 foot it drops for the top 3 ft what I don't understand is how am I supose to do this with a backhoe ?
if its not obvious Im new to being a heavy equipment operator I have dug many 4ft flat botton trenches but never with sloping sides.
Do I dig the 4ft down flat bottom then come up a foot and dig a 1 1/2 ft shelf into the side of the trench and repeat this until Im at ground level then knock the edges off with the bucket to acheive a slope? does the pivot point of my backhoe stay in the center the entire time or do move it side to side? will I be able to make a 1.5 to 1 slope on a 4ft trench staying centered ? please if anyone can explain to me the procedure I need to use to dig this trench I would be forever grateful to them my very job depends on it. thank you

I learned a lot about pipe bursting when I had my 210' water line replaced last week. The guy had a puller made locally. I can find the manufacturer if you're interested. The thing about this puller was that it had a large steel wheel which turned the cable 90* so the pull was vertical. There was a removable guide section which allowed use of pulling machine in small trenches. He excavated out a 4' hole, which was just enough to lower the puller in, and give him a little room to work. He had a portable pump powered by a 20hp Honda engine. The valve was another unit on a folding hand truck. He used his mini-ex to dig the hole, position the power unit and lower the puller. He hooked the hoses up and either had a helper run the valve, or he collapsed the hand truck and ran himself from the ditch.

The puller was pretty slick. It was held together with pins so it could be disassembled and lowered into position piece by piece, if necessary. The key to a good pull is to to pull exactly in the direction of the pipe you are replacing, not up or side to side. We had to use cable clamp attached to the mini-ex bucket to get enough slack to run through the puller. I don't think we could have used the mini-ex to do the entire job without a lot more excavating.

It can be a slow and tedious process. My water line had been repaired several times with bronze fittings. A puller will not bust them. Sometimes when bursting plastic pipe it did not split cleanly, and folded up like an accordion in front of the machine. If you get the bullet too far into the machine, you have problems which require disassembly of the puller. It was an education.

Really only looking for contractors or operators who own/run pipe bursting equipment.Looking for advice on best brand,models,etc. for doing 4'' sewer service.

Take a look at TT Technologies for pipe bursting. I have never personally used them on bursting yet but I have used them for pipe ramming gear. They are not cheap but they are very helpful and knowledgeable

PipeGuy said:

Take a look at TT Technologies for pipe bursting. I have never personally used them on bursting yet but I have used them for pipe ramming gear. They are not cheap but they are very helpful and knowledgeable

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Thanks PipeGuy.