Land Drainage-Agricultural

Drainage Installation by means of trenchers

The drainage trencher is probably the most popular machine for installing drainage pipes in all kinds of areas and climates.

The principle allows accurate installation of the pipe and if  required backfill material can easily be put over the drainage pipe.  Apart from variations in size, there are two distinct types of drainage trenchers.  Nowadays the machine with a steep digging chain design is the most popular around the world but in certain areas the machine with a flat digging chain design has some major advantages in terms of accuracy and productivity.

Drainage pipe installation by means of single blade plows

The drainage plow has become the most used machine for installing lateral drainage pipe.  The most important reason for this is that it is cheaper than using trenching machines.

Production is relatively high but machine running costs are low.  This is an important reason and the fact the single blade is the least sensitive for underground obstacles has lead the plow to be the most popular machine for installing lateral drains.

Drainage pipe (lateral) installation by means of V-plow blade

The V-plow has some very distinct advantages over a single-blade plow and is therefore in some areas the only recognised machine for the trenchless installation of drainage pipe.

In the Netherlands, for example, 95% of all plows are V-plows and the majority of farmers will not accept a single-blade plow in their fields.  Other areas that have benefited positively from the use of V-plows include: parts of England, Belgium, some regions of the United States, Mexico, Egypt and India.

Advantages of the V-plow:

• Less deformation or compaction of the soil near the drain, especially when installation is carried out under the so-called "critical depth".

• Less smearing of the trench side.

• Better fissuring which aids water running to the pipe.

• High installation speeds at average depths of less that 5 feet.  This advantage increases in clay and clay loam soils.

• Less damage to crops and soil surface.

• Less risk of piping in wet conditions.

• Minimal disruption to the surface so that levelling is not required after installation.

• As a result, use of the V-plow is cheaper than any other installation method.

However we do not recommend the use of a V-plow when frequent large obstacles are likely to be encountered, and when backfill material, eg, gravel is required on top of the installed drainage pipe.   Another limitation is when large diameter drainage pipes are being installed, as then the V-plow tends to behave more like a single-blade plow.

Collector drainage pipe installation

Collector drainage pipe installation can in principle be done by means of any of the above mentioned machines.  However for larger scale projects normally a large trencher with a steep digging chain design is used with an incorporated cross conveyor.  These machines are normally better balanced to compensate for the large trench required and installation process.  Mastenbroek has designed machines for some of the largest drainage projects in the world, including specific collector drainage machines for installing corrugated plastic pipes and for installation of concrete pipes by means of the Synchro Trench System.