i am installing an 80 mile rural pipeline and have ran into shelf rock. the particular shelf i am on now is 25' long and 5' thick. our trench width is 3' wide. i think we might run into this 15 times through out our project. our cover depth is 7'. what are the recommendations for handling this rock? i have been told others are using hammers or breaker balls.
What equipment are you running?? What type of rock ? A hammer may the more suitable option but until the rock type is established a definitive answer is not available. Stock
Hammers are what´s used in these parts for anything that can´t be ripped. I´ve never used a breaker ball, but I have doubts about their effectiveness in breaking out a trench. You´ll need a hammer for accuracy of the cut. If the rock fractures easily in large chunks, a single toothed ripper will complement a rock bucket nicely if both are quick connect mounted.
i have a few pictures but i can't figure out how to post them.
Click on the paperclip and a window where you can upload pictures will appear. Browse your computer for the file, then click upload.
thanks, find pictures attached. could i use a wrecking ball?
Have fun mate What colour is it ? Difficult to tell from the photos. Looks layered or grained and very much like the ironstone we get here in oz although it appears to be coming out in sizeable chunks unlike our ironstone which comes out in smaller pieces and is tough as nails. Do you guys use rock saws or Darda splitters over there ?
Purple ? On closer examination of the top photo it looks likes its purple in the guts which would indicate iron. If it's anything like ours it would be a tough nut to crack. GBH (get a big hammer) Good luck mate. :Banghead
Is that black limestone? What size excavator do you have? Get yourself a breaker lad.
Clear what you can with a rock bucket, pull away what you can with a single toothed ripper and the rest is hammer work. Looks like you´ll be switching between all 3 to make progress.
we don't use anything here. this is the first time i have encountered rock that i can't scratch out with a normal bucket.
Have you looked at one of those shark buckets? I haven't used one, but they look impressive in the video. http://www.leadingedgeattachments.com/multiripperbucket.htm
I agree 100% Invest in good quality ones though else you will be buying a lot of welding rods.
so for this 25' length of rock, the best way to go is the hammer?
What kind of machine do you have?
i have 3 x PC300 and 2 x PC220 all with quick attach but no aux hydraulics. i have a Volvo EC140 with quick attach and aux hydraulics. i am really more interested in using a headache ball.
If it doesn´t work using a ball, I´d put a hammer on one of the PC300´s and switch between a ripper and rock bucket on another. The plumbing kit for your PC300 will cost under $5,000.... (I want to say $3k, but it depends on what the salesman says). http://www.hctkits.com/index.html If you get a chance, please share some pictures of what the ball does to that outcrop (maybe it will push it back down deep enough for you to get your job done ). I´ve only seen them used for processing extracted rock and concrete.
thanks. i get paid about $440 for this job, so plumbing the 300 and renting a hammer is a little out of the question.
I am having a hard time understanding this thread. We deal with ledge almost daily here. You've shown a picture of a few potatoes - are you talking about ledge or potatoes?? If you are talking about ledge, and some fool told you to use a wrecking ball - throw that guy in the trench, and backfill him. I use hydraulic splitters, but the rock we have here is VERY hard. If that ledge is hard, I would dig beside it and under it then drill it (hand air drill is fine) then crack it off. That is 4 hours work AT MOST. If it is soft, dig beside it and under it, then hammer it off.
I see what you mean. For $440, I´d be shopping for a couple sticks of dynamite, ear plugs and an alibi.
$440??? Mate there'd want to be a few more zero's on the end of that for me. You don't have to go to work to go broke, you can go broke sitting at home. gotta be a typo:beatsme The bloke that suggested the wrecking ball? Hit him on the head with it. If its a ledge go with special tool and us a splitter, they work really well if you arrange you holes properly,we've split out 600mm by 600mm by 8 metre chunks of sandstone no sweat at all with just one c12 and carefully spaced holes.Maybe 30 to 40 minutes coredrilling whack the cylinder in, pump it up & crackerooni. If its all ghoulies as in the photos and your 300's won't dig it out theres something wrong