I have selected a pond site, the water table is only 4 feet below grade. my question is do i need to worry about my bucket cylinder working under water for an extended time?, I dont have any noticeable hydraulic leak from the cylinder, and i am assuming that if the high pressure hydraulics are sealed, then i shouldnt worry to much about water entering?
I wouldn't worry about the cylinder dipping into the water. However, from a production standpoint, I'd be concerned about the fact that the stick has to go into the water in the first place. If you can dig a suction point and de-water, you'll make your life a lot easier.
thanks for the reply, i am digging in flat bottom land, with the water table very close to ground level, is there a way to suction/dewater without using a pump?
From what you describe, a pump is the only way to go. How big is the pond going to be?
i am digging several, 2 that are about 3/4 acre and somewhat shallow with gentle slope for cows...maybe 6-8 feet deep in the middle....then 1 that will be maybe 3/4 acre...but i want it deep to keep cool/ less evaporation...12-15 deep?, want to put fish in this one, this is going to be the difficult one with the low water table.
ooops, i meant high water table
Okay, I get the picture. A pump will pay for itself 100x over.
Flat bottom land? If there's a lot of water and nowhere close to pump it to, it might be a futile effort to try to dewater. The deeper one though you may be forced to use a pump to get the job done that deep.
thanks, any tips on digging out the deeper one? i thought to dig down just before i hit the water for the whole thing (maybe 3.5 feet), then start in the middle and and dig it out in circular fashion, working my way outward??, however if water rises i would be screwed if it starting filling... as far as pumps go, just your run of the mill trash pump from HD would work?
It all depends on the soil. Bottom land could be coarse sand to solid clay. Huge difference in how hard it is to pump out. I for one would never dig out the first 3' and then work at the lower level. I'd much rather work on undisturbed ground and have a few extra feet before the soil starts to liquify underfoot. Of course that depends on your soil profile also, you might have organic muck on top and hard clay underneath that would be better footing.
do you see anyway at all of doing this without a pump? what are the main drawback of not using a pump?
The main drawback of not using a pump depends on how many extra months you can afford to spend digging these ponds. :cool2
wow, that much more time!!!!!, I believe you, but why? this question comes from someone who has under 40 hours total on an excavator, so you cant be to simple for me.
Mud is 3x heavier than dirt. It sticks to everything. Everything about it is more time consuming. The best way to put it into perspective is to ask you some questions: What do you plan to do with the excavated soil? How far are you going to move it? How are you going to move it? How are you going to spread it? What is it supposed to look like when you're finished?
i have an old dump truck that i plan for my son to be driving and dumping with, we are in a 50 year flood plain and it use to have a 4 foot berm/burm? that was built up near the river, the old owner knocked down about 500 yards of the berm, so my first option is to rebuild the berm to prevent flooding during hurricane season...we have lived here almost 20 years and had one flood during a hurricane/tropical storm maybe 12 years ago. total distance would be 50 yards-250 yards to dump. the look of the berm is the height of 1 truckload spread out ...the look of the pond as i have visualized it is above grade by maybe 2-4 feet with a gradual grade.