We are not going down the mechanical digger/tree trimming route.
We were hoping for an answer along the lines of "ooh I've used the super-duper (TM) silt sucker and its great." Or "I made a xxx I can sell you one" etc
I've been looking on line (from before posting this question) and so far all tools seem to be split between pond vacuum cleaners - which would do what we want but would have to be emptied every other minute - and whacking great hydraulic/diesel things for use on building sites.
Once we have the plants out and are back on to keeping the silt levels down, anyone got any suggestions for a mechanical way, ideally pumping, for removing silt? Has someone used a pond vacuum cleaner in such a way that it is not a bucket at a time but got some sort of continuous output?
We just want a way of moving the silt from the bottom of the run, to the top of the bank next to it, that doesn't involve us and a spade each.
Have you tried searching under 'suction excavators' or 'vacuum excavators' ?
Will mostly throw up big machines, but a few trailer mounted and small tracked machines out there, also a few smaller things like on Rob's link.
@onemanband - I hadn't, no, not even heard of such things. I did searches with things like "silt pump" and "ditch/pond clearance" and the like. Some fun things on YouTube, like a whacking great pump hung off a JCB pumping silt out of a drainage cut on the Somerset Levels, and pumps with an agitator on the front that can pump gravel but...
I'll go do those searches. Good idea.
(The silt pumps are generally needing tractors, or three phase electricity, or are a 2m cube diesel thing. Lovely engineering, but.....)
How long,wide and deep is this ditch?
Presume the silting is due to the field being flat,not that the tree roots help,but is it the same situation either side of you on the neighbour`s land?
How much water does this ditch carry?
RichardW
Joined: 24 Aug 2006 Posts: 8443 Location: Llyn Peninsular North Wales
Posted: Sun Sep 14, 14 7:24 am Post subject:
Unless this if a concrete ditch of some sort I cant see a vacuum even one of steroids being up to the job. Perhaps if you also use an air spade to do the digging / shaping of the ditch & then use the Vac to remove whats left over.
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