Drainage trench width

[Wombat]

i pop 150mm pipe and gravel in with the digger at a couple of low points, one length is about 250m and its always running now. I have some to pop in some ridge and furrow bottoms later this summer as its too wet at the moment

 

[Steevo]

I don’t see the issue with 20m centres especially if there is a fall on the field. It will find the drain.

The only benefit I could see with closer drains is greater capacity of pipe to carry it away.

 

[Steevo]

This talk of 20m centres for drains seems a trifle optimistic, drains here were dug at 12 to 15ft centres by hand, on heavy ground.

With stone?

 

[Sharpy]

With stone?

No, 3" and 4" mugs (horseshoe tiles) one part of a field has stone drains with mugs in between, this tells me that the original 24' spacing was insufficient.

 

[Sharpy]

I don’t see the issue with 20m centres especially if there is a fall on the field. It will find the drain.

The only benefit I could see with closer drains is greater capacity of pipe to carry it away.

Closer drains dry ground out quicker, taken to extremes sports fields can be under 2m spacing.

 

[Steevo]

Closer drains dry ground out quicker, taken to extremes sports fields can be under 2m spacing.

This is due to pipe capacity surely. But that needs free draining soil to do it.

 

[Steevo]

No, 3" and 4" mugs (horseshoe tiles) one part of a field has stone drains with mugs in between, this tells me that the original 24' spacing was insufficient.

This is the issue. Old style drains were put in closer together because the soil wasn't free draining, and there was no stone so they needed to be close for the water to get into the drain because it couldn't travel quickly.

 

[Wombat]

This is due to pipe capacity surely. But that needs free draining soil to do it.

i remeber doing some calculations at uni for dranage and pipe spacing, as far as i remeber its to do with depth and soil characteristics as to how far it can pull from when relatively flat

 

[Boohoo]

I've seen drains 3 metres apart in peat and it was wet between the drains. If they'd drained the dry part of the field and caught the water before it got to the peat they would've been more successful and spent less.

 

[Steevo]

i remeber doing some calculations at uni for dranage and pipe spacing, as far as i remeber its to do with depth and soil characteristics as to how far it can pull from when relatively flat

That makes sense. Almost all land here has some grade on it so water will always run one direction and be picked up by a drain, whether 10m or 20m apart.

I've seen drains 3 metres apart in peat and it was wet between the drains. If they'd drained the dry part of the field and caught the water before it got to the peat they would've been more successful and spent less.

Exactly right - I'm no expert by any means but that's a perfect example of prevention being better than cure. Just because an area is wet......it doesn't mean you're best to drain that place. Better to tackle the source of the problem than the consequences of it.

 

[Boohoo]

Exactly right - I'm no expert by any means but that's a perfect example of prevention being better than cure. Just because an area is wet......it doesn't mean you're best to drain that place. Better to tackle the source of the problem than the consequences of it.

As a man I work for often says, "where did Jack and Jill go to get water?"

 

[Wombat]

That makes sense. Almost all land here has some grade on it so water will always run one direction and be picked up by a drain, whether 10m or 20m apart.



Exactly right - I'm no expert by any means but that's a perfect example of prevention being better than cure. Just because an area is wet......it doesn't mean you're best to drain that place. Better to tackle the source of the problem than the consequences of it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drainage_equation Hoohoudts equation rings a bell

 

[Sharpy]

That makes sense. Almost all land here has some grade on it so water will always run one direction and be picked up by a drain, whether 10m or 20m apart.



Exactly right - I'm no expert by any means but that's a perfect example of prevention being better than cure. Just because an area is wet......it doesn't mean you're best to drain that place. Better to tackle the source of the problem than the consequences of it.

Yes, but how long does it take to travel to the drain? I can remember being told at college that a field drainage system should return the soil to field capacity within 24hrs, obviously drain spacing depends on the soil type.

 

[Steevo]

Yes, but how long does it take to travel to the drain? I can remember being told at college that a field drainage system should return the soil to field capacity within 24hrs, obviously drain spacing depends on the soil type.

The land I have here, the water seems to travel through the topsoil super fast when on top of the clay layer, and so it picked up by the drains very quick indeed.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Who was it who told me to go high and dig deep

 

[Spencer]

I know it’s dry.., but having to dig wells in Wales

 

[Sharpy]

Who was it who told me to go high and dig deep View attachment 883722View attachment 883724View attachment 883725

That will do a lot of good. Deep drains pull from a wide area.

 

[Lincsman]

Who was it who told me to go high and dig deep View attachment 883722View attachment 883724View attachment 883725

Is it wide enough for the body? or was he/she only slim?

 

[limestone brash]

Not if its new plastic pipe and all drains outfall into a ditch, they can be jetted to be like new at little cost.

Where can i hire a jetting machine i can pull behind a tractor and run off the pto please

 

[Brisel]

Where can i hire a jetting machine i can pull behind a tractor and run off the pto please

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