Land drainage

[Boomerang]

Thinking about doing some grade one silt , what's the modern practice ?does the Poly pipe need wrapping on silt ? How much gravel backfil? Or none of the above .

 

[Landy Nick]

@pipeman1964

 

[Turra farmer]

Thinking about doing some grade one silt , what's the modern practice ?does the Poly pipe need wrapping on silt ? How much gravel backfil? Or none of the above .

Wrap it in Terram

 

[Matt L]

Very much depends on fields individual requirements and topography but more than happy to provide you with an estimate if you want.
Pm me your details and I will be in touch.
Tend not to use wrapped pipe as it is similar to an oil filter, no good once blocked up and needs replacement.

 

[simmy_bull]

Does grade one land need draining?

 

[Zebbedee]

Agree with topless Matt don,t use the wrapped pipe or Terran in my opinion as it will choke up eventually and then it is goosed, been there done that. Normal pipe and gravel if or when it chokes with silt can at least be jetted out but the wrap just stops it working altogether

 

[Spencer]

What about sand.. Would you use filter wrap on that ?

 

[Matt L]

Does grade one land need draining?

Does if its got a drainage problem.

 

[Zebbedee]

What about sand.. Would you use filter wrap on that ?

No it will eventually choke and then that’s it. At least if the silt gets into pipe through the gravel it can be jetted out expensive but do-able

 

[Spencer]

No it will eventually choke and then that’s it. At least if the silt gets into pipe through the gravel it can be jetted out expensive but do-able

You always see the guys in the Polders using filter wrap pipe with no gravel.. I've tried jetting sand out of tile drains with limited success..

 

[Matt L]

Sand out of drains needs a good jetter that can get the sand into a suspension and then enough flow rate to carry it out of the pipe. A lot of that depends on the operator as if pushing on too hard the water just runs clear and assumes the drain is clear.

 

[Grass And Grain]

How long do you think filter wrapped pipe will last without bunging up in sand with ocre in it?

Put some in here 5 years ago. Still running well, but I'm always concerned about it.

No stone used. 20mm fall in 20m. Running sand.

 

[DanniAgro]

How long do you think filter wrapped pipe will last without bunging up in sand with ocre in it?

Put some in here 5 years ago. Still running well, but I'm always concerned about it.

No stone used. 20mm fall in 20m. Running sand.

Hate to say it but I've heard that ochre can form in ten years - hopefully your installation will avoid that fate (I write not from personal experience).

 

[Matt L]

Jet regularly is all you can do. If you can remove small build ups reguarly then it will take longer to completely fur up

 

[Grass And Grain]

Thanks guys. I guess regular jetting is the best advice. Each run is straight into the ditch, so that makes it easy to do.

Ditch is orange in colour and gets the slimey algae looking stuff floating on it which I presume is related to the ochre? This stuff is sort of a browny orangey green colour.

 

[Spencer]

We had ocre form within 6 months of installing some drains.. this was black land though. Washed out pretty easily

 

[pipeman1964]

Running sand is always a problem but jetting is the answer but be careful when jetting as the sand will wash behind the jetter head and you will not be able to push or pull the jetter hose out of the drain then you have got a problem as the only way out then is dig holes along the drain and pull the hose out in small sections . Ive been there and done that and its not fun but my advise is to jet say 50m then pull the jetter out and put in in again for say another 100m then repeat process but jettings a s###y job but someones got to do it but if I was you id jet every year weather you think it needs it or not because if your drains are that full of sand you have a big job on your hands.

 

[Dry Rot]

I've come to the conclusion that open ditches are the only answer to the twin evils of fine running sand and ochre. There is both here. And when it comes to ditching, it needs every inch of fall and a contractor who understands about letting a small quantity oif water in the ditch dictate the levels. Laser levels are not needed.

Starting from the outfall, the water needs to 'follow the bucket" and the contractor needs to go down stream at intervals to remove a bit more silt so the bottom of the ditch is as near level as possible.

I've heard some say a ditch won't work without a fall. Well, put water in at the top of a ditch and it's going to seek its own level. It creates it's own head. The Dutch don't seem to have a problem understanding that.

 

[Kevtherev]

For very silty sandy land if pipe silting is a problem use twin wall pipe due to its smooth bore.
Slower to install though than land drain coil with a trencher.
Poor quality drainage stone with too much fines can also silt up the ribs in land drain coil.
As mentioned though a jetter is usually the best way to get the drains running again.