Chain trencher
the spoil comes out on one side, the trench is clean.
Synthetic image.
Let us say it plainly:
the chain trencher and the trencher are the same tool.
The name stresses the cutting part, the toothed chain that turns around a plunging boom.
Other names for this tool: trencher, groover, slotter, trench digger, hydraulic trencher on an excavator.
- Family
- Cutting and milling
- Classes (t)
- All
- Coupler
- All, by plate
- Power source
- Hydraulic, continuous function — flow and pressure: we calculate it with you for your machine
What it is for
Right: on the same lawn, the bucket opens a wide trench and leaves a scar to be made good.
Computer-generated image.
the other stays free to lay the service without going back over it.
Synthetic image.
A chain fitted with teeth turns around a plunging boom.
The machine advances slowly and the chain throws the spoil out on one side only:
the result is a trench with vertical walls, of constant width, with no over-depth, and one side that stays passable.
It is the tool for services:
an electric duct, irrigation, fibre, a drain, a fence cable.
Its real value is what it does not destroy — on a lawn or a drive, a narrow slot closes up and is barely visible, where the bucket leaves a scar to be made good.
We do not seek to make it a different tool from the trencher:
it is the same. The general page, with the criteria of width, depth and soil, is already online.
What varies from one machine to another is the chain and the teeth, and it is the ground that decides them. See the trencher page.
On which machine?
On an excavator from 2,5 to 10 t: a trencher of 550 kg.
The trencher fits all quick couplers, via a mounting plate, or directly on the pins.
What the tool does
Depending on the chain, the trench is from 100 to 350 mm wide.
The maximum depth ranges from 300 to 1 500 mm, depending on the arm length.
What is needed on the hydraulic side
It needs a hydraulic circuit with continuous function.
The flow ranges from 30 to 115 l/min depending on the model, at 160 to 240 bar, to be checked with you.
Figures taken from 12 models on the market.
Your study sets the exact value for your machine.
For a trench without an excavator, there are self-propelled chain trenchers, walk-behind, with a petrol engine.
They dig from 450 to 800 mm deep, 100 to 160 mm wide depending on the chain, and weigh from 150 to 355 kg.
Depending on the ground, the chain has cup teeth for soft soil, or picks for hard or stony ground.
There are also radio-controlled wheel trenchers, up to 450 mm deep and 30 to 140 mm wide, and multi-purpose machines that reach 1 400 mm with a chain.
They are used in parks, in agriculture, to lay pipes and cables, and for micro-irrigation.
Figures taken from 7 models on the market.
Have your machine checked.
Give us your excavator model, the diameter of what you are burying, the depth aimed at and the nature of the soil.
Describe the ground rather than summing it up in one word:
that is where the choice of teeth is decided.
- Your machine Its make and its tonnage.
- The auxiliary circuit Its flow in l/min, its pressure in bar, single- or double-acting.
- The coupler in place Its system and its class.
- The work The use, and the material.
Without these details, the study still begins: we will ask you for them.
Or call 01 84 16 55 49 · our lines are open 7 days a week, from 7h to 22h.
Written study within 3 working days, once the file is complete.
-
Trencher
Principle — the same tool, named after the work it does: a narrow slot at constant depth.
Use — its page gives the width, depth and soil criteria for burying a service without opening a trench. -
Rock chain trencher
Principle — the same chain around the same arm, re-equipped with picks for ground that earth teeth cannot get through.
Use — output and wear cost change, and in sound rock it is the breaker or the cutter that should be considered.
What determines the choice
-
01 — The cutting width
It is chosen on the diameter of what is being buried, plus the bedding.
Too narrow, the pipe does not go down;
too wide, you disturb and backfill for nothing. - 02 — The length of the plunging boom It is what fixes the depth reached, not the size of the machine.
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03 — The teeth, chosen on the soil
Good soil, stony ground, compact ground:
they are neither the same teeth nor the same output.
It is the only point on which two identical machines really differ. -
04 — The flow available, continuously
The chain turns for the whole length of the trench.
A flow that is only just enough makes the advance collapse and heats the circuit.
What is checked before ordering
-
What is already under the line
A chain cuts everything it meets.
Locating the services beforehand is not a matter of choosing the tool, but it governs the whole job. -
The presence of blocks
Ground described as “stony” can mean gravel, or blocks the chain will not go through.
In the second case, it is no longer a trencher that is needed. - The availability of the teeth They get consumed, and a job stopped for want of teeth costs more than the spare set.
- The interface Coupler designation or pin dimensions.
- Family
- Cutting and milling
- Compatibility
- The seven criteria in detail →