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Roads and winter

Trencher

On the left, the trencher opens a narrow slot, the lawn stays intact around it. On the right, laid with a bucket, the pipe leaves a wide scar across the lawn. Computer-generated image.
Left: the trencher opens a narrow slot, the lawn stays intact around it. Right: laid with a bucket, the pipe leaves a wide scar across the lawn. Computer-generated image.

A toothed chain that digs a narrow slot, straight and of constant depth.
Where a bucket opens wide and disturbs everything, the trencher takes only what is needed.

Other names for this tool: chain trencher, groover, slotter, excavator trencher, trench digger, hydraulic trencher.

The essentials
Family
Roads and winter
Classes (t)
Mini-excavators
Coupler
We calculate it with you for your machine
Power source
Hydraulic, continuous function — flow and pressure: we calculate it with you for your machine

Then close it up again →

01 Use

What it is for

On the left, the trencher opens a narrow slot, the lawn stays intact around it. On the right, laid with a bucket, the pipe leaves a wide scar across the lawn. Computer-generated image.
the trencher opens a narrow slot, the lawn stays intact around it laid with a bucket, the pipe leaves a wide scar across the lawn
Left: the trencher opens a narrow slot, the lawn stays intact around it.
Right: laid with a bucket, the pipe leaves a wide scar across the lawn.
What sets it apart:
its real value is what it does not destroy — burying a service without opening an excavation.
Computer-generated image.

A chain fitted with teeth turns around a plunging boom.
The machine advances slowly and the chain throws the spoil out to the side.
The result is a trench with vertical walls, of constant width, with no over-depth.

It is the tool for services:
an electric duct, irrigation, fibre, a drain, a fence cable.
Everywhere a pipe has to be buried without opening an excavation.

Its real value is what it does not destroy. On a lawn, a drive or a grassed plot, a narrow trench closes up and is barely visible.
The same pipe laid with a bucket leaves a scar that will have to be made good — and charged for.

02 Key technical data

On which machine?

They exist for machines from 2,5 to 10 t.
For example, on a 2 to 5 t mini-excavator, the weight is generally from 195 to 550 kg.
It fits on a skid steer loader, a loader, a backhoe loader or an excavator.
The coupler system: we calculate it with you for your machine.

What the tool does

Its toothed chains work in soft, mixed or frozen ground.
For example, on a 2 to 5 t mini-excavator: maximum depth from 600 to 1 500 mm.
The angle and the depth are adjustable.
Its weight: we calculate it with you for your machine.

What is needed on the hydraulic side

It needs a hydraulic circuit with continuous function.
It generally needs from 30 to 115 l/min, at a pressure from 160 to 240 bar, depending on the size of the machine.
The flow and the pressure: we calculate them with you for your machine.

Figures taken from 7 models on the market.
Your study sets the exact value for your machine.

All the measurements found for this equipment →

Without an excavator: the self-propelled trencher →

How to read these values →

03 Your study

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.
Those four pieces of information are almost always enough to designate the tool.

What we need to answer you
  • 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.

Send my photos

or describe your need

Book an appointment with the specialist

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.

Not to be confused
  • Chain trencher Principle — the same tool, named after its cutting element: the toothed chain that runs around a plunging arm.
    Use — its page details the teeth, chosen according to the soil, for a service slot in earth or stony ground.
  • Rock chain trencher Principle — the same architecture, with a chain, tool holders and picks made for abrasion.
    Use — it targets soft or weathered rock, over a run long enough to pay for the wear of the picks.
Chain trencher plunged into the ground, straight trench running away into the distance at constant width, spoil laid out in a ridge on one side only
The trench runs straight, at constant width and depth, and all the spoil is on one side — the other stays passable.
That is what a bucket cannot do.
Synthetic image.
04 Choice

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 depth reached It depends on the length of the plunging boom, not on the machine.
    A depth required by regulation for a given service is checked before buying, not on the site.
  • 03 — The nature of the soil It is the criterion that decides the type of teeth.
    Good soil, stony ground and rocky ground call for neither the same equipment nor the same output — and the trencher hates large blocks.
  • 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.
05 Check

What is checked before ordering

  • The auxiliary line and its flow First eliminating criterion. See the 7 criteria.
  • What is already under the line A trencher cuts everything it meets.
    Locating the existing services beforehand is not a matter of tooling, but it governs the whole job.
  • The presence of blocks Ground described as “stony” can mean gravel or blocks of thirty centimetres.
    They are not the same machines, and in the second case it is no longer a trencher that is needed.
  • The interface Coupler type and size, or pin dimensions.
    The tool is supplied with the matching plate — see the couplers.
In the same family
Without opening the trench
On the interface
To go further
A question about an attachment? 01 84 16 55 49 Send my photos