[AT] 3 pt backhoe

[Cecil R Bearden]

Don:
If you are in clay soil you will have to put about 1ft of sand below and 
above your pipe.  I assume you are using water in the lines in the 
ground.  There is a system that is installed with a drilling rig and 
puts a coper freon line in the drill hole and backfilled.  It takes 
about 250 feet per ton with these systems. I have 3000 ft in the ground 
for a 3.5 ton unit.  This is 2 inch 200 psi pipe with glued joints 
installed in 1500 ft of trench with 1 ft of sand below and above the 
pipe.  I dug it with 2 backhoes in about 3 weeks in a very tight clay 
soil.  If I did it again, I would use a trencher.  If you can find an 
old wheel trencher to rent or buy, it would make a better trench for 
your needs.  If you ahve to fill the ditch with sand then the spoil pile 
is out of your way.     You have to use sand in clay soils to make the 
water transfer the heat.  Water in the soil is what transfers the heat 
into or out of the ground.   I installed one of the first Ground source 
systems in OKlahoma in 1985.  In March 2010 lightning hit nearby and 
took out the entire unit.   I installed a newer top of the line model 
with  the variable scroll compressor and variable fan speed.   I still 
need to install the new thermostat as with the old one it only is 
running at 65% capacity.  The new one lowered our electric bill  over 
$100 per month..
Cecil in OKla


On 3/4/2013 11:19 AM, Don Bowen wrote:
> On 3/4/2013 10:21 AM, Herb Metz wrote:
>> Will initial backfill be sand or screened on-site soil?
> That I am not sure of.  I am in the process of figuring out exactly what
> to do.
>