Combined with the Ditch Witch RT80 ride-on trencher and HX75 vacuum excavator, the company's new MT26 microtrencher is designed to create clean, deep, narrow trenches for cable installations in one pass.
“Microtrenching is quickly growing in popularity among power and fiber-optic installation contractors because it is the least invasive open-cut solution,” says Steve Seabolt, product marketing manager, Ditch Witch HD tractors. “The MT26 is designed to help operators create narrow trenches that go deeper and wider than ever before, which increases productivity and reduces their jobsite cost-per-foot.”
The attachment uses a standard hydraulic plunge to provide variable depth control and can cut a clean trench from 1.5 to 3 inches wide and down to 26 inches deep.
This allows contractors to install a 2-inch fiber or power cable line with the required 2 feet of ground cover in one pass, a procedure that used to require a rock saw. In addition to avoiding the more invasive trench left by using a rock saw, contractors can also bypass cleaning up spoils and dirt. Using the MT26 lets contractors forego the more involved set up required when using a horizontal directional drill for these jobs.
The MT26's 3-inch maximum width — which the company says is the widest offered today — helps simplify the trench cleaning process, especially at deeper depths. The unit simultaneously vacuum excavates the spoils while cutting and is compatible with 4-, 5- and 6-inch vacuum excavator hoses.
The attachment can be equipped with a variety of blades, including standard carbide-tipped blades and Ditch Witch PDC blades with diamond-embedded carbine.
The MT26 is the largest microtrencher in the Ditch Witch lineup, which includes the MT9, MT12 and MT16.