Trencher (machine)

Trenchers come in different sizes and may use different digging implements, depending on the required width and depth of the trench and the hardness of the surface to be cut.

This is particularly true because a cutting wheel works by clearing the soil as a bucket-wheel does, rather than like a rasp (chain trencher).

A system of spacers and ejectors allows the excavated materials to be moved away from the edges of the trench to avoid possible “recycling”.

The chain trencher is used for digging wider trenches (telecommunication, electricity, drainage, water, gas, sanitation, etc.)

There are various methods for excavating trenches in rock – principally drill and blast, hydraulic breakers and chain trenchers.

Selection of a trench excavation method must take into account a range of rock and machine properties.

It is suggested that the advantages of using chain trenchers in suitable rock outweigh the limitations and may have cost benefits and fewer adverse environmental effects compared with alternative methods.

In August 2023, tractor-mounted trenchers were revealed to be in use by the Ukrainian Ground Forces to dig trenches at a rapid pace.

[2] A trencher may be combined with a drainage pipe or geotextile feeder unit and backfiller, so drain or textile may be placed and the trench filled in one pass.