Help with a dig pattern.

[beenthere]

[qutoe]I wish I had a transit[/quote]

Picked up a transit with tripod on CL a few years back for $75.

But a hand held site level to shoot a level line for elevations are pretty reasonable and fit in the pocket. 

link to such a tool in Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Level-Pocket-Handheld-Elevation-Surveying/dp/B098PC4QPK

[Old Greenhorn]

If you rent a dozer for Bill, better make sure you get all the extra insurance you can. ;D :D

 But actually that made me think of something, since you are going to do a nice job digging it out and shaping it, have you considered putting in a dry hydrant while you are in there? It's just the pipe and some fittings, plus a good screening system on the intake side. Lots of insurance companies will lower rates for homeowners that have a pond with a dry hydrant for fire fighting purposes. As another benefit, you could put a pump on it to fill a raised tank and water the gardens. Just pump it up once a month or so and gravity feed to water. 
 Local fire departments are always looking for reliable water sources in rural areas so they don't have to truck water in so far. I'm pretty sure you don't have a hydrant district there, do you? (Comes in handy for dozer fires too. ;D)

[Andries]

Raider Bill - I'm gonna guess that some critical thinkers around here think that you and dozers spell trouble. 
Ahem, like . . . what's up with that sir?

[Hilltop366]

I used a line level and string to dig foundation footings once, (32'x36') when the concrete contractor showed up I told him what I used and he let out a sigh and rolled his eyes. After he set up his transit and checked that it was fine he would not believe me until I got the level out of my pocket.

I later got a water level that had a small clear line (motorcycle fuel line size) and a container (2 pint) on one end, with the larger difference in size from the container to hose it works better as it does not move as quickly or take as long to settle. I would hang the container on a stake and tape the other end of the line to a stick then put the stick to the level you want and mark the water level in the line on the stick then when you dig and reach the right level the water lines up with the line on the stick.

[Don P]

I was around 13 or 14 when Dad was building a new house where an old millers house had stood. The current owner was rebuilding the dam while we worked on the house. I shared a lot of lunches with stray dogs there that summer, it was a popular dropoff spot. 

They were pulling the accumulated silt out from the old millpond and sank the dozer, then another. By the end it took a big wrecker and everyone paddle wheeling. He also had an old 12 cylinder Packard touring car in the shed, I guess roaring 20's era, that was cool

[chet]

No need for a dry hydrant as Lake Huron next door to him has lots of water.  ;D  Plus I doubt anyone would want to drive a truck down next to his pond in order to connect a hard suction line.

[chet]

I got da dozer, and da dump truck, but I'm on the other coast of da UP.  Jeff, you got access to a laser level. It don't have to be nothing fancy, make yourself a story pole, and just wait for evening,

[doc henderson]

The handheld is the same. make a pole and make 0 at your eye height and then go up and down with 1-inch increments and make the 1-foot marks so you can read it or have someone put a finger in it and tell them up or down.  What all do you need to find?  if it is just to see the bank height around the pond it should not be hard, and you can build up a few low spots, if the pond is getting too big, or allow a spill over area if it goes in the right direction.

[Old Greenhorn]

No need for a dry hydrant as Lake Huron next door to him has lots of water.  ;D  Plus I doubt anyone would want to drive a truck down next to his pond in order to connect a hard suction line.

How far is the lake? More than 3 or 4 miles is a bit too much. I'll bet if there is a fire at Jeff's cabin they will get something to that pond to pull water with a direct feed to the fire. I have done this more than a few times. In winter, when there is no dry hydrant, you have to cut a hole in the ice and that takes a lot of time. Also, consider that the hydrant outlet does not have to be at the edge of the pond, it can be a good deal away, provided the grading is right.
 When installing a dry hydrant, it's best to talk to your FD, let them take a look and run a drill to test it. Good FD's will keep accurate notes on their district and know where they are, how to get to them, and how much water they can pull from a source. I know we did, but most were draft sites, not hydrants.  If you've put together a tanker relay with a source 3 miles form the fire and done the math, you know how many tankers it takes to support a constant water flow at 2,000 GPM. Most rural areas can't muster up than many tankers, or at least not quickly. I know this may not be a fit for what Jeff has, but I mention it for others reading. Water sources for rural departments are a real challenge, much more so than anybody would think.

[chet]

OG, take my word for it, Jeff's site is not practical for a dry hydrant for fire dept use. I recently retired from our fire dept. with over 30 years. I personally installed or supervised the installation of more than 50 such hydrants in ours and neighboring districts. Natural water sources in the UP are never really that far away from where there might be a population area. Where dry hydrants shine here is in winter; a natural water source next to a plowed road that you can make a quick connection to with a large capacity hard suction line. As opposed to trudging thru deep snow carrying 1 or more pumps, soft hoses, a hard suction, and a saw or auger. And then after that only being able to supply back to an apparatus with only a 2" line. Also small bodies of water are not ideal other than moving water, unless they are pretty deep. That way the hydrant tubes can be up from the bottom to avoid silt and still be below the frost line.

[Old Greenhorn]

OK, I'll take your word for it. I haven't been there and have no idea of the area resources or the fire response capabilities.
 HOWEVER, folks read and learn things here on the forum and file them away. AT some later date they find themselves in a  position where that information is pertinent and they go look it up again. I put that information in there for those folks because it may help somebody down the road. After all your experience in the Fire Service I am pretty sure you know that a big part of the job is public education and there is no better place than this to do it.
 That's all I'm saying. Help folks help themselves.

[chet]

That is exactly why I tried to explain why it was not a practical solution in all situations. 

[Jeff]

Got a little a little greasy today. Burlkraft and I were fixing the weak points found when digging my test hole. That was the goal. To test me, the soil, and the Hoe. I replaced 2 lines, one leaking and one goona leak. There is one more there that is an eventual goona leak, but I spent all I bared to spend for one day. We also replaced an o-ring in a fitting.


 

 

[Walnut Beast]

It's good to get it done now before you go wild digging 💪

[Ljohnsaw]

Jeff, take a look at the last picture you posted. I'm hoping that is just something hanging just to the right of your new hoses. It looks like a big diagonal crack in the casting. Or was it made like that?

[Jeff]

I went and took a look to be sure, no issues beyond the new knot on my head for standing up and hitting the top of my head on the dipper.   

[GRANITEstateMP]

Jeff, those hit HURT! I caught a 4ft level to the head today, and a whack to my not funny bone. And, its still light out so I may get at least 1 more injury!

[barbender]

Jeff, those hand held sight levels like Doc linked are pretty cheap and work great. I used one all the time when I worked on a grading crew, even just using it standing and sighting to a common reference point I could easily get +/-1" accuracy. 

[Jeff]

I was going to try and scrape off some top soil, but its full off tag alder stumps. Looks like mostly hoe work. I gave the loader hydraulics a workout, and once again, found the newest weak point.



 

 

 

 

[Don P]

Looks like you figgered it out before emptying the tank. For some reason I always have to pull the lever again to be sure. Anymore that's a $10 bill or better.

[Mooseherder]

I just got a hose a little longer than that length for 107.00 :(

[Jeff]

$67.

[Jeff]

Today my little pond started to get bigger. I'm cleaning and shaping the area first where I plan on joining the pond to the pond extention. I found that digging in the existing pond was not to disturbing for the critters. Right away minnows were there investigating, and last night the edge where I was digging was full of tadpoles and frogs already.

Expanding our Little Pond with a Backhoe. Part 1. Existing Edge Maintenance. - YouTube

[SwampDonkey]

I've seen a guy about loose a D8 on wet ground near a water source. Had to fish it out with a heavy excavator. :D Couldn't see where he was at with 8 foot high canary grass.

[Resonator]

Gettin' the hang of it!  
I can see where the E-hoe comes in handy for reaching out to where your dredging.
One thing I used to do working in soft material, is drag the full bucket towards the tractor some as I was lifting up. This in effect plows more material up and out of the hole with the same motion. (Don't know if that's the best technique, but it's what I'd do).