Can Trenching Be Done in the Winter

As they say, winter is “the most wonderful time of year” for many activities. Skiing, snowboarding, and getting cozy under the covers are all great wintertime activities. If you work in a field that requires trenching such as utility work, you may be surprised that winter is a time of year when it’s still possible to get trenching done.

Although it may be more challenging to trench in the wintertime, it’s not an impossible task. In the article below, we’ve answered questions like “is trenching seasonal?” and “can trenching happen in the winter?” to help you figure out how to get the job done in rain, shine, or, especially, frigid snowy conditions.

Is trenching seasonal?

Since many folks seem to consider trenching to be a warm weather job, or at least one that is best done before the frost sets or after the frost melts, it may be surprising to hear that trenching is not a seasonal job. Trenching can happen in the spring, summer, and early fall months before the ground freezes solid. However, trenching can also happen in the wintertime when the ground has frozen to rock-hard consistency.

Can trenching happen in the winter?

While this might come as a shock to some readers, trenching can definitely happen in the winter. Some outfits on a trenching machine may work better in warmer weather. Still, trenching as a whole is totally possible to do in the wintertime and all year round. 

During the winter months, maintaining your trenching machine may be more important than ever. This is because trenching during the winter is admittedly harder on the equipment. If you think about it, digging a trench with a shovel would be challenging for the body if you tried to do it manually. Our machines experience the same level of struggle and wear and tear during the winter as our arms would if we tried doing trench digging manually.

For trenching to happen in the winter, you will need to properly “winterize” your machine. This can mean replacing standard cup teeth on the trenching machine’s chain with alligator tooth chain styles. These types of chains are better equipped to handle hard, difficult frozen surfaces than the standard cup teeth that most machines use as defaults.

To avoid engine failure on a trenching machine, you will also want to allow the engine to heat up before using the machine. Otherwise, your machine may break down and need hefty repairs to get back into commission. As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. A little bit of forethought and care going into using your machine now will save you the time, energy, and headache that repairs bring later.

In conclusion, trenching can and does happen in the winter. Trenching happens during every season, even if that feels unlikely. As a rule, for trenching to happen in the winter, users of trenching machines will need to prepare the machines for winter use.

Categorised in: Trenching Contractors

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