Hydrovac Excavation In The Winter: Cold Weather Digging

Do you believe that excavating in winter is more difficult, more expensive, and more time consuming? Is it your experience that frozen conditions sometimes make digging so challenging that crews are reluctant to even get started? Have you ever been forced to delay work all together because of winter conditions?

If the answer to any of these question is ‘yes’, it’s a good thing you found this post. Because with hydrovac excavation, winter digging never has to be a problem ever again.

How Can you Excavate in the Winter with Hydrovac?

Depending on its moisture content, frozen soil can be as hard and solid as concrete. This drastically slows traditional digging equipment, which must thaw the soil before work can begin. But freezing poses no such problems for hydrovac excavation. That’s because this method’s main mechanism of excavation, water, is just about as effective at melting ice as it is at breaking down soil.

For more details about the mechanisms that power hydrovac excavation, check out our Hydrovac Excavation 101 blog post.

Benefits of Hydrovac Excavating vs Traditional Excavation in Winter

To better understand why Hydrovac Excavation is such a game changer for winter excavation, let’s look at three of its most-touted benefits.

No Ground Thawing Steps Required

Several different methods are used to soften frozen soils for traditional excavation machines. These include:

• Burning wood
• Coals
• Electric heaters
• Insulation blankets

While all of these methods will, eventually, thaw the earth, the process is time consuming and labor intensive. What’s more, they introduce various health and safety concerns, including air pollution, burn risks, and fire risks.

Hydrovac excavation does away the need for extra thawing measures entirely. The heated water used for the excavation is all that’s necessary. It can melt ice and carve out the soil in a single, continuous action, without introducing any extra safety risks or time delays.

Reduced Exposure to the Elements

Working in freezing temperatures is potentially dangerous, even with the appropriate gear and warming houses in place. Fortunately, hydrovac excavation substantially reduces the number of labor hours spent exposed to the elements.

First off, it’s faster than traditional excavation in the winter, reducing the duration of the project. Secondly, it can also be completed with a crew as small as two, far fewer than traditional winter excavation usually requries. Fewer crew members out in the elements for less time is a powerful recipe for preventing dangerous incidents, like slipping on ice or frostbite.

Safest For Utilities

Whatever the season, hydrovacuum excavators are the leading choice for excavating around known or suspected utilities. Their ability to clear soil directly above and around these delicate structures without damaging them is always in demand. But in winter, when conditions are extra challenging, the utility-safe nature of hydrovac is arguably even more important.

Uncomfortable weather combined with frustrating work conditions is a recipe for distraction, even for very disciplined crews. What’s more, shifting ice and snow can make clear utility marking more difficult than usual. Not only does hydrovac excavation help minimize the frustration, it also provides an extra layer of reassurance that the utilities won’t be damaged regardless of what happens.

Why Experience is Crucial for Cold Weather Digging

As adept as hydrovacuum excavation is at cold weather digging, the equipment is only ever as effective as the team that’s controlling it. When it comes to winter excavation in particular, experience is crucial for preventing costly or dangerous mistakes.

Positioning the truck, directing the hoses, adjusting the water pressure – all of these require additional care and discipline in freezing conditions. By choosing a seasoned (pun intended) hydrovac excavator with proven cold weather experience, you can help guarantee your winter project gets done as quickly and safely as possible.

Cold Weather Digging for the Entire Midwest

If you’re looking for experts in cold weather hydrovac excavation, you’ve come to the right place. Goliath Hydro-Vac Inc. has been serving the entire Midwest region for over 20 years. In other words, we work in all the coldest states in the lower 48. We know what it takes to get great results, even when the mercury has dropped well below freezing. So never let winter delay an excavation again. Get in touch with us today.

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