what is the best process for compacting soil directly on top of pipe with out damaging the pipe or collars? i am using a 10" pvc pipe. contractor said he would put a few feet of clay on top of it before running over it with the pan.

You want something that will compact the clay, but not damage the pipe. Jumping jack compactors (I don't know what they're really called), they're a motorized pogo stick without the foot pegs.

Wet the clay as you do it too. About 6"s at a time with the wet clay. Damp clay will pack much better and line up the flat plates of the soil. Water helps hold out the plates from each other as your vibrating compactor lines them up. When they dry out it is like a brick.

Cheers Don.

One thing I do is load a loader bucket full of dirt in my 70 hp mechanical front drive farm tractor, then drive right along side the pipe with the front tires. The front tires with lugs have a pretty high ground pressure with a loaded bucket.

Put the dirt up part way, compact repeatedly along the length of the pipe with the front tire almost touching. Add a layer of dirt and do it again. Keep repeating till the pipe is covered enough to run over the top without crushing the pipe, then keep doing it till the depth is such that it is safe to start compacting with the scraper again.

This no doubt is not as good as a vibratory compactor. But even if you use a vibratory compactor, this is a way to get the fill pre-compacted so you do not have to spend as much time with the vibrator. Just add the vibrator to the above mix as the soil is layered in.

Often times on tractors the rear wheels will stick out beyond the front tires, and the front tires is where you get your compaction factor (because they are narrow with heavy load). So what I have to do is approach at a slight angle so the rear tires will not hit the pipe, and turn to allow the front tires to run right along the pipe length. When the rear tires get too close, back up, move forward, and repeat.

Rubber tires, especially if they are farm lugs instead of industrial lugs (narrower lugs put more concentrated pressure) with a heavy load on them (bucket fully loaded) can do some pretty good compacting. An industrial TLB will also work and they have the advantage of being a heavier machine to begin with, but their tires on the front tend to be wider (spread the load more so not as high of PSI on the soil). So I like to use my farm tractor for compacting around a pipe even though I may use the TLB to put the dirt in place.

Probably not the professional way of doing it, but one way in case a person does not have access to other means.

my builders have a dozer, track hoe, and pan on site. im figuring they will use the bucket of the hoe to place and compact they clay a little at a time until they get it up to a safe depth to drive over. i am a small time asphalt contractor, but my builder is a large paving and grading contractor. we have access to all sorts of compaction equipment, but i feel like he is only going to use the hoe.

If used properly, the hoe should work just fine. Its all about the operator.

For rubber tire equipment (tractors, loaders ect), over inflating the tires will compact significantly more than at lower pressures.