Fitting Organizer

[hoskm01]

Does anyone have any suggestions for a good way to organize and store your different pipe fittings? Tool boxes, cardboard boxes etc... With a large accumulation of fittings, it is getting difficult to find what I need moving from one job to another. Any pics would be great. Thanks.

[Dirty Water]

I use a three drawer plastic organizer from Walmart. I have to replace a drawer about once every 3-4 months from getting bashed with a shovel, but it works well.

Top shelf holds marlex and MPT fittings, each in their own bin. 2nd drawer is full of 1" fittings, bottom drawer is 3/4". I have milk crates with 1.25,1.5 and 2" in a different part of my truck bed.

[PurpHaze]

Does anyone have any suggestions for a good way to organize and store your different pipe fittings? Tool boxes, cardboard boxes etc... With a large accumulation of fittings, it is getting difficult to find what I need moving from one job to another. Any pics would be great. Thanks.

Most of our "routine" fittings are in the boxes of the truck. Can't carry a whole lot because we deal with PVC, galvanized and QC system parts on a daily basis and routinely up to 2-1/2" size. We also us milk crates to hold extra various parts in the bed of the truck and we rely heavily on reducer bushings. Most of the time we can get through a repair/replacement situation with what we have on hand but occasionally just don't quite have what we need. One of us will run to the shop (or supplier if they are closer) to get exactly what we need but I know that isn't an option for you guys because time is money.

[SprinklerGuy]

I built a drawer type unit in the back of my truck...I'll take a pic today if I get a chance....gonna be doing some sod work...so it may not happen....ugh.

Also, weatherguard and Adrian Steel and probably some others make a big drawer unit that bolts to the bed of the truck....I had one of those once, back in the good old days when money was no object...*sigh*...Weatherguards is called a "packrat"

They are heavy, you wouldn't want them in a smallish truck, but the F250 never felt it.

I built one for 10% of the cost...not as pretty but almost as effective.

[justgeorge]

I use clear plastic bins with lids, about $3-$4 each. Since they are clear it's easy to see what's inside, and they stack on each other very nicely in the truck bed.

[BSME]

I have the weatherguard packrat sprinklerguy was talking about

http://www.pickupspecialties.com/Weatherguard/weatherguard_packrat_drawers.htm

it's not the one in the picture but one that is wider... almost takes up the width of the bed... very very convenient....

it is heavy though so if you are taking it out of your truck a lot to haul things it becomes a pain... I couldn't find the drawers my old company would use... they are a lot lighter but pretty much the same idea..

[hoskm01]

THanks for the info. SprinklerGuy, if you have a picture of your rig, would be much appreciated. Now to decide which way to go. Thanks again.

[Wet_Boots]

The accumulation of different fittings is why you want to consider standardizing things. In poly territory, lots of guys use only one inch pipe.

[PurpHaze]

The accumulation of different fittings is why you want to consider standardizing things. In poly territory, lots of guys use only one inch pipe.

Standardization is a good thing. We're a PVC area and work with a lot of larger sized lines so there is a lot more involved. When it comes to sprinklers/valves/controllers we've tried to standardize based on reliability, cost and availability. When it comes to fittings we rely heavily on reducer bushings instead of carrying every conceivable fitting. When we go out on a repair job where the pipe is 2" or less we have probably a 90% chance of having what we need on our trucks.

However, since we're a "service organization" compared to you guys that are trying to earn your livelihood we always have the option of shutting down a repair job until time/parts are gathered. I have one site where an old manual system needs repair. The site guy cranked down too hard on a brass right angle valve (5th one he's broken now) and broke the stem. The isolation valve handle/stem had been stripped off a long time ago and apparently never been repaired. Fortunately there was just enough stem that we were able to turn this gate valve off with Channelocks. Our plan is to replace both valves at the same time but the domestic water will require shutting down. I've scheduled this repair work for the Christmas holidays when schools are shut down so it won't affect anything.

We're also gearing up for a complete new system of a Little League baseball field that is located at one of the middle schools. The field is a combination 60/90 foot base paths field and is also the middle school's varsity field. This one will have to be coordinated with soccer season as part of the outfield contains the end of one school soccer field. We'll start the system and install those areas that don't impact the soccer field and then complete it during the Christmas vacation. That way the trenches will be adequately compacted before soccer season resumes in January.

[Az Gardener]

IMO it depends on what you are doing. For service work that Pac rat drawer is great, for new installs any bigger than 1 trac home I think you will need a few. I am an organizer freak, the problem is I don't do the work, so things I set up for organizing don't usually work unless I am all over the guys, and that takes time. With my old/big company we just had parts delivered to the job site and left them there until they were done. Then we brought what was left took a quick inventory to see what we had a lot of then didn't order that the next job. You have probably seen Aridscape Concepts around town thats one of my old partners he does 25-30 mil a year in residential L/S they have those Royal truck beds with the compartments but mostly for tools they have a standing "New job order" with Ewing they just call up and have the same thing sent to every job. That's enough to get production rolling and then the foreman makes a order to complete the job. They carry very few parts around with them. And what they do is in buckets because thats the way the crew likes it. Remember there is a balance between the time you spend being organized and the time you spend looking for whatever. I could probably remodel my house with the time and $$ I have spent trying to organize the guys over the years.

[Dirty Water]

We have a large shop with a huge inventory, as well as thousands of feet of pipe sitting on racks.

No waiting around for a supplier to deliver on the job.

[Az Gardener]

Very impressive but how much does that cost? I can get a delivery within 24 hours and sometimes less. I have another friend, Dave does close to 1-mil a year in res L/S been in business 10+ years does it just like you. Charlie (Aridscape) 5 years 30 Mill Hmm..... But if it works for you thats great. In all fairness you probably don't have the concentration of irrigation supply houses that we have. I have 6 within 30 min of my home.

[PurpHaze]

Routine repairs. :D

[PurpHaze]

New installs. :p (trailer could use a paint job)

[Dirty Water]

You need to get a real trencher:

Not Mine, but same models:
http://www.bannerfuel.com/pimages/ditchwitch.jpg
http://www.bledsoerentals.com/UsedEquipment/Inventory/UsedPics/011-0023-2-21.jpg

Nice truck though, I'll take a picture of mine once I clean the bed out :laugh:

[PurpHaze]

You need to get a real trencher. Not Mine, but same models.

Get a toy like this and we'll compare. LOL :cool2:

(Guy on the right is my regular partner Todd who is my "right hand man" and the guy operating the Bobcat is Hogie, one of our qualified grounds workers who does a great job with it.)

[PurpHaze]

Nice truck though, I'll take a picture of mine once I clean the bed out :laugh:

I clean mine out about six times a year and wash it about twice a year whether it needs it or not. I hose the dust/dirt off regularly. Funny thing is that most district vehicles are white or light cream colored and mine is the only one this color. We bought my truck used through a truck broker with 72K miles on it and I believe it came out of Washington.

[Dirty Water]

How quickly can you change from the backhoe attachment to a loader bucket?

Also, can you drive the skid with the hoe attachment on, do you have any visibility at all? Never seen that one before.

http://www.enlow66.com/images/7-21-05/2nd/FORD555CTLB.jpg

We use this guy a lot on a really large commercial condo assocation (50+ acres) that we maintain and enlarge as the property grows.

The owner of the land owns it, and we get free use of it while we are there. I love using the loader to move bedding sand over doing it by hand :laugh:

Theres no dirt on that property, just rocks, so we bed our mains.

[PurpHaze]

Man o' man... I leave for the dinner table and a "toy war" has started. LOL :blob3:

[PurpHaze]

How quickly can you change from the backhoe attachment to a loader bucket?

About five minutes. Two levers connect the attachments and then there are two hydraulic quick connect hoses.

Also, can you drive the skid with the hoe attachment on, do you have any visibility at all? Never seen that one before.

The hoe attachment is no problem as far as visibility whether it's straight out or moved to the side. Either way it's fairly easy to line up or move. We also have an auger that is used for tree planting and they're thinking about getting a wide trencher attachment for large main lines. Thing is that most of us can backhoe a trench fairly fast and we're not sure if the trencher attachment would be that beneficial.

[Dirty Water]

How do you back it up? Do you have to crawl back in the cab?

Or can you control it from the backhoe seat? Or I guess you could use the boom to push it back.

[PurpHaze]

How do you back it up? Do you have to crawl back in the cab?

Or can you control it from the backhoe seat? Or I guess you could use the boom to push it back.

It has safety devices that won't allow you to back it up from the backhoe seat nor operate the attachment controls from the driver's seat. You can push back slighly with the backhoe arm but the outriggers get in the way unless you raise them first. This might seem like an inconvenience but the backhoe boom reaches out farther than one might think and the close curl is quite manageable also. Allows you to work a pretty lengthy zone without backing up until you're ready to. Maybe not as long a zone as the one you pictured but still quite adequate for irrigation work.

At 6'-6" it's tight quarters for me and usually someone else operates it while I'm doing other things like getting parts ready; i.e. dressers dismantled, tees preglued, valves prepped, etc. I also spend time going over the zone, mainline routing or detailing other things.

[Dirty Water]

It has safety devices that won't allow you to back it up from the backhoe seat nor operate the attachment controls from the driver's seat. You can push back slighly with the backhoe arm but the outriggers get in the way unless you raise them first. This might seem like an inconvenience but the backhoe boom reaches out farther than one might think and the close curl is quite manageable also. Allows you to work a pretty lengthy zone without backing up until you're ready to. Maybe not as long a zone as the one you pictured but still quite adequate for irrigation work.

That would bug me a lot. I get irritated having to raise the outriggers and spin the seat around on a backhoe, having to climb into another seat would drive me nuts.

When I'm running a excavator I can dig and crawl backwards with the foot controls at the same time. (18" bucket only going 12" down...you can fly).

[PurpHaze]

That would bug me a lot. I get irritated having to raise the outriggers and spin the seat around on a backhoe, having to climb into another seat would drive me nuts.

When I'm running a excavator I can dig and crawl backwards with the foot controls at the same time. (18" bucket only going 12" down...you can fly).

Every piece of machinery/equipment/vehicle in the world has its own peculiarities. The more you operate something the more comfortable you get with it.

[hoskm01]

I am standardized at least to the point of only running PVC for sprinklers or poly for most drip applications. So at least I dont have 4 different types going. I went with a few different tool boxes, one for each different size of pipe. (1/2 has its own, 3/4 its own, and so on). Working well so far, need another field test to really see if I'll stick with it.

Nice toys for those of you heavy into irrigation. I'd like to go with a dingo-like unit with trencher, auger, harleyrake attachment in the furutre, until bigger equipment is needed of course. Thanks for the input.

[Broker]

Did you make the trailer yourself or purchase it. I have never seen anything like it b4.

[PurpHaze]

Did you make the trailer yourself or purchase it. I have never seen anything like it b4.

The trailer was fabricated by our mechanic back in 1990. Prior to that time we used a small trailer to haul the trencher, pipe racks for pipe and the beds of trucks to haul all our parts on big projects. It's taken a beating but has held up well. I should take a couple of pictures but in each large compartment there are six divided bins on three shelves. Depending on the fitting the bins can be divided by plastic inserts. The smaller compartments over the wheel wells have one shelf with bins and then full length drop areas over the wheels, perfect for storing boxes of parts for a project. We try and maintain a standing inventory of parts from 1/2" to 4" depending on what we use most. The center of the trailer holds the trencher, fuel, extra parts in boxes (when used for a specific project), extra pipe (usually 3" and above that will be used that day), wire wheel with 4 spools of 14 gauge wire and in the past a small honda tractor can be driven up the ramp and contained in the back part.

[DanaMac]

hoskm01 - I have some good bins that I will photo later and post. Just wanted to bring this to the top so I don't forget.

[PurpHaze]

hoskm01 - I have some good bins that I will photo later and post. Just wanted to bring this to the top so I don't forget.

Oh suuurrrrrrre, Dana. And to think that *I* get accused of using tricks to bring my post totals up. :p

[DanaMac]

Yeah but I have 676 since 2002

You have 879 since September of this year!!

I haven't had that much time on my hands since I worked for our city when I was 16 :p

[PurpHaze]

Yeah but I have 676 since 2002

You have 879 since September of this year!!

I haven't had that much time on my hands since I worked for our city when I was 16 :p

My hat's off to you guys that work your own companies. I used to work for myself and then went governmental for the benefits about 20 years ago. I know I could make money on the outside but when I factor in eight hour days, holidays, weekends off, vacations, medical, etc. guess I made my choice. Guess this gives me extra time to bore everyone to death. :D

[DanaMac]

Just teasing you. I love working for myself. Have for 10.5 years now. Work my a$$ off when there is work, and take 4 months off during winter. But 8 hour days and tons of bennies are tempting. I'm just too stubborn to work for anyone else.

[PurpHaze]

Just teasing you. I love working for myself. Have for 10.5 years now. Work my a$$ off when there is work, and take 4 months off during winter. But 8 hour days and tons of bennies are tempting. I'm just too stubborn to work for anyone else.

Gotta admit that I do have to swallow real hard sometimes when confronted with stupidity. Nice thing is that what we do out in the field is foreign to most people. We usually just go out and do our thing the way we want to and then once it's buried no one is the wiser. All they care about is how things ultimately look on the outside.

[DanaMac]

All they care about is how things ultimately look on the outside.

And they complain about it being irrigation related no matter what else may have caused the problems
Grass trampled by kids playing soccer, yellow and burned by fertilizer, thin and dieing from grubs and other insects, dieing from the stain or paint from re-sealing the fence.

People always think it is my problem when the grass dies, when there are so many other factors.

[bicmudpuppy]

Gotta admit that I do have to swallow real hard sometimes when confronted with stupidity. Nice thing is that what we do out in the field is foreign to most people. We usually just go out and do our thing the way we want to and then once it's buried no one is the wiser. All they care about is how things ultimately look on the outside.
I keep hearing that country music leric.........."my prides to hard to swallow so I chew a lot of it........" Yep, a real tough chew too. But being self-employed doesn't help and if you thought you didn't like your boss before........

[PurpHaze]

But being self-employed doesn't help and if you thought you didn't like your boss before........

It would be pretty scary waking up each morning and looking into the mirror. :D