ELT-100

The Elston Difference

Elston Slices through the soil disrupting it upwards, creating a pliable soil condition that secures the fabric in the slice. This prevents the fabric from being pulled out of the slice when turning or traversing a water way. This is critical because other slicing methods horizontally compact the interior of the slice outward, creating a soil condition that allows the fabric to easily slide out, thus causing significantly more labor and machine downtime to reinstall the fabric. All this in one proven, trouble-free operation.

No Washouts. The Elston slices through the soil, uniquely designed to slightly disrupt soil upward and avoid horizontal compaction. Because soil is only disrupted, and not displaced, its profile is maintained as it’s compacted, insuring greater stability, and greater resistance to wash out

Best of all, the Elston turns easily to avoid obstacles and creates “smiles” to contain runoff. The Elston actually slices through most obstacles, even eight inch thick cobble and concrete waste, by pushing it to one side. However, if you do snag a hard buried object, the Elston is protected by a grade 5 shear bolt to prevent damage to the machine.

The Elston silt fence machine is pulled through the soil with a tractor (30 H.P. utility or larger) or a skidloader with tracks (60 H.P. or larger). The process is called static-slicing because no other energy is applied to the soil disrupter, which literally slices through the soil, slightly pushing soil or debris to one side or the other.

The slicing method process uses a soil disrupter to thinly slice through the soil 8-12 inches (200-300m) deep. A vertical wheel then inserts silt fence into the slit. The soil disrupter utilizes a chisel type horizontal point to slightly disrupt soil upward, minimizing horizontal compaction, thus creating an optimum soil condition for future mechanical compaction.

The vertical wheel, positioned between two narrow parallel panels, is a moving pivot where the horizontal silt fence fabric is converted to a vertical position between the panels.

In this dynamic operation, silt fence fabric is simultaneously pulled off the roll by the vertical wheel, funneled into the apparatus, converted to a vertical position between the panels, and inserted into the soil being held open by the panels. As the machine progresses, soil collapses onto the silt fence fabric, thus securing silt fence in the desired position.

No matter in water-saturated soils, steep slopes, tight circles, windy conditions, or hard pan, the mechanical installation is consistent and dependable every time.

After installing the fabric, the power source wheel rolls the disrupted soil down against the fabric to create a compacted soil condition which strongly resizes washouts.

This technology slices through the soil, rather than excavating it. Excavation is extremely time consuming; the time is doubled again when you backfill in the dirt you excavated. If the excavated material is sod or cobble, the operation is even more time consuming, and may not enable proper compaction. Now required by ASTM, compacted soil resists water infiltration and moisture saturation, thus nearly eliminating washouts.

The Soil Disrupter

The horizontal chisel point helps to pull the machine into the correct ground depth and helps it maintain that depth. It also disrupts the soil upward, usually with minimal displacement. You do not have to push it into the soil; it pulls itself in!

This is critical for two reasons. One, just slicing the soil with a blade, like a vibratory plow, compacts the soil horizontally, preventing the soil from collapsing onto the fabric and retarding its ability to be compacted tightly against the fabric — extremely critical! A vibratory plow installation is not acceptable. In addition, running the chisel point deep in the ground, possibly 18” deep, may not disrupt the soil upward — it could act similarly to the vibratory plow and compact the soil horizontally.

Two, disrupting the soil upward creates an optimal condition for mechanical compaction, especially wheel-rolling with the power source. Minimal time, labor and equipment are required for compaction — both critical factors in contractor adherence to the specifications.

Minimal soil disruption and displacement maintain some of the soil’s original profile enabling compaction back to its original state, insuring greater soil stability, and thus greater resistance to washout.

Minor disruption minimizes soil moisture loss during fence construction, which also contributes to high relative compaction.

The slicing method nearly eliminates washouts. The word nearly is used because other factors such as the machine operator, the weight and repetitions of compaction, trash in the soil, soil structure, and moisture can all effect the outcome.

Lifetime Warranty on Plastic Wheel

The Wheel Guarantee

The Elston wheel is guaranteed for the life of your machine to the original buyer, and at a maximum of one per year – although most wheels last many years due to the fact that they are 2 inches above the operating depth of the machine and the only stress on a wheel is the moving silt fence fabric.

Why A Guarantee?

The wheel has never been a problem (so a warranty wasn’t necessary) and is not now, but false insinuations from others have caused us to address these comments with a full year’s guarantee for a single wheel. Wheels typically last in excess of 100,000 linear feet of silt fence and are only replaced as some contractors prefer a new wheel.

Made and manufactured in America’s heartland, each Elston is backed by a 90-day Full Machine and Freight Warranty. This machine will not let you down. No Elston has ever been returned for quality repairs or a warranty issue.

It does what we say it will and contractors love it! Each month we get unsolicited calls from ecstatic customers telling us “I didn’t believe it was this good!”

Proven Effective

Proven in Every Soil Type

The Elston has been proven effective in every soil type, even the most difficult such as saturated soils, rocky soils, and hard, baked compacted clay. The Elston operates in the most difficult weather and terrain conditions, such as high winds and steep slopes.

With the Elston you can install silt fence, regardless of the weather or soil conditions, and move onto the next job––knowing the work has been done professionally and will meet all ASTM standards.

Non Issues

Wet conditions make trenching nearly impossible, costing you work days and income, that are gone forever.
Windy days making it impossible to build a tight fence, cause havoc with employees, morale and production.

TRACTOR RECOMMENDATIONS

• 4-wheel drive makes turning and operating around construction sites much more efficient, as well as providing extra traction on slopes and in compacted soils.
• A loader provides opportunity to level out piles or large chunks of soil in your way, a loader can fix gullies and washouts prior to installation, and a loader can carry 500·800 pounds for improved compaction capability
• A 30+ HP, 3000 lb. gear-drive tractor is recommended because it takes quite a bit of torque and traction in compacted soils to achieve effective and efficient results
• We feel having a 16-18 inch height at the base of the lower arms of the 3-point is optimum.

INADEQUATE POWER

Underpower, underweight, and under-traction each significantly reduces efficiency, and possibly effectiveness, under many conditions. Each factor may cause the operator to raise the Elston partially out of proper operating depth to enable the Elston to proceed in difficult situations, thus potentially reducing its effectiveness. Underweight may also require the use of a compacting device other than your tractor.

Installing The Elston On A Tractor

Before starting out, plan your installation route, clear any major debris, and avoid or level out any major soil variations which would decrease your installation effectiveness. Large clumps of soil and deep rills cause the rear tractor wheel to rise and simultaneously pulls the Elston out of the soil, which in turn may hinder the installation. To start, drop the lower arms of the 3-point and retract the top cylinder completely to achieve the maximum penetration angle, and begin pulling forward in your lowest gear. Low gear provides time for the operator to react before a problem arises, thus maintaining a quality installation. As the Elston pulls itself into the soil, extend the top cylinder to level out the frame of the Elston. When you have achieved the desired depth, just below the wing clamp, begin to raise the lower arms to adjust and hold the Elston in a level position. The lower arms are the main control for proper depth of fabric placement after the Elston is leveled out. The Elston is designed to begin feeding out when the wheel, which extends below the soil disrupter, engages the soil with downward pressure. The goal is to get the point into the ground 6-8” as soon as possible, and then level out the Elston to begin installation. At the end of your installation, continue past a short distance, stop, and lift the Elston out of the soil enough for your support person to cut the fabric free, which leaves the fabric in the machine in proper position to start the next installation. Many distributors have specialty cutters for silt fence which makes the job much easier.

Check Installation Before Compacting

The operator needs to survey the installation before compacting the soil against the silt fence, to confirm proper installation. Have the support person walk along and check the fabric for proper consistent height. It is easier and faster to fix a small area when the soil is loose rather than when compacted. J-hooks and tight curves are especially sensitive because they are often installed in high pressure areas. Proper compaction and adequate depth are critical to the successful operation of the silt fence.

Importance Of Compaction

Insufficient compaction can allow water that has dammed up behind the silt fence to develop a channel underneath the fence and flow up on the downside of the silt fence. We recommend having your loader bucket full of soil and driving over critical water retention areas twice on each side of the silt fence, beginning with the upstream side of the silt fence. Sometimes, it is mandatory to go over the area twice in hard, compacted or rocky soils because the soil breaks up in chunks, and it takes repeat trips to reach the necessary compaction level.

Recently updated in 2003, ASTM D6462-03 on silt fence materials and installation requires compaction to be at least 50% of the insitu soil. To facilitate compaction, the specification also better defined the trench to be level full after compaction. As this updated specification is implemented, trenching will become economically unfeasible.

The Elston comes with a hydraulic cylinder to facilitate faster penetration into the soil. All tractors vary as to their 3-point design and construction. The hydraulic cylinder may have to be modified to facilitate the most efficient operation. The cylinder stub is provided to work on many category 2 tractors. Extra holes are provided for the stub to be shortened for category 1 tractors. Proper length of the cylinder stub is determined by attaching the Elston to the tractor by the lower arms only, carefully raising the lower arms of the 3-point and simultaneously propping the Elston up (possibly setting the point on a sturdy block, or holding the rear of the machine up with another loader) where the frame is parallel with the lower arms of your 3-point. Your hydraulic cylinder should be completely closed and the ram attached to the Elston. Adjust the cylinder (shortening the stub if necessary) to reach the top link catch on the tractor. A small variation of an inch or two may not matter. We can not give you a formula or measurement because the position of the top link varies so much on every tractor style.

We send hydraulic cylinders out with a 8-inch base stub drilled with two holes. If you have a category 2 tractor, this base stub should be the approximate length that you need. If you have a category 1 tractor, you may have to shorten the base stub and use the lower hole for attachment.

The top-link cylinder increases the angle of attack for quicker penetration into the soil, and then levels the Elston out for proper operation. It does not exert down pressure to push the Elston into the soil. The point of the soil disrupter helps pull the Elston into the ground and if the frame of the Elston is maintained at a level or a slightly forward angle, the point constantly pulls the Elston downward into the soil as you progress.

CONTROL THE ELSTON WITH THE LOWER ARMS OF THE 3-POINT HITCH

The tractor operator actually controls the operation of the Elston in the ground by manipulating the lower arms of the 3-point hitch. With the point pulling the Elston downward, the arms are utilized to manage the depth of the Elston in the soil. As the terrain or compacted status of the soil changes, the operator manipulates the Elston by slightly raising or lowering the lower arms, attempting to maintain a consistent depth. As you will learn, manipulating the Elston slightly does not directly alter the silt fence depth significantly or impair the quality of the installation. If the Elston does rise out of the soil too much, the crew may have to tuck the silt fence in manually, or dig it in to proper depth.

Can Carry Approx. 3,000 LF Of Std Weight Silt Fencing

The Elston can carry approx. 3,000 LF of STD weight silt fence material.

The Elston is available for standard 36” x 1500’ to 2500’ rolls of silt fence, but it can be easily adapted for smaller and larger rolls. The roll fits over the pipe with the top of the silt fence material (if there is a top and bottom) positioned away from the arm of the Elston. The plate and spring come attached for your convenience. Minimal tension is recommended to restrict the roll from free-wheeling. For very large rolls it might unroll easier if the fabric is coming off the back of the roll rather than the front of the roll. To thread the fabric through the machine, put your fingers through a hole in the wheel near the top, clasp the bottom of the fabric so that approximately 6” is behind the wheel, and pull the fabric down around the outside of the wheel and through the machine so that the flap of the inside of the wheel is approximately 6” long and the balance of the fabric is on the side nearest you.
Once you get more proficient it is not necessary to open the hinged wing to pull the fabric through. After the fabric is threaded out the back, it is a good idea to check the fabrics’ position in relation to the wheel, so that the flap is approximately 6” long on the inside of the wheel. The position of the fabric on the front edge of the wheel is critical. You must position the 6” flap as described and shown to insure proper installation and operation of the Elston. Be very careful to avoid pinching or binding the fabric when closing the winged panel.

When you run out of fabric in the middle of a run, you can raise the Elston out of the soil, back up a few feet behind the installed fabric, load the Elston, drop back into the slit next to the existing fabric, and continue on with a perfect splice. Do not splice in critical water retention areas

Support Person

We have found that you waste less fabric and have better control over the operation if you utilized a second person. The support person can position and hold the silt fence to get it started in the slit, walk along the Elston, watching for proper depth, removing debris that comes up, and watching/managing the fabric flow through the machine to minimize snagging and the potential for fabric sliding off of the wheel.

How It Works

The Elston machine installs silt fence the same way – the correct way – each and every time.

It Does Not

• get tired
• skip a step in the process
• fail to follow instructions
• decide not to come to work.

The Elston easily maneuvers around construction site contours and obstacles, properly placing silt fence for detaining sediment-laden water. With the capability to turn 90 degrees within 10 feet, the Elston can easily create a J-hook to detain water – now prescribed and required by many regulatory agencies.

The Elston works on a 3-point hitch system comprised of a soil disrupter that slices thinly through the soil 8-12” deep, and an apparatus for inserting silt fence fabric. The soil disrupter utilizes a chisel type horizontal point to disrupt soil upward causing minimal displacement and minimal horizontal compaction, thus creating an optimum soil condition for future mechanical compaction. The apparatus is primarily comprised of a ground-driven vertical wheel, positioned between two narrow parallel panels, acting as a moving pivot point where the horizontal silt fence is converted to a vertical position between the panels. In this dynamic operation silt fence is simultaneously pulled off the roll by the ground-driven vertical wheel, funneled into the apparatus, converted to a vertical position between the panels, and inserted into the soil being held open by the panels. As the machine progresses, soil collapses onto the silt fence, thus securing silt fence in the desired position.

The silt fence material is converted to the vertical position by the wheel engaging the horizontal silt fence fabric perpendicularly and causing it to fold as it flows between the panels and pivots against the wheel. The fabric maintains the same position in the soil, one flap of the fold being approximately 6” long, with the balance of the silt fence as the other flap.

Minimal soil disruption creates an optimum condition for mechanical compaction, which in turn stabilizes the soil against washout under the silt fence. Disrupting soil upward also reduces horizontal compaction. Horizontal compaction would not allow the soil to fall back onto the fabric nor secure the fabric tightly in the soil.

New Rules. Maximum length of any run should be 200 linear feet. Create multiple storage area for ponding stormwater. Trenchers cannot perform the new installation requirements.

Silt Fence Placement

Designs called J-hooks insure water & sediment pond behind each silt fence.

Easy turning also means maneuvering around obstacles on the construction site, and stability on slopes and tight areas. The Elston can be operated in many more locations than a trencher – again with significant time – savings and effective installations.

A rule of thumb might be that if you can’t install with a Elston, it isn’t an appropriate location for silt fence.

Why Is My Silt Fence Is Pulling Off The Wheel?

This usually happens when the operator allows the Elston to float up, or the wheel is not operating at the bottom of the slit. If the support person is walking along and managing the 6” flap of fabric so it stays consistent on the wheel, the Elston should do an excellent installation. When the fabric comes off of the wheel in the middle of a run, you can either cut the fabric and splice it the same as an end of roll splice, or you can back up, rethread the fabric onto the wheel, drop the Elston back into the slit, and proceed hoping to maintain a good installation– it may take a couple of practice runs to get the process down. If you have continuous problems with the silt fence sliding off of the wheel:
• Check that the roll is free and not in a bind of some kind.
• Check that the roll is up against the arm so you are maintaining a full 6” flap on the inside of the wheel.
• Check for debris or something snagging the fabric between the panels.

Installing Silt Fence Through A Ditch

The Elston frame should stay parallel with the ground under it and then be adjusted with the top cylinder as the blade and wheel go through the toe of the slope or the crest of a ditch. The operator must watch both of these critical areas while installing ditch checks or going through slight valleys. The lower arms should be released to the completely down position so the Elston continues to pull itself into the soil. The top cylinder should be managed so the wheel stays at the bottom of the slit.

Stay parallel until wheel passes through target area

When installing ditch checks, survey the slopes and choose the slope with the most consistent length of slope to start installation, even if it is the greater slope of the two. In other words, try to start the installation with the Elston on the same plane as the tractor.

Start here because slope hasthe most consistent length of slope which allows the tractor to get the Elston started easier and better.

When going over the crest of a ditch, as the tractor front end levels out, the Elston on the rear of the tractor will automatically come up, thus raising the soil disrupter and wheel out of the slit. The hydraulic cylinder offsets this reaction to a point, but it isn’t always enough compensation, so it is best to plan your installation process with this restriction in mind. See Fig 9 Below

When going through the toe of a slope, especially 2.5 to 1, or greater, the tractor and Elston acting as a unit may bridge the toe of the slope and cause the soil disrupter to come out of the ground. A skid-loader may be a solution here, or you may just have to dig the silt fence in manually. See Fig. 10.

There is a catch-22 here, where the longer you make the cylinder for one situation, the less it will retract for another situation. A happy medium is our goal.

Ditches That Wont Work

Thin bottom ditches with steep sides are very difficult or unworkable for the tommy® when attached to a tractor because the length of the machinery just won’t fit into the bottom of the ditch. We can’t define a width or slope because construction situations differ greatly and it will just come with experience as to what will and won’t work. See Fig 13.

Installing Silt Fence Through A Deep Rut

And, as with the crest of a slope, coming out of a gully rut can cause the rear of the tractor to rise and raise the Elston out of the soil, hindering the quality of your installation. If there is an established gully 6” deep or deeper, we recommend opening the area with your loader so the Elston can install the fabric at the proper depth below the soil level. See Fig. 12 below.

Installing Silt Fence Through Adverse Conditions

The Elston works extremely well in sticky mud and very wet soil like wetlands, but you may have to pull the tractor and Elston through with another source of power from dry or stable ground. You can definitely install silt fence with the Elston where you can’t with any other machine.

The same is true for steep side slopes. When you lose traction on the high side wheel, you can pull the Elston through with another power source which holds the front end of the tractor from sliding down the hill and gives you traction for finishing the job–again installing where no other machine can operate!

In hard, compacted ground, you may have to manipulate the machine more than usual by using the lower arms of the 3-point to vary the depth vertically 2-3” in the soil. This reduces the resistance to the soil disrupter in the soil and allows the Elston to continue with a proper installation.

In nearly all conditions, we recommend 300 pounds additional weight on the machine. In extremely compacted conditions, in rocky soils, add another 100-150 pounds onto the Elston weight bracket to help it into the ground. In rocky soils the coulter can inadvertently act as a wheel, and hold the Elston up, restricting penetration. We recommend removing the coulter completely in these situations.

In very trashy soils, or in a grubbed area full of roots, you may have to drag the Elston through the area at the penetration angle to break up the soil, and then return and install the silt fence in the created slit. In this case, you would definitely want to double or triple compact the disrupted soil around and against the silt fence fabric.

On dips, curves, and turns we recommend the support person walking directly behind and on the disturbed soil to help secure the fabric immediately until final compaction is accomplished.

Plan which direction you are going to install silt fence so the tractor doesn’t end up dead headed into an area which will cause extra hand work. If the silt fence partially comes up out of the slit in the soil, sometimes you can tuck it back in with a spade without having to reinstall it

Support Posts

Contractors use all types of posts, from steel t-posts to 1 inch sq. hardwood posts. Steel t-posts cost more, but are very sturdy when deep enough, can be spaced as needed, and can be recycled. Wood posts are relatively inexpensive, but are hard to drive deep enough into the soil for good support, and present somewhat of a safety problem for labor when driven with a heavy hammer.

Posts are installed after the fabric is properly placed and compacted in the soil. EvTec found that compaction before posting significantly improved effectiveness. Posting independently allows the contractor to space posts as they are needed – where water concentrates posts are spaced closer together possibly at 3′ apart, and on legs with concentration 8′ apart.

Steel or wood? Doesn’t matter to a Elston installation. Wood posts are allowed or specified in many parts of the country, but as regulations and suppliers are now preparing silt fence to actually pond water and hold sediment, steel posts are likely to continue gaining presence.

Problem With Wood Stakes

If not sized appropriately, (actual 2×2) smaller sizes break while installing them. Properly sized wood stakes will perform acceptably, but their physical size (40 inches) prohibit achieving proper depth to support the horizontal load. Generally, stakes must lie as deep in the ground as the potential load above ground.

Wood Stakes may be less expensive than steel, but if the fence won’t hold up it doesn’t matter.

Providing 18″ of sediment and storm water is a major difference and benefit of proper installation by slicing with the Elston. The fabric doesn’t work out and inferior posts are no longer adequate (as in pre-fabricated silt fence).

Steel posts are often the best option. Steel posts can be driven the proper depth into very hard clay and even rocky soils. Steel posts can support the 18″ horizontal sediment load (when properly placed)… and can be recycled – often wood posts are not recyclable.

1. The base of both end posts must be at least 2-4” above the top of the silt fence fabric on the middle posts for ditch checks to drain properly. Use a hand level or string level, if necessary, to mark base points before installation.
2. Install posts 3-4ft apart in critical water retention areas and 6-7ft apart on standardapplications.
3. Install posts 24 inches deep on the downstream side of the silt fence, and as close as possible to the fabric, enabling posts to support the fabric from upstream water pressure.
4. Install posts with the nipples facing away from the silt fence fabric.
5. Attach the fabric to each post with three ties, all spaced within the top 8” of the fabric. Attach each tie diagonally 45 degrees through the fabric, with each puncture at least1” vertically apart. Also, each tie should be positioned to hang on a post nipple when tightened to prevent sagging.
6. Wrap approximately6 inches of fabric around the end posts and secure with 3 ties.
7. No more than 24” of a 36” fabric is allowed above ground level.
8. The installation should be checked and corrected for any deviations before compaction. Use a flat-bladed shovel to tuck fabric deeper into the slit if necessary.
9. Compaction is vitally important for effective results. Compact the soil immediately next to the silt fence fabric with the front wheel of the tractor, skid steer, or roller exerting at least 60 pounds per sq. inch. Compact the upstream side first, and then each side twice for a total of four trips.

The base of both end posts must be 2–4” above the fabric on the middle posts for the silt fence to properly drain. Use string level when necessary.

Attachment To Steel T-Posts

• Triple tie silt fence to the post within the top 8 inches
• Position the post with the nipples facing away from the fabric
• Attach the silt fence to the support post with three ties (either 16 gauge wire, or 50 lb. cable ties – which you will need to snip to a point)
• Position each tie diagonally through the fabric with each puncture hole at least 1 inch vertically apart, attaching several horizontal threads for much greater strength
• Position each tie over a nipple and tighten to avoid slippage down the post
(Hint: Kneel on the post side of the fabric, puncture 1 inch below the desired post nipple and push tie through. Come back through the fabric slightly above the same nipple, and securely tighten the tie above and hanging on the nipple.)

We have found that proper attachment to the support post is extremely important to the whole system. Iowa probably has the greatest problem with silt because of our fine, clay soils and heavy rainfalls (both per storm and annually). We have seen the cheapest woven silt fence fill up and hold silt when attached properly to appropriately spaced support posts. In addition, silt fence attached with three ties have weathered two Iowa summers and one winter with virtually no failures regarding ties.