Bottom Digger Shovel
4.7 / 5.0
69 Ratings
$109.00
In Stock
For complete tool with steel scoop, combination blade, and 60" handle.
The patented Bottom Digger shovel is a trench clean-out tool that is faster and easier to use than a standard trenching shovel. Use in 4" and wider trenches. It is pulled through the trench (not pushed like a shovel) to remove loose soil. It's like a narrow backhoe bucket on a stick. Your crew can get jobs finished quicker with much less back strain.
We are the only place where you can buy a Bottom Digger online. Let us know if you have any questions.
What the Bottom Digger is used for:
IMPORTANT: This trench scoop is ONLY for removing DRY loose soil from a freshly cut trench, or removing occasional high spots from the trench bottom by using the toothed side of the blade.
● It is NOT for digging a trench. To dig the trench, use a powered trencher, or manually with a trench digging shovel or a trenching hoe.
● It is NOT for wet soil or mud. Wet soil sticks inside the narrow 3.25" wide bucket and is difficult to remove.
● It is also NOT for trenches deeper than 30 inches UNLESS you use a longer handle. The supplied metal handle is 60 inches long, and works in trenches up to 30 inches deep. You can instead use a common 2x2 wooden board (which is really 1.5" square) as a handle. If your wood handle is 8 feet long, it can work in trenches up to 48 inches deep. Even longer boards can be used to minimize bending over.
● Click to see our How-To Use Videos
Is it really that much better?
Yes, it is. We had a race to clean out two identical trenches...and the Bottom Digger tool was more than twice as fast. Also see the drawings below of your posture using the different tools. Preventing just one back injury, or even one trip to the chiropractor, easily pays for difference in cost between it and a standard trench clean-out shovel.
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Customer Reviews of our Bottom Digger shovels
I ordered the trench cleaning tool and it arrived quickly and in good condition. I've used it to clean out over 1000' of trench
for an irrigation system and it works better than anything I've every used before for that purpose. It was much easier on my
back than anything else I've tried and the design and construction of the tool are excellent.
I highly recommend this tool for anyone who wants a clean trench before installing pipe, tubing or any type of underground utilities.
As an electrical contractor I am digging trenches quite often and I have used trenching shovels in the past to clean out the bottom of trenches but after I found the bottom digger and ordered it this process is a lot easier now. The tool works just as described and is much easier and efficient than a shovel. Good quality at a fair price, I'm happy with my purchase.
Great tool. Hard to believe you can't find something like this in the big-box stores based on the need. I would add the option to purchase an additional larger bucket for just dragging out larger volumes of dirt when you need it. Very helpful trench cleaning tool.
Hi, this tool is what I need for my job I use almost everyday this tool makes my job done faster in been using it for a month and this tool is a money maker for me and I know how to use tools thank you very much.
I used the Bottom Digger in Florida dirt/sand. The sand caked up in the bucket and took quite an effort to remove each bucketful. I waxed the inside of the bucket and turned the screws around to put the nuts on the outside, opposite to that in the instructions, and it worked much better. Would have liked the scoop to be about an inch wider so it would also work for 4 inch PVC drain.
The Bottom Digger Shovel is fantastic! And at 3 1/2" wide - it's the perfect size to clear dirt from the trench of a 4" wide Ditch Witch. I ordered the Bottom Digger Shovel to clean out a trench 18 inches deep. While a Ditch Witch lifts out "most" of the dirt from a trench, I had some joints in the trenches and a trencher fills the previous trench as it cuts the next. That's tough to deal with. I never could have cleared 18 inches deep with a trenching shovel. With the bottom Digger I was not only able to clear the dirt to full depth, but was able to make a nice, smooth floor for the trench. Also worked great for my 6 inch deep irrigation lines. I don't begrudge the cost - worth every dollar. And it arrived quickly. My only tiny gripe - it was too hard to find this great tool with a web search! Hey EasyDigging.com - work on your search optimization! People like me need to find it ;) Great product! Congratulations!
See more Reviews ▶See what you can do with a Bottom Digger shovel...
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Description of this clean out tool: Quick explanation of how the Bottom Digger scoop works, and how it compares to a common trenching shovel. *Unit shown was an early version that was a little wider than the current 3.25" model.
⮝ Click speaker symbol for sound.
How to use this tool: Demonstration of our special trenching tool being used to remove soil from a deep trench. Notice the upright posture of the man, even though this is a 24" deep trench.
How To Use
Please see the "Videos" section above for instructions and tips on how to use this new tool. They say a a picture is worth a 1000 words, so 2 videos are worth a short book.
And once you get your hands on one, it is pretty obvious how they work. Lower it to the bottom, drag it back until the bucket feels full, pull it up, dump it out, and repeat.
Note that it is intended for dry soil. Wet soil sticks to everything, and will be hard to get out of the scoop.
Spare Parts
Scoop Assembly
...save by getting a handle locally
$68.00 Add to Cart
In Stock, ready to ship.
Includes scoop, blade, and fasteners. You will need to add a 1.5" square handle, or a 2x2 board.
Replacement Blade
$9.50 Add to Cart
In Stock, ready to ship.
This is rarely needed. These blades last a long time.
60" long steel Handle
$42.00 Add to cart
In Stock, ready to ship.
1.5" square steel replacement wheelbarrow handle. Also available at most building supply stores.
OTHER DIGGING TOOLS
Why would I ever need a trench clean-out tool?
A trench for piping is supposed to be firm and level. That is to prevent damage to water or drainage pipe when
heavy soil is dumped back in on top of them. In order to get it firm, you need to remove (clean out) all the
the loose soil (the crumbs) left by a powered chain trencher. To get it level, you need to scrape away and remove
the high spots. The Bottom Digger shovel does have a reversible blade with a toothed edge for scraping those high spots. Doing this
sort of work 2 or 3 foot down in a trench that is only 4" wide is really difficult...without the right tools.
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