Student Creates Culvert Cleaner
DIYers understand the satisfaction of creating something new to solve a problem, and Micaiah Abramson experienced that as a high school sophomore. The culvert grapple hook he made in welding class pulls sticks out of some plugged culverts in his county. The project was part of a collaboration between Fergus Falls High School and Otter Tail County in Minnesota.
An abundance of beavers creates problems in the county, explains Colby Palmersheim, drainage inspector. In addition to trapping as many as 200 beavers/year, contractors are hired to remove 20 to 30 dams that create problems. Plus, there are plugged culverts.
“We have to hire contractors to use a water jet or excavator. I had the idea to have something available (in my pickup) to take care of it in a matter of minutes,” Palmersheim says.
He made a CAD drawing and contacted Dennis Wutzke, who teaches welding at the high school, about making it a student project.
“Micaiah has a fantastic engineering brain and is meticulous about making his work function and look right. He needed a project, and he got excited because it was something that actually had a purpose,” Wutzke says.
As a teacher, he assisted and brainstormed with his student but allowed Abramson to work out the details, starting with a long pipe with a sharpened head that looked like a long spear. The challenge was to create something that opened up and stayed open after the shaft was driven into the plugged culvert. Then, a winch on a pickup pulls the device and sticks and debris out of the culvert.
“There’s a sleeve which travels up and down the shaft,” Wutzke explains. “This allows the grapple arms to fold flat when driven into the culvert and through the blockage. Currently, the device is around 4 to 5 in. in diameter. Once it’s through and being pulled back out, the sleeve travels down the shaft thus extending the grapple hooks and hooking the sticks as it’s being pulled out. Now it has an 18-in. dia. reach.”
After building a prototype with scraps in the school’s shop, Abramson created the final grapple hook with heavier pipes and steel, using many of the shop’s tools—a handheld plasma torch, MIG welder, milling machine, and oxyacetylene torch.
He spent about 45 hours on the project overall, and he saw it work successfully in culverts at the county’s maintenance shop plugged with sticks for the test.
“It was fun to build and test the whole process. I like to use my hands and brain to solve problems,” Abramson says. “No one’s made this exact thing, like this.”
The grapple hook is in two sections, 8-ft. and 10-ft., which Palmersheim can haul in his pickup. It works best on 24 to 36-in. diameter culverts. He says it doesn’t work on mud-packed culverts but is effective for sticks.
The challenge is that the tool needs to be pulled out level to avoid bending the culvert or the hook. And there’s not always a tree or anything to fasten the winch to, Palmersheim says.
“We may need to make a ground anchor,” he notes.
That might be a project for Abramson or another student this fall.
“I love it when kids can produce something of value with community/school partnerships. It allows the students to see through the whole process and use their own minds,” Wutzke says. He adds he’s grateful for the local manufacturers that keep the school shop well stocked with all kinds of steel.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Colby Palmersheim, Fergus Falls, Minn. (cpalmersheim@ottertailcounty.gov).
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Student Creates Culvert Cleaner MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Miscellaneous DIYers understand the satisfaction of creating something new to solve a problem and Micaiah Abramson experienced that as a high school sophomore The culvert grapple hook he made in welding class pulls sticks out of some plugged culverts in his county The project was part of a collaboration between Fergus Falls High School and Otter Tail County in Minnesota An abundance of beavers creates problems in the county explains Colby Palmersheim drainage inspector In addition to trapping as many as 200 beavers/year contractors are hired to remove 20 to 30 dams that create problems Plus there are plugged culverts “We have to hire contractors to use a water jet or excavator I had the idea to have something available in my pickup to take care of it in a matter of minutes ” Palmersheim says He made a CAD drawing and contacted Dennis Wutzke who teaches welding at the high school about making it a student project “Micaiah has a fantastic engineering brain and is meticulous about making his work function and look right He needed a project and he got excited because it was something that actually had a purpose ” Wutzke says As a teacher he assisted and brainstormed with his student but allowed Abramson to work out the details starting with a long pipe with a sharpened head that looked like a long spear The challenge was to create something that opened up and stayed open after the shaft was driven into the plugged culvert Then a winch on a pickup pulls the device and sticks and debris out of the culvert “There’s a sleeve which travels up and down the shaft ” Wutzke explains “This allows the grapple arms to fold flat when driven into the culvert and through the blockage Currently the device is around 4 to 5 in in diameter Once it’s through and being pulled back out the sleeve travels down the shaft thus extending the grapple hooks and hooking the sticks as it’s being pulled out Now it has an 18-in dia reach ” After building a prototype with scraps in the school’s shop Abramson created the final grapple hook with heavier pipes and steel using many of the shop’s tools—a handheld plasma torch MIG welder milling machine and oxyacetylene torch He spent about 45 hours on the project overall and he saw it work successfully in culverts at the county’s maintenance shop plugged with sticks for the test “It was fun to build and test the whole process I like to use my hands and brain to solve problems ” Abramson says “No one’s made this exact thing like this ” The grapple hook is in two sections 8-ft and 10-ft which Palmersheim can haul in his pickup It works best on 24 to 36-in diameter culverts He says it doesn’t work on mud-packed culverts but is effective for sticks The challenge is that the tool needs to be pulled out level to avoid bending the culvert or the hook And there’s not always a tree or anything to fasten the winch to Palmersheim says “We may need to make a ground anchor ” he notes That might be a project for Abramson or another student this fall “I love it when kids can produce something of value with community/school partnerships It allows the students to see through the whole process and use their own minds ” Wutzke says He adds he’s grateful for the local manufacturers that keep the school shop well stocked with all kinds of steel Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Colby Palmersheim Fergus Falls Minn cpalmersheim@ottertailcounty gov
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