Screening topsoil

[BKrois]

I'm not sure where i should have put this thread, but since i was using an excavator today i figure i'd post these photos here.

This is the story- Yesterday my friend calls me and asks me if i can screen topsoil for him, sure i told him. So 7am i get to his yard, and he's got 3 pieces of equipment for me to use, an older Komatsu 150 excavator (with 8034 hours on it),a 544G John deere loader and a read 90 screeener. There was a big pile of unscreened topsoil, and i would take scoops out from the pile, dump it in front of where the excavator was sitting, and then screen with the Komatsu. Due to the topsoil being a little damp, i rescreened the tailings about 3 times and still have a lot of dirt with them. After getting the bottom full of screened topsoil i would scoop it out with the loader and put it in a pile.

Here's the setup at 7am. (loader was in back of me)

[BKrois]

Here's the Komatsu 150 (35,000 lb machine)

[BKrois]

I was dumping the tailings where the bucket of the excavator is. You can see where they fall off the screener into the hole.

[BKrois]

Here's the John Deere 544G 2.5 yard or so loader. Where the loader is now was as big of a pile as is what's to the left of the loader. I screened that whole area.

[BKrois]

This is the last photo. This is a photo from the seat inside the excavator. I screened around 2 tri-axle loads of topsoil today by myself. He asked me if i wanted to work again friday because a customer of his needs 4 tri-axle loads of topsoil. I might have one of my friends helping me, easier with 2 people. Hope you guys enjoyed the photos.

[digger242j]

Originally posted by BKrois
I screened around 2 tri-axle loads of topsoil today by myself.

You could've probably screened three if you hadn't spent so much time taking pictures for us. It's nice to know you have your priorities straight though. (Good pics for us first, work second...) ;)

A friend of mine that runs a landscape supply yard has a *big* old Bucyrus Erie excavator. There's a problem with the travel that can't be fixed, at least not economically. He drug it up on top of the topsoil pile with a dozer and it just sits there and feeds the shredder all summer long.

[BKrois]

Originally posted by digger242j
You could've probably screened three if you hadn't spent so much time taking pictures for us. It's nice to know you have your priorities straight though. (Good pics for us first, work second...) ;)



I did not take any breaks today, i had my lunch when i left at 2pm. I worked non stop 7am-2pm. If the soil wasn't so damp i would have had 3 tri-axles loads screened. I screened the tailings 3-4 times and still have a ton of dirt left in them.

Hopefully friday the pile won't be as wet.

[DKinWA]

It's funny that you posted pics of your screening work today. I've got about 60 yards of soil I need to screen, but I don't have a screen and don't really want to rent one. Sooooo, I'm going to embark on a winter project to build a small one that will work with my little tractor. I just got back from the Ritchie Bros site in Olympia after taking some pictures of some screens they had to get some ideas on how to build it. Unfortunately, I wanted pictures of a screen like you're using, but they didn't have any.

Now that I know of someone that has a digital camera and a screen, is there any chance I could persuade you to take a few pics of the innards of the screen? I'd be extremely grateful if you could get some of the actual screens and the mechanism that moves them. Pretty please! I promise to provide pictures of my project as it develops.

BTW - great pictures. I wish I could afford a Pete that looks like that.

[BKrois]

I've seen a few people make their own screening. No sense in spending $90k or so for a Read screener like the one posted. Thomas Equipment sells their machines through auctions. They make a 300 and 400 series screeners. The 400 is around a read 40 size i believe. I was told that the screeners from Thomas go for around 8-10k new at auctions.

I've seen a few people put like rebar or stock metal like 1/4" apart and hook up a vibrator to the screener and it seems to work well for them. One contractor in town doesn't even have a vibrator on theirs.

I'm sure a homemade screener could be made for around $1-2k (maybe less) depends if one hooks a vibrator to it, metal costs, etc.


Good luck with your project, i'll get a photo of the Read's screens for you next time i'm screening. Maybe you could find an used screen off a Read or a similar unit.

[DKinWA]

BKrois,
Thanks for the ideas. I've got time and steel so now I just need to put a design together.

[DR RPM]

The Read Screen-all is a dual direction screener, which means the screen deck will hold the material on the deck longer to clean it completely, just reverse the lever for screen deck. :bash

[Dwan Hall]

I have used the Reed Screenall and it works great, but due to it's price I wound up with a royer schreader instead. it will do about 10 yd per hour loading with a 1 1/4 yd bucket bobcat or with my Takuchi TB070. and screens down to 3/8" minus

[Dwan Hall]

another angle.

[LaLaMan]

That is an awesome looking Pete, I really love that truck.