Potain self erecting tower cranes

[barklee]

I just wondered if anyone has experience setting these up? We have a pretty good size project and are looking at buying the HDT-80 model. There are a couple of youtube videos that are floating around out there and they show how it goes together but they really dont go step by step and show the ins and outs of the whole thing. They say you dont need a tender crane to assist but does it make it go much quicker?
I wanted to see how they are to run also? They seem pretty slow on the videos compared to a boom truck or hydraulic machine. They do seem to be smooth however, but there again its hard to tell on a video.
We are definitely going to demo one before we purchase, but i was just curious to see if this is a waste of time or something else that im not thinking of? The rep was very helpful but i wanted to get some operator input also.
Another thing, are there better machines out there than these? They seem well built for what they are.

Thanks

 

[barklee]

Well, i guess if nobody has experience on this machine in particular does anybody have any comments on self erecting cranes in general?

 

[Tiny]

I can only speak from what I have seen and as far as I know there are none around the Kansas City area .

 

[John C.]

Tower cranes in general and Potain self erecting cranes in particular, are pretty much a specialty niche. I've seen the parts and pieces stored in a yard or two around here and have probably seen one assembled but wouldn't recognize it. Maybe you could spark some interest with some photos and a description of your experiences on the first assembly.

 

[Tiny]

http://aquickpickcrane.com/equipment/tower-cranes/potain-hdt-80

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOoAft4Tgzg

 

[John C.]

That's pretty impressive. Thanks Tiny!

 

[barklee]

http://aquickpickcrane.com/equipment/tower-cranes/potain-hdt-80

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOoAft4Tgzg

Thanks for that!!

There was a rental company we used to deal with about 10 years ago that went out of business. They were one of the largest companies that rented these machines. I was able to play around with one of their smaller Potains back then. I have been saying for years they are the way to go for guys like us if you have a project that is a month or more in duration. We have a 30 ton and 38 ton boom trucks now and they are a pain for larger projects were they have to be moved every night or require multiple set ups. Especially a pain when there is limited access around a building, they have a pretty large footprint for what they are.
I have been seeing the guys around here that build larger grain bins and silos using these. Theres a smaller crane rental co that must have at least 5 or so self erecting machines. I think we are going to take a field trip to their shop or jobsite and see one of these in action. I will post what i come up with.

 

[Tiny]

I think we are going to take a field trip to their shop or jobsite and see one of these in action. I will post what i come up with.

Good , You have my curiosity stirred up .

 

[road_warri0r]

About 30 years ago I ran a GCI tower crane for about 6 months. It was completely self-contained on its own trailer, but had to be moved by a normal type Mack 10 wheel tractor or other heavy road tractor. It had 4 separate tower sections which extended upward inside of itself. The crane itself was a 30 ton with a lattice boom, but worked with a hydraulic winch, instead of a friction type system. The tower was 120 feet tall with the crane having 90 feet of boom. To operate it, you had to climb a ladder which went straight up through each section of tower, plus you had to make sure you left the crane swung in just the correct position to be able to get back through the trap door in the floor area.The operating cab was about 8 feet or so below the boom. In case of engine troubles ( it was diesel ) it was quite an adventure to do any work on it. I remember one day when the starter went out having to scale across a ladder flattened out from the cab to the silo we were working on. (NOT a good feeling) It operated well, and was quite fast. The winch was much stronger than a normal 30 ton crane and had 3/4 winch cable with a 2 speed winch which was switched to high, by simply pressing the knob, and under load was fine. The most interesting thing about operating it was when you started picking a load, you felt the tower going in the direction ( flexing) of the load more than imaginable. When you were picking a heavy load you had to tighten up on it with the winch, then boom up instead of winching to make up for the flexing of the tower. If my experience in this interests you, I will gladly answer any questions. my email is mtmaning@yahoo.com

 

[toufik]

Hello dear friend

i need the electrical wiring schematic of used self erecting crane CADILLON (french brandt).the crane is 1982 year. it adopt 03 speed hoisting 33PC Patay motor (24kw) with 24vdc brake. the distribution is one motor with eddy brake. the rotation is with patay motor 3.7kwnot directly but through a belt and dc bougie . theres is a resistance box of 09 resistance