Maroonrain
New Member
Can you run a steel track dozer over buring coals?
-
Thank you for visiting HeavyEquipmentForums.com! Our objective is to provide industry professionals a place to gather to exchange questions, answers and ideas. We welcome you to register using the "Register" icon at the top of the page. We'd appreciate any help you can offer in spreading the word of our new site. The more members that join, the bigger resource for all to enjoy. Thank you!
Best choice to move hot soils and wood after a forest fire?
- Thread starter Maroonrain
- Start date
mitch504
Senior Member
Yes, be careful of leaks, and particularly a coal getting up into the belly pan will probably cost you a dozer.
If you are running in and out of the glowing coals, I wouldn't worry about any type of tracks. If you will be constantly in glowing material, I don't know about sealed tracks. I wouldn't park any tracks in piles of glowing material. I have seen track loaders working in molten slag in steel mills, (just in and out), and I think they ran dry tracks, but you shouldn't be in anything near that hot.
If you are running in and out of the glowing coals, I wouldn't worry about any type of tracks. If you will be constantly in glowing material, I don't know about sealed tracks. I wouldn't park any tracks in piles of glowing material. I have seen track loaders working in molten slag in steel mills, (just in and out), and I think they ran dry tracks, but you shouldn't be in anything near that hot.
Greg
Senior Member
I would be worried about sparks getting into belly pan and starting fire there as there seems to always be oil and what ever in there.
Metallurgical wise it won't be hot enough to do damage that way but I would also be worried about heat and the seals in SALT undercarriage. As for track loaders in slag in steel mills, those machines have the shortest life of any application.
Metallurgical wise it won't be hot enough to do damage that way but I would also be worried about heat and the seals in SALT undercarriage. As for track loaders in slag in steel mills, those machines have the shortest life of any application.
Birken Vogt
Charter Member
As a former fireman I have spent a lot of time with my boots on this type of terrain.
Ordinarily hot coals are only in small pockets. Most of the ground is black and cold within a few hours of the fire passing and it only gets cooler after that. Holes where a dry stump has burned can be big and hot for a very long time but they are scattered around.
The soft tan soles of boots that some contractors like to wear can tend to melt and catch fire, though, so I would invest in some boots with the hard black sole, in case you have to get out and walk around where it is hot.
Ordinarily hot coals are only in small pockets. Most of the ground is black and cold within a few hours of the fire passing and it only gets cooler after that. Holes where a dry stump has burned can be big and hot for a very long time but they are scattered around.
The soft tan soles of boots that some contractors like to wear can tend to melt and catch fire, though, so I would invest in some boots with the hard black sole, in case you have to get out and walk around where it is hot.
Scrub Puller
Senior Member
Yair . . . Maroonrain. I know nothing of how SALT will handle heat but after a shift of raking out and stacking fires with the old style tracks it was pretty common for the plates get hot enough sizzle when you pi$$.
As others here have mentioned belly-guard fires are always a danger. We always carried drums of water on the floorplates . . . later tractors had water tanks built into the canopies.
I can see fires would be a much greater problem these days with operators divorced from reality within the confines of an air-conditioned cab.
Cheers.
As others here have mentioned belly-guard fires are always a danger. We always carried drums of water on the floorplates . . . later tractors had water tanks built into the canopies.
I can see fires would be a much greater problem these days with operators divorced from reality within the confines of an air-conditioned cab.
Cheers.
Maroonrain
New Member
Thank you for the interest.
I am a engineer for a soil remediation company. We use electric heaters to heat soils up to 700 Deg F.
It depends on the contaminate we are cooking out of the ground. On a few occassions the client wants us to
start demob the site as soon. The problem is that it take approx 120 plus days to reach treatment temperature
and then it take even longer to let the soils cool. I know the quick obvious answer is to add water. It just sometimes
the client is sensitive to steam plums.
So lets say you have an area the size of a football field and the surface temperature is between 250 Deg F and 212 Deg F.
Is there existing equipment that can roll over the top and push hot soils around. Could you mist water over the tracks to cool
them? It seems maybe a combination of misting and a heat shield underneath a dozer may work.
I am hoping someone may point to an particular industry that is subjected to similiar working conditions.....for example asphalt pavers.
If I can find a solution you guys will help me to be a rockstar!
I am a engineer for a soil remediation company. We use electric heaters to heat soils up to 700 Deg F.
It depends on the contaminate we are cooking out of the ground. On a few occassions the client wants us to
start demob the site as soon. The problem is that it take approx 120 plus days to reach treatment temperature
and then it take even longer to let the soils cool. I know the quick obvious answer is to add water. It just sometimes
the client is sensitive to steam plums.
So lets say you have an area the size of a football field and the surface temperature is between 250 Deg F and 212 Deg F.
Is there existing equipment that can roll over the top and push hot soils around. Could you mist water over the tracks to cool
them? It seems maybe a combination of misting and a heat shield underneath a dozer may work.
I am hoping someone may point to an particular industry that is subjected to similiar working conditions.....for example asphalt pavers.
If I can find a solution you guys will help me to be a rockstar!
clintm
Senior Member
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2013
- Messages
- 974
- Location
- charlotte nc
- Occupation
- trucking,concrete recycling,grading, demolition
just a thought how about a trash compactor steel wheels or maybe a wheel loader with the same steel wheels. a wheel loader would have more ground clearance and bearings and componets would be further from heat. how much dirt are you trying to move a lot or just leveling up surface
Maroonrain
New Member
The area of a football field and turning soils down to a foot below grade. What is a trash compactor with steel wheels.
CM1995
Administrator
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2007
- Messages
- 13,350
- Location
- Alabama
- Occupation
- Running what I brung and taking what I win
First thing that comes to mind but this machine is designed to work in an environment with much higher temps. It might be over kill but gives you some ideas.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5gVrX_gYnA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5gVrX_gYnA
n8frogg
Member
Several manufacturers make dozers for fighting forest fires, including CAT and John Deere. They have extra guarding for this type of work.
mitch504
Senior Member
250f isn't going to be a problem for any thing on steel tracks, and is way below ignition temperature for almost any solid material. You could run rubber tires in 250f for a while, though if you did more than just run through occasionally, your tire life would be terrible.
Paper has to be heated above 400f to catch fire. As long as you don't have a fuel leak, you're fine.
When you were talking about hot coals, I was seeing temps north of 750f.
Paper has to be heated above 400f to catch fire. As long as you don't have a fuel leak, you're fine.
When you were talking about hot coals, I was seeing temps north of 750f.
Birken Vogt
Charter Member
As far as I know, fire Cats have off the shelf type SALT tracks.
Normally, the ground they work is less than the 250 degrees cited here. Usually Cats are cutting line in country that has not yet burned. Sometimes they work right along the fire edge if they have air conditioning. However, I could see conditions where the tracks are getting close to 250 such as working over a burned area after the fire has been stopped.
I don't foresee many other problems at 250 degrees, besides the seals in the SALT. Does that steel mill 973D have SALT with silicone seals perhaps? Or just dry tracks?
leisureexpress
Well-Known Member
Scrub Puller
Senior Member
Yair . . . I think the original poster may be seeing a problem where one does not exist.
Out of interest though has anyone asked Cat or Berco what temps their tracks can run at?
Is conventional dry track still available?
Cheers.
Out of interest though has anyone asked Cat or Berco what temps their tracks can run at?
Is conventional dry track still available?
Cheers.
clintm
Senior Member
- Joined
- Jul 7, 2013
- Messages
- 974
- Location
- charlotte nc
- Occupation
- trucking,concrete recycling,grading, demolition
if it's just the size of a football field and your just trying turn the ground over 1'deep an excavator would probley work fine almost all of them have dry track's. but I don't know about the radiant heat coming up and making the engine cooling system overheat with an excavator it would be setting in the heat for longer periods where a dozer or loader could run in and out of the heat zone. are you trying to turn the ground over to make it cool faster
stumpjumper83
Senior Member
Wheel loaders with compactor tires might be your cheapest solution, although they will ride rough. If cooling is the goal, rome disk?
joispoi
Senior Member
A dozer with a ripper would be most efficient for aerating the soil. I imagine it's pretty hard after having been baked. If it's not too dense, a root rake would be an option.
Last edited:
Birken Vogt
Charter Member
In my experience, dirt turns to dry, crumbly powder when it has been baked, and is very easy to dig. The dust is terrible, though.
wnydirtguy
Well-Known Member
If you are looking to just turn the soil you could use a crawler loader and outfit it with a bottom plow in the back. Using the loader will get u a wide range of applications to use it for. Add a quick coupler to it and you have may more things you can do with it.
As for the temp. issue I do not see there being one. With a good operator it would not take long to turn a field that size. So the machine would not get extremely hot.
As for the temp. issue I do not see there being one. With a good operator it would not take long to turn a field that size. So the machine would not get extremely hot.