Just some work pics

I’ve heard people say that liebherr is really funny about wanting old parts back. As in it doesn’t matter what part it is, if they sell you a new one they want the old back.

I was told they want the old parts back to see exactly how they failed so they can improve the design. If that’s the case they’re a very noble company.

Turbo's are back in the liebherr, black smoke under load is greatly reduced. No boost gauge's so I don't know where I'm at exactly, but you can tell its getting more air.

Worked saturday and labor day monday, both with the mack. Just a unit on saturday morning at the community college, kinda nice with a empty parking lot. The monday job was trusses. Had to move the whole pile of trusses and a bunk of sheeting by hand, just to get a place to set the crane in the trees.

Had to do a little side of the road repair on the mack, park brake can diaphragm went bad so I had to pull air line and cage the brake to get home.

But two more jobs in the books, so who am I to complain.

Got to do a fun one on Friday. 15,000lbs transformer at a new mechanical building for the local hospital. I unloaded the transformer last week, and we went to put it in this week. Used the 130ton terex rt they have on site to put it between the floors, I was going to do that part with the 35 ton, but they didn't want to move their crane. It was a pain because the boom and the block were too tall for working under a roof, but we made it work. It would have been easier with my 35.

Once in on the floor, it was a air skating job to put it in up on a 4" tall concrete pad 40' away from the opening. We used steel tubing to span the pad that the transformer would set on, and skated it across the floor. Jacks to get the tubing out. Then off the jacks onto dry ice blocks, transformer had to sit tight on the pad, and no jacking spots on the transformers.

Originally the building was to have overhead cranes built into it for moving the tranformers, chillers and boilers, but that got taken out of the budget. They are going to have fun when the transformers have to come back out. The power company made the hospital buy the transformers themselves when the engineers decided the transformers had to be inside the building, the power company said if they can't get at them to service them, they weren't putting them in, so the hospital owns their own transformers.

Worst news is this is one of two transformers. Other one somehow didn't get ordered, 12 weeks to get it. By then they are supposed to have the interior walls up and a bunch of other stuff in the building. Going to have to do that one through a 8' wide opening. Should be fun.

Typically I'll just use bag ice under something like this, but the transformer was supposed to have a flat solid bottom. It had support rails instead. The rails just cut down through the bag ice, so we had to make a run to the grocery store for some dry ice. Had to pull the jacks fast when setting it down, because the transformer was heavy enough it just cut right through the dry ice too.

The runway for the air skates is made of masonite with taped joints, the air skates would lose their cushion/ airflow on the cracks in the concrete, so we make a "false floor" out of the smooth side of the masonite. Its a lot of prep work, laying it out and taping the joints, but the air skates are really nice moving heavy stuff by hand. No big bars or tugging winches, just a nice even push across the floor, with a couple extra hands to steady the load.

Trusses with the mack/national.

Saw two different fields of sunflowers in full bloom on the way over there, didn't know they even grew them around here.

We are going to have to go finish this job later, it was really hot that day, and it was a older guy and two helpers, a DIY project build house. These were the garage trusses, the house will finish this week.

Big LP tank. I had room to load it by myself with the 100 ton. Needed the 70 ton to tandem pick and set it at the new site.

I had a new experience with this one. I rigged up on it, and would lift it pretty balanced, then it would start to lean a little one way, and just get worse. Thinking it was a little heavy at one end, I set it back in the saddles, and repicked. Same thing in the opposite direction. After one more try, I got on the phone with the gas company.

Tank was emptied, but not burned off. But they had pumped it off over three weeks ago. The left over vapor in the tank had been making liquid for the three weeks since they pumped it off, and/or they hadn't gotten it totally empty.

Waited for a hour for a truck to pump the liquid off, and after they removed over 1000 gallons of liquid (4,000lbs weight), it loaded a lot better. The liquid was rolling from one end to the other of tank on me.

I usually use steel chokers on the tanks and no spreader bar, but this tank had just been painted, and it was kinda long. I used the roundslings so they wouldn't scar up the tank, and then used spreader bar to keep the nylons from sliding in. Good thing I had the bar, because with the liquid rolling around, it probably would have slid the straps on me.

Setting it on the other site. I actually removed a set of tanks from this site probably 7-8 years ago when natural gas came to town. We had to use the further in set of saddles, so we had the 70 ton there to take the far side.

Last picture shows us "rolling" the tank. I always do that in the saddles, by just swinging the rigging offset, and putting some weight on it and then sliding it to where the valves and fittings are straight up and down.

Had to have a little help this week. New/ used asphalt tank getting added to asphalt plant. We unloaded it a week or two ago, and I knew once the legs were on I wouldn't be able to lift it in place with the 100 ton. I do some work back and forth with large general contractor, they have a 210 ton gmk that was just the ticket for setting the tank. I tailed it with the 100ton.

Placing the new fill conveyor for the tank. They told me 20,000lbs for the new conveyor, I looked at it and knew there was no way it weighed that much, It wasn't much over 10-12' long.

It ended up being around 8,000lbs. I never mind less weight than more weight, but I was glad I set it myself, if it was 20,000 I would have had to move crane or have the 210 ton set it while they were there.

Sewer treatment plant. Bearing is bad in the center pivot. Pull catwalk and bearing.

Traction motor bad. Lift one end of the locomotive, roll out the truck. Split the truck off the traction motor, then replace. We didn't get done, the new motor didn't want to slide back in the truck. Going to finish up Sunday morning.

Is that a Cactus Tank truck?

I know those guys.

Junkyard said:

Is that a Cactus Tank truck?

I know those guys.

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Yes, I've loaded and unloaded for them on quite a few sites, their last couple "new" trucks have been gliders, and this driver says they have one more glider on order. Most of the time if I move a big LP tank local it is them hauling it. I don't know if that's because of insurance, or if they are the guys buying and selling them.

crane operator said:

Yes, I've loaded and unloaded for them on quite a few sites, their last couple "new" trucks have been gliders, and this driver says they have one more glider on order. Most of the time if I move a big LP tank local it is them hauling it. I don't know if that's because of insurance, or if they are the guys buying and selling them.

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They’ve been in the propane tank business a long time. It’s a subsidiary of Acord which has hauled hazmat tanker stuff for an even longer time.

crane operator said:

Yes, I've loaded and unloaded for them on quite a few sites, their last couple "new" trucks have been gliders, and this driver says they have one more glider on order. Most of the time if I move a big LP tank local it is them hauling it. I don't know if that's because of insurance, or if they are the guys buying and selling them.

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I have a 5,000 us gallon tank to load and unload next week and the propane company is having a hard time finding a truck with the proper hazardess goods permits to transport it. I’m looking forward to it the same company has several to move this fall.
Ps. It is a fairly large company with their own trucks but they are all busy on contract moving for a very large company.

Tradesman said:

I have a 5,000 us gallon tank to load and unload next week and the propane company is having a hard time finding a truck with the proper hazardess goods permits to transport it. I’m looking forward to it the same company has several to move this fall.
Ps. It is a fairly large company with their own trucks but they are all busy on contract moving for a very large company.

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Those would be a nice size to load and unload. Sometimes they come in and burn off the vapor, and then they are hauled with no caps or valves installed. Otherwise they haul them with the plugs in, and I don't know the regs, to know if its been burned off then it is no longer a hazmat load.

At just a 5,000 gal tank, it wouldn't take a very big truck to haul it. Might be cheaper to have the guys come to burn off the excess, then it may no longer be hazmat, just a steel tank. I know even after the burn them off, they still stink like Lp if your standing by a opening, I don't encourage smoking.

See- here's a great opportunity, crane and hazmat trucking business. Money will just roll in. You'll have the canadian market cornered.

crane operator said:

they still stink like Lp if your standing by a opening, I don't encourage smoking.

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Tell me about the left over stink! I had a couple old 20 lb. tanks to scrap. Called the scrap yard near me and they said if I could remove the valves they would take them. So I managed to remove the valves and let them sit outside over night to vent out. Next morning I had a full trailer of scrap and no room left for the two propane tanks so tossed then in back of Rave4 and headed to the scrap yard.

It took several weeks many days with all windows down to get ride of the stink! Would have been ahead of the game if I had picked up a couple road kill skunks!

crane operator said:

Trusses.

View attachment 200910 View attachment 200911 View attachment 200912 View attachment 200913

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How did you roll the headered truss?

Are you talking about this one where they have the short trusses all nailed in already? I'll have them nail in a 2x4 under the short trusses, and I will pick it in 4 spots, basket the top chord, and choke 1/2 way down the short truss on the 2x4 so it will hang pretty level. I usually have them kind of hold it by hand with a couple guys and help walk it over, otherwise you can ding the tails when it breaks over center. It helps if you lift it until it just about comes over center then kind of back swing and hold it, to come over slow. You can kind of push them around with several guys.

Last picture shows me setting a similar truss group, after I've stood it up.

Got the traction motor reinstalled last sunday.