Giant mining excavators

[Ross]

Yeah ... Diesel Hydraulic for sure But!

Mobility isnt the only benfit on the Hydraulic machine.

The fact then can dig unblasted rock, Be very selective in the face, Do not need back up machinery and can vary the Visor for the soft approach unlike a Dipper door thats all or nothing.

Nice pics of the 8000 .. It reminds me somehow of the small B&E Hydraulic machine, Maybe the paint job?

 

[Eric]

Those are really great shots. As a guy who primarily runs a 4100 electric shovel I am kind of bias. I would take a electric shovel over hydrualic 99 times out of 100. Once you learn to position your cable properly, electric is really a great way to go. We have electric and hydraulic shovels in our mine and I greatly prefer to run the electrics. But maybe in differant types of mining the hydraulics are a better set up.:beatsme

 

[Forbes]

No doubt, I know how much of a pain it is to drag a cable around with a shovel, and I spend most days on a diesel RH200, so I tend to think the same for the shovel as well.

Just a question on the O&K RH - 200 How is availability on the 200?? No broken hoses & tubing??

In the PILBARA there are some but now there seems to be few repeat sales??

Seems to be HITACHI & KOMATSU with Thiess choosing LIEBHERR in some mines ( may be due to their Spanish/German owners)

 

[ValleyFirewood]

found a picture of the R996 backhoe being transported and thought you guys would like to see it

Where do you see a backhoe? Looks like a huge excavator, though its 6AM, I haven't been able to sleep yet (back pain) and I'm on my phone , so I could be wrong.

 

[Scrub Puller]

Yair . . . ValleyFirewood. I think these blokes talk "backhoe" or "face shovel" according to which way the unit is configured to dig . . . it's not my field so I will bear correcting.

Cheers.

 

[glenlunberg]

i found these awesome photos of giant mining excavators and they aren't mine but i give credit to the orignal photographer
first up is the massive Liebherr R9800 and next to a truck
next is the awesome Komatsu PC8000 in backhoe form
next is Komatsu PC5500 backhoe
last is not much of a giant but it is the awesome Komatsu PC1600 backhoe

Awesome Giant excavator! Just wondering where did the picture taken?

 

[ValleyFirewood]

That makes sense. I've only set foot in a mine once and that was to haul some coal. Only thing I know is they drive on the left on the mine property. Usibelli coal mine in Healy. I'm not sure why?

Yair . . . ValleyFirewood. I think these blokes talk "backhoe" or "face shovel" according to which way the unit is configured to dig . . . it's not my field so I will bear correcting.

Cheers.

I was just curious, the excavators in that size that are diesel, how much fuel do they burn on average?

The PC8000 is spec'd at about 3500 gal fuel tank from what I can find. In my experience most machines carry enough fuel for at least 10-12hrs of run time.

Does this thing really burn 250 gals an hr?

 

[Nige]

That makes sense. I've only set foot in a mine once and that was to haul some coal. Only thing I know is they drive on the left on the mine property. Usibelli coal mine in Healy. I'm not sure why?

I was just curious, the excavators in that size that are diesel, how much fuel do they burn on average?

The PC8000 is spec'd at about 3500 gal fuel tank from what I can find. In my experience most machines carry enough fuel for at least 10-12hrs of run time.

Does this thing really burn 250 gals an hr?

Mines drive on the left because it's easier for the haul truck driver to see and therefore stay close to the berm on the side of the road with the cab on the LH side. Effectively he's looking straight down at it out of the LH cab window. Also in the event of a collision between trucks they hit RH side to RH side which is the opposite side to the cab therefore the chance of injury to operators is reduced.

No idea about a PC8000. We have Hitachi EX3600 which is much smaller and they burn close to 100 gallons/hr.

Backhoe vs face (or front) shovel. A backhoe digs by pulling the bucket towards the machine, a face shovel by pushing the bucket away from the machine.

 

[mitch504]

Just like you, using a shovel or a hoe.

 

[wilko]

The problem with that, is that a hydraulic machine needs to be more mobile to compensate for it's inherent lack of reach. Therefore, to be able to produce effectively, it needs to be free of it's trail cable and able to move quickly around the pit. While the electric drive may extend component life, it tends to slow the machine down production wise. That was why I was saying the biggest advantage is mobility. Now, which one balances out to be more cost effective? I really have no idea. I guess it would depend on the mine and all of it's requirements. I would have to say though, if it was me, I would tend to favour electric driven cable machines with a diesel powered hydraulic machine or two thrown in for utility work. That of course assumes that the mine life would be long enough to warrant going to cable shovels.

Why not use diesel electric to run your hydraulics? You'd get the best of both worlds, not like the technology isn't well established.

 

[Dozerboy]

Why not use diesel electric to run your hydraulics? You'd get the best of both worlds, not like the technology isn't well established.

Space maybe? I'm not sure it the best of both worlds when one of the driving factors of electric is cheap power.

 

[JDOFMEMI]

Why not use diesel electric to run your hydraulics? You'd get the best of both worlds, not like the technology isn't well established.

Each time you convert the power source, there are losses. Using diesel to make electricity, then electric to move hydraulic pumps adds one more place for energy input to be lost.

One of the main benefits of the electric shovels is the large amount of relatively cheap grid power available.

 

[alco]

Why not use diesel electric to run your hydraulics? You'd get the best of both worlds, not like the technology isn't well established.

Bucyrus was doing just that with their new world record hydraulic shovel that was under development. It became the 6120B H FS when Cat took over, and they have since put the project on hold.

Up until this machine, it was just an added level of complexity that wasn't really needed. It also required a lot of extra space to accommodate all of the extra electrical gear required.

However, it isn't really an option for existing machines, and it's not an option that any manufacturers were offering until this machine came to be.