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komatsu pc400lc-6 vs pc400lc-7

yzman14

Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2012
Messages
20
Location
ontario,canada
i would just like to know a bit more about these machines and if they have any major problems,and how they perform against other 400's and 450's and a 345 of that age. i would also like to know what the litres an hour these machines burn. your feed back would be much appreciated.
 

jey_c

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2010
Messages
257
Location
france
Great machines, productivity efficiency and fuel economy. Choose the 400-7 it is newer than the -6
 

nkh111

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 28, 2008
Messages
67
Location
missouri
fuel economy is similar on all these days but a cat 345 will out dig a 400 when all other factors are the same. I seen it with my own eyes. Same operator, same dirt being loaded, same trucks hauling to the same spot and the 345 with 2500 hrs got 175 more loads a day than a 400 with 4500 hrs andthe exact same set up.
 

John C.

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2007
Messages
12,870
Location
Northwest
Occupation
Machinery & Equipment Appraiser
I've yet to see the day that any 345 Cat would out dig a PC400 that was working right. I have a hard time believing that any excavator of the same size could get 175 loads more than any other excavator in a day in this day and age.

So 175 loads in an 8 hour shift is approximately 22 loads an hour which boils down to a load approximately every 2.7 minutes. Even using properly sized wheel loaders your usual cycle time for a highway truck load is 3.5 to 4 minutes.

Maybe you should be more careful about spouting production claims.
 

nkh111

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 28, 2008
Messages
67
Location
missouri
10 hour shift. And I saw what I saw. When a 400 is struggling to pull a 5 foot bucket and the 345 is acting like it is not even there to me that is pretty convincing. Also taking over two minutes to load an over the road truck with a 40 ton hoe is very slow. 45 sec. to 1 min when 3 buckets fills a truck and trucks able to double stack so no waiting on back up time
 

yzman14

Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2012
Messages
20
Location
ontario,canada
10 hour shift. And I saw what I saw. When a 400 is struggling to pull a 5 foot bucket and the 345 is acting like it is not even there to me that is pretty convincing. Also taking over two minutes to load an over the road truck with a 40 ton hoe is very slow. 45 sec. to 1 min when 3 buckets fills a truck and trucks able to double stack so no waiting on back up time

what version of 345 are you guys talking about, like is it a bl, cl, or dl. if anyone knows, what might the 345 bl burn an hour?
 

nkh111

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 28, 2008
Messages
67
Location
missouri
The 345 We had was a cl. I think it had a 160 gallon tank. Don't quote me on that but it would burn almost 3/4 a tank in 10 hours when running in the highest power setting.
 

RollOver Pete

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 5, 2007
Messages
1,510
Location
Indio, Ca
Occupation
Operating Engineer/mechanic
It's all a matter of truck placement and cycle times. Sometimes you can get them in close, sometimes you spend 50% of the day in the swing cycle. If you can work smart instead of hard, its a piece of cake to get out more loads with a slower machine.
 

jey_c

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2010
Messages
257
Location
france
Yes I know it is a piece of cake to get out more loads with a slow cat, well everybody keep the toughest for komatsu because of it's productivity
 
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