Newby question about using excavator

[Ozboc]

Greetings guys , hope this is in the right place - I live on acreage and going to be do various jobs around the property - ie digging dam deeper - flattening out areas and so forth -- one of the things i will be doing is to dig out a swimming pool ( above ground that i will partially put in the ground - now - power comes into the property via poles - and about 100 meters ( sorry im a metric boy ) from house it goes under ground - now presuming it does not go directly to power box - how would you guys go about locating the cable - perhaps use of metal detector ??

second question- we have a creek running through our property ( permanent creek ) and water is about knee deep in some places and sand in others -- i want to get onto the sand and dig out a water hole for the kids to swim in - is there any issues i should know about - such as getting the digger stuck ? - would a photo of the creek assist in letting you guys give a more accurate answer ? ( can post if needed ) will be using river rock to make stable once hole is dug

Excavator is a Komatsu PC45 4.5 tonne excavator

any advice other than telling me to get someone else to do it is welcome !

 

[Hendrik]

Don't think a metal detector will pick up a cable that should be at least 600mm below ground.
You are best of to go hand digging and locate the cable every 10 meters or so. It should be laid straight unless beers where involved during the laying operation or there was a special reason not to lay it straight.

Operating an ex in sand is a complete pain, as the tracks sink in and fill up with sand.
One trick to use if you have a back fill blade is to lift the machine clear of the ground to let the sand get out of the tracks.
It should not get stuck if you have some idea about using an excavator, make sure that you don't work sideways, in case you do get stuck. Plan the job so you are always able to tow the machine if needed.
However things have to be real bad that you get an ex stuck and not be able to crawl out, remember you can use the bucket to drag or push the machine. Or lift it up and put wood under the tracks. Or if you have loading ramps you can use those to drive the machine on. A 4.5 tonner should have good reach, so you should be able to work from different sides without needing to get too close to the soft parts.
Do a google for stuck excavators, there are some good videos that show the technique to unstick an ex.
Also if you are working in sand, make sure you grease the bucket linkages well before digging and keep greasing them throughout the job, sand is probably the worst material for getting into the moving parts.
Yes we do like photos and it would help to advice you on how to go about it and if you get the machine really badly bogged, we will want pictures of that as well, so keep the camera handy.

 

[Haddy]

If power cable is in orginal ground you should be able to take off 100 to 150mm or so and you will most likely see the difference in ground conditions were the trench is . It should also have tape 200mm or so above the cable .

 

[Haddy]

P S . Be careful and take your time

 

[dayexco]

oz doesn't have a law that forces utility owner to locate their own utility? that sux

 

[Hendrik]

oz doesn't have a law that forces utility owner to locate their own utility? that sux

There is no law as such but if you damage anything you are liable to fix it.

 

[Haddy]

Same here . Telephone company will actually charge you come out and locate

 

[Greg]

Thank God for "Diggers Hotline" in this country.
Call one central toll free number and every utility has 72 hours to located and mark their underground. If for some reason it does not get marked or is marked incorrectly and you hit it, it is their problem. Been there and done that several times with telephone, natural gas and sanitary sewer. They come fix it at their expense or the expense of the subcontractor the utility uses to locate and mark it.

 

[S.R.E.]

Not sure how the laws are over in Australia but, I know a guy who got arrested and thrown in jail for walking his excavator through a creek. Around here you can find guys that do private locates.

 

[Hendrik]

Thank God for "Diggers Hotline" in this country.
Call one central toll free number and every utility has 72 hours to located and mark their underground. If for some reason it does not get marked or is marked incorrectly and you hit it, it is their problem. Been there and done that several times with telephone, natural gas and sanitary sewer. They come fix it at their expense or the expense of the subcontractor the utility uses to locate and mark it.

Yeah we've got a similar system which works on sending out bits of paper which show if there is anything in the area but it's pretty useless on private property and older areas.

 

[Juice]

Your local electricity body should have a record of where and which direction the u/ground cable goes. If a private contractor did the job,call them up.
I dig in a river every day, just keep your drives clear of sand. Not too much screwing tracks around if you can help it.

 

[Hendrik]

Not sure how the laws are over in Australia but, I know a guy who got arrested and thrown in jail for walking his excavator through a creek. Around here you can find guys that do private locates.

Could you expand on this, was it due to environmental damage?
I can understand a fine for causing damage to protected areas without permission but jail time?

 

[Firebob98]

I have a 1995 Case 9020B. It will periododically go to idle (like I hit the idle switch on the joystick) and then lock out the controls (like I hit the lock button on the council or lifted the safety bar). I get the RPM controls back but the system stays locked till the computer? says ok you can opperate again. I have shut the machine down and restarted it but it stays locked out. I have worked the armrests, the safety bar, and the lock out switch and none of them seem to affect the lockout reset time. The issue seems like it might be temp related since it seems to occur more frequently the longe the machine runs. I would appricat any help in trouble shooting this problem.
Thanks.

 

[S.R.E.]

Could you expand on this, was it due to environmental damage?
I can understand a fine for causing damage to protected areas without permission but jail time?

I guess they wanted to set an example. He said they arrested him and threw him in jail overnight. I'm not sure on all the details.

 

[S.R.E.]

I have a 1995 Case 9020B. It will periododically go to idle (like I hit the idle switch on the joystick) and then lock out the controls (like I hit the lock button on the council or lifted the safety bar). I get the RPM controls back but the system stays locked till the computer? says ok you can opperate again. I have shut the machine down and restarted it but it stays locked out. I have worked the armrests, the safety bar, and the lock out switch and none of them seem to affect the lockout reset time. The issue seems like it might be temp related since it seems to occur more frequently the longe the machine runs. I would appricat any help in trouble shooting this problem.
Thanks.

I think the issue is that it's a Case.

 

[Hendrik]

I guess they wanted to set an example. He said they arrested him and threw him in jail overnight. I'm not sure on all the details.

I suppose if he got a bit angry when being questioned about his actions.........

 

[S.R.E.]

I'll have to ask again. I'm pretty sure it was because of the excavator in the creek though.

 

[Herdin]

I am also from Washington and I worked for a company that had a $10,000 twig on the office wall. Check out your environmental laws.