Set down

[milling_drum]

If anybody in milling is around here I'd like some opinions about setting a mill down level at the end of the day.

For one, you get a good fluid levels check the next morning. (or night) For two, theres the possibility of a leg barrel giving in and the mill tipping over.

I was taught to relax the hydraulics as much as possible over night, this does not put as much pressure on the cylinders. I've also noticed if they are set down regularly the grade control systems tend to react better even if they aren't calibrated correctly or if they come out of whack.

Any comments Ideas are appreciated.

 

[Nick Abeyta]

I would say yes, just from a safety stand-point. Plus, if the hydraulic lines were to suddenly loose preasure, you avoid the damage from that much weight coming to sudden stop "crash".

 

[milling_drum]

Thanks. Alot of the people I have been around lately which fancy new machines do not see anything wrong with elevation issues overnight.

 

[Turbo21835]

Within in reason, most of the time i park a machine, i park it like its sitting on a lowboy.

 

[milling_drum]

With a mill, the idea usually should be to set it down on the drum (slowly) so that if a legbarrel did give in the machine wouldnt tip over. They are extremely top heavy.

The reason for posting this thread is that I was curious as to what type of common sense people who may not be around mills would use...I'm getting my answers

Thanks!

 

[surfer-joe]

I've seen a lot of milling machines sitting cocked at odd angles over the years, usually from one or more cylinders leaking off. Saw one concrete curber that actually fell over when the front and one side leaked off overnight.

Because of liability issues, I always instructed operators to release all hydraulic system energy in all cylinders. That included grinders and slip-formers. You never know when some fool or a kid might get on after a shift and play with the levers. I did when I was a kid.

Grinders/Millers DO NOT like sudden shock loads to the drum. It's very hard on the motors and gearing, not to mention the GET. Always engage the surface gently and move off slow till you know everything is OK. Have had to rebuild too many drums and such when operators hit solid objects like manhole covers lying under the pavement or pipes that were not as deep as they should have been. Also from operators trying to go too fast in hard materials. Just tears the machine up you know.

Not every magnatometer is set right to pick up hidden metal like it ought to. So some surprises do happen. Some folks also do not properly mark hazards either as happened on a job I was on in Santa Fe. Talk about a PO'd operator. He hit one manhole and tore the drum up. Spent two days rebuilding it, then hit another one about twenty feet away right after he restarted. Seems the magnatometer operator thought he was supposed to off-set the marks. The operator did not know that and thought they were right on, so he believed he was going to miss the covers. What a mess.

 

[milling_drum]

Ha!

Excellent post. YOu should have a look at the other thread, pictures to share. I made a few comments about hitting manholes and then got some pictures of a crew that did it and shattered the ring and lid. Theres no shortage of know-it-alls in the milling world.

This set down business I've had a few falling outs over with some of the companies I've worked for. To set down level for a good oil check the next morning is common sense. I've had alot of people think I'm a complete @sshole because of such a simple suggestion. With a mill, usually your parking somewhere off the road where its soft, so you generally cannot hurt the cutter drum by putting some pressure on it overight. no broken teeth, no tipped machine in the morning.

I could start a thread about milling horror stories that would be many pages long...and literally hilarious. I don't know it all by any means but I do have a little bit of common sense and that goes a long way with heavy equipment.

 

[Buster F]

I find setting the machine down greatly eases fueling and sensor removal/installation - not to mention its a safer climb down at the end of a long day

 

[Buster F]

I second the motion for a thread about milling horror stories, i've worked in the industry for 8 years now and have seen my fair share of stupidity (and perhaps even commited a bit myself):beatsme

 

[milling_drum]

Welcome Buster....This is a great site from what I've seen, not many milling folks but lots of good stuff here.

 

[Buster F]

Thanks for the welcome md. I see you have a PM201 in your avatar, do you have any experience with the 201? If so i would like to get your opinion on the machine. We have been running one for 3 seasons now and have had quite a bit of downtime with the machine compared to our older 565B's. Seems to be the same recurring problems for the most part (3 alternators, numerous clutch issues, lots of seals and o-rings). Just wondering if the whole accert powered line of mills is this undependable or if ours is just a lemmon? Have a great day, Roy

 

[milling_drum]

That machine pictured is a 800 hour old demo, it did have some issues. I quit that company and didnt get much time with it. I did notice that the clutch had that strange brake system on it, it would make noise when the drum was cut off. I sprayed the exposed area with brake cleaner and that stopped it. That whole clutch setup to me seemed kinda unnecessary, none of the other newer mills run anything that complicated.

I did spend some time with Villager, They sent me with one of the oldest 565Bs they had, it was problem riddled which made no sense to me because they ran them for so long. Most of the people I have seen running CAT 565b's have had pretty good luck with them and kept them running ok.

Over the years I've seen plenty of milling machine makers put out a lemon from time to time. For a three season old machine to be going through seals is rather unusual but it does relate to the one in the picture because, the engine fan motor had a leak at 600 hours, so your experiences are in line with others CAT mills.

Everybody down here seems to run Wirtgen and Roadtec. That 201 is the only one I know of in Fl thats on the road. Wish I knew what to tell ya...

These issues came up after warranty expired? The one in the Picture was still under warranty and they wouldn't let us fix it OR call CAT to fix it. Which made no sense.

 

[changexlt]

If I learned anything last year, it be that hydraulics are not predictable. Try to always park on a level surface. If it's a slope, point that darn thing up or down the slope.

Parked one on a slope, cutter on the ground. Left front leg decided to leak down over night. Put the block of wood, I had in the service truck to good use, til it could get fixed.

 

[milling_drum]

And make sure the conveyor is swung a little bit to the opposite angle of the slope/grade when parked

 

[jwallace]

The best and safe thing to do is set the machine either all the way on the surface, I usually set down in a area that I will be milling back up. Two reasons, does not matter if you sink the teeth into the black top, and you don't have to clean up. The best reasons to set down have already ben noted, Saftey from the machine tipping over if the locking valve leaks off,safety for the operator to get on and off,saftey for the nosey kids that like to climb on the equip. and as I saw ther were a few wirtgens, well I am only 5'9 so I would need to carry a step ladder to check the oil.If you are 7' tall you don't. The list can go on for pros to set down, I can not think of "1" con

 

[hoosier]

I have always leveled the machine and touched the drum to the surface,as stated previously it helps accurate fluid checks as well as getting in the panel doors.
1 more to go

 

[kramer]

I usually level it up but leave the drum off the ground.
1. it makes checking fluid levels accurate.
2. if the drums touching the ground in the morning/night you know you have a bad lock valve/cylinder.
3. it just looks better.

 

[milling_drum]

You can go to any one of half a dozen milling companies in the southern parts of America and ask their mill crews this question and they won't have a clue what the hell you mean...

 

[Turtle]

Our Maintenace policy clearly states that the mill needs to be level when fluids are checked. We have even installed level bubble on the mills if they don't have a slopemeter mounted on them. It is also mandatory that all leg safety stand are put in place after opration and while crews are cahnging bits or doing any maintenance under the mill. This is only common sense safety.

 

[milling_drum]

Mr Ando you know some of the people I have worked for down in Florida and you know they don't care anything for some of whats been mentioned here...

But then again thats why they are gone and Turtle is still there. I had some of those problems at ECM and they just didn't like hearing it from me....I can bet alot of that has changed now

And thats hilarious too me.