Slope Meter

[Colorado Digger]

I think everyone has made their point here. Long standing members should be respected, this forum is about sharing ideas and common interests. As soon as it becomes a conflict and arguementative everyone should take a step back. Any junior members that fan the fire get treated accordingly.

regards, Cd

 

[Randy Krieg]

Level it is.

I like the idea of getting back to level and getting along! On a positive note we just learned that we are the lower bidder on an AKDOT Emergency Slide Repair job on the Glen Hwy.



Now we get to go see if we can bring that hwy back to level. It is literally sliding off the side of the mountain towards the river nearly 500 feet below.



This is going to be an awesome challenging project! Get out the calibration fluid, diesel fuel, dynamite and the iron and start celebrating……
770G sorry I highjacked your thread for a moment...just wanted to share our excitement with the HEF motor grader friends.
Regards, Randy

 

[DPete]

How bout this one on the 6R, not a grader but hey, it's a slope meter thread. Although I can usually cut a 3:1 to +or- 0.10 blindfolded with one hand tied behind my back.

 

[d9gdon]

Excellent mounting Dan.

Kinda hard on a stereo though.

Which model is that?

 

[grandpa]

Randy , is that slide close to the spot they blasted all the rock a couple years back?

 

[DPete]

Excellent mounting Dan.

Kinda hard on a stereo though.

Which model is that?

Meter#1, there wasn't a radio, didn't plan on installing one. Sorry about the ugly dude in the mirror LOL

 

[9420pullpan]

A buddy of mine that i worked with had a set of these Agridrain Grade Gauges one was percentage and the other slope.
Here is a link to the website
http://www.agridrain.com/surveyproduct.asp?prodtype=409

 

[Radrock]

I have to tell this story, We had a two jobs that were end to end. We were working both of them at the same time. The problem was that one job was set up using standard tenths/foot measurements and the other was MM/Meters. We had a fairly new grade checker and he was working the slopes on the standard method. When we got into the other job that was metric we told him that he had to check that different because it was a metric job. Yeah I know, we were mean. It took the poor guy about 4 hours to realize we was messing with him. 2:1 is 2:1 it doesn't matter if you use a ball bat to check it. I can still see him shaking his head.

 

[Radrock]

I ran a 12G once that had a big dial type slope meter. Wish I had a picture of it. It was mounted on the frame outside in front of the window between the lift cylinders. It had a big round indicator. I would guess it was about 8 inches circumferance. Anybody seen anything like that?

 

[Randy Krieg]

A buddy of mine that i worked with had a set of these Agridrain Grade Gauges one was percentage and the other slope.

9420pullpan
That's a nice looking setup, never seen that brand before. From looking at the detailed drawing on their webpage it looks to be about the same size as a "Slopemeter". I like the mounting system, makes it easy to calibrate.

Grandpa, I'll PM you so I don't highjack 770G's thread anymore.
Regards, Randy

 

[Radrock]

Randy, are you going back to building ice roads this year or was that just one contract?

 

[Randy Krieg]

Randy, are you going back to building ice roads this year or was that just one contract?

Radrock
Yes we will be doing the Badami Iceroad again and one other for another oil company. They just started the prepacking phase on Badami this week so I think by the end of Nov. the construction phase will begin. Just needs to get a little colder and the ice on the lakes needs to get thicker. This winter we will also be doing some cold weather testing for Caterpillar, just adding a little more to the challenge!
Regards, Randy

 

[770G]

No worries Randy high jack away

 

[TriHonu]

I use them on my Bobcat. I mounted the Slope Meter's on heavy retrieval magnets from Harbor Freight Tools.

The back plate is attached to the magnet with one bolt so it can pivot side to side. I added a piece of aluminum angle and two adjustment bolts to the Slope Meter back plate. The bolts have springs under the heads to keep the bolts from vibrating loose. This allows me to fine adjust the Slope Meter to level no matter where I choose to set the magnet.

To adjust the Slope Meter to level, park on something firm and note the reading. Pull away, make a u-turn and park in the same spot facing the opposite direction. Note the reading and adjust the Slope Meter to the midpoint of the two readings.

I bought a box of 5 Slopemeters at an auction, (No 1's and No 2's) for $15.00! Three were new and still in the box.

I was glad to have them after I bought a Bobcat Industrial Grader Attachment. I use 2, one to check cross-slope and a second at 90° to check slope along cut. They sure help, especially with the short wheelbase.

 

[DPete]

I bought a box of 5 Slopemeters at an auction, (No 1's and No 2's) for $15.00! Three were new and still in the box.

That sir is a deal!!

 

[Radrock]

Radrock
Yes we will be doing the Badami Iceroad again and one other for another oil company. They just started the prepacking phase on Badami this week so I think by the end of Nov. the construction phase will begin. Just needs to get a little colder and the ice on the lakes needs to get thicker. This winter we will also be doing some cold weather testing for Caterpillar, just adding a little more to the challenge!
Regards, Randy

Well make sure you take pictures again this year. Those were sure interesting last year. I built a lot of oil field roads but not on ice... Sure wish I had that 14 you had up there. I ran the old 16 G all day today. Boy that thing has seen it's day. I think it is a 1972 model, maybe 74. The company bought it about 16 years ago pretty cheap so they can't complain about it. I don't think the motor has ever been touched. It was rebuilt when they bought it.

 

[smoothoperator]

I had one of the Agri-Drain meters (GG3000) in my 143H, and I was never as happy with it as I was with my Original Slope Meter in my G. It seemed to hang up at times, and then break loose and travel further than you thought it should. The best setup that I had was a #1 mounted above a #2. Riding steeper slopes, it was easy to spot the ball in the #1, and when doing fine grading, I always had time to check the #2. I'm not sure how important it is to follow ALL of the installation instructions, but I tried. Even splitting the air bubble in half before mounting. Auxiliary attachments, tire air pressure, and cutting on one side more than the other will also influence meter accuracy. Sometimes you need to see it, and feel it with your A.S.S. (Anatomical Slope Sensor)

smoothoperator

 

[770G]

TriHonu

15 bucks Holy Crap!!!!!!!! Nice find

 

[Randy Krieg]

Excellent Point

Auxiliary attachments, tire air pressure, and cutting on one side more than the other will also influence meter accuracy. Sometimes you need to see it, and feel it with your A.S.S. (Anatomical Slope Sensor)

smoothoperator

Excellent point; especially when running with standard size radial tires. The side wall deflection will drive you crazy if you’re trying to use the meter when the moldboard is in the ground. The wide-base tires and P-Metric Series don’t have near the deflection so the meter stays closer to what the moldboard is actually building, even when cutting hard on one side. I've finished hundreds of miles of recycled asphalt, another one that can fool you if you're not using all the sensors. Glancing at the slope meter, watching the lights, listening to the fuel knock, feeling pressure on one cheek vs the other, looking down the grade........

Many times I’ve just back down the previous pass and watched the meter to be sure. When we did the Federal Express 747 parking aprons some of the cross slope was only .32% (less than ½ %). On several areas I just drove around on the apron watching the meter which was barely off of 0, if I saw the meter moving around too much we would set up some swede rods and try to find my screw up. Just a few hundredths off and you’ve got a duck pond in the middle of the apron. Once it’s black you can’t go back!
Regards, Randy

 

[DPete]

Randy, you sure drive nice and straight, that's an important part of running a blade. I have one guy who can't so I keep him off any finish work just for that reason.