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Things that make you go.....hmmmmm?!?

Turbo21835

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 20, 2007
Messages
1,135
Location
Road Dog
Not smart? That machine is the size of a house. Its the same as being on the top of your roof on a sunny day. Sometimes there is no other way to find a leak, or something broken. You have to have a mechanic ride along. Ive done this on machines as small as a 320clu. Its a simple matter of be conscious of what you are doing.
 

HeyUvaVT

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2007
Messages
337
Location
Virginia
i was referring to the size/weight of the machines along with the proximity to the edge of what is obviously very deep water..has anyone seen the thread with the pc3000 that was stuck after trying to get off the barge..i can see that machine there taking a nose dive right into the drink...plus the fact that he has the bucket curled all the way back into the stick..seems you would lose material that way...especially when its wet sand...

but then again i clear lots and dont do much digging especially in water so what do i know
 

AtlasRob

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 8, 2008
Messages
1,982
Location
West Sussex UK
Occupation
owner operator
Digging blind in deep water is not easy. Once you loose sight of the bucket ram ( if you could even see it before hand ) then it is solely by feel.
If you watch carefully the dipper arm, although long is not pulled in to the machine much and is not pulled up the working face as he completes his cycle. This could be for a couple of reasons, 1, he is bloody useless, ( big machine to be let loose on if your not competent ) or I suspect, it is hard digging and he is working the bucket back and forth ( chewing ) the bottom at maximum reach before moving back a bit for another bite and does not want to undermine the face and have a cave in. The problem when blind is you only know 2 positions of your bucket, completely open or completely closed :Banghead
I would suspect he is not the regular op and has not got a vast amount of time in that seat.
Looking to his left I would say was where he was last digging, but its all only a guess ;)
 
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Sparffo

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 23, 2008
Messages
223
Location
Finland
Occupation
Demolition contractor
I wouldn't like to be in the machine when it slides in the water... Then i'd rather be on top of the machine, like the other guy, he would at least have a chance to jump:D
 

joispoi

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2008
Messages
1,284
Location
Connecticut
Looks like he´s sitting on sandstone. Not much risk of going into the drink unless he forgets which way the tracks are pointed.
 

JDOFMEMI

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2007
Messages
3,074
Location
SoCal
3 out of 4 scoops he took were full, and the 3rd was over half.
Pretty good for digging limestone or coral undedrwater with no visual reference of bucket position.
The material looks pretty stable to me, and the machine is back from the face a ways.

Some of the pits I work in have a 150 ton dragline 7 ft away from a 150 to 200 ft highwall, with the tracks parallell so he can move back and forth while dragging the bank to loosen material for a loader or shovel at the base. If the material is solid and consistent, there is no problem.
 

HeyUvaVT

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2007
Messages
337
Location
Virginia
hmmm this is interesting...maybe I am just too scared to do alot of stuff with our excavator because of my lack of seat time doing anything but clearing...I have to admit that I have gotten a little braver in the mud since watching chris but still have a major pucker factor when it comes to steep banks and possible cave ins
 

JDMGrading

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 26, 2007
Messages
188
Location
Charlotte
Maybe a rookie running it...and the main op is standing on the catwalk watching.

Just food for thought.....thats how I learned.
 
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