Anybody got any tricks to clean leaves/pine needles/ twigs from around swing motor and behind cab of excavators? Id like to get all that stuff out as its a fire hazard.
Try a 1” air hose with an 6’ - 1/2” pipe wand. Finish with the pressure washer.
Leaf blowers work pretty good
X2 on the blowers. We have 2 Milwaukee 18V blowers for filters and stuff like you describe.
I’ve gone in first with my hands to remove bulky stuff like sticks and twigs and then used a back pack blower, followed by a pressure washer. I’ve also run the machine up in something like a pile of dirt or 6x6s to get the whole machine pitched in the direction you want the debris to move in, that helps immensely when washing it out.
Does your machine have swivel guard on the carbody? If not, you can push the debris towards the hole the swivel sits in and it will fall out the bottom of the machine. If it does have a swivel guard, I usually use a pressure washer and stand under the boom between the boom cylinders and blow the stuff towards the main valve and engine compartment. It will fall out through the hole under the main control valve. Loggers and logging shovels just leave it in there. It will either rot away or the corrosion that the rotting debris causes will damage the wiring until it shorts. The resulting fire is covered by insurance, if they have any, and it will be enough for a down payment on the next machine.
I grub it out by hand as much as I can. pressure washing and blowing will put it back in your face like most dead-ends. After you get the most of it out, take the cover off that is aft of the swing gear box and main valve, and in front of the engine if you have that cover. Then try to wash stuff back and down that hole. PUT THE COVER BACK! Mine is long gone