Hi everybody. I am new to this forum and was told to come here by Bobcat_Ron. I am a danish Caterpillar shop mechanic and I work for the danish importer known as Pon Equipment. Ron wanted me to show you guys what I have been working on recently. An airprecleaner for a Cat 287B skidsteer with a coldplaner mounted. Their problem was that the standard airfilter for the engine clogs up rapidly, which is a major problem for them. The following pictures show what I have made, and I would really like some feedback on my work. Afterall it is you guys who are the users of this kind of equipment. I just repair it
Welcome to Heavy Equipment Forums danish cat tech! :drinkup Nice little invention you got there. So how does it work?
I would love to see some up close pictures on that precleaner that is exactly what i need on my 287b i am always in the dust. Have you gone out and tryed it out if you have any more info on it?
It has only been tested in shop conditions and that doesnt really give you any clue how it is going to work in the field. But I do believe its gonna work great. When the engine is running in low idle I can feel the cyclon sucking and "blowing" where it should. The thing I'm most concerned about is how the hose in the engine bay is going to hold, but I dont think its going to be that big an issue. What do you want to know?? I have pictures of almost every step of the assembly proces at work, and I can just ring them home. I also have the part numbers you need and i have pictures of the parts that are not Cat.
Is it a centrifugal style pre-cleaner?
Yearh its like the Turbo precleaners if you know them. It has a small propeller inside, which whirls the air around throwing the dirt out the side.
Here is a link for you. http://www.cat.com/cda/layout?m=37501&x=7
I gonna take a peek into the engine compartment of my 247B2 and see how much room I have there...............
Ron>> Our productspecialist at work sent me some pictures he found. I think there are a few pictures of a 247, but it is not made in the same way. Maybe I should investigate how to make a similar kit for the 247's amd 277's.
Danish Cat, Welcome to Heavy Equipment Forums. Thank you for the interesting pictures. Excellent work. I have a question. The majority of our work is in very dry, hot and dusty conditions. We can basically have a primary aircleaner on our 248B blocked in an hour. However, when the machine is working you can see the radiator fan blowing a "floating biscuit" of dust above the machine...and your pre-cleaner would appear to be in the path. Have you worked this setup (with the pre-cleaner) in temperatures above 35 Deg C???.....not that I can see that the inlet is in that much worse a position (temperature wise) then where it is anyway:beatsme. The coincidental thing is we were just discussing how to fit such an arrangement with some Donaldson parts not two days ago. Do you have any more detailed photos of the installation?.
usually for planer/milling work i only ever see skid steers... not a lot of MTLs working on the streets around here anyway... what about you guys? same in your areas?
To ask a question of a question.....wouldn't a MTL be better suited for a planer, as opposed to a wheeled skidsteer, due to the better stability of the MTL. It just seems to me that if you were planing, you would want the most stable platform to keep your surface as consistant as possible. Or is planing not held to such accuracy?
it depends, on the jobs i remember being on, the big planer does almost the whole road and all that the skid steer does is very small sections around manholes and catch basins... i'm not really an asphalt guy so i don't know, but in those areas i dont think the paver can pave and the guys have to hand loot it all out anyway... good point though about the stability, though.
That makes sense. As you can tell, I haven't dealt much with asphalt either. :beatsme
That would be great if you coule get me some part numbers and anything else that woulld help me get one of these on my 287b. If you can i would like to see a pic of the tube comein up in front of the radiator i am curious of what i have to cut out on the tractor? I got to install one of these before summer hits us and all the dust arives. Thank you
Caterpillar Service at your service Here is a list of what you need: * 1x Cyclon (Cat part number: 130-3279) * 2x 90 degree ventilation tube (100mm.) * 1x 45 degree ventilation tube * 3x Ventilation tube joints. * 2x ventilation tube end fittings (see picture off the top of the cab.) * 1x piece of flexible hose (rubber preferably) * 3x hose clamps * Some pieces of 3mm. steel to make the plate for the cyclon and clamp holder. You just cut a piece about 150mm. of the thin crossmember infront of the cooler on the right side of the machine. See picture 1. On the edges i put a rubber trim pieces similar to those mounted on windows to protect the hose. I also made 2 new brackets for the work lamps. Be aware that they have to be able to clear the lifting arms. The pictures below do not show the finished result. It needed a bit more finish after that. If you have any questions feel free to ask.
I just found this alternative hose mounting on Lawnsite.com courtesy of "Carterkraft" He has turned the airfilterhousing and the tubing, and used two 90degree pieces of rubberhose and then gone through the same crossmember. It may be easier to get to fit in the engine bay.
Squizzy248B>> No I havent tested it in above 35 deg C., because we dont have those kind of temperatures here. We are lucky if we hit 30deg in summertime. I dont think that it is a problem with the fan blowing dust into it, but I can only say that this is a prototype, which has not be completely tested in operating conditions yet, so there might be a few changes along the way. If you want you can place it somewhere else on the roof, but I had no real choise due to the watertank for the spray system. Feel free to ask for tips on installation. I have a few other pictures of other models with precleaner, but those are not made by the company I work with. They are other dealer solutions.
Thanks for posting those pictures, its much appreciated. I will conduct southern hemisphere extreme temperature testing for you
No problem. I will let you know how it works in colder conditions But please let me know how it turns out. I'm interested in getting it to work as good as possible, so all kinds of feedback is usefull.
Danish Cat; I have a new 226BII sitting out at the dealer waiting to be picked up but I had a look at my 248B yesterday in the location where the frame must be cut to get the hose through. The arrangement appears different in that the flange is on the otherside of the cross member...ie the plate is closer the window, not on the radiator side. The engine bay arrangement on your 287B with the Mitsupillar engine looks practically identical to my 248B ( except yours is clean)but of course the 226BII has the Perkapillar engine and the air-cleaner is on the other side of the engine (from memory). I will have to stop working and go pick up my new machine and work it out.
Same here, my filter is on the left side with the intake pointing down and the space between the cab and cooler frame looks very different, do these cyclones have to sit pointing up or can they lay down?
Here are some other solutions for you guys. These are from other dealerships so I dont know anything about it. But hopefully you can use them as inspiration. I think the cyclones have to sit upright, but I am not sure.
I like the first set of pics, that the idea I was thinking of.
I have a few more pictures of the first installation.
Any info on where I can get that plastic snorkel in that last pic?
If it the one on the very last picture, the funny looking thing, I dont think that you can buy one. I think it is handmade by metal.
On the alpha machines (PERkins Engines) we used to put the cyclone directly onto the air filter housing. invert the housing 180* and clamp the cyclone directly to it. The enginair filter housing is a option as well. Which is cheaper and easier.
Danish Cat...I finally got myself organised to pick up the new machine. Here is what I have to work with:
I can see getting around the hydraulic hoses being the biggest problem:
you won't be able to perforate the cross member on the alpha machines (perkins engine). But you can flip the canister and put a cycolone on it, still works inside the engine compartment.
Matt Good job. I am working on ideas for a 247B2. Hardest part been exiting the engine bay to get to mount the pre cleaner on the roof. Would love more details and pictures. I looked at running up the side of the cab but the lift arm movement restricts what I can use.
Pre- Cleaner Hi, looks good. Dennis