Just like the title says, my control levers in my komatsu 120 get really hot after a couple hours of hard digging. Anybody know what could be causing this?
Do you have joysticks or levers
What Dash series is it?
The hydraulic lines run up through the console to the base of the pilot controls, the hotter the hydraulic system gets, the hotter the joysticks get.
I demo'd a new PC300 back in '06 and the left joystick console got really hot after 15 mins or so of operating it. I asked the salesman about it but he really didn't have an answer.:beatsme
Like bigshow said, on the machines with direct pilot controls, the oil running through the joystick valves gets just as hot as the rest of the hydraulic system. On my old 200 series Cats, if you let your hand slip off the plastic, you'll know it.
I don't really notice it heat on the handles on my machines. I definately feel it on the outside of my thighs though.
Some machines with a/c have a duct that goes to each console and blows cold air in the area cooling it, or so I have been told, I have never checked into this to verify it. After you have opened up a mile of trench the consoles and handles are so hot you'd swear to God you were in hell, this is also on a normal northeast Summer, All the gauges floating around the "red" and just humping on the old girl. I can't imagine what it would feel like somewhere that it actually gets hot. The best part of that is, I remove the rubber base that is on pilot controls and grip the metal rod with my thumb, index and middle fingers and that gets quite warm as there is no insulation whatsoever.
The machine is a dash 3. If its normal I guess ill just keep on running it. I was concerned that it. Meant the hydro system was overheating or something. It only does it when your really digging hard with it so I guess its just getting up to operating temp when it does it. It doesn't get so hot it'll burn you but it would certainly be uncomfortable without the plastic knobs on the sticks.
Same here on the 300 I demo'd. You could feel the heat on your thigh from the "tower" but not through the joystick itself.. It was summer in Alabama with average temp in high 90's.
It's a lot worse on my mini though. It does not have hyd-over-hyd either (electric over hydraulic) so it is just machine heat that is coming through.