I'm new to posting here, so I'm just starting by posting a few pictures of the machine I run at the moment. I hope to post some more pictures of work in the future.
Nice pictures of your machine. I hate when I do this but I must stick my foot into my mouth. Here goes. What is on top of your cab? I have some ideas but I'm trying real hard not to show my ignorance. ointhead
Welcome to the forum solar140! Looks like it's to hold the window guards maybe?
It's a rack with the cab guards for the windows in it. We get a lot of vandals in the UK that like to break windows lol.
Thanks Chris, yeah it's for the window guards.
Thanks fellas, thats exactly what I thought it was. :umno Thats a rarity for me to keep my mouth shut but now I can see it in the pics.
HE Services Komatsu PC210LC-7 that I was running to do a deep pipeline job, but which proved to be too small, so we got in a PC350LC-8 for me to run. That's NOT me in the picture by the way lol.
Nice pics! Thats the first exavator I ever saw with a luggage rack.:cool2
The PC350LC-8
Deep Drainage Working on the deep drainage with boxes, running PC210LC and PC350LC
Hi Solar, where in the UK are you ? Martyn
Hi Martyn, I'm in Berkshire, down south like you! Col
Thats nice & deep. I was on a crew about 3 years before I went out on my own and we were usually 21 to 24 feet deep doing sewer work with the PC400 LC3 that I now own. I juts set some drainage structures for a friend of mine that were 14 feet deep. I used my 400. He was going to try to do it with his 420 cat. He'd still be digging the first one!
Thought you had to be on the downs somewhere with all that chalk, i used to love deep trench work, allways on the go, and more often enough its keeps the old gray matter working, i take it you are getting Hughs machines from Hungerford ? Martyn
Doing this kind of work is what I enjoy the most. We were about 7.5 metres deep at the deepest point on this job, that's nearly 25 feet. The 350 could just get the depth. The Komatsu was a rental machine that I ran for three months to do this deep digging. We needed it to lift all the boxes too. I'm on the solar 140 usually, we do all construction work. Most of the sewers we put in are only half this depth so the 140 size of machines can handle the job with no problems.
This job is just over the border in Hampshire. Yes the HE Services machines were supplied by the Hungerford Depot.
How do you find the solar 140 ? i have used the daewoo 130 on a few jobs, Martyn
That Komatsu 350 with the blue bucket coupler, is that a set up similar to Volvo's?
Nice pics, nice looking machines. How do you like your PC's? We have a 200 and a 220-6. Not too bad, but for the digging we are doing I need bigger. Thanks again. Trbo
More deep digging More from the deep sewer job.
May i butt in here, the quick hitch is the worst type you can get, its made by the guy that runs the rental company, under the name of masterhitch, you can only use their buckets as it has a twin ram system that connects through two holes on the back of the bucket, and the hook goes through the front of the bucket, you can't reverse the bucket either, its so prone to pinching the little hoses that make the twin rams lock, the early ones did not have a loocking pin, and many a time i lost a bucket, as luck would have it there was no one under the bucket.
The blue coupler is a Masterhitch and it's the coupler used by HE Services rather that Komatsu. It was HE Services own design of hitch and personally I don't like it. It will only take Masterhitch buckets and you can't reverse a bucket unless you have another bucket with the linkage reversed. I haven't seen this hitch used on any other machines except HE Services. I'm not sure which coupler Komatsu favour, I had a Lemac on my PC130-6, but I've seen Komatsu machines with Geith hitches. I think you can specify what you want.
HA HA you posted while I was writing my reply. I totally agree with you, read my reply to the question.
quick hitch yep i will second that ,even H E s fitters say how crap it is ,but because he designed it ,it stays rumour is that he is trying to fit a breaker on the dipper so you don't have to remove the bucket no sure how that will work thats a cracking bit of ground to be digging deep in nice bit of chalk cheers graham
I run a Daewoo Solar 140LCV most of the time, those Komatsu machines were rentals. I used to run Komatsu machines for quite a few years on my last company dash 3 to 7 and I love Komatsu equipment. The dash 8 machines like that PC350 I had are really nice.
It really is the pits in quick hitchs, i worked for HE services back in the early 90's, :notworthy when Hugh was trying to get the masterhitch off the ground, i belive that because Hugh buys so many Komatsu's they have to buy some masterhitches, its the same with Takeuchi.:beatsme
I had that PC350 with only a 180 hours on. I had to have the fitter out because I couldn't get the bucket off. He spent a whole day taking the hitch apart to get it off. Then he had to take the bucket away and grind the holes out. Then a week later same thing happened again, the bucket kept sticking. I got it off with plenty of banging and shaking this time, so a different fitter comes out and has to grind the small rams that hold the bucket. The fitters all agree it's rubbish.
That would not suprise me one little bit ointhead, you should of seen his attempt at long reach machines, bits of hitachi booms and dippers welded together, with tiny buckets :Banghead
The Daewoo is OK. I've had a few over the years, they have that jerky hydraulic thing every now and again when you slew, but on the whole I don't mind them. I'd rather be sat on a Komatsu any day over a Daewoo though.
ah yes the jerky hydraulic thing :beatsme, more so as you are lifting boom at the same time, still it beats the old hyundia 130 dash 3's they vibrated all the time
Deep drainage
More pipeline pictures More from the pipeline job.
The end of the deep stuff, see how shallow it's got as the ground dropped away. We came from way beyond the trees you can see in the distance.
Me on the PC350LC A few pictures of me with the PC350LC
are they 150 mm pipes down that depth ?
last HE services machine that i drove
Last decent machine i operated
Yeah they're 150mm (6 inch) glazed supersleeve pipes for a new foul sewer for 61 houses. It's that deep because the site is on a hillside. The pipeline starts in a live road at about 2.5 m deep, then comes up a steep driveway into the site going to 7.5 m deep at it's deepest staying at this depth for most of it's run, then the ground drops away again so we were about 3 m deep at the end. It was a very long run. That's a nice looking PC130 in your picture. I had a PC130-6 for about 5 years on my last company, that was doing operated plant hire. I've never operated a Case excavator, do you like them?
Blimey they are small for 61 houses, was on a wimpey job a few years back doing deep drainage, they used 300 mm concrete pipes, that was for 70 mixed housing, they were in 6.5 m depth, rising to 4.0 m. I have allways been a fan of sumotamo machines and have to say they did a nice machine with Case in the cx210, the cx130 was not as good,
Glad to see you here solar140!I always enjoy your videos on youtube but i also love your pics.That was a great time with the pc350!Those pics make me realize how deep was the job!Keep us update of your jobs and THanks!
Digging Soakaways Digging soakaway holes to take surface water with PC350LC-8.
Soakaways Lifting rings and biscuit and the soakaway ready for surrounding with rejects, seen through the rear view camera and front window.
Machines Together First picture is of JCB JS130 with Komatsu PC350LC Second picture Daewoo solar 140LCV with Komatsu PC350LC Third rear view of solar 140LCV, PC350LC and solar 75V Last picture line up of solar 75V, PC350LC and solar 140LCV
Hi .. great pics from you again sir, dont you just love doing those soakaways, Martyn
Thank you my friend. Yeah doing those big soakaways is good. If I'm not mistaken (I could be lol) the E215 in your picture is a Kobelco dressed in orange, am I right in saying Fiat Kobelco, it's all New Holland now isn't it?
Yes its fiat kobelco, it went down hill after that.. the 210sk was in my opinion the best version.
I remembered I operated an 8 tonne or there abouts machine for a day last year and that was a New Holland Kobelco in yellow and grey. MANN, I've seen them about and Mr Lynch in the background.
Mann's one of london's big groundwork companies, mainly Irish drivers, but now polish and any other eastern european that has a ticket (well sort of ticket) well you know how it is, and yes the volvo is one of Merryl's machines from Wembley.. see his machines everywhere these days.
That chalk must be real slime when it gets wet.
Yeah the chalk goes like a slime when it gets wet. The good thing with wet chalk though is, if you leave it alone, don't drive around on it or stir it up, it'll soon dry back out. Here's a few pictures of what happens when you put the trench compactor on damp chalk. Looks bad, but a few weeks later when I reduce dug the road, that chalk was hard. Chalk is very porus so will let all the water through, it draws the water out. All the chalk that we compacted back in the whole length of our pipeline was harder than the original ground, or seemed to be anyway.
Smaller construction job Some pictures from a school extension job I worked on with the solar 140, which had some unusual shaped pile caps. I reduced the ground and put in the piling mat, attended the piling rig, dug out all ground beams and pile caps and cropped piles, lifted all steel cages into place and backfilled around all ground beams and pile caps. Also loaded all the surplus dirt off site and drew the short straw on concrete pump day of making test cubes lol. There wasn't much room on this site to work, not uncommon for me.
More pictures Lifting in steel cages for pile caps.
Final set for this job Some piles dug around and cropped. The plan I had in the machine which I used to dig the ground beams and pile caps out, highlighting what I'd done as I went. We didn't do any marking out on the ground, I just used the plan. Last picture showing how hard being an equipment operator can be at times waiting for your labour :wink2
It's a rough life sometimes but someone has to do it Looks like I turned you into a forum nut also! Great pictures
LOL, yeah it's a hard life. Yeah I joined the forum a while back Chris but didn't post much, after I saw all your great pictures, I thought it'd be a good idea to upload some of mine. I've got some more that I want to put on and I hope to keep a good record of my jobs now and upload the pictures here. I hope I don't start boring people though lol.
God, you just have to work so hard don't you. You must be physically exhausted at the end of the day.
That WAS the end of the day
If I'm just loading trucks in one spot all day I'm prop my legs up like that to keep them for going num while i'm working
Ahhh, pressurized cabs, air ride seats, XM Satellite radio, A/C, 2 joysticks, it's a harsh life.
Yeah... real tough. Whats next? Cupholders?
Ew, Air Ride Seats, SIRIUS satellite radio, Heater, 2 joysticks, 2 foot pedals. Thats a harsh life.
I don't operate the machine with my legs like that, I was just waiting for someone to come and guide that pile cap in over the piles, time to take a quick picture, you wont very often see me with my feet up, it'd been a long day.
Ahh yes, but I'm just about old enough to remember machines with a very basic seat, no radio, no working heater, no servo (pilot) controls and two levers behind the seat for your travel. One of the first machines I ran had most of it's windows missing, that's really nice when it's pouring with rain :thumbdown Cab comfort and ease of use have definitely improved a lot over the last 30 years or so. It's called progress. If you have a happy operator working in a good work environment, he'll be more productive.
That would suck, saying all of my work is lonely, snowy, bumpy, wet, and sloppy. ointhead
Komatsu PC350LC-8 Few more pictures of the PC350LC-8
Pc350lc-8 More pictures of the PC350LC, got quite wet and muddy on this site through the winter.
what is that in the third pic? My friend has one too and i am clueless.
You mean the flat level thing through the trees behind the digger with two uprights. Its the roof of a house, we've had them for years. The uprights are chimney stacks. Ask your friend to show you around inside his, there awesome
I actually meant 2nd pic. XD
What is it? It's called a dumper. You find them on just about every construction site in the UK, but I get the feeling you don't use them much in the States :beatsme. It's a general purpose site vehicle really, it's primary job is to move dirt and other material, like shingle for pipes etc. It's basically a small dump truck (rock truck). They come in all sizes able to carry anything from 1 tonne (maybe even less not sure) to 10 tonnes, they're articulated like a rock truck and are forward tipping, that is the skip is at the front not the rear like a big rock truck. They rarely have a cab, so not a good job in the winter :thumbdown. The one in the picture is a Terex 6 tonne all wheel drive. In one of my other pictures you can see a white Terex 9 tonne dumper . Hope this was what you wanted to know
Hmm seems pointless to have something that small. Why not just use a loader to move it around or just a normal dump truck? :beatsme :usa