Won the auction for the machine in this previous thread; HeavyEquipmentForums Now there is an element of doubt, never got the upper to start, so not sure the whole operational condition. Putting that aside for right now, what are the controls on this machine? As far as which levers do what, I have no clue how the machine works. Is there anything that I should know about right off the bat that would cause an accident ie letting a winch or the boom free fall by accident? Any safe practices I should know about other than staying on the right side of the load chart, make sure the boom doesn't hit anything or get side loaded and making sure outriggers are solid and placed right? What about slings? What sizes, types and lengths are the handiest? Lots of variables here I'm sure and id imaging this is like machine tools, you just end up with atleast one of everything in every size, but what would be the best "set" to start out with? As usual, thanks for any and all help.:notworthy
Ok, you have never ran a friction crane of any kind I take it,,, All of your clutches work off master cylinders and slave cylinders (brake fluid) keep it full at all times(behind operator seat up high round canister). The swing clutches are up front of the crane they got to be adjusted correctly or it wont swing worth a crap, swing lever is far left hand lever. The next lever to your right is the left hoist clutch pull back to lift load push forward to power down(controlled load lowering), next one to right of that is the right hand clutch this one usually didn't have power down (those 2 are in the center). Far right hand lever is the boom hoist lever, push forward to boom down, pull back to boom up. There are 2 dogs underneath the boom hoist clutch which is located behind the seat towards the bottom of the floorboard. These 2 dogs have to be free on their shafts or the boom will be in live mode and not be controlled lowering, be very careful. Any more questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Dwight
Congratulations on the P&H. Hope you got a great deal on it. Bet the upper doesn't take much to get going. Never let anyone be on the outside of your load. If you start to tip the load moves away from you. As rhe boom drifts it goes out and down. If your rigger lands the load from the crane side it will move away from him if something goes haywire. Hook on to something that is worthless and practice swinging, lifting and lowering. All of them steps take practice. Do it by yourself. Keep everyone away. Takes some time for it to come togather. Good friction operators are getting scarce. Not many friction clutched/braked machine left working in the commercial world. Most have hydraulic drums now.
I was driving on a highway recently and I saw an old small lattice boom crane doing some destructive work. He was dropping a wrecking ball repeatedly on some concrete slabs. It was kind of fun to watch, the operator worked so fast that I thought he might be taking some drugs. Really quick and professional work, dropping that wrecking ball. What was also interesting is that the crane hook was holding an old tire, and the wrecking ball was suspended on that tire, I guess for some cushioning. To the OP, congrats on buying a crane. Please keep us posted, maybe just start a thread on it or keep this one going.
The pedal on the left of the hoist lever is the hoist brake. If you push with the front of your foot it will lock and hold the load, if you push with your heel it will release and allow the load to freefall. Make sure to fully engage the hoist and boom levers when using, don't feather them, lock them in then kick them out. And make sure you have your foot on the hoist brake when releasing or the load will freefall. The throttle is the big pedal in front of the seat, use you right foot. The swing is tricky to get used to as it is a free swing, so it will take some counter swinging to control and stop where you want. The swing brake is a lever on the left side of the seat, back is off forward is on. The swing will be real touchy after rain or if the swing clutches get a little rusty, until you wear it off. I am not an expert but I just went through a CCO training class, and they had a T440 just like that one, but a little older. Supposedly you can shift gears to make the boom and maybe hoist move faster, but we left it in the low gear for training. I thought the old friction rig was the easiest to run, the swing was the hardest to get used to, and wind will really affect the lattice boom, but overall it is a really good machine. I would recommend a CCO training class you will learn a lot of valuable info. Good Luck
Stupid question, but does this machine have the third drum? http://s1309.photobucket.com/user/m...60206_141820_zpsqjcgte4w.jpg.html?sort=3&o=13 Or is that one drum and just looks like two? Thanks for the descriptive post, really helps, and don't worry I never hesitate to ask for help. I didn't look super hard at the upper when I was at the machine, and the house is pretty cramped, but I did see some dogs on the boom hoist winch. There are in about the middle of this picture, are these the dogs your referring too? http://s1309.photobucket.com/user/m...160206_142256_zpslfexkz12.jpg.html?sort=3&o=5 I'm comfortable with what I got it for, paid 3k, not sure if it's a good deal or not. And thanks for the tip about rigger placement. That's the plan Thanks for that info, I'm kind used to old machinery that prefer's a bit "stronger" touch, but good to know that's how it's supposed to work.
Sounds like a fair deal.The guys are right ,practice with something you cant hurt,it wont take long to get the feel of it.You still wont be a crane operator that quick so be careful.just rig one drum until you've got some experience,that will reduce the risk of two blocking while booming down[your block or ball jams in the boomtip sometimes breaking the hoist line or folding the boom] .Don't try and go too fast,dont be distracted by everything else that might be on your mind,just run the crane and focus on lifting safely
lots of folks giving good info here yes lets keep it up,,, that is the boom hoist pawl (dog) like for parking and shutdown over night, engage that (there's a vertical row of short levers just behind the seat on the wall little short one's, top is boom hoist dog, next 2 down are the hoist line dogs) if it is working will not let the boom lower or hoist lines come down, don't slam them down on the dogs that will either bend or break them off and you need them, just ease the boom or load down on them and they will hold. now the dogs I'm talking about are underneath the boom hoist drum, a son of a b to get to, take the seat out and lay down on the floor to get to the front one, the back on cant remember but you might got thru where you took the pic of the dogs and reach that one. the boom hoist and far left drum are set up on planetary system, for the boom, when you boom up(engage clutch) the boom hoist will speed up somewhat and raise the boom, when booming down when you push forward on the lever the boom hoist brake releases and one or the other dogs underneath the drum will catch and lower the boom slowly, if either one doesn't catch you will have a live boom (scary) been there done that!!!!!
You got a good deal , just saw other pic, it has only 2 hoist drums, your gonna have to spend some cash on new cables thou
Only 2 drums, the one farthest from the cab is the left hoist control, that one should have power down, don't know if the other will. To release the dog for boom lift up on dog lever (behind the seat) and boom up a little while pushing in on dog lever it will pop in and release. Same for hoist dog. To set pull dog lever out and let the boom or hoist down slowly, it will catch. 3K sounds like a good deal, and yes need new cables
Anybody needs a spool of 1" 6x36 cable, 500 feet, brand new? $200 for this forum only
That's too big for this machine unfortunately (I think) The load chart says I need 3/4" 6x25. But that brings up an another question, where do you buy cable for a crane? Just a rigging supply house?
I buy cable at uscargocontrol.com
As was pointed out earlier keep that resevior up in the back corner of the cab full.we used a small electric air horn compressor to apply a bit of positive pressure to the system when we had to bleed the actuators, saved a lot of lever pumping.If you do a major on all the actuators replace the fluid with synthetic brake fluid it wont draw the moisture like regular brake fluid,a major issue here on the wet coast.Have agood look at all the steel lines especially where they cross under the drums on the deck,ours have corroded.All that being said it looks pretty dry where you are .Every time I get in one of those small P&H s I give the lever a couple of quick pumps just before use,probly not necessary if things are set up right.
Great deal at $3,000.00. Its worth that just to wind them two Detroits up and set there listening to the music. Better that most music played today.
I ran and American like that for years in a scrap yard. I used to be pretty good at throwing cars with the grapple on it. Get used to the idea of using your hands and feet in unison to operate and invest in a manual to set up the brakes and clutches (it makes a huge difference) Throwing cars is the same as draglining.......it just takes coordination. I could pile cars 8 high with 55 ft of boom. Now doing the same thing with a hydraulic Sennebogen crane.......not nearly as much fun and no Detroit screaming behind my head
How was that grapple operated, with a second cable opening and closing it?
You are right,the second cable opens and closes the grapple / clam. This makes things real interesting when trying to swing,boom down and hang on to a car all at the same time. I doubt if you will ever be in that much of a hurry , so,operate one function at a time and you will be fine.
Trying to get a wrecker lined up for tomorrow, but they are worried about tire pressure (these look like those old military unidirectional tires). They said when they moved the machine up to the auction originally they had to no way to air tires. I didn't even think about checking this when I was at the machine, any of y'all know about this weird fitting size? The tires look really good, not low and no dry rot, but that's just a visual inspection. Be nice to air them up if I had too.
Guessing it's oversize? Probably the same as a loader tire, I used to buy little thread in adapter fittings from my local Deere dealer, adapts down to a standard valve stem. Tire chucks are also available in that size, but probably not cheap.
Ok thanks. I'm sending Dad to go see what's the deal in the morning before the wrecker gets there. I don't think there is anything to worry about, the tires on it are pretty nice, but better safe than sorry.
Congratulations on the P&H alskdjfhg ! I made up this rig for the large bore air stems . Chuck is a Haltec # 328 . Local tire shop will probably have one . http://www.haltec.com/products/large-bore-air-Chucks/adapters/lock-on-air-chuck-short-328 Make sure you yank the drive shaft to the rear axils for the 50 mile tow . Wrecker driver will probably do it anyway but ya never know .
Thanks for the picture td25c, appreciate it. As far as the wrecker, the way they moved it in originally (same folks are moving it out for me) was put it in neutral, plumb in an air line from the wrecker, pick up the front end and drag it down the road.
You stand a pretty good chance of transmission damage that way. A lot of the bearings aren't lubricated unless the front of the transmission is turning. If they did that, that's a lazy wrecker service I'd never use again.
I would drive it home before I paid someone to tow it with the driveshaft hooked up disconnect yourself if nothing else in the old pics in your other thread the valve stems look like regular ones? I would be surprised to see large bore on a 12-20.00
Ok thanks guys I'll see about having it disconnected in the morning. How much work is going to be involved with that? Dad'll be by himself in the morning until I'm done with classes. Didn't look at the undercarriage very hard when I was there. The wrecker might do it, but don't know for sure.
I don't pretend to know anything about towing but can you really do that much damage towing a manual vehicle. When I went to Lincoln Tech they said it was unnecessary to remove the driveshaft to tow something unless it had an auto transmission. The gears in the transmission and stay lubricated just like a rear end right? They only reason I'd pull a driveshaft is if I was worried that the transmission was low on oil.
Auto and light truck units may be different but many of the heavier gearboxes in neutral the driveshaft is spinning the output section but the countershaft(s) being connected to the input is not spinning, and since it sets in the lube, it's not slinging oil up to the feeder passages for the bearings. YMMV. I had an unusual auxiliary trans application where I wanted to turn the box around to get the ratios I wanted, and consulted the distributor who consulted engineering. They sent a picture pointing out the oil passages and troughs cast into the case with a one word caption in red at the bottom: "DON'T!"
Looking at the pics again with the boom hanging out front the probably pick it from the rear Your never safe to tow with the transmission turning we have all done it but it doesn't make it a foolproof plan some trans give a 50 mile max at a certain speed thats for the life of the vehicle not each tow and of course you dont know the lube details of every trans or the history thats why its best practice to not have the trans turning At my old job I have replaced light duty manuals and automatics that our tow truck drivers destroyed I remember one very old bus with an auto we were bringing in for scrap sunk in ground had to winch it up and torch the brakes out when we were finally ready to go we decided not to cut the driveshaft about a mile down the road that trans was dripping a line of fire down the highway
that's good to know. I definitely would've never given it a second thought.
If the driveshaft is tightly rusted it might be easier to pull the axles. Our local big truck wrecker service carries caps for all the standard hubs to put on while the axles are out. I'd be leary of your wrecker service also if they are not prepared to take precautions. Safest way to tow as then the rear wnd is also not turning and the rig tows easier.
Were worrying about nothing, the wrecker driver was a real pro, but thanks or the towing info. Driver showed me how to put the shaft back in once he took it out (I was really impressed how he used his truck and blocks to press the bearings out), plumbed in an air line, chained on to the front, lifted the steering axles and took off. I also liked that he didn't go 60 mph down the highway, he stayed around 45 mph, went real slow and easy. Even at that speed (would have been the max speed of the crane by itself), the tires were decently hot once we got to the farm, but we got there with no issues. Once we got to the farm he backed it into the driveway, unchained and left. All in all took 3 hours, and was in my opinion quite cheap. From there Dad and I put the driveshaft back in and I drove it back on the road, through the ditch and into the field to be parked it for the night. I'll edit in a link to more pictures, but you should get the idea with these. Boom and counterweight to move next, Saturday I'll start servicing the machine and get a better idea of condition.
Only time I wont pull the axil's or driveline is on a short hop like 2 or 3 miles . Other option is let the engine idle in neutral on the towed vehicle so the transmission is still getting lubricated . Done that a few times , not crazy about it but works when you need to move out quick . Generally best just to pull the drive line & be done with it . I keep a torch on the truck for stubborn U joints , two cuts through the cross and it's all over . That P&H has planet reduction on the rear axils so dropping the drive line would be the easiest . Like old iron mentioned also keep some plywood axil covers on the truck , they work LOL! HeavyEquipmentForums
Sounds like it went good alsk:thumbsup
Congratulations! Now real fun will start!
Got to work on the machine today. The only thing the upper needed was for me to find out where the throttle linkage was on the engine (looks like the control in the cab went out and the previous owners just set the throttle in the engine compartment), it even came with a full tank of diesel. Both the lower and the upper still need a service, but knowing both are good engines makes me feel a lot better. I also tried a function test, I boomed up about 10", but when I went to boom back down, I got nothing. When I started to poke around, there was a big puddle of brake fluid underneath the boom hoist. Is that my problem? A bad line or slave cylinder? Since I wasn't sure if the boom was locked I didn't boom up enough to see if the swing works, but the lever makes clutches moves. I also tired to get the outriggers out, but it looks like there is a lock out in the cab for outriggers or power-steering. It's in the power-steering position and when I tried to switch to outriggers, the pull knob proved to be stick solid. I need to boom up enough so that I can get into the engine compartment for the lower and see what's the hold up with that. Also the tank for the outriggers is low, it also says it wants AFT as a fluid. Is that right? ATF just seems weird to me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?edit=vd&v=7JnUo2Ckmc0 I also found the manual, but it was so water damaged it's beyond any use. Just remembered this, but the truck driver that hauled it for me, was the same guy that hauled it up the auction lot in the first place. According to him, this machine along with many others was repossessed and the bank sent it to the auction.
Sounds like the outriggers are running off the power steering pump, and ATF was the fluid of choice for power steering in those days. I would guess type A which became Dexron, but don't quote me.
Ahhhh that makes sense. And the reservoir does specify Dexron. I'm a bit confused with this brake fluid leak. Is one function going out symptomatic of a leak?
Have someone work the lever while you look.It should be pretty obvious wether its a line or the slave cyl.the steel lines can rust out when they are covered with wet dirt to.remember to keep the cab resevior full as you do all this.if you have no leaks the slaves have bleeder fittings on them, they look like grease fittings.
Hey, Wish I was out there helping you get that rig in operation, what fun what fun, Do what Tugger said for checking whether its a line or the slave cylinder, the knob in the cab switches from power steering to outriggers, make sure you don't have to twist it out of one position to another, keep us informed, Dwight
Having someone here that knows more about the machine than I would speed up getting it running. I'll get there eventually, next time I'm at the machine I'm going to take up the floor and find where the problem with boom down is.
heres another thought,the oil on the floor might just be long term drips accumulating.as the machine has sat so long things might just be sticky and you have no weight with just the heel to pull things down.Make sure the manual dog is not engaged on the outer ratchet of the drum. the simple thing to try first is pump the lever down a couple of times (you will feel it build pressure in the lever when things are working right) and give it some revs. at the same time have someone pull on the the topping line out over the hood behind the cab.be extremely care full with hands around moving lines. As 4100 said I wish I was there to , between us we might have that boom up and working in a couple of hours.and have some fun to.
Tugger, it's possible I suppose, but I doubt it. I didn't see any drips on the machine before I started it up, and looked in this same area. I'll try what you say next time I'm at the machine, I may have a dog engaged, or something stupid. Taking up the floor I'll be able to see where lines are better (they could not have made that cab any smaller...), should be able to find out more then.
I was sitting here this morning thinking about this, I would bout bet that the boom down side just needs to be bleed out, its been sitting a long time. Did you have resistance on the lever when you tried to boom down? If not try pumping it up then shove it forward, should be pretty hard to push, try that, DW
Found my leak, it was on the left hoist power down. Napa didn't have a line long enough handy so I patched it with a compression fitting. Went though about a gallon and a half of brake fluid priming, was pretty boring pumping those levers for what seemed like all day. But now all the clutches and brakes move with their levers. Went to start the machine to do a function test, and for some reason the upper ran like crap. Seemed like it wasn't firing on one cylinder, would only idle along (a really rough and rolling idle), making lots of smoke. Checked the fuel filters to find out that there were no elements in either of the canisters, just nasty old dirty diesel. Spend today changing those filers and repriming the machine. Went to start it up and it ran better, but still have no throttle with this weak smokey rolling idle. Meet this guy at Napa last weekend that knows a lot about Detroits, I got the oil filters from him and he told me how to get it reprimed. Going to see about having him come and take a look at it, it might be that I need reset the emergency shut off (don't remember if I used it or not), hopefully it's something simple.... Ya'll have any ideas?
I would bet on the emergency shut off, it's spring loaded and shuts the air off at the blower inlet. You can see the cable at the left coming down from the top. They will usually start and run some but they're starving for air. Gotta be careful, I was told years ago you can damage the blower shaft seals trying to run with it on or using it to shut down from revs or too often. http://i1309.photobucket.com/albums/s628/mebunting/440TC/20160206_142138_zpszhgyuquq.jpg Just gotta push that little handle/bobweight down and make sure the pawl latches back in place.
sounds like injectors ,they are very sensitive to contaminated fuel.Probably best to call your gm friend if you can.Use some clean fuel in a can to get it running and then plan to do a good cleanout on the fuel tank,seems to me you can remove the tank quite easily with the machine swung sideways.It will save you boxes of fuel filters.
It's on the list, I've been running it out of a 5 gal. tank so far. Yup that's what it was. Got the counterweight moved this week, I think it weighs a bit over 10k, still need to move the rest of the boom sections. The machine ran good once the stupid operator (me) got the emergency kill in the right position. Raised the boom up another couple inches and swung so I could access the lower, taped that power steering/outrigger valve into the outrigger position and did a function test. All the outriggers go up and down, but only the right front and left rear extend. Could it be that the outrigger has gotten stuck from rust? Both kinda try to move, but stall the engine even with the revs up. Also are the winches supposed to run all the time? Both the right and left hoist winch in even with the levers in neutral. Is this because the machine has sat for a lone time and developed crap and crud in the clutches leading to the sticking (it's intermittent, some times the drums stop turning and other times they keep right on turning). Also the doom down still doesn't want to work. I tried to put some weight on the boom with my Hyster, didn't want to over do anything so was pretty gentle. But it seems like the brake on the boom winch isn't releasing. The bottom part of the brake opens, but the top part doesn't and stays in contact with the drum. Is it possible that the brake could be rusted stuck? If so what do I need to do to get the boom down to work?
Here are pictures of the boom hoist. The first one shows what the brake looks like in with the lever in the 'down' position, you can kinda see how the bottom part of the brake band isn't contacting the drum. The second shows the area where I think it is sticking.
The brake band looks ok.gently tap it with ahammer and see if it moves alittle side to side.In the background of your second picture,the boom hoist safety dog looks like its riding on the drum,there fore it will lock when you try and boom down.Make sure its clear of the drum.The linkage on those dogs is kind of flimsy .And your drums should not rotate when your not using them,always be sure your brakes are locked.It might take some use on the machine to free up the frictions .
I'm not familiar with this crane, do you have to manually dog the brakes on the hoist drums? Do the stabilizers need to be all the way up tight before they will extend or retract?
I had the dog released when I was trying to boom down. I took that picture as I was leaving the machine and set the dog in case the boom decided to move while I was gone (I can only work on machine over the weekends). Also I did try to tap the brake with a hammer, if you can see the chipped paint on the brake band, that's where I was taping it. I think the residual spinning of the drums is also from the machine setting and maybe getting some crud in the clutches, I think she's start to act better with use. As soon as boom down is figured out and the outriggers come out, she should be ready to make some lifts. Yup the dogs are manually set. Its a row of knobs behind the seat. I don't think the outriggers need to be up to extend, the others were extending and retracting no matter where the elevation ram was. Both of the outriggers that aren't extending move a little (very slightly) and bog the engine down even when revved.
If the outriggers are removable,they probly have quick disconnects on the hoses.check that those are snapped together right.If they aren't that will dead end your hydraulics and nothing will move.They are easy to disconnect and tough to connect up right sometimes
Great looking crane. I was in a whirley in tacoma,wa as a kid those are a bit scary with a live boom not many knew how to run them. They were all over during ww2 i was told. I have a series 200 american crawler 1942 myself.
Great looking crane. I was in a whirley in tacoma,wa with my father as a kid those are a bit scary with a live boom not many knew how to run them. They were all over during ww2 i was told. I have a series 200 american crawler 1942 myself. New to this so figuring it out. Go to a salvage yard for used cable where I got mine. In a spool i think it was 1 dollar a ib. I did find a site if ever you want to re do a warn liner. When i got my crane i had a run away 371 detroit and it just needed a new 80 dollar injector. Pb blaster on these old cranes work great. So does a pressure washer. You got a heck of a great deal. When i got mine the farmer was using it as a flag pole and i had to re weld the tracks back together that were cast steel. It needs work mine does but i have many other irons in the fire.
I'd like to think so, pretty amazing that it's only needed fluids/filters and a 5/16 compression fitting. Hopefully the outriggers and boom down are sorted as easily... I've got to get some machine tools moved (the most impressive being a 35,000 lb lathe) here soon so will be kinda busy for a bit. But next week is spring break so I'll have some time to get things sorted at the farm.
You will get it back in action pretty quick . Crazy what people throw away these day's over something simple . Keep up the good work !
You are doing great so far. I was loading scrap machinery into my gondola semitrailer with my Grove RT-60S crane. It was a nice crane practice with little actual responsibility. Junk machinery packs a lot better if a crane loads it. I recently acquired a four legged wire rope sling with nice hooks that can grab stuff from a side,very nice for loading scrap machinery specifically. An old crane operator told me to get it and gave it to me prior to retiring. The hooks look like letter "J" and not like usual hooks that look almost like a "b". They can come from a side. Not as much capacity, but easy to use.
That's for sure. That forklift that unloaded the counterweight is a 25,000lb machine, got it from a rental outfit for the price of a 5k machine. It needed the gland seal in the lift cylinder, steering cylinder seals and new tires. Never repacked a hydraulic cylinder before so Dad and I just kinda figured it out on the fly. Pretty simple, just bull work, now she's a great running old Hyster (that's the original paint actually). The funny part is that when the rental outfit sold it, the biggest problem to them was that it didn't have a seat. It still doesn't have one..... The first picture is of a little 3700lb boat anchor that I was moving into a temporary shop last weekend, I really liked how I could pick it up literally right out on the tips of the forks no straining at all. Second picture is the building I put it into, more forklift than building..... But enough of a detour about old forklifts. (BTW, those that are studious about old farm junk will notice the rear end of a kinda rare totally worthless machine in the first pic) I won't be moving loose stuff as much, more likely it would be machine tools. I'm starting to buy shackles (quality rigging is NOT cheap....) and will soon try to find out what I'll need in the way of slings.
This is an awesome forklift, just what you need to move heavy stuff on dirt. It is old though and will need a lot more work in the future. I have a 30,000 lb Towmotor forklift that is about 60 years old, my best forklift, brutal and actually small for its capacity. It has a Detroit 3-53.
your outriggers are controlled by switches, electric over hydraulic, remember that, like TUGGER said, sounds like your outriggers are dead heading on those circuits, those machines had quick disconnects on them to remove the outriggers if needed, so check all connections, if there is a loose connection you will have to relieve the pressure before you can get them reconnected properly... your boom down problem, with the lever push in forward that brake should wiggle a little when hitting it with a hammer, the bottom of the brake can touch or rub a little that's the way it works... yep you probably got rust and crap on the hoist drums, lock the hoist breaks drums should not turn then and spray them out good with break cleaner while the draworks are turning.. By the way I've gotten a little close to ya, on a job in Lake Charles La. now, maybe sometime I can come out and help ya with the ole girl, when you get these bugs worked out you'll have a sweet little crane, keep in touch, Dwight
Thanks, I'll take a closer look at the outriggers next time I'm at the machine. What you said about the boom hoist is exactly what I did. With the lever forward the bottom part of the brake opens, but the top stays in sold contact with the drum. Hit the band with a hammer with the lever forward and got no motion. Dad used to work off shore for a while, fly out to the rigs from all sorts of places in southern LA. Lake Charles is a bit of a hike, he had truck trouble one time just east of Lake Charles, had to drive over with a rented truck and trailer to haul back the dead pick-up.
your outriggers are controlled by switches, electric over hydraulic, remember that, like TUGGER said, sounds like your outriggers are dead heading on those circuits, those machines had quick disconnects on them to remove the outriggers if needed, so check all connections, if there is a loose connection you will have to relieve the pressure before you can get them reconnected properly... your boom down problem, with the lever push in forward that brake should wiggle a little when hitting it with a hammer, the bottom of the brake can touch or rub a little that's the way it works... yep you probably got rust and crap on the hoist drums, lock the hoist breaks drums should not turn then and spray them out good with break cleaner while the draworks are turning.. By the way I've gotten a little close to ya, on a job in Lake Charles La. now, maybe sometime I can come out and help ya with the ole girl, when you get these bugs worked out you'll have a sweet little crane, keep in touch, Dwight
sorry, old age I guess!! after looking at the picture yes the bottom of the boom hoist brake will be loose when lever is in boom down, the top will be snug on the drum, if your boom dog is not engaging as TUGGER said it should boom down, but spray everything out good,,, DW
Got the boom tip, jib and a 20' section moved this week. Plan is to get the last 3 30' sections moved this week. But more importantly, boom down works! Just needed some more weight. Hung the hook block on the tip of the base and that worked like a charm. She started to break free with use, I think it was just stiff from sitting. Also the outriggers now all work. It looks like the PB Blaster I sprayed all over them were what was needed, one is still a bit stiff, but I think it'll get better. Got the 20' boom section pined on today, with needing weight on the boom to lower, the lowest I could go was about 5' off the ground. Made mounting the boom 'fun', had to once again call on the old Hyster. It's a plain mast machine unfortunately, no fork positioner or side shifter. So got as close as I could driving up to the boom (about 6") then used a come-along to drag the 20' section to the boom tip and pinned it in place. Now, stupid question time once again; Next time I'm at the machine I'm going to try and get the tip and jib mounted and the hook blocks all reeved. Anyone got a picture or explanation about how the hook block is supposed to be secured. Revving it is pretty self explanatory, what I need to know is how (and where) the end of the cable is secured. Also what's the deal with the extension cables for boom hoist. I understand that the bridle (think that's the right name) will need to be unpinned from where it's currently attached and then pinned to the long cables that are in turn attached to the tip of the boom. My question is, are there a specific cable I need to use to do this or just find one that's long enough? I've got two or more for about every boom section, will I have to join any together? Stupid pictures aren't coming out in the right order, but you get the idea. I also was doing some googling and found this; https://cranenetwork.com/details?id=170185&pn=cranes Pretty interesting, kinda amazing they paid that much for my machine and then it somehow made it to Houston. I wish I had the bumper weight, wonder why it got separated from the machine, but that's not a big deal to make. But something is weird with the listing, they are either using pictures of my crane (identical to bend thing on the boom to rust steaks) to describe another machine or just have the info wrong, so can't be sure what's going on.
Find the balance point on your tip with one sling if you can ,should be 3 0r 4 feet back from the tip,mark it with a paint stick for next time. raise your forks up 5 or 6 feet then hook to the sling at the balance point of the tip.manuver in close to the last section and hold it so you can hook the top pins up.lower the forks,if the tips on the ground boom up easy till things line up.we always grabbed our boom sections rigged in the centre to balance .usually rig up off the back end so you can back the truck up for line up.your boom hoist is hooked to the equalizer or (bike as we call it) its important to always leave it hooked up until all sections are pinned.be careful how much boom you lift with the bike hooked to the butt,nothing more tham 60 or 70 ft with that crane.run your main hoist line thru the the sheave that it lines up with on the tip ,left side for left drum,then thru the middle sheave on your block and back up to the the lug under the right side of the tip.there should be a beckett with the crane to hook your line up with.google Crosby terminator wedge socket for a description of how to put the beckett or wedge socket together.when you rig blocks you try and keep things symmetrical or balance the forces .last tip hook all your sections up with all 4 pins except the two bottom pins on the butt,when all are laying flat hook your pendants up to the bike,boom up a bit and pin the butt to the rest of the boom.then boom down until the boom hoist line is slack,pull some more slack and knock out the bike pins.watch the pendants don't fall off the boom on you and watch they are leading right when you boom up.I think ive got all the steps sometimes instinct is hard to put in writing.
The pennent lines are as you said tied to the top of each boom section. You may have to manually pull out a little more boom cable but in a freed up machine the bridle should lay down on the base boom stub allowing them to be connected. The pennent lines attach to each end of the bridle, two per section. Install your boom section so the ends of the pennent lines will mate to each other without having to turn them end for end. Attach the tip section and when you boom up the boom will lift from the tip, not from the base section. Check you manual as to how many empty boom sections can be lifted from the bridle when pinned to the base section without causing damage. Probably not an issue on your small machine but it is on longer booms. When operating make it a point to look at the cotter keys and boom pins in the pennent lines and boom daily to insure they are in. Takes a set of binoculars in a larger machine. Not sure what way your machine is. Most had to have the bridle unpinned first but on at least one we could attach the pennent lines before unpinning the bridle.
Hey Guys, Very well put there TUGGER & OLD- IRON- HABIT, you need to think about putting your counterweight on, I have no clue about that, we never removed it, when we moved from job to job our boss said to swing it around so the butt section of the boom was to the rear then tied it down, the crane so it couldn't swing, don't trust any of those brakes, remember they work from brake fluid they will leak down overnight so put those dogs in, don't forget to raise you back gantry / back stay , I always raised it first, the boom cables seem to travel easier. Take care and be careful those rigs can be tricky.... DW
Thanks for the info guys, really appreciate it. Tugger, I know what the wedge socket is. Will it link up on the big lug on the top of the block? http://s1309.photobucket.com/user/mebunting/media/440TC/20160206_141827_zpsaiioz4z2.jpg.html?o=56 With 4 sheaves on the tip and 3 on the block that would make sense. Old-Iron-Habit, I think this 20' section and the jib will be about the most length I'll ever need. I did find the manual for this machine in the lower cab, but it was so water damaged it's pretty much useless. Operator, I'd have put the counterweight on the machine yesterday, but it was still a bit wet for the Hyster back there and I haven't gotten around to making the pins for it. I'll see about getting the back gantry up when I'm at the machine again.
More good points!Id go 2 or 4 parts of line hook your beckett to the lug on the boom tip.3 parts always seems to twist more and requires more messing around with back twisting.Putting the gantry up is a great idea.Years ago we went out with a P&H 325 tc and drove 12 piles quick ,went to unrig and realised the gantry was still down.No one on the site cared and I felt dumb for surviving something that could have gone wrong.Ive seen what happens to others who forgot the gantry.Back in the day you might rig up once a week,now we just go out push the lever and step on the throttle most of the time so you forget some steps .It would be fun to get the bunch of us together and do this .
Sure would be. If I had endless time and money, I'd try to save the big pile of heavy equipment I keep driving by. There is one BIG old crawler, what looks like a little Bantam truck crane, some old pan scrapers, trucks and misc stuff rusting on the side of the highway. I keep seeing that big rusty crane boom and thinking it would be so cool to pull it out of the weeds and get running. Guess I must be a masochist at heart.... Maybe once I get organized (have a bunch of my own junk I've got to fix) and get the shop built, (that's going to be the big thing this P&H does for me) I can start adopting some real projects......
you would be surprised what that crane will do, I've drove piling with a drop hammer, clamshell rip rap and in coffer dams, poured a many a yard of concrete with that crane fun to run , very fond memories indeed
Ok that kinda brings up an idea I've been thinking about for a while. What would it take for me to be able to drive pillings with this machine? It seems the drop hammer set ups use kind of jig to align what ever is being driven and the hammer. Obviously I don't have this but is it something that could be made? Looks like a pretty simple weldment. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8YRdR9s08E This is the kind of set up I think I could rig up, on a smaller scale though. Is the crane holding the frame up at the same time it is driving? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UZRHMKBQQw A different way where the pilling aligns the hammer, how did they get pilling started? How hard on the machine is it when used as a pile driver?
Hey, Got you thinking huh? lol last question first, na its not really hard on the machine but you needed good cables I'm thinking of your rusty ones, no offense. We had a drop hammer set up where the leads (that's the frame the hammer and follow block run in) were about 50 feet long, they were good for 40 foot piling. when the hammer was cast it had slides cast into it and hooks on each side for the follow block cables to hang on. the hammer would slide up and down the leads I guess that's why they called them leads cause they would LEAD the hammer, the follow block set on top of the piling, it had slides cast into it to, it kept the piling aligned with the hammer and straight in the leads. when we built the leads at the bottom we had 2 plates welded on each side of the main runners with slots cut in them so that timbers could be placed in there to center the piling with the leads. takes 2 hoist lines to work this, left hoist connects to the top of the leads because the left one has your power down planetary, don't use that to drive pile with to hard on it, then connect the right hoist to the hammer, there is more to it but that will give you an idea, maybe the other guys will chirp in here, I will help you all I can, keep in keep in touch, DW
I would think there would be some old drop hammers and leads around. No one uses them any more with the small vibratory hammers so plentiful. I would check with the crane rental outfits to see if they know of any. Not sure on your rig but on most the rig will lift the counter weight into place by itself. Start with boom on the ground. On many the gantry stays on the back side have pins that you pull to allow the stays to extend down to connect to the ground setting counter weight. You lower the boom after it is setting on the ground to do so. Connect counter weight, boom up and pin the counter weight into place, boom down and pin the gauntry stays in the work position. To bad you operators manual is not in better shape so you can read the erection sequence.
I still do jobs with the drop hammer,mostly test piles where recording the blow count for pile capacity is important.I run 3 drums on my cranes.We set up a hydraulic winch for the 3rd to hold the leads ,on your crane the power lowering drum for the pile line to load your pile into the leads( 2nd line).The first line runs the hammer.You can run with the leads rigged direct to the boom tip then 2 drums will work but its not so handy on a truck crane,works ok on a crawler crane .Be careful theres lots of things going on when your driving piles,some jobs are simple,some highly complex.I drove my first piles off a barge with a friend who must have been as crazy as me.We had no experience and no internet to get ideas from,but we lived to tell about it.
Thanks guys. None taken, they look worse in the pictures than they really are on the machine. But I think I'll put new cables when I start to actually work this machine just as a matter of prudence. I'd think it would have too. The chart on the door of the lower says the counterweight weights 16,580lbs. There would either have to something at the site to install it (another crane of big forklift) and with this being a fairly small crane and designed to be 'portable', it should have a way to lift the counterweight by it's self. Although I think it would be faster for me to just install it with the forklift than figure out how to make the crane do it. And yeah it is a shame about the manual, I've been looking around online and haven't been able to find a replacement. Looks like ya'll are gonna have to function as my manual. I can imagine. I'm in engineering school right now (may have mentioned this in the past), but the actual engineering classes are yet to come so been doing a bit of self teaching on some of these strength of materials/simple engineering stuff. It's fairly easy to calculate the bearing capacity of a pilling, but you need to know some data about the soil it's being driven in, of course I don't have this. Either have to hire a geotechical service or do it myself with tests. Trying to see if it would be cheaper to go the trouble of driving my own pilings for my shop or having bell bottom piers drilled as originally planned. The concrete piers are pretty cheap, but I'm going to need a fair few of them (and they will have to be big as well) so it adds up. Seems kinda silly to me not to at-least pencil out the costs of driving pillings VS drilling piers when I've got the crane to drive the pilings sitting 50' from the building site.
Hey Guys, like I said before we never removed the counterweight on this one but ya'll got me thinking some cranes are able to lower the weight down on the carrier when the boom is swung over the rear, then with probably with only the but and tip sections attached to the crane swing around boom up high and pick weight up and set it on a trailer or what ever then do the reverse for mounting the weight . look behind the lower engine compartment where the rear of the crane swings when over the rear (boom to the rear) and see if theirs 2 locating lugs on the deck, like 2 little pointy things sticking up a couple of inches, maybe I'm thinking of another crane not sure but have a look see. or send us a pic of that area so we can see, take care, DW
Their are two pointy things on the carrier, kinda wondered what they were for. I'll get some pictures tomorrow, afraid it's going to be too wet to move any iron though, it rained this week. The joys of having an open air shop....
Piers? Now you need a Kelly drill attachment for your rig. The tools needed by a do it yourselfer never ends. You should see my place. LOL Edit: You can get one with a Detroit to stay in period and humor the neighbors.
Hey, goy up this morning and got to looking on the www, and found this don't know if you have seen it, lots of info, DW https://freecranespecs.com/P-H/430A-TC
Cool, almost the same machine. Unfortunately no pictures of the things on the carrier, but they are what was surmised. And what's more it looks like there is a hydraulic system of sorts to raise and lower the counterweight. The pointy things have what look like cylinders under neither them, no time to really investigate, but I think this controls them somehow. http://s1309.photobucket.com/user/m...160206_142551_zpsmng3kyo9.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0 Got the counterweight up and the gantry raised, also got the boom sorted. I'm sure we installed the boom in the most inefficient way, took a half a day of fighting to get the bridle lines attached, but it's done. And now that' I've done it, I think it'll be much easier next time. Any tips about the jib? I'd like to go ahead and put it on if possible. I'm going to have to redo the hook block, made a bit of a mistake running the lines, but won't be too bad to correct. The cable terminator doesn't fit the hole in the boom for it, it's the right size, but the cable blocks it just slightly. Using a clevis right now to go from the terminator to the boom (sure that's super illegal). I think the house brake could use some adjustment, it swings quite easily with it engaged, have to kinda feather with the opposite swing clutch to cancel the movement. So far just some more maintenance (fluids and filters for the lower and a leaking outrigger line), I think the major bugs have been sorted. I just need to get used to operating it. It's extremely fun to run, but I can easily see how something can get away from an operator. It's not a sit back and operate machine, that's for sure.... Another thing is hearing protection is not an option on this machine, ran it for about 30 min without earmuffs, I still hear that little screaming Detroit.....
Hey, your looking good, we've all made mistakes reeving a block that's the way you learn, any way I would bet your swing brake is hyd. over spring, that system didn't work good at all. If your using the reverse swing to stop the swing then your doing it right, the brake is to hold it in that position. we will make an operator out of you yet, keep at it.
I think you should practice a bit with the crane and the multi part line before you start using the jib. Jibs are delicate compared to your short main boom and "geared" down via sheaves hoist line. You can add it easily enough when you need it. One thing to make sure of is that you have no twists in your hoist line. If the block does not track straight, simply take the becket loose and untwist it. Be careful, if it has a couple twists in the line it can easily wrap up your hand torturing your fingers if you don't have a good hold of it. It will want to go to the neutral position. Usually shows up after you have run the ine in and out a number of times.
One can hope . My issue with the swing brake is that it hardly holds at all. Say I swing right 90 degrees, use the left swing clutch to slow/stop myself, set the brake and start booming up/down eventually I'll start swinging left because the clutches that was last used drags. I think I just need to figure-out how to tighten up the brake a bit and work the machine to try and get the crud burned out of the friction elements. It was a bit disconcerting the first time it did this..... Next I need to see about making some outrigger pads and getting some slings and rigging. I wish I had a 10' boom section, I kinda like the 50' boom load chart better than the 60' boom for some machinery I'm going to have to unload from a truck.
Sounds reasonable enough to me.
Good idea, keep that jib off until your used to the rig and get the bugs out of it, What's the chart differ in cap. vs. 60 ft. and 50 ft.? Dang no outrigger pads???? this crane is probably gonna be for your use only so build some, they are gonna be heavy but what the heck. I would bet your crane has a master cylinder connected to your swing brake via. slave cylinder? those take a lot of working on them to get them right, you want the swing brake band to just drag a little, then work on it some more lol,
Yup the brake is a slave cylinder system, once I'm at the machine again I'll see about adjusting it. Nope no outrigger pads, not even any feet for the adjustment screws on the outriggers, will need to make something so they will be able to bear on the pads. What do ya'll like for outrigger pads? I'd imagine making them round would make them easier to move around, but be simpler and provide more bearing area to make them square. I was thinking of a 4'x4' square of 3/4" treated plywood sandwiching treated 4x4's. Heavy enough? Here's a picture of the load chart, I'm not sure exactly of the weight of the machinery I'm going to have to move, but I think it'll weight around 25tons. A bit heavy for 60', but I don't have a 10' boom section anyhow, so if I need more capacity I'll have to go down to 40', I'll have plenty of lift then. The idea of messing with the boom length again isn't very exciting though.... http://s1309.photobucket.com/user/mebunting/media/440TC/20160206_141927_zpsse8w5kpx.jpg.html
Well, only if you can actually do any work at less than a 20' radius? Other than that the load charts are near identical for 50' and 60', just gotta have it straight up.
One machine that I'm nearly certain I'll be unloading will weight 43,000lbs and will fit comfortably on a deck over semi trailer. I would be able to work at less than a 20' radius, just have to lift it up off the truck and lower it straight down and it's a pretty small machine, about 10'x10'x10'. Won't have as much room to work with slings, but should be manageable. That lift would be at 80% of the capacity of the 60' boom (at 20' radius), I'd feel a bit better choking up on it some more.
Thinking about slings, probably a stupid question. But do you factor in D/d ratios with synthetic slings like you do with chain and cable?
A good practice to swinging is to be boomed down about 45 degrees, lower the block to 10 ft off the ground, swing a little quicker, stop your boom, then when the block keeps swinging out a bit, swing over it and stop the boom over the block so it remains still. Get that down and your swing clutches and brakes will probably be shined up and you will be comfortable swinging with a load.
Thanks Old Iron. Any technique for boom up/down? Boom up is pretty east, but boom down not so much. In order to get the clutch and pawl to engage right I have to boom down faster than I'd like, and when I let off the boom kinda sways up and down some. Just a matter of getting used to the machine?
Hey, I bet your 2 pawls aren't catching right, one or the other should catch the boom hoist drum remember those have to be free on the pin they are mounted on. Dw
It might pay to backtrack to the auction yard and original owner for the outrigger stands . Probably laying around somewhere ? I think your pad idea will work fine . Would go with oak or hickory myself for the 4X4's . We use loose cribbing in various size & length depending on conditions .
I'll take a look at it and see. I doubt it. The guy that towed the crane to the farm for me was the guy that towed it to the auction yard. He wouldn't say exactly where it was from, but apparently the machine was sold due to a back foreclosure, along with a bunch of other machinery. Hard wood would really be best, I've been meaning to have some hard wood dunnage made up, pine get's annoying. It's light, but it sure does like to spit.
That's a pretty good clue . May have to lean on the wrecker driver for more information . The jack stands are pretty important on that machine . Unfortunately at auction time component's like that often get separated from the machine . Amazing you got the block with it . Original owner more than likely has the stands , probably laying around the shop or he's mowing around them . Where's Columbo when we need him .
they were made of aluminum ,,,, scraped !!!
I'm just happy the thing works. Paying what I paid for it and it not really needing anything makes me look at the lack of outrigger stands as slight annoyance. I was just gonna fab something up out of plate, won't be as pretty as the ones you posted td25c, but they'd work for me. This weekend, now that I'm getting a break from tests (just in time for finals to start.....), I'll see about taking a quick video of the machine going through the motions and let you real operators critique.
That was my next question if you could just do a simple round plate foot with a short socket welded in the center ? It would set lower then the original stand so probably have to use cribbing anyway for added hight . My Grove rigs use a round plate as the foot . We then start with a piece of oak 14" wide X 48" long X 4" thick . Add more cribbing when needed . HeavyEquipmentForums
That's pretty much what I was thinking for the outrigger stands. Won't be super pretty, but be easy to make and function ok.
To be honest I think you are better off with the simple plate feet . The jack stand type foot has a higher center of gravity at the socket . Would look a little more unstable to me when cant set cribbing / pads level . P&H hydro rigs used a similar hinged foot that flopped down when outrigger beam extended . Looks cool assuming everything is level . Otherwise I like a simple plate with low center socket point . That's just my thoughts on it .
I used to run a pettibone that had those flipover feet, never did like them. If you were on cribbing they always wanted to pivot and topple the cribbing over if you weren't perfectly level and well secure.
Hey Guys, the square ones are what suppose be used the( taller ones), there's not but 8 or 10 inches of travel for those vertical cylinders, so they will need a lot of dunnage underneath the pad to make contact
Since I'm getting to the point where I can say that I'm pretty sure I've got a machine that works, the next step is to start getting used to running obviously. But before I start doing any serious lifts, as I don't know the history of the cables and they do look pretty bad, I think it would be a good idea to replace them. So what's the best way to go about changing the cable? Is this similar to how I'd have to do it? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5RRUKLjZtE Also what about the boom hoist lines? The boom hoist is kinda hard to get too, so figure I should ask.
what size is your wire rope
Heres my tip for changing lines.It comes from years of working on barges where you cant always boom down.We always welded the the new line to the old line and pulled them thru .it dosent help a lot with the hoist lines if your on land and can access the whole boom easily.But it really helps with your topping line or boom hoist line as it saves the puzzle of re reeving.There are other methods of connecting the new line to the old ,but ive always found a quick buzz with some 3/32 7018 works very well.Put your boom on the ground and unspool the last of the topping line.Pull the anchor end of the the line out under the machine and weld it to your new line.Have your new line on a pc. of pipe on your fork lift so it will spool off the reel.Then pull on the beckett end up on your gantry until the welded end arrives there.Attach the wedge anchor on the boom hoist drum and run 3or 4 wraps onto the drum.after that cut the new line to fit and install the beckett for your gantry conection.Spend a couple of hundred on a Crosby terminator beckett with your new line,its an important line. justmake sure you don't put more line on the drum than you need ,just had an incident with too much line on my 40 ton today and stopped it before disaster .
Hey TUGGER, I was hesitant about suggesting welding the 2 ends together, figured people would say (what the heck are you talking about) we never tried it with a welding machine always used a torch and a piece of #9 wire and put the 2 pieces end to end (new to old) not beside one another and kind of melted them together with the #9 wire about 2inches in length, being very careful pulling them thru the sheaves so as not to bind the welded ends and break them, hook the other loose end to a tractor or whatever and pull very slowly I always helped the welded ends thru the sheaves, never had one to break lucky I guess. never thought about trying the welder on the ends. About 10 yrs. ago I helped change a boom cable on a 4100 and they had the Chinese finger thing made out of very small cable, they slid them together and duct taped them up, worked like a charm, take care all DW
I know what you mean 4100,some think its haywire.I find with smaller lines 1/2" or 5/8" welding is best ive done like you say with the torch to ,cable is good steel and it welds nicely.I but my ends together and weld them ,they pass easily thru the sheaves. I was on a job once where we being harassed by those who were "Much" smarter than us tradesmen ,we had the crane on a sectional barge with very limited room .We had to change a hammerline so we boomed down on the river bank welded the new line to the old one .One of the Profesionals came along with his camera and asked what we were doing ,I said our hammer line was to short so we were adding some more to it.You can do that he says?Sure I said piledrivers do this all the time.Pictures were taken,safety people informed,major poop storm developed,before I clued them in on what we were really up to.We had a good laugh over it,some relief to the frustration of being pestered on a job by people like that.
Hey TD25C, could you post a close up picture of the attachment points on the outrigger feet in your picture? I have the same problem with my Unit 357, someone stole or lost the feet for it so I will probably make some, just looking for ideas on an easy to make pad. Also any suggestions on size of pad and thickness of steel? Hope you guys don't mind my hijack, its only slightly off topic.
Hey TUGGER, some people will believe anything you tell them huh? Got a good laugh out of your story, DW
The placard on the machine says I need 3/4 P&H type 11 (18x7 non-rotating preformed improved plow steel wire rope fiber core), only understand about half of that. Ok I think I understand how to put the new cable in, where is the best place to get it? Just a local rigging store?
Good evening, not arguing with the placard but I would use 6x25 wire core center, good all around cable, maybe these other guys will chime in here, DW
Your rigging store will have a modern equivalent to the P & H type cable. Cable has, like most everything else, changed a lot over the years.
Agreed ,no rope core.Any coments on no spin wire?Ive always used 6 26 ,might be 6 25.Odd time we get some no spin wire with a new crane ,but I don't usually order the stuff for what we do.6 36 ( I think) is really nice and flexible.Your rope supplier will advise you on the best choice
Hey TUGGER, I don't think he needs rotation resistant wire, don't know the price difference but for a green operator (no offense) its not to forgiving if his cable gets crossed on the drum also he's not running a long boom either, we always ran 70ft. with 4 parts and I don't remember the block twisting up, my thoughts , DW
If he does get a twisted block because of a twist in the line it is easy enough to unpin the becket and let the twist out. If he takes the new cable of the top of the cable spool and directly over the drum so the cable lays the same way it should be fine. Just like fishing line.
Yeah ror76a , not being familiar with the Unit 357 crane I came up with a brochure for one . I would think a round plate foot 16 to 18 inch in diameter & 3/4 thick would work fine . Second photo is how the outrigger foot is attached to the outrigger itself on my Grove rigs . Pretty simple , tight radius linked U- bolt welded to the outrigger & foot allowing it to conform easy at different angles .
6-36 sound ok, local place says they stock that on their website. I'll have to check the placard in the upper, but I don't think the length of boom hoist cable is listed like the hoist cable lengths are. Afraid the only way to find out the length, unless any of ya'll know it, would be to take it out and measure. Just make reeving the new stuff a bit more annoying.
You should be able to boom it down,do some measuring from the drum ,up the gantry out to the equalizer and then count the parts of line.You will kick yourself for unreeving it.Order some extra line ,you can always have some slings pressed out of the reminants.My guess is you ll need around 400 ft.
Yeah RZucker , Rig like that 357 with attachments would be a contractors dream . Add a dozer & dump truck to the operation ...... Could handle about any job that came along . What more could we ever want ?
Yep, nothing better than simple equipment that only needs wire rope and a grease gun.
I got out of school a couple of weeks ago, so been trying to work at the farm as much as possible. I've wanted to move the P&H from where it was first parked, to a place on the other side of the "yard" where were going to start putting up a little pole barn. We'll it's been raining pretty hard in south Texas, but most of the rain has missed the farm. It was finally dry enough to try to move today, the whole "yard" was pretty solid except for the ground right under the crane. Made some pretty decent ruts getting out, but thankfully didn't get stuck. Machine ran decently, I'm always amazed how easily it starts, not much stuff at the farm starts when you turn the key like it should. I still need to try and adjust the swing brake, doesn't seem to do anything about holding the house still at all. Also the swing mechanism sounded like crap, may need lubrication or adjustment. Most worrisome thing is that is upper pops out of gear, going to take a look at this when I'm tinkering with it again. I want to get the leaking outrigger lines fixed and the machine on pads before I start trying to lift anything.
Hey Man, What's wrong with the swinger's???? (sounds like crap) Also if you have a master cylinder that releases the swing brake, I never did see one that worked right, not to say it cant be repaired thou
I'm not sure, but they were making a pretty loud grinding/crunching noise. It was getting kinda late didn't have any time to take a look at what may be causing the sound.
Just a thought, was the swing brake on and you didn't no it ?????
I did check that, and nope it was in the released position. And guessing by how much the boom wiggles side to side with the brake on, I don't think it does much even when it's engaged. I'll be able to take a better look when I'm back at the machine. Hopefully its nothing that's really an issue.
Not much weight, getting ready for some larger lifts. But picked up some actual weight for the first time. Only about 1500lbs, hardly took the slack out of the hoist lines. Needed the welder moved and it was too wet to do it with anything with wheels, so used the crane.
That's good that you got to use it & get the " feel" of how it handles . Ever come up with any outrigger feet ? Hang on ...... Is that a Minneapolis - Moline tractor parked out back behind the building with a tarp covering it ?
I behaves much better with a little weight on the hook. No I still need to make some pads. I just took some full length railroad ties, made up some height with 4x6's on top and threw a pices of 6"x 1/2" plate where the outrigger contacts the blocks. And on this soft ground, (we got a couple of inches of rain yesterday) that's not nearly enough. Basically I was still "on rubber" and the outriggers just give a bit more stability, but more for looks than anything. I really want to build a pad for this thing and park in on some mats, it's so heavy it just sinks into soft dirt. And nope it's not a Moline, but a Case 930. All the farm equipment is Case, Dad's kinda hung up on them.
That's cool ! Sounds like you guys got allot of rain this summer . We sure did . In a dry spell now , got a little shower Friday that settled the dust . Ground is starting to firm up tight like it normally would be in June or July . Yeah , It would be good if you could over dig the sod & drop some stone in for the P&H to set on . It only takes more time & money . Keep up the good work !
It was dry for the time I was tied up in summer classes. The day I took my final it started raining and its been raining pretty steadily since then and looks like we're supposed to get more this week. And yeah, "only time and money" about sums it up. XD