here are some pictures from a gravel pit near to me the 210 Hitachi was taken out across a sediment pond ,no testing of ground just straight out when that got stuck ,for some reason they then took a js330 out to the Hitachi it was on narrow pads and sunk too ointhead this was around 8 am ,i advised them to phone for a winch and supplied them with the number of a local company they then hook a Hitachi D180 dozer to the 330 as it will pull anything i was told the 330 promptly sunk further i then suggested they phone the number i had given but was told we can get them out later that afternoon another 210 was trucked in and after half burying the js they left that and tried the other 210 around 5 pm i suggested they phone the winch man but got a blank response :Banghead they gave up last night and returned this morning with a 460 Hitachi the 210 was recovered and by this afternoon the js 330 was out talk about making a bad situation worse :bash you need to know when to stop and call for the correct equipment to get you out cheers graham
Nice job, Graham. You got them out of a real jam.
i was mearly a bystander ,if they had taken my advice both machines would have been out and working by miday friday with no damage i could not get pictures today as they took a big dislike to photo taking in case the pictures get out
Someon'e in trouble... By the way, good job keeping the lid on this one, it'll be all over the UK by Sunday night when Atlas sees this thread.:lmao:roll
In for a pound, in for a penny I dare say it would have been cheaper for them to call in a recovery expert than to have three machines not working. Sound like a bunch of idiots anyway, driving an ex across a swamp:Banghead
A fool and his money are soon parted,what would a few minutes surveying have cost in the now lost time,production bill . Stock
Yeah, a bloke with a stick and some experience.
Absolutely brilliant Graham, made me smile with the pics of that little pantomime . You were absolutely right in the first place, an old Fordson Major with a winch would have had that first Hitachi out in less than an hour. The guy on the Hitachi was 'foolish' to be kind, but whoever tracked the Js330 into that lagoon would have been walking out the gates with his Flask. Love the Dozer Bravado, everyone thinks they'll 'pull anything' only trouble is against suction its the wrong type of pull. It's slow and steady win's the race on this work, just know when to stop and then send for a winch or at least a suitable size excavator and enough 'bog mats' to work safely from and help the stricken machine onto. This is a classic demonstration of how not to recover a machine or even tackle difficult ground conditions. The cost of the big Hitachi and the low loader would have been eye watering to say the least! Thanks again Graham it deserves as much exposure as it can!
ganger's Eddie it was the ganger man who took the Hitachi out ,a seasoned operator /lever puller he also instructed the js operator to go out and surprisingly was the one who made the dozer comment i did mention that the dozer was around 18 tons and the js was a good 33 and with suction made 60 tons i amazed me that they could stand and watch the machine sink further with every lever pulling session but still continue if they had took their heads out of their backsides and took advice things would never have got that bad the recovery co were less than 30 Min's away and would have came down in a van and assessed the job with a rough cost guide gone back and got the big scammell named THE BEAST and the job would have "been a good un" do you think if the chain snapped their would have been a fatality at some points people were stood right next to the bucket while pulling was taking place i was always told if you find yourself in quicksand keep still and make yourself as wide as possible until help arrives the same applies for the machines ,leave alone get a winch line on and get a steady pull going
but in the heat of the moment, the instinct is to get out of the jam and try to solve the problem. can't really blame the guy--he just wanted the problem to go away. only natural, really.
Graham, unfortunately i've come across quite a few exceptional operators who get too confident in these situations and then go to pieces when the inevitable happens. I am fortunate to have started out with an Agricultural contractor up here in the Staffordshire Moorlands, the places I have had to go with JCB 3cx's and old JCB 814's whilst installing Land Drainage has given me a good education in how to get stuck and how to get back out with least hassle. At every recovery I attend, I am always amazed by the total lack of common sense shown by people on site and seem almost embarrased to point out the blindingly obvious to them. I once managed to talk a site agent into cancelling a CAT 345b he had requested to pull a 100tonne mobile crane back up a ramp it had slid over the side of. He was genuinely convinced that the big cat would haul the crane out despite the crane weighing in at 70tonne, resting completely on all it's axles and the only pull avaliable up a very steep ramp! It was rescued without any drama when I pointed out we could widen the ramp around the crane with good fill material, and then use it's own stabiliser legs to lift itself up whilst we tidied up underneath with a mini digger an placed a few sleepers. Three hours later it was driven out without assistance! It really is a matter of standing back for a few moments and having a good look at the situation and avaliable options. Thrashing around in a wet hole will only get you into more trouble. As for the chain in the pic, I didn't notice it until you pointed it out. I can only say let this be a lesson to us all, if that had snapped anything could happen so don't let people get near or put yourself in the same situation. The chain should be down onto the frame of the machine, allowing a slight uphill pull from the 'big un' and the machine being recovered slewed slightly cab side to put all that boom and rams betwwen you and the chain. This will allow the machine being recovered to take a bite itself and pull along with tracking and slewing to get a rocking motion to help break suction. Someone must have a video of this performance somewhere!
Yup, I agree. I have seen a lot of experienced guys suffer from only a lack of HUMILITY. Consider that when you bury the stick on your PC600!, you are penetrating the earth ALMOST (NOT QUITE) .000000355 of its diameter. HAHAHA. A FLEA'S bite on your skin penetrates relatively THOUSANDS of times this amount. Keep in mind how SMALL you really are! Just get your big knucklehead down off the machine and THINK first.***
more i should really add that on Thursday the Hitachi operator that day was to clear the ditch line where a new conveyor belt was to cross the road he needed to cross the ditch so tracked on through and guess what it got stuck after much digging in front of himself he managed to get himself out but what a mess Eddie i was all set to return Saturday with my video camera ,but it was clear i would have been kicked off the site but there may be some long distance pictures of Saturdays recovery the company pictured have taken the work from c j pryor as they are cheaper i may take my good camera on monday in case anything else happens cheers graham
Definitely bring your camera on Monday and keep us posted on this madness. These guys are, well, to say the least, persistent and stubborn. Let us know what happens, but don't let them see you laughing too hard.