Anyone have any seat time in one of these? Seems they are kind of a niche machine? The old tried and true 300 had long suffered from the model creep and -8s are pretty much 80k pounds, so the 300 became the 360 and now we have a 290. Supposedly, they are a 300 undercarriage, 200 carbody, 240 boom/stick and 300 counterweight. So, pretty much a 240 on steroids. I'm seriously considering purchasing a 2019 and am looking for some opinions on them, most of you know I do mainly land clearing and drainage, so it would be getting challenged on a daily basis. None of that easy, cushy pipeline or basement digging, lol. I have always been a Case guy, but I can't find a decent 300 (Case or LB) that I'm willing to take a chance on, and the price is right on this one. Plus, I'm hoping that the 300 undercarriage might come in handy on some of the slopes I need to work on.
Komatsu has been doing that since I worked on the line back in the eighties. PC360-5 was a PC300 upper with a PC400 carbody. At any rate the only issue was the slewing bearings didn't last as long because they used the smaller bearing to fit the carbody. It was never a problem on the construction machines. It was a little bit of an issue in the loggers because the bearings started failing at around 5,000 hours. 40 and 45 foot fronts with 60" grapples and shovel loggers that continually pulled and punched stumps was something that the engineers never knew about designing machines for.
After reading John's post, I realize I didn't refer to things properly. This PC290 is a 300 carbody, with a 200 upper, 300 counterweight, and a beefed up 240 front. The salesman called me yesterday and said that he had cleared the purchase with his equipment manager and that they would be getting it through the shop and ready to deliver. So, I guess I'll be finding out if a 35 ton excavator is going to be the answer moving forward. Here are a few pics the salesman sent me.
That’s a fine looking machine. Looks like it’s had a well cared for easy life. How many hrs
2600
Nice! Like New machine!
Only took 3 months to be delivered. Hit the dirt with it today.
Excavator things
Cylinder mount.
Nice work!
Nice welding but we never welded around the corners. The welds always went straight off the ends in a whale tail to prevent stress risers and cracking.
I thought that welding practice pertained more to the plate welded to the boom. That’s where I’ve been told to whale tail it out to keep the boom plate from cracking.
I've seen cracks propagate from the corner of a boss, go through the mount plate and then through the weld on the mount plate and into the stick. We also stopped doing the chevron ends on the mount plates and made an inverse pattern or an H looking bracket to stop the beer canning in the middle of the stick. Highline Portafab as I recall started that design back in the nineties.
We debated over chevron or inverted ends, decided on an extended length on the plate in the hope that it would spread the load out further. I looked at a lot of different cylinder mounting pads, and most have Chevron towards the top, and an invert on the bottom, including the factory-designed mount for this Solesbee, which I didn't get with the thumb. I figured there would be some debate lol.
In truth I think the biggest issue with how the welds last has as much to do with the operation and the operator as anything. The machines with cracks usually were high hour sloppy jointed and lots of bent sheet metal. Lots of clearing and grubbing stumps with stacking piles or loading grinders.
Needs a topcoat of Komatsu yellow.
Shimmy1, what pressure are you going to run on the thumb circuit?
I'm not sure if I can set it as easily as I can on the Case, but however it gets set I will have it set a few hundred psi higher than what the bucket will push the thumb back with nothing in it's grasp. That way under normal circumstances the thumb won't be giving way every time I grab something, but if it needs to, it can. That's the way I've ran the thumb on our 210 for 8 years, and haven't had any catastrophic failures related to overpressure on the cylinder.
We always set them at 2,500 PSI. The bucket is supposed to push the thumb back easily to the point that the cylinder lines up directly through the attaching link. It used to be that the circuit reliefs had to be purchased separate and installed, then pressure reduced to your setting.
Well, criticize away guys. We had to fabricate a holder for the main pin since this thumb originally was intended for just a bucket. That is 1/2" wall, 3" tubing.
That looks pretty good. Keep grease in the joints and that will last as long as the bucket and thumb.
What's going on with that pin that appears too small and maybe tacked in place?
Everything looks better than what I build. It sure is a nice looking excavator- but you're supposed to be out working with it- not adding stuff on it in the shop. And just because I'm curious- how come it took so long to show up?
That is the main pin. The welding around the pin is kind of boogered up from use, we extended that arm on the pin because someone cut it off. That square tubing holds the pin from turning in the coupler.
First it was because they couldn't find another machine for the contractor that had it on rent. When I decided I wanted to buy it, they had to replace it (3 weeks). Then they couldn't get permits because of load restrictions (a month). Then, they only had one guy in the shop, so nobody could service it before delivery. Then, when I looked at it, I smelled coolant, and they determined that the EGR cooler needed to be replaced (let's wait another 3 weeks for parts). Finally, I decided to have the dealer install the coupler (oh, wait, install kit missing a bunch of parts. ANOTHER 2 WEEKS).
So... Do they charge by the hour or the excuse?
I meant the pin on the bucket that the coupler hooks to. It looks too small for the bucket ear. The pin to the square tube looks fine.
It appears that someone replaced that pin boss at some point. There is a bushing in there.
Ok, why does Komatsu think they need to run some magic elixir for hydraulic oil? WTH is HO 56 or VG 56 hydraulic oil? We run either CNH HyTran, Cat HYDO 10, or Cenex Indol EH AW46 in everything else.
Environment friendly hyd. oil?
I don't think so. Kinda looks like synthetic? https://www.kirby-smith.com/ksconnection/highheat-protection
So, is there anything out there you dare blend with this stuff?
I think John C used to work for a dealer or else just worked on a lot of komatsu stuff, maybe try to message him?
I don't know what all the brand names are. We used to only run AW46 or AW32 hydraulic oils in all machines. Never had any problems with clean oil which is the key to long life of hydraulic components. Warranty requirements make things confusing, but then again they are meant to be that way. Talk to your supplier about the specified oils and they can tell you about what they provide and whether or not it is compatible.
They say you can't blend AW46 with this HO56. You've never heard of it before?
Maybe it's similar to Bobcat now saying to only use their special hydrostatic trans. fluid after saying to use 10W-30 and then common hyd. oil for years. Komatsu must have a spec. sheet for the fluid to compare with other commonly available fluids.
Nobody else runs Komatsu and has asked these questions?
Check out this web site in Australia. https://www.komatsu.com.au/getattac...d98/LUBRICANTS,-COOLANTS-FILTRATION-SOLUTIONS There is a chart that provides specifications for each type of use.
High-Heat Protection October 31, 2019 / Tips & Best Practices Specially formulated HO56-HE hydraulic oil helps solve oil degradation in hot environments Using the proper fluids delivers bottom-line benefits, potentially increasing productivity and lowering operating costs. “Fluids designed to match the conditions you face offer the best protection, resulting in less downtime and extended equipment life,” said Bruce Gosen, Senior Product Manager, Komatsu Parts Marketing. Gosen pointed out that Komatsu’s HO56-HE hydraulic oil is a good example. It is a zinc-based, anti-wear oil made from synthetic fluid, as opposed to traditional hydraulic fluids created from mineral oil. “This product is specially formulated to help solve oil degradation issues in hot environments,” explained Gosen. “It’s an ideal choice for equipment operating in desert regions or in high-temperature industrial facilities.” Specific benefits of HO56-HE: • It has outstanding cold-start performance and excellent resistance to oxidation at high temperatures. • It is specially formulated to maintain viscosity range throughout the full life of the fluid. • The fluid performs with greater efficiency to reduce fuel consumption and extend oil drain intervals. • It prevents valves from sticking, resulting in less “reactive maintenance” downtime. “HO56-HE is more energy-efficient, so it can reduce overall fuel costs compared to conventional anti-wear hydraulic fluids,” said Gosen. “HO56-HE has the potential to last longer too, reducing downtime for routine oil drains. “It’s compatible with most machines, so many companies can consolidate multiple hydraulic oils across their fleets, simplifying ongoing maintenance, which can lead to greater savings,” Gosen added. “We encourage anyone needing a high-performance hydraulic oil to contact their distributor for HO56-HE.” Looks like its a synthetic iso 46 that's zinc based. As far as "compatability" the answer is "maybe". the top article is from- Kirby smith - my komatsu dealer- they are actually my grove dealer but have komatsu as their main line- they send me their magazine. https://www.constructionequipment.c.../hydraulic-fluid-compatibility-raises-concern But I don't own anything like that- you under warranty yet? from what it reads like they "suggest" a full flush if switching, but if you are talking about 5 gal in a 100 gallon tank, I don't think its going to hurt anything. In the backside of beyond in the darkest parts of the amazon- I'm betting they dump whatever is available in it and don't worry about the 3.4% efficiency gains.
I posted a link to that exact article a couple posts back. This machine I bought came from Kirby-Smith. It was purchased new by Strike. At 2000 hours, either they traded it in or the lease ran out, and they sent it down the road. My dealer, General Equipment, bought it after K-S opted out of putting it in their inventory. My service guys say that HO56 is factory fill for it, and there's nothing in the service records to indicate it's been switched over to AW46. I'm not totally against this HO56, was just wondering what exactly it is, and if anyone else had any insight on it besides this one article, lol.
I know the Komatsu dealers I have worked for mix HO46 and HO56 without any issues. Took me a bit to find a Komatsu document that says anything about compatibility, please see attached. From near bottom of page: "Additionally, Komatsu HO56-HE is compatible with anti-wear hydraulic oils..."