I work on a ranch in northern California and we are doing a bunch of dirt work. The owner sent up one of his Cat 623B scraper. The question is what is the "trans hold" foot pedal for? And any good advice?
i am sorry to say this and we are miles apart but it sounds like you have been thrown in the deep end.if you are operating the machine someone should of gone through it with you. the pedel you are saying if depressed will keep in that gear when you do it ,you worry me,sorry,take care,kerry
Often times when pulling a grade the machine will try to shift up, then back down again if you are right at the shift point. That pedal locks the transmission from shifting to help prevent wear on the trans.
I am working along with a equipment operator and he kinda taught me the basics. He hasn't operated scrapers much, but has been around them most his life, he is more of the dozer guy so he taught me what he knew. He just wasn't sure either. Its pretty fun moving dirt with that thing!
A few things to think about while getting familiar with the 623. Keep your can close to the ground, if you haven't nosed over yet you will, (typically happens when you turn downhill) and this will not happen as easily with with the can on the ground. When making a fill or building a stockpile, build your edges up first and maintain a mild slope away from the edge of the fill. Otherwise it becomes difficult to stay on the stockpile. Keep in mind that whatever your rear tires run over will affect what the cutting edge does. If you want to tip the cut (say to the right), you can start by cutting in a curve to the left which will allow the left rear tire to climb up on the material that was not cut and hence allow the right side of the cutting edge to dig a bit deeper than the left. They are wonderful machines that can finish beautifully with a bit of practice! Have fun!
I agree. Everyone should read and memorize this to stay right side up.
Yair . . . I have seen a Johnstone flip over backwards turning uphill out of a slot. As mentioned always turn downhill, a nose in is one thing a back flip is much worse. Cheers.
Thank you guys for the help and advice, I sure do appreciate it! I look forward to learning more on the equipment operating
Wear your seat-belt at all times !
Find the operators manual Locate an operators manual and read it thoroughly . it will give you some grounding on the basics. Don't forget the servicing side, where all your greasing points are along with how to check your fluid levels. A big no no with those johnson bowls, never load or grade without having floor completely closed! Good luck with it and as someone said here previously, scrapers are the funnest way to shift dirt.
Advice It's good to see you asking questions, instead of not knowing or finding out the hard way. There are some good scraper operators on this forum that can sure help.
Lots of good tips to which I'll add, learn to drive straight not weeble wobble all over the cut or fill, it's easier to carry a grade and your work will look much more professional. Also learn where your blind or RH side is, sooner or later you will have to work along a stake row or some other obstacle. Try to keep the scraper cutting level to get even loads. A 623 is a skimmer not a gouger, cut deep enough to keep the load going but not so deep you stall the elevator.
Thank you DPete and terrasmooth, I need all the help I can get! lol This forum is awesome. I am excited to learn to operate this heavy equipment
I find the most frustrating part of scraper operating is when the scraper gets the duck walk on! You can smooth it out by moving across half a width on your next cut or fill and go slow. good luck.
Or cut from the opposite direction
Then there are the rules which cannot always be followed: (1) Always cut toward your fill. (2) Always cut downhill. (3) Always cut into the wind so as not to have the engine sucking as much dust. Obviously all three of these cannot be followed each time, but maybe two out of three?:beatsme
One thing too, is to run the engine at an RPM that will not allow the trans to be "shifty" all of the time...I'd say somewhere around 1200-1800 RPM. It takes awhile to get used to, but once you do, you can leave the trans in 8th gear all day! Just try and keep your tires from spinning too much, they are VERY expensive, and will last a long time if taken care of. If you have a pretty wide cut, try and stagger your passes so that you drive on a "tire track" all of the time as you work across, then start over and split the track you'll end up with a pretty level cut after a few times across. Have fun, but remember-when you think you know it all is when a person is most dangerous, keep in mind that you will learn something new for a lot of years to come! Also, once you get equipment operating in your blood, you'll never get it out!
A good right foot Yes, with those auto tranny's, it all about throttle control. I remember one machine back in the 80's, the operator only took it to 5th slot. When he left and one of the best scoop operators I learned from, " the cossak" said it didn't want to change past that gear as easily as it should. A couple of months with him at the wheel, it went like a dream.