I have seen photos of operators digging over an embankment, over the sides of the tracks....the tracks parallel to the embankment. Why would it be done this way and isn't there a greater risk of tipping over?
completely normal......more stable unless you have a blade then it is best to dig over the blade
You should generally try to dig over your idlers. This is the safer and more stable method. That being said, digging over the side is unavoidable and normal at times.
Sorry but I am still a little confused......do most operators avoid digging over the side of the tracks unless the space where they are digging dictates that there is no other way? I have seen photos of excavators on the top of an embankment digging over the side of the tracks, and it looked like there was plenty of room to position the excavator with the tracks facing the embankment. At school we dug trenches and manholes.....never needed to dig over the side.....plus the work area was sand and caved in really easy.
You can dig wherever you want in an excavator,just be aware of your load chart (I hope they taught you about that in operating school). When working along a bank or berm, its not practical to position the machine so you're digging over the front of the tracks all of the time. Part of the reason they swing 360
Depends what u are doing, if u are digging a deep hole for a manhole etc and it can be got from one position or lifting something heavy then over the idlers is best as u have more stability with the tracks being longways, but if u are reaching down to pull up a batter or clean out a drain and need to move along as u do it then its much easier to have the tracks pointing in the direction u need to move be it fwd or rev, otherwise u have to screw the machine around to move 3mts along then screw around again to dig. Just digging over the side u cant lift as much, and as cutting edge said above u can dig where u want coz they swing 360. Cheers RDG.
Goatgal, Q-ball is right. Dig over the idlers when you have choice. But if you do dig over the side try and leave enough material so if a little caves in you are not going to tip over. I have been digging (grading, exc.) for a long time. I have dug some smaller buildings with jogs in the wall line every 10 feet. It takes to long to always square your tracks up with the trench. Point A to point B dig and move on.