We have some deep pipe to put in the ground.(about 30ft on average) We just rented a John Deere 450C for the job. 3.75 yard bucket and long stick, I think. We have a couple of 330C LCs. What are your guys' thoughts and impressions of this machine?
the 450 is the best balanced, most powerful, smoothest and most comfortable hoe in it's class in my humble opinion.
The company I used to work for till I was laid off did alot of developments, in fact almost exclusivly doing them. They had 8 hoes in the cat 315 to 330 range digging pipe trench. They also had a deere 450 that stayed with the dirt crews loading haul trucks almost exclusivly. On one job they had to go like 33' feet deep or so with sanitary sewer. So they brought in a set of pans and a cat d8t and pushed/ cut the first 10' out that way, then used a cx330 or something to finish off. During the projest we got alot of rain and flooded the trench with like 10 feet of water... Then after they completed the project they had problems with the trench settling and had to re-do a stretch of it... And thats about all I know, do you have much experience going that deep?
450's are a great machine. I work for a mostly Cat company, but I would take a 450 over a 345 anyday of the week. They have great power, nice controls, great stability and their a genuinely nice machine to run all day. As for deep trench...30' ain't too bad. Just remember 1' lifts are the way to go, with a biiiiiig packer. How wide are you making the ditch at the bottom? What is your backfill fleet?
I ran a 450CLC a little bit at the last job I had earlier in August. I liked it, very smooth and balanced. I run a PC400-6 here and there where I work now, I'd prefer the Deere mainly for a little more crowd force and bucket breakout, but having A/C would be nice. :drinkup
I rented a John Deere 450C LC and I picked up a 28,000 lbs counterweight for a crane, and walked it to the trailer. The machine is strong, fast, good on fuel, and quiet. The only issue I had with it was access to the fan belts and other components. Whenever I look at buying a machine, access for maintenance is the main concern. My John Deere 270D LC is a gem to work on, great access. At 30 feet deep you may be on your tippy toes to hit bottom, depending on how big a stick you've got. I've got a PC600 for deep sewer and I can hit 33'6" for a 8 foot flat bottom. What are you planning on using for shoring? Mabey slide rail systems?
Thanks for the replys everyone. My company runs two crews and the other crew is the one actually doing the pipe, but my crew is just starting a job about a quarter of a mile down the road, so its almost one big happy family out there. The total pipe job is about 2000' feet of sanitary sewer that is mostly ductile iron. It picks up water main about halfway down the line. The cut averages between 26 and 33 feet at the deepest point. Its running into a new commercial building that we have and still are correcting the pad since they are building it on lowland that is really wet. The sewer is going to eventually be a future expansion line for the city. I think they have already put in about 800 feet or so using mostly our two Deere 330C LCs hoes, a 84" cat 563C sheepsfoot, a 700j LGP dozer, and our D6H LGP cat dozer at times. Its been a battle as there has been quite a bit of water. The ground has been clay with periodic sand vanes which makes for a pretty wet trench. They have been sub cutting the trench anywhere from 12 - 14 feet I would say. And have been using trench boxes double stacked when necessary. We have been simultaneously jumping back and forth between the pipe and building pad correction so some days a hoe will sub cut while the other is working on the correction. Due to my need for a pipe hoe on my job and a couple of other things coming up, they finally gave in and rented the 450. Sorry I have rambled so long. Thanks again guys for the responses!
If your local dealer has tuned this machine properly there is no machine out there this size that will keep up. not a one.