I have a septic job coming up soon that I need to replace the septic tank with a new 1500 gallon precast tank. the tank will be two equill size sections. I would have them delivered and would set them with my 12 ton excavator. cant get truck close enough, small site on a small pond. Don't want to hire a crane or use a plastic tank. I estimate each section to weigh aprox 5200 lbs can my machine lift and set them if im very carefull and keep it as low and close to me as possible? thanks DAN
Getting them off the truck will be harder than lowering them into the hole. Level, firm ground to work on?
Should do it, get it as close as possible and preferably directly over it. If unstable/soft ground problems are present, we have used wood mats to sit & walk on with good results. Good luck.
Should be a piece of cake.
I wont have to unload the truck, they will deliver with there crane truck. and yes the ground conditions will be level and firm or (frozen...) the main reason I want to set my self is to eliminate the down time of use for the customer. I plan to pump old tank out and crush it in and remove it and set new tank and pipe in the same day, don't want to be held up waiting for tank to arrive, I will have it delivered several days before. thanks for the replys, I feel more confidant now! just need to figure a good way to rig it up for lifting, all I have are chains and straps, no cables
Can you remove your bucket? We have volvo 160 with coupler and remove our bucket and we can lift more that way...
The tank should have lifting points or notches in the corners for lifting. My 6 ton mini can lift 5klbs at ground level and a 10' radius... you should be fine. Remember as a general rule excavators are stronger the lower the lifting point is relative to the surface the machine is sitting on.
If you have a good relationship with the company supplying the tank there's a real good chance they'll let you use their lifting sling. That would be the best way to pick it but a good set of lifting chains will work it just may take longer to rig it so it picks up evenly.
I'm with Tags about using the supplier's rigging. The local supplier I have used in the past has a spreader bar that engages the two lift points and has a center eye for the crane, as I recall less than a foot tall. Keeping the rigging short will help with picking it up off the ground as the tank is probably 5.5' tall (around here anyway). No lift capacity chart on the machine window or in the operator's manual?
Couple things to keep in mind: the top section will be heavier if it has concrete baffles. The tank should be about 6' wide by 10' long. If it's taller than 4', it might be a little smaller. The tanks we use around here are 1500 gallon, two compartment tanks. They are one piece and weigh around 15,000 lbs. The most important thing to remember is that the load radius is from the center of the machine. So, unless you have the tracks hanging over the edge of the hole, you are going to be out at least 15' to set that tank. I looked at a few load charts for 120's, as long as those halves are no more than what you are guessing, you should be fine. You should ask the tank supplier what the tank weighs. I would definitely drop the bucket as well.