What is the deal with sweeping (using swing)with excavator bucket. I do this all the time to level loose dirt in front of machine, or to level ground Ive been digging around in. Im talking loose dirt that will generally move easily using swing power of machine. Someone told me one should never do this due to potential damage/wear to boom /arm joint bushings. I dont have a ton of experience (say 5 years over 25 years or so) but seem to do fine with this technique. Whats the deal?
Good day coast logger Side sweeping will stress the equipment with loads it is not designed to take, bending arms and twisting booms. In many cases this will show up as cracks as well as premature wear to hinge components. The slew transmission is so happy with side sweeping either, we would suggest that you adopt a different operating technique avoiding repair and downtime. Kind regards Uffex
coastlogger, I don't have an excavator but I have seen a bunch of them operating recently. The pipeliners use a ~10' piece of heavy pipe slung horizontally a few feet below the bucket on chain to sweep the area to a fine finish. Seems to me this would eliminate much of the stress on the boom if operated by a competent operator. As for wear on pins and bushings, well, letting the machine sit will eliminate that......