Tag Archives: construction equipment repairs

Learn to repair heavy equipment and make a good career

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

We all need to have some kind of unique skills that can set up apart from the rest of the folks. It is just that it takes good deal of time to recognize that skill and by the time we realize it, it becomes too late for us to capitalize on it. However, the one who realizes his true potential can make wonders with his/her skill and can be innovative while applying the skill to various causes. Thus, the person can earn good money and also enjoy the work. Same stands with becoming a mechanic of heavy equipment. Heavy equipment is quite a complex subject and it takes years and years of study and practice to become a good mechanic. Once you have devoted all the time it takes you to reach the pinnacle, you can set examples for others. Apart from being a complex subject, heavy equipment are really expensive products and it takes a fortune for any construction company to buy an equipment.

As long as the machine is in good order, the owners of the machine are happy but once it starts developing any complications, they want a mechanic to fix the problem at the earliest. Here is where an expert mechanic can make things merrier for himself. Since he knows everything about the machine, just be the sound of the engine he may make out the issue and thereby apply things to get it fixed. If the machine gets up and running, the owner of the machine may give further machines to him or may spread his good work to other people thus increasing his business.

Join a reputed institute to learn about machines:-

To become an expert, it is important to learn thoroughly about heavy equipment. You can’t get all the knowledge by working under someone. To get complete knowledge about machines, joining a reputed institute is the best option. There they will teach you most of the things about heavy equipment. Once you complete the preliminary training, you may look forward for advanced courses and also seek some practical training. Institutes ideally send their students to various workshops from where they can see people working on machines. This is the place from where most of the students get to learn in depth and creates their fascination for the machine.

Keep yourself in the company of students who are serious in making this as their career:-

You tend to come across various kinds of people. Some will be very intense with what they are doing and some not that serious with studies. Try to be with people who take their studies bit seriously. That doesn’t mean that you don’t mix with the rest of the folks. It is just that you be with people who can help you make your career.

Get hired by companies:-

Once you are done with your studies and manage to get good scores, you may be picked up by some construction and heavy equipment company. Most of the institutes have campuses from where students are picked up for job.

Top heavy equipment repairs questions

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Undoubtedly, heavy equipment are the toughest machines and they do not wear off so easily. But they are also prone to issues that often crop up due to negligence on the part of the user. Firstly, we need to understand why any of the issues crop up in the first place and then how do we correct them. Heavy equipment unlike any other equipment are put to extreme difficult tasks and are also expected to do the work without causing any damage. On top of that, heavy work pressure and delivering the work in time becomes the most primary reasons why the owners of heavy equipment skip to give the machines for maintenance.  They feel that the machines is working fine which means that everything inside it is in order and the maintenance work can be postponed for few more days. What they usually miss is that the heavy equipment has gone through enough stress and will perhaps continue to do so before it is serviced, that will indeed take a toll on the machine. It is only when the machine starts developing some or the other problems that the owner realizes that he should get the machine checked by a mechanic.

Other than this, when the current owner lease the machine to another person, he does not instruct the new person categorically to maintain the machine at regular intervals. This becomes quite nasty for the equipment. The new user uses the machine according to his whims and fancies and therefore develops some issues in the machine. If the user is done with his project, he keeps the machine idle without trying to know if it has some internal damage and if he should be showing it to the mechanic or needs some minor repair work. It becomes the duty of the owner to say it very upfront to the user to get the equipment serviced from a good mechanic, to change the engine oil at regular intervals and if ever he feels that there is any problem with the machine or he has got any part of the machine damaged while working, then to get it fixed in no time.

Other than that, for people who wants to know what to do when the machine fails to operate in the way it used to, the best option is to join a forum where they can ask questions related to the repair of the machine. Heavy equipment can have lot of problems and it is inevitable to operate the heavy equipment for years with no problems keeping in mind the nature of work it has to do. Problems such as engine not starting during cold weathers are the most common questions that can be found in the forum. Some even ask about the viscosity level in the oil. Other top questions can be where to get the excavator repaired in Wisconsin or for that matter in some other states? How often should one maintain his machine? Questions like should one replace the faulty part of a machine with a new one and from where should he be buying them from are the top most questions that one would like to ask.

Related articles across the web

Prevent and Minimize Heavy Equipment Undercarriage Wear

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

We all know that any minute issue in heavy equipment if not taken care at the right time may give birth to serious problems in the nearby future and which is why it is very critical to keep your machine well maintained. By saying your machine, it is just not limited to the equipment but also the undercarriage that forms an important part of the machine. The equipment is not operated in the right manner may give exert more unwanted pressure to the tracks and thus it may lead to issues down there and that may even result in the machine going idle for days till the time the undercarriage doesn’t gets fixed.

The major reason that can lead to an early deterioration of the undercarriage is having a tight track. A tight track can give rise to many problems in the undercarriage and therefore it is recommended to check the tracks well during the time it’s installed on the machine. Too tight tracks can lead to eating away of sprockets, bushings, carried rollers etc. thus decreasing the overall life of the tracks and will also shoot up the operating cost of the machine. The procedure to adjust tracks differs from machine to machine. It basically depends on the kind of sprockets being used in the machine (if it has an elevated sprocket or a conventional one). Though, it is advisable that one should always adjust the tracks in a job site rather than doing it in a shop.

Lower down the speed of the equipment when it is not productive. You definitely would not want it to wear for non-operational reasons. It has been seen in many construction sites that the operator is always in a hurry and runs the machine at high speed when it is not productive. Well, there is simply no reason to put it in a high speed when you don’t want it to perform. That is one of the reasons why the undercarriage wears in less time than compared to equipment that are not always in a state of hurry. How is speed related to deteriorating the quality of the machine? It directly affects the bushings, sprockets, idlers and all the other important component of the undercarriage. It affects the most to the bushings and sprockets when you reverse the machine at a high speed. Hence, when it’s not at work or when it is needed, it should be driven at a high speed.

Turning the machine constantly in a particular direction wears the undercarriage in that part. It particularly affects the rail slides, idle flanges and rollers. In case, where you just can’t avoid turning the machine in one particular direction, you should better examine the tracks at the end of the day and check if you can continue with it the following day. If so ever, you see that it needs some adjustments to be done, get that done before you further wear it down.

In case of slipping tracks, you should ensure that you reduce the load because if not done, then it may affect the grousers.