Author Archives: Kevin

Repairing a Heavy Equipment – Who can Do It Better than a Technician

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Repairing a Heavy Equipment – Who can Do It Better than a Technician

Heavy equipments are quite expensive and you got to make sure that you take proper care of it. They are produced by taking into consideration the strength it may require to carry huge pile of debris and tons of loads from one place to other. However, at times the machine breaks down and then you need an expert to get that fixed. Not anyone can open the machine and look what has gone wrong. People who have been operating the machine for years do not take the risk of opening up the machine in case of a breakdown. They on the other hand would prefer to wait for a technician to come and get it repaired. The technicians are the one who knows the in and out of the machine and has the ability to repair the machine by replacing the faulty stuff or making some changes in the affected area of the machine.

We would now be discussing what makes a person an able technician and where one can learn lessons to repair heavy equipment.

Establishments imparting education on heavy equipments:  There are plenty of institutes all across United States who educates students on heavy equipments and make them competent technicians. They are trained on different sort of machines which includes heavy cranes, excavators, bulldozers and so on. The training is divided into 2 segments. First is the classroom session and the other is hands-on training. In the classroom session, the student is given detailed information on the different parts of the machine and is made familiar with each of its components. This helps him to move on to the next level where he has to deal with the machine (apparently under the guidance of an expert). Once he is through with both the sessions of the training, he is given few assignments where he would be asked to work on his own and submit the report at the end of the assignment. After the submission of the report, the learning of the student is evaluated and then grades are given to him. On the basis of those grades, one can understand how able the technician is in repairing different equipments.

Vocational courses: Though vocation courses can be done by anybody, it is highly recommended that such courses are done by heavy equipment operators who have some knowledge in operating heavy machines. As they have been working with the machines for a long time, it would become far easier for them to understand the intricacies of the machine quickly as compared to a layman having completely no knowledge whatsoever.

Professional Certification:  Students having trained in educational institutes are given certificates after successfully completing their training. The certificate means a lot to them. They had to put in their 100% to score in exams and get good grades. The type of institute from where they have studied also matters a lot when it comes to getting a job. Thus, one has to put in a lot of effort and hard work and learn every technique to repair the machine before getting certified.

 

How Do We Identify Good Undercarriages for Our Heavy Equipment

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The heavy equipment used in construction companies work a great deal to make things look simpler and also get the task done swiftly which may not happen if it was supposed to be done manually. Surely, the construction and the mining industry would be highly grateful to companies producing these heavy equipments. However, it’s just not the heavy equipment that play a pivotal role in shaping up the industry but also the undercarriages like idlers, track chains, sprockets and so on that do their best to keep the heavy equipment running. These undercarriages are more prone to lose their shine and are more often replaced by a new one. It is because the undercarriages takes most of the load of heavy equipments and also plays an important role in manoeuvring the machine in any direction as per the discretion and need of the operator. Due to this wear and tear, it become fragile and needs to be substituted with a new piece.
Quite fortunately, these undercarriages are easily available with dealers and if at all you see a problem with any of the undercarriage, you know from where you can get it swapped. Alternatively, there are also few companies who exclusively produce undercarriage parts and try to have collaboration with major heavy equipment manufacturing companies and also with their dealers. In this way, they supply the undercarriage parts to the heavy equipments manufacturing companies who use them in the final product. Like ways, they also supply them to the dealers so that when the existing one ceases to work, it can be easily replaced.
Most undercarriage parts are model specific, which means that a set of undercarriage parts can be installed exclusively on few models. In other words, the parts should be compatible to the machine in order to go with it.
There are ideally 3 ways to know if the undercarriage part is indeed good for your machine.
Get an expert:- Big construction houses hire a team of experts who tend to understand each and every part of the machine. Having worked on different machines makes them efficient in every aspect in dealing with any problem related to the machine. Thus, they should be the first preference of a construction company when it comes to picking up an undercarriage part. Dealers also know these experts quite well and hence they never try to play tricks with them. Alternatively, you also save a good deal of money as these experts are well aware of the cost of an undercarriage part.
Browse the net:- If you’re a person who likes to do things on your own, then you should consider taking some help from the internet. It unarguably carries all the information for you. However, it’s just that they may not be in a proper manner and you have to take the extra effort to do a thorough search. Also, some parts are even sold online which allows you to make instant purchase at reasonably affordable price. Thus surfing the net can be quite helpful to you if only you are willing to give the desired time.
Calling or visiting the dealer:- You can try this as your last option. Calling the company will make sense if you’ve the machine under warranty period. Even if it crosses the period, you can still get some leads from them and can then make your way on your own. Approaching a dealer would be a good option only if you known the dealer in person. By that, the dealer is more likely to give you quality stuff at a lesser price.

Grease Your Machine Regularly to Make It Work Better

The heavy equipment that work for you all day long are prone to frequent break downs if proper care is not taken. One should service the machine on regular basis thus increasing the life of the equipment. Maintaining the machine is of utter importance as it not only gives it some air to breathe but also ensures that it works uninterruptedly for a long time. Ignoring this can result in frequent problems like the machine may all of a sudden cease to work. This will lead to further complications like calling a mechanic to get it fixed and keeping your fingers crossed on the fact that it may take good number of days to get it back up and running. You may also be asked to replace a part with a new one. At times, those parts remain unavailable with the dealer and they have to order it directly from the company. This means that you are without your machine for some more days. The delay in getting the problem fixed is causing you to lose money which no business person would like to tolerate. The complications could be endless and one might not want to taste any of it. Hence, it is prudent to grease the heavy equipment at on daily regular intervals
Since we have spoken about the ill-effects of not servicing your machine regularly, we would now be diverting our attention on the right kind of grease one should be using on their machine.
Let us first understand what this grease is made up of. It is a mixture of oil, thickeners and addictives. So if you want to grease for the engine of the machine, you may go for synthetic oil. This oil is a bit expensive if compared with other varieties but has the ability to resist oxidation in tremendously hot environment and in extreme cold temperature, they can give better mobility in the automatic lubrication dispensing system of the engine. The synthetic oil is till now the best engine oil used by users.
Molybdenum disulfide:- Molybdenum disulfide is grease that has additives in it. It’s also known as “Molly”. EP greases has around 3 to 5% of Molly that is used for high pressure applications. It helps in filling the microscopic machining marks found on the bushing and the pin and reduces the friction of these two items in the machine particularly when it’s on with some heavy stressful stuff. Having said this, not all EP greases have Molly in it. Various types of EP greases can be used for lubricating the machine which is with or without Molybdenum disulfide.
Using Thickeners:- Applying grease without thickeners can soon leave the machine without any lubrication. Thickeners are used in grease which is applied in the joint or bearing of the equipment. Well this doesn’t implies that one should be using too much of thickener in the grease. In cold weather condition, the less the thickener is used in the grease, the better grease may pump. This is completely on the contrary in extreme hot temperature or for high temperature applications. The thickeners which are most commonly used are lithium. It also has a mixture of aluminum and calcium soaps but the proportion is far less.
This is how one can use different kind of grease for different applications. One may also take help of heavy equipment manuals to understand the kind of grease that would work better on the machine.

How to Crack the Best Deal When It Comes To Buying Construction Equipment

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Construction equipment are pretty expensive and hence construction or mining houses look for some great deals before purchasing them. Getting some discounts on these equipments is always welcomed by businessmen. A discount of 10% to 15% can save a lot of money of the company and if they are thinking of giving a big order to the heavy equipment manufacturing company then they can definitely expect a good bargain in return. Dealers are another alternative who can get some real good deals for you. It’s just that you need to know which dealer is giving what discount. Also, when you give regular business to a dealer they keep into mind to offer exclusive discounts to you. It’s all about the relationship you generate with them and nurture over the years that helps you to crack the best deal.

So, we understand that people who are in the construction business since a long time are privileged with various sorts of deals. However, when it comes to beginners who have just set their foot in this industry may not know how to get the equipment at a cheaper rate. They may end up buying the stuffs at the market price each time they feel the need of buying one. Well, a bit of awareness can help them big time and they can also find themselves amongst the old players reaping benefits from the dealers. Following are the ways they can adopt to get a fair proportion of discount on heavy equipments.

Know your dealer:-  In numerous occasions, the dealer is the first point of contact. The equipment manufacturing companies gives the work of selling machines to these dealers which is at a much lesser price than what they advertise in the market. They however retain the service part. So, if you want to buy a machine, you can place an order to the dealer and check what they have to offer you. Going to them with a reference of their regular customer will be an added advantage for you.

Buy it online:-  Internet provides a platform to both the buyer and the seller to trade items. You may come across many online selling sites where people list their item to sell and have also received huge responses from buyers. The trend of buying things online is catching a lot of attention and is increasingly becoming a famous concept worldwide.

There are some online selling companies who have a separate website for selling heavy equipment and heavy motors. You can simply visit their site and check if they are any sellers selling the machine you want. If you find one, you can directly contact the seller via phone or email and convey your interest in buying the product. Paying online is very safe as these sites protect the interest of the buyers and hence cases of any fraud happening is negligible.

Please remember that while you contact the seller, make sure that he is giving you a brand new machine if you’re not looking for a used stuff because these sellers sell both new and used machines on the online selling portal.

This could perhaps be the best place where the buyer can get ample off options pertaining to his machine and can always expect to get the best deal.

Why Should One Be Using Caterpillar Excavators – Find It out Here

A construction site is filled with heavy equipment of different kinds and they all are working all day busy constructing a building for us to live. But one thing we must all understand that without the help of these heavy equipment, things won’t look as simple as we see it to be. A construction company needs to have all sorts of machines. Right from a bulldozer to an excavator, they need it all to fulfil their business requirements.

Each machine has its own role to play and hence it becomes quite imperative to pick the right iron for the job. It becomes quite tricky to select the best available option when you are given too many of them. However, when you have a name like Caterpillar as an option, you may not think twice to pick that up. Therefore, it is wise to put Caterpillar machines to work and get the job done.

Cat is perhaps one such company which gives lot of stress to consumer’s demands. They leave no stone unturned when it comes to fulfilling customer’s requirements and pay special heeds to their needs. This is probably the major reason why many big construction and mining houses vouch for Caterpillar heavy equipment.

We would be discussing about caterpillar excavators and why should one have them in their corner. Let’s talk about the most recently launched Cat 320EL Hydraulic Excavator. Well, this machine can make the hard work look simple. It’s rock solid but has the potential to do the work with ease. It’s easy to move from one place to another and the control system is simply awesome. The operator won’t perspire doing the tough job and may even find him listening to some music while moving earth. Its capacity to lift things has increased by over 5% on a standard one and if we consider a heavy lift configuration, then that’s been increased by more than 20%. Like its earlier version, it has low emissions engine which not only increases its fuel efficiency but also boosts productivity.

Cat 320EL is fitted with C6.6 Acert Engine that has an electronically control the fuel pressure. It also includes a 3 layer fuel hoses and an electric pump which permits the use of biodiesel. In order to cool the engine, they have an air to air after cooler and an A/c condenser. The fan automatically adjusts to the temperature and keeps it cool. The engine of this model plays a significant role to keep down the fuel consumption without hampering its performance.

The machine is gifted with hydraulic horsepower which perhaps make it unique in approach and also more favourable as compared to other machines. It’s indeed the actual power behind the machine which allows it to do the toughest of the work with much ease. It has a back to back main control valve which helps it to increase its efficiency. It’s also blessed with a heavy lift which allows the machine to lift a lot of stuff at the same time and complete the work at a much faster pace.

Knowing all these, it would be absolutely naive to think of going for any other equipment which may not at all have these features and if at all they possess it, it may be short lived.

 

Proper Tire Pressure Makes the Riding Comfortable and Your Work Pleasurable

We all enjoy long drives and want our car to go real fast. Drive fast as long as the car is in your control. Many people before they go on a long drive check the tire pressure and then move on with their journey. They do not want the ride to be a failure just because there weren’t enough pressure in the tire. The same applied with your heavy equipments. You assume your machines to work for the entire day and in the end of the day, it needs some pressure. Give that to it and you feel like you’ve just refuelled your machine. Well as a matter of fact, maintaining appropriate tire pressure ensures secure and cosy driving. After all, you’ve spent a fortune on the machine and just by giving it the right amount of pressure will enable it to give you the relaxation and comfortable feeling you’ve always desired of. It also saves on fuel, thus keeping you rich by not paying to the fuel companies.  Also, when you are driving in an incline or if the weather is not so pleasant; for instance, you are driving in rough weather where it’s snowing or raining heavily, proper tire pressure plays a pivotal role in ensuring that you reach your destination without any hiccups.

Checking the tire pressure might sound to be complicated but it isn’t that way. You will find it a lot simpler once you know the right way of using it. Other than that, you also need to have a good gauge which provides air pressure to the vehicles. These facilities are available in all major gas stations.

Buy a gauge:-  Though not necessary but spending a meagre amount on buying a gauge should not burn a hole in your pocket. A digital gauge should be simpler to understand the air pressure. At the same time, the figure it gives out is quite accurate. Thus there is no chance of filling the tire with too much of air. While buying a digital gauge, you might want to enquire if they run on battery or on electricity or do they have the technology where they run on both. Buy the stuff as per your needs and it will help your cause every time you need it. Nevertheless, a word of caution would be to avoid buying cheap stuffs as it may give you incorrect reading and can even damage the tire of your vehicle.

How to check pressure:-  Ideally, there are 2 ways to check tire air pressure. The first is through way of PSI and the other is digital measurement. In order to know what PSI is appropriate for your tires, you need to check your manual or can even find it on the driver’s side door. You may also ask at the gas stations and they may tell you the appropriate PSI. Please remember that you should never fill in more or less than 5 recommended measurements of PSI. The other is using the digital gauge. You can know the air tire pressure in the manual and things become simple for you. You can just check the reading in order to know if you have given the right tire pressure.

Maintaining Your Heavy Equipments during summer

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Summer is a season that many enjoy and many do not. They have their own reasons for liking this season. Some enjoy the heat after a chilled winter and loves to go out on a vacation. Summer is the most ideal time to enjoy. However, that was purely restricted to humans and not with machines. With context to machines, they are more prone to breakdowns during this season. Summer may not have much to offer to people being in construction businesses as they may find their machines giving up quite often. The heavy equipments are meant to work all day and during a pleasant weather one can find its engine to have become extremely hot. Leave aside the days when the sun is at its full swing and showering its wrath on the planet earth. Things become quite difficult for humans though they have the luxuries to live in air condition houses but that is perfectly in contrast to the heavy equipments. Though the heavy equipment manufacturers are producing machines which can resist the heat of the scorching sun, but at times it tends to break down. So the question here is how we deal with the situation. During summer, the sun would be in no mood to keep its cool but the work has to be completed. Not in the wildest of their dreams can a construction company think of not working for a single day. That would cost them a fortune and hence they would take every possible step to ensure that their equipments are not affected by summer.

Daily maintenance of the equipment:-  Heavy equipment should be maintained on a daily basis. They should be lubricated properly and if any particular part of the machine has become obsolete, it should be replaced immediately. One should follow the thumb rule of spending at least 15 minutes of his day in doing proper maintenance work of the equipment. Please understand that a faulty part in a machine can lead to serious consequences resulting in accidents causing injury to the workers.

One needs to run through all the parts of the machine to check if they are all in order. If possible, he can also run a test to check if the machine is making a noise that supposedly leads to a problem. Also check if there are any leakages in any part of the machine and if found should be immediately taken care of. Give a wash to your machine. Ensure that it is clean and the parts of the machine don’t have dust wrapped in oil. These may sound childish as we often ask your children to follow these small things with their stuff and on the other hand often neglect doing them on the heavy equipments.

Quarterly maintenance:-  Under daily maintenance, you keep a check on small stuffs but quarterly maintenance is equally important. You may give the equipment to a mechanic who will service it thoroughly. They may open the parts of the machine and lubricate it properly. Quarterly maintenance should be followed by seasonal maintenance so that any wear and tear caused during a particular season can be taken care of and the machine is ready for the next one.

Rentals of Heavy Equipment – How Should One Go For It

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Starting up a new business has always been a courageous thought and when you have decided to begin a construction business, it really means a lot. Not everyone can dare to think something of this nature as long as they know what they are doing. Now, once you have taken the decision to step in the construction industry and are pretty determined to take it to the next level, all you need is great deal of hard work and good machine to support your work.

Good machines does not necessarily be machines that are highly sophisticated (though if you can afford to have one, there is nothing like it) but they are machines which should last long and should not give troubles like changing body parts or calling the mechanic every now and then to fix something or the other. So what you feel one must do to get such machines. Well, we would be talking in length about it.

However before we proceed, there is something more important than how to procure good machines. It’s about knowing if you can afford to buy them. If your answer to this is NO, then you might consider some other options. There is perhaps nothing to worry if you can’t afford to buy one. There are many who can’t but still they have them. Now, this is important. How do they have these machines when they can’t even afford buying one? Well, the answer is pretty simple. You take them on rent. Machine may not be as expensive as properties are but what about a person who can’t afford to own a property. He definitely lives on rent. So that’s what you should be doing. Take it on rent and keep running your business with your skill and talent.

How do one know from where can they get the heavy equipments on rental basis? Browse the internet. Internet has brought the world closer and simultaneously people living in it. We now live in a small world and hence it’s easy to get connected with someone who can serve our purpose.

Heavy Equipment for rent and sale

Heavy Equipment for rent and sale

There are plenty of sellers who have listed their heavy machineries on online selling sites. Some want to just sell their stuff and the rest are looking for people who can take their stuff on rent. Moreover, you also get to see the specification of the machine and can understand the intricacies of it. So that’s saves you from doing a research on that machine. So all you got to do is give a call to the seller/lessor and talk to him about the deal. Try to have an appointment and go to his place to check the stuff. You may also ask for a test and if you find the thing in good condition and also suit your requirement, you can make the deal.

The next alternative is to check out the classified section in the newspaper. You might find it very handy and it has worked for many beginners who are in look for good deals. So the crux of the matter is to locate the lessor and check the sort of machine you’d be dealing with and if everything sounds good, you can close the deal.

Use of Heavy Equipment in Construction Business

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The way you need oxygen to live, perhaps in the same way a construction business needs heavy equipment. They just can’t think of running their business putting the heavy equipment to rest. It may cost them a fortune if any of the machines goes off for some reason as they may not have something else to replace the non-functional one. Therefore, may construction as well as mining companies ensure that their machines are well lubricated and maintained so that they don’t wreck off when it is actually needed and in case if it goes off for some reason, they ensure that they have a team in place who can sort things out for them.

If we talk about construction of roads or dams, it would be highly unimaginable to work them out without the use of heavy equipment. Construction of roads involves moving earth, digging some parts with strong clips and at times levelling the land. The machine should be in a position to move to and fro and at times move 360 degrees to manoeuvre quickly. Such type of work can’t be done by manual labour and it requires those heavy pieces of metal with class engine to get the job done.

Heavy equipment manufacturing companies like Caterpillar, John Deere, Hitachi, and many more of them produce quality machines for the construction houses and the equipments last for many years. Thus, the money invested in buying the machines are often fetched by the profits the company earns in the business. The heavy equipment manufacturing companies are producing machines that are comparatively eco-friendly than their predecessors and consume less fuel giving the same quality of work. On the contrary, the efficiency of such machines has only increased over the times which have benefited the industry big time.

We would be naming some of the machines that have played a significant role in shaping up the construction business and its uses to the construction industry.

Bulldozer:-  Bulldozer is a very heavy machine which is used to push earth, debris or big pieces of rocks. It is extensively used to build roads and also needed to a larger extent in the construction industry. It has those heavy blades in its front which is used for digging earth, collecting mud in it and putting it in a truck of debris. The blade is controlled by hydraulic rams which forces the blade to dig inside the earth. Bulldozers are used to transport heavy items for a short distance. Some other work where a bulldozer is required are uprooting trees, pervading the soil all over the place that’s dumped from the truck, levelling the land etc.

Excavators:- Unlike bulldozers, excavators can’t move stuffs from one place to the other. However, they can dig earth with their strong buckets and take the mud to dump it in a truck. The excavator has a long arm which does most of the work. The arm is fitted with an iron bucket and hence it mainly controls the bucket for doing things. The excavator has a cabin where the operator sits and controls the entire functioning of the machine. With the introduction of hydraulic powered accessories, excavators has become multifunctional and is not only restricted to excavating.

 

Looking for Construction Equipment for Rent – Read This One to Find Out

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Heavy Equipment used for construction purposes are very expensive and it can be bought by people whose business are quite established by now and are minting good money. Other than that, people who just stepped in this business may find it very difficult to buy a used machine, completing evading the idea of buying a brand new piece of metal. People who are beginners have to struggle a lot with many things.

Right from gathering human resource to selecting able operators and arranging for finances, they have a lot on their shoulders and at time it takes a toll on them, leading them to shut their business. This is perhaps a sad ending to a wonderful beginning or may be not so wonderful beginning. Apart from one having the skill to delegate the work to the right people and run the business on his own merit, nothing can be a big problem.

Taken into consideration the fact that it takes a lot of money to buy different construction equipment but that doesn’t mean it’s the end of the road for you. You can certainly look out for different avenues to tackle this hurdle and take score of things. Out of many avenues one may look at, there is one such alternative which could be used to get rid of the problem of buying construction equipments. You can always rent a machine for you.

Before you look forward to rent equipment, you need to check the number of machines you require for the project you have in hand. Go as per your project and don’t get involved in taking too many machines that will eventually end up rotting on the fields. On the other hand, do a good study of your requirements by asking the operators, workers and other technicians. Once you get a feedback from them, it’s time you look for the equipment.

It would be better if you also check with them the number of equipment you’d need on the field. You must be very clear while instructing that none of the machine should remain idle for a day. You want them all to work throughout the week. They can service the machine during the beginning of the day and also while they end their shift. You can take the help of a mechanic to visit the site on every weekend and check if the machines are in order so that it works incessantly all during the week.

In order to find people giving construction equipments on rent, the best place to search is by browsing internet. There you’ll find number of people who wants to either sell their machine or give them on rent. There you also have the option to find various models of machines with their specifications. You can go through them and can compare them with other models. You can then contact the person who owns the machine and check when you can come to visit them and see if the machine is exactly what they have advertised.

It’s recommended that you take an expert along with you who understand the intricacies of these machines and can help you get the best deal.

Heavy Equipment for rent and sale

Heavy Equipment for rent and sale