Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Selecting a site Not Getting 'Er Done

If I didn't have bad luck, I guess I wouldn't have any at all!

A fellow was nice enough to loan me his earth mover and dozer, and I was making good progress. I am guessing another 80-90 hours and the pond would be ready for bream this fall.

Well, first the earth mover broke in half. A large hollow axle broke off the frame rails. It appears to have been repaired many times, and poorly welded.

Then, the left track on the dozer quit pumping out. I put 6K-7K pounds of grease pressure on it, and the track only gets so tight and stops. The track has too much slack to run, and has to go back to the dealer for (I hope free) repairs.

Here's a picture of the sad pair of suspects before I killed them.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/bobad/9fce67f1.jpg

Here's a recent picture of my pond before the work stoppage.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/bobad/Picture034.jpg

Here's a picture of my fantasy "Pond Digger" that never breaks down.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c394/bobad/PondDigger.jpg


Oh well, maybe next year.

really sorry to hear that bobad. i suppose your bad luck reminds me of my great luck (which doesnt happen very often) and why i rented from a reputable dealer, and had the blessings of a good friend/master excavator operator. a large track hoe (my fantasy digger....funny pic there) makes short work of small ponds.

What I wouldn't give for a few days with a track hoe and a dump truck! But... they would probably both break down.

So, ya like my picture? I think the driver looks a little stiff.

Bobad, can't believe you got those machines and broke them? You apparently don't know how to keep care of your toys! Didn't your parents give you any sandbox training? On the dozer, if the hydraulic adjustor is all the way out to the stops then I'm afraid your looking at either rotating or rebushing your tracks. I had new bushings & pins on my little machine for about $750. Probably cost way more for that machine. Hope you don't have to pay for it.

Bobad,

Looking at the picture of the dozer, the track shown looks about right to me and what little I know. My operator friends always tell me to keep slack in the tracks...about 1.5 inch drop from straight. Too tight and things wear out very fast such as undercarriage and idler arms...big $ items. Hope you are back "online" soon.

Pardon my "french" Bobad, but what the hell is the last picture?

....c'mon, Trialsguy. This is exactly how John Deere, Eli Whitney, and Hasbro started. Where's your sense of whimsical creativity? Guys like Bobad wind up makin' millions off of these brainstorms!

OH! Laughing out loud!!! My poor monitor didnt show the smaller picture for what it was untill in was up sized. I understand now whats going on and with a little more thought process I can actually see that working, they use something similar to that here in Missouri on the roads chewing up the asphalt 6" at a time that throws it into a truck that is rolling beside it.

Well, you're right ML. The track was OK in that picture, but it's sagging about 2.5" now.

I hope I can get back up real soon. The dozer is going back to the dealer for repair, and we may get to work on the earth mover today... rain permitting. If the equipment isn't fixed soon, we'll be rained out for the winter.

BZ,

A hammer doesn't work on the big toys like it did on my little ones. It just bounces back.

The left track pumps up real nice. The right track never really pumped tight enough. I like to run about 2-1/4" max sag, and the best I can get right now is just over 2-1/2". Since the undercarriage was just renewed, it could only be a problem with the grease ram or linkage. Maybe it has a step in the cylinder or something causing it to bind. The tracks are not new, but since the left side tightens up fine, I ruled out that the tracks are too worn and stretched. I could have run it a few more hours, but I wanted to get the dealer involved before I ran up the hours on the new undercarriage job.

Finally someone noticed Mini Me.