sako243
Member
- Messages
- 3,195
- Location
- My mansion in Wales
Actually most of the time I spent operating a 3.5t machine in tight farm buildings or in similar situations to that. More recently it's been my 2CX in smaller spaces (quite often inside the workshop which is 11x5m with the door on the long edge.Tbh I think that is really bad advice. The biggest standard machines with a slewing boom are 8t with some hire companies offering upto 14t. Sitting on that plot that size they will be far to big.
The curve of the bucket on a machine that size will put the cutting edge 12in away from the building when you start to grade and the back of the bucket at prime height to hit the glass as you try to squeeze closer. Even a 5t machine is a hell of a size on that site. Not to mention the fact that you would have to be really careful not to pop kerbs out as you track near them. Unless it was already to hand there is no professional outfit that would bring in a machine that size.
Operating a machine on a farm is nothing like working in what is quite a delicate environment. Where there is a lot more to consider than brute force.
If you've got a slew on the boom I wouldn't even consider digging perpendicular to the wall, slew the boom left, slew the cab right and then dig looking out of the door (assuming like most it's a left hand door). That way you have no concern over hitting the wall whilst curling the bucket.
I've dug plenty of stumps out of a similar size and quite often it's pulling the front wheels of the 2CX off the ground (bearing in mind she's 5.5t before you put any buckets on her), the back actor on that is roughly equivalent to a 5t 360. A smaller machine will do the job but to be honest you're probably not much better off with a mattock and an axe unless the root system is very small.
I'm 100% sure if I asked my mate who's been running his own heavy plant firm over 30 years he'd bring in his 5t machine for the reason's I've just listed.
Tearing up the concrete / paving slabs will happen regardless of whether you have a 1.8t or a 13t machine there. It's down to the operator being able to turn the machine using the boom as well as the tracks where necessary but also putting down protective mats and/or sheets of wood. Even a few 4x2s under the tracks will make a huge difference.