Looking to buy an excavator? Great! They’re brilliant pieces of plant machinery. These machines have been designed to be sturdy, reliable, and to be able to withstand a huge amount on any construction site. However as with most things, this doesn’t mean they’re immune to becoming damaged.
To help you avoid running into unexpected downtime, expensive repairs, or operator injury. We’ve put together a quick guide on things to keep an eye on to prevent damage to your excavator.
Corrosion
Although excavators are typically made using rust resistant metals and paint, there are still a variety of worksites that can cause issues. Sites such as chemical and recycling plants can expose your machine to particularly corrosive substances. Corrosion can be a huge problem for the undercarriage of your excavator. It can affect the frame and tracks which are vital for moving the machine. The best way to avoid this is to consider the risks of your worksite. Also, avoid leaving your excavator in contact with water for prolonged periods of time. When you buy an excavator, we suggest checking the undercarriage for any rust already present.
Using incorrect attachments
Quite often, operators will use the wrong excavator attachment for a job or machine. This could be partly due to it sometimes being time consuming. If you use the wrong kind of attachment for your machine, you’ll likely be having to force the connection. This can damage your excavator in multiple ways. One of those being it becoming loose and falling off then hitting the machine, or worse, the attachment hitting someone in the surrounding area. Try to buy an excavator with a quick hitch circuit. The quick hitch will help ensure the safe connection of attachments without causing wear to your machine.
Hitting obstacles
It’s really important to take extra care when operating an excavator as accidentally knocking into things can be easily done. The arm of the machine is usually what ends up taking the hit. Whether that be from above by running into branches and powerlines, or below by digging into pipes and hidden infrastructure. Either can cause great damage to your machine. The best way to avoid this is by ensuring operators have full visibility when using the excavator and are properly trained.
Oil contamination
Hydraulic oil is used to lubricate all the moving parts of an excavator. Enabling the movement of the hydraulic components. As you can imagine, it becomes quite a problem if this becomes contaminated. The oil can become contaminated in different ways, with the main one being dirt finding its way in. This is pretty much inevitable when you think about where excavators are typically used. However, the best way to avoid contamination is to ensure the engine cover remains in excellent condition. This’ll help protect the fluid reservoirs.
Track tension
Track tension can cause damage if it’s not set correctly. If you’re running your excavator for long periods of time, this is something you’ll need to be adjusting. When the tracks become too loose, you’ll notice the machine rocking more as it moves. This will cause extra wear to the sprocket as the pin moves. It can also crack the tracks. On the other hand, if the tracks are too tight you’ll find your excavator will lose power and cause more wear. Track tension will be different for every machine. So, when you buy an excavator make sure you are checking the specification for this information.
Why buy an excavator from International Plant Sales?
If you’re looking to buy an excavator, IPS is the place for you. All of our machines go through a thorough inspection before being sold. With any damage being fixed to ensure you receive a machine that’s in the best possible condition. Providing you with peace of mind.
More great reasons to purchase a IPS machine include:
- All machines have low hours on the clock
- Each machine has had just one previous owner
- Worldwide shipping is available on all machines
You can find all of our second hand excavators, as well as other used construction machinery, here. If any of our machines take your fancy, or if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Information correct as of 09/01/23
