Is 500 hours in 3 months a lot?

[cantbeatluck]

Did 500 hours in 3 months grading railroad ties. My first experience in a machine. Hard and heavy work. Sometimes your lifting the face of a twenty foot pile to loosen them out. The steel plate that holds the Forks started fracturing. Normal wear and tear in that environment?

 

[mrbb]

IMO< thats a bunch of hours in that time period, like running 40+ hrs a week every week , not an insane amount, but a lot of hours on a machine per week, but its also a machine that is made to be run! so not like your going crazy running 24/7 here!

however Not knowing the machine and or how much maintenance is being done daily (as using it that much per day IMO should be being greased maybe more often, than just once a day, greasing 2-3 times a day is NOT unknown in certain environments, PM's are not just based on how many hours run, if you follow conditions used in matter and alter normal suggested Pm's) and again all the more so if in a dry/hot/dusty environment,
My next thought is, if your breaking welds and or stressing out the forks , you might also be doing the same to the machine,(again don't know what model( spec's) but you can be over doing its limits of what its rated for, just cause a machine can lift something, doesn't mean all parts on it can also handle things
there are specs on things for a reason, going past them, shortens life spans!

but most GOOD HD skid steer forks, will handle more than most skid steers are MADE to be lifting(good forks are like 5000+ lb rated, yet BIG skid steers are like 3000, if you again follow)

which sort of sounds like your maybe lifting more than the machine or forks were designed for ! , by lifting whole stacks of railroad ties, railroad ties are NOT light things and they all don;'t weight the same, I moved my fair share of them, as well as railroad bridge decking (600-800 lbs each) and other treated timbers for railroad work,

I know we all do what we need doing at times, but if long term life is wanted, of your machine and attachments, you may want to evaluate what all your doing, , check spec's on what you have and try to stay under there max's,
and upping your PM"S , (I don;'t know what yours are, so just a suggestion based on most ain't the best at doing them, HAHA)

and keep in mind, the numbers in an owners manual on what fluids/filters, joints being greased and serviced and time/hours to do them,
are just SUGGESTED numbers , and not a set in stone deal, the harder you use something, IMO< the more often, faster you should be replacing fluids and greasing machines
fluids are still way cheaper than replacing parts that use them!, or most of them!

best of luck to you and quiopment

 

[foton]

just to be more clear ,the cracking is it on the backing plate of the attachment or the attachment plate on the machine itself?(hopefully not)

 

[cantbeatluck]

The backing plate of the attachment. The Forks were spread wide at first. The bottom corners of the backing plate behind the Forks started fracturing. One of the Forks came off the attachment as the fork was resting on the ground and I moved a different direction. I moved the fork inward to where it would stay on and still function. The boss came through and had the Forks welded to the back plate of the attachment. Within a couple weeks the welds were fracturing.

 

[Equipment_Tech]

50 hrs per week is common on real job sites

 

[haymaker]

Knowing type and model of the machine and the fork manufacturer would be helpful.

 

[mrbb]

also, how many hours are of machine being worked as to just sitting and idling, , how hours are added can matter all the more so IMO on the newer machines /diesel engines, which, don;t seem to like idling as well as older diesel's do!

 

[cantbeatluck]

Not sure fork manufacturer. Could be original. Bobcat S76 2018. I didn't let it idle much. I was paying for fuel so it was either working or off for the most part.

 

[haymaker]

That machine is a workhorse. I could see some of the cheap aftermarket forks getting damaged if overloaded. Everyone (almost) has a tendency to buy the minimum they think they will need then when a situation comes up where they really need something heavier duty they just make do and that's when stuff gets broken. Good welds on forks rated for the work should not break so I would guess the forks are getting overloaded. That or welds were likely not sufficient size for the work or were poor quality. A couple of tack welds to just hold the forks in place someone wanted to remove when the job was done could very likely crack during use. JMHO