Hey guys, cut me a break. I do always start a job with a full tank, however, when I have been plowing snow (commercial) for 16 hours and the loader only runs about 8-10 hours on a tank, I thought I would have been able to atleast finish the parking lot I was on. In the past I could always run till the light went on and then I would get fuel. That is what the light is for, right??? I was just asking the ? to see if anyone else has come across this problem. I will pull the sender and pickup tube today and report what I find.
S
iduramaxde
Hey don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I have/would never be in that position. Because I have paid those dues too.
It was a calculated risk you took and because you were given poor information it did not pay off. (which really sucks on a long day)
Our skidders used to have enough fuel for 6 hours on flat ground, climbing a long hill for more then 30 seconds? , better cut that back to 5.5 hours. We work 12 to 14 hour shifts because we are away from home 4 or 5 days a week
When they run out, it was always climbing a hill, at least 250 yards across the cutover slash to the nearest road you could get the fuel truck to, often 500 yards and up to 3 miles. Nothing less then 10 gallons was going to be enough to bleed the system.
We only work in one area a few days, so there is no extensive setting up fuel dumps in remote spots. Also the further you were away the more the insentive to try and finish if you thought you could. Multiply this by 4 machines and operators and you have a logistics nightmare. Dead batterys from operators trying to blead fuel systems, etc.
In the end the solution was to cut the tanks open and increase the volume to 125 gallons so the operator would run out of fuel before the machine would. it saved us days of traveling for fuel over the course of the season, the wear and tear to do so, as well as the frustration.
So yes I have made that mistake, and I do feel for you.
Regards
Ken