I’m allergic to Cats. Ours stay in the barn!

This backhoe I have is just for home use so I do not need anything more than what I have.

 

Gotcha. Likewise. I enjoy working on the property and do not want any headaches and responsibilities of trying to make money with it elsewhere.

 

Fairly cold this morning. Plugged in for an hour and one flick of the starting aid switch in the cab when turning over a little hard and away it went.

Tomorrow morning I’ll plug in even earlier, hopefully two hours before starting time.

 

Hey folks. My Caterpillar’s seat works well sliding back and forth. But when turning it seems to be quite a chore to get it around. Hard to go from driving position to hoe operating position. Almost like it is all gummed up. Any of you experience this? Could it just need some lubricant? Maybe a spray of Liquid Wrench or WD40?

 

This was a recent hydraulic line blow out. Ugh!
But, I was able to take it off that night laying on a tarp up under the back of it in the 6 degree temperatures with a breeze.Then had a new one made the next morning and got it installed.
The acceptable fluid that compared to CAT’s Hydo was $89 a 5 gallon bucket. I needed two.

Yup. I never would of thought engine oil in the hydraulic system. But that is what the operator’s manual says if CAT’s fluid is not available.


The nearest CAT dealer is two hours away. Not driving there.

 

With the colder temperatures I have been able to get around good getting dirt work done! It arrived 11 days ago at night. And it had 5497 hours on it.

It now has 5533 hours.
So 36 hours of use so far. Not bad for 10 days this time of year! And I had to go to the workhouse a few days. Hopefully the snow holds off for 3-4 more weeks. I have a whole bunch of stuff I want to do with it. Is that too much to ask for this time of year? NO! Forecast is looking good next two weeks. Cold! But not much snow at all.

 

Was able to get some more dirt moved today. Machine is running good. Day was broken up a bit by this and that. But took our youngest to get her booster shot. Now we are all done. Hopefully the snow holds off a while longer.

 

Some big bucket loads were moved today.

 

The joys of working with the clay!
Once or twice a day a quick clean out helps. Talk about a workout! 15 minutes and I’m tired out and ready to get back in the cab!

I used the backhoe for a little bit after dark to prepare a few piles for moving. Breaking it up from the big pile and placing it in a better place for ease of loader work.

 

Snow duty….

 

Doesn't seem to spend much time in the barn to me!!

 

Light work today with scraping down the snow and ice. Apparently we are going to get just enough more to be a P.I.A. again.

 

I really needed to get the clay that stuck in my buckets, and then froze, out of them. So I got a suggestion over on HeavyEquipmentForum. Didn’t think I would do it, but decided to give it a try. And it worked good.

 

Cleaned out nicely…

 

And was able to torch a good part of a pile I need burned up.

 

I had to pass along this picture to my oldest brother..
And then say, “If you have a bonfire in your loader bucket. Ya might be a …….”

 

This time of year, the ground is too frozen so the only thing I use the backhoe for is snow removal.

 

I hear ya. I’m hoping I can still dig into the piles with the backhoe next week on my days off. If I can I’ll see if I can get more moved while it’s froze.

If I can’t, I’ll have to wait until after spring and a good dry spell, to get the rest moved.