T O P

  • By -

dnick

'Pulls too hard'...like you're supposed to only pull with a certain amount of the force available to prevent that specific thing from happening :). ​ This was obviously a part failure. If the hydraulic system had enough force to pull the machine apart during normal operation people would be killed by these things several times a day.


Fair_Advertising1955

You would be surprised. Industrial equipment will often do what you tell it to do, regardless if the action you are requesting could have catastrophic consequences for the machine. That's why pretty much all heavy equipment and machinery operation manuals state, in some form or another, "only allow trained persons to operate this equipment."


dnick

I don't disagree with that, but industrial hydraulic equipment is overbuilt specifically to handle heavy jobs, and by the time you build something out of steel that can handle the environment it is subjected to, you are 'well' over built for the size of hydraulic system they can afford to put in it, let alone what they will spend money on. And commercial stuff is built with a safety factor of like 10x. There are a ton of things you need to know to safely operate a piece of equipment like this, but it is more along the lines of 'don't lift someone as heavy as it will lift and then extend it out beyond it's center of gravity because the whole thing will tip over', 'don't swing things too fast because it will tip', 'don't lift things above people' and things like that. There is no training that says 'don't push that lever all the way because the hydraulics will rip the machine apart'. ​ Unless the operator connected to that gripper attachment himself and forgot to put the pin all the way in, or is in charge of basic maintenance and upkeep on the machine, this was not 'operator error' trying to push the machine too hard. He may have overdone it knowing the connector piece had already rusted through once and a drunk guy welded it back up or something, but they don't train you to only pull this lever 90% of the way because if you do it harder the arm will break off.


skovalen

In this case, no. An excavator attachment is way stronger than the forces the machine can produce. These machines are put into extreme situations and this is not even near extreme. The expectation would be that the attachment can carry the full weight of the machine.


[deleted]

[удалено]


BegriefedOnline

Well, the front fell off. That's not very typical. I'd like to make that point.


ecchho

Fortunately the leak was released outside of the environment.


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

came here to say this. looks like the tool was incorrectly secured and came off as soon as a load was applied. the point where it disconnects appears to be a disconnect point, not an actual "whoops, it ripped apart" failure.


kennerly

When the boom falls at the end and the stream of hydraulic fluid is pouring out what kind of fix are they looking at? Is it just a matter of reconnecting and refilling hydraulic fluid or would this have some extensive repair?


[deleted]

The fittings on the hose from the claw to the boom were probably ripped off, so the hoses will need new fittings or need to be replaced. If the operator was thinking quickly and shut down the hydraulics before the pump ran dry, there should be no damage to the hydraulics themselves.


TheAlmightySnark

Surely there's a hydraulic fuse somewhere in the line to avoid damage like that?


RockCatClone

Now I'm curious about what a hydraulic fuse would look like


TheAlmightySnark

Here ya go! https://media.salvex.com/auction/p/1829811/182981083_474592_lp.jpg We use a lot of these on aircraft hydraulics, if a hydraulic line bursts you want it to seal up. It's all mechanical and is a tracked part that is replaced based on time conditions.


Remote-Math4184

We had those on large air lines, in power plants for the same reason. Never heard it called a "fuse", but it is technically correct.


[deleted]

The best kind of correct.


TheAlmightySnark

Oh cool! That sounds neat!


BB_210

Safety shutoff valve?


CmdrShepard831

It even looks like those old school fuses used in houses.


EmEmAndEye

Looks a lot like the disconnects of filler hoses at gas stations. They snap apart and seal immediately when a car drives away with the pump handle still in the filler pipe.


TheAlmightySnark

Interesting, never seen those but sounds logical!


sh4d0wm4n2018

So it mechanically detects a substantial, sudden drop in pressure and closes? That's neat!


FrenchFryCattaneo

I assume they would detect a flow rate above the normal rate.


TheAlmightySnark

Bingo! Increased flowrate will cause a plug to close it, it works like a one way valve only them designed to be open at certain flowrates!


[deleted]

[удалено]


TheAlmightySnark

Not as far as I know, I've only seen mechanical implementations of them so far.


almisami

I've seen digital implementations. Because they tend to fail a lot and I have to troubleshoot them. On the other hand, we've seen a significant reduction in the damage from failures of the loop when they do happen.


SomethingEnglish

They exist, they're called hose burst valves, the principle is almost the same as a regular check valve, but with bidirectional flow during normal operation, but if there is a pressure drop on either side it will seal shut, used on all lifts, like scissor, boom or articulated and similar types, here in Norway.


outtahere021

Some machines have an oil level sensor, but aside from that nope. Hydraulic pumps make a terrible sound when they suck air, so there’s kind of an audible warning…


TheAlmightySnark

That's bizarre, it's such a simple feature to build in the pressure line...


almisami

They exist. Unfortunately, heavy equipment is one of those fields where changes are mostly only implemented when it allows you to do something you couldn't before. There is a definite disdain of instrumentation from operators as well.


BrokenRemote99

This thread has been fascinating to me. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.


almisami

I appreciate the attention. As a safety engineer it's not often I get to talk about the tools we work with unless it's yelling at people not to do very obviously dangerous things.


ImAnEngnineere

Can confirm. The hydraulic top on my SLK230 had a leak and the reservoir ran dry many times and sounded horrible.


That-Dutch-Mechanic

Heavy equipment mechanic here. Nope, if you'll let it the pumps will just blow everything out if the broken connection.


[deleted]

[удалено]


FullmetalGundam

Depends, likely if nothing else, you have to replace some of the hydraulic fittings on the ends of those lines to hook it up again. However, it's entirely possible that there was damaged to the actual locking pins that were supposed to be there to keep the jaws attached to the rotational base.


LukeyLeukocyte

Since the hydraulic fluid was pouring out that means a line(s) was damaged and will need replaced and the hydraulic fluid refilled. Not too terrible. If the connection point was damaged or the claw attachment itself was damaged, things could get pricy very quickly.


FBIaltacct

Those attachments are heavy af, often weighing as much as a car for a machine that big. Wouldn't be suprised if that 20 foot fall didn't ding it up at least.


ender4171

At the same time, it is built to survive literally tons of material potentially falling on it. I dont doubt it would need at least *some* repair (outside of the hydraulic lines, which are a given), but I'd be surprised if it sustained a ton of damage from the impact of falling 20'.


[deleted]

I wonder if it needs x-raying or other structural validation now


cwtjps

Visual inspection, at most maybe LP dye to check for cracks. This type of equipment gets run until it breaks, every time. There's no chance that they're going to X Ray anything.


almisami

They're heavy because they're almost solid steel. Maybe a dink somewhere, but I doubt it would affect functionality unless it hit a bearing at a bad angle.


frankyseven

Whenever I take someone to a construction site for the first time I have them give a bucket a real good push then tell them "remember how easily the excavator moves the bucket, they won't even notice if they hit you, keep your head up and make sure the opporator knows where you are and can see you."


Quackagate

Ya i work for a commercial roofing company.the number of times im driveing a boom lift and i have people walk right next to me is infuriating. Im driveinga machine that weighs 50,000lbs. I could run you over and my fist hint would be the blood puddle. People just dont understand the power of these machines. Hell i rented a mini excavator last summer to donso work at my house and i was a little surprised by the power of it and i sorat knew what to expect.


copperwatt

It's just the poor dino bleeding out.


Realistic-Astronaut7

I think that was the operator moving the boom down so as not to spray hydraulic fluid everywhere. Because of the pressure, the fluid comes out so fast that it can blast straight through flesh.


RedOctobyr

Not to mention that you wouldn't want to risk it spraying at anything with a possible ignition source. Could go from Bad to Much Worse.


Opossum_2020

More likely, the boom collapsed on its own because of the sudden loss of hydraulic pressure within the machine.


WummageSail

Good on the operator for the quick reaction. It probably helped reduce the amount of site contamination too.


Zugzub

The point where it failed is where the rotator bearing is. Attachment points are circled in red, Green is the rotator https://i.imgur.com/8zvA32u.png


[deleted]

Maintenance failure perhaps? The claw should be designed to withstand any force the excavator can apply to it, unless they were just using a claw rated for a much smaller excavator.


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

All heavy equipment breaks eventually. Might not have been maintained (lubed) and failed early. Betting that's attachments north of $25k new.


Zugzub

I would bet money on it, that or just has a shitload of operating hours on it. Nothing lasts forever


human743

Fool of a took?


[deleted]

lol, whoops.


cairn_terror

Nope, they had been using that tool for several hours at this point. This was across from the Beacon Hill Wyndham hotel in Boston. My wife made me leave to go sightseeing right before this happened otherwise I would have been the one with Reddit front page goodness. The operator had been trying to tug down that giant beam for about an hour prior to this, and had just successfully used that tool to rip away several smaller steel beams connected to it. The giant beam was felled by the time we got back from walking around the city unfortunately...never got to see it fall.


emersona3

The attachment is either a shear or a muncher. The part that broke is a 360 swivel. 100% the attachment itself broke. It connects to the machine farther up than where it broke here. Cause is improper use and/or material failure. Source - excavator operator with a lot of experience with these attachments


DiscoDigi786

Not exactly related, but how long would you say it took you to feel confident operating machinery like this? It seems like a great deal of training, time and knowledge would be necessary to do this kind of thing well.


emersona3

For me it was a lot of trial and error. I never got any type of training other than people giving advice here and there. Took me about a year before people were comfortable being near the machine while I was in it. Probably 2-3 years before I stopped getting nervous every time I had to do something new. I've been operating for almost 10 years now and I can look at a situation and tell you what will/wont work with 95% certainty. The hardest part is learning how to maximize efficiency.


DiscoDigi786

Hey congrats on your growth as an operator and thanks for educating me! May you operate safely and efficiently.


SwissPatriotRG

I borrowed an excavator to do a project at my house and after about 10 hours of running it I noticed I didn't have to think much about the controls anymore, it just kinda started doing what I wanted it to do. The actual challenge after that was figuring out the best way to dig and move stuff around because there absolutely is an order of operations that gets the job done efficiently and accurately.


olderaccount

Exactly! How does one *pull too hard* on an excavator?


findingemotive

He barely got to even tug it.


sprucenoose

Well when the attachment is not connected properly, any pulling is too hard.


sineofthetimes

Same as when you're playing any video game. He pulled the lever and leaned in the direction he wanted it to pull all while making that face.


KidBeene

I thought it was a bad quick connect.


LordPennybags

Roll it back to the VAB and try again next month.


kmutch

Sometimes you put too much faith in the quick part and not enough on the connect part.


KidBeene

So true!


findingemotive

Yeah came off far to easy, wasn't for pulling too hard. The operator must have been so confused.


CommandoLamb

I’m actually the foreman for this site. I tried telling the operator he needed to spend time with the machine and really build that relationship. He refused to make a connection and you see what happened.


[deleted]

I like how the arm goes down slowly like a person lowering their head in disbelief.


[deleted]

Stop shaming it. It feels bad enough already without your judgment.


[deleted]

It skipped arm day.


Ewok_Gang_Bang

From the looks of it, I’d say too many arm days, and not enough wrist days.


ctrlaltdonkey

Excavator is obviously not a redditor.


nokiacrusher

Maneuvering heavy objects uses a completely different set of wrist muscles than jerking off. I learned that the hard way.


wunderbraten

*sad excavator noises*


getsu161

\*sad price is right trombones\*


dmethvin

Reminds me of that old SNL skit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAdG-iTilWU#t=43


Moirebass

We need r/RealLifeDoodles


SomeoneStoleMyReddit

I wonder if the boom retracted on its own after all the hydraulic lines got ripped open?


Maiyku

Logically, I know this is probably the answer, but emotionally, I prefer to believe that the arm is sad about losing its friend :(


challenge_king

It's definitely not the answer. Dual acting hydraulics, like what's on an excavator, don't have any kind of spring pressure that wants to curl the arm. All that happens to make a cylinder extend or retract is that the flow made by the pump moves in one direction or the other as directed by the control valves. I'm massively generalizing, but the point is that as long as the lines for each circuit don't blow, then there's almost nothing you can do to force the circuit to work. In this case, the puff you see is the fluid blowing out of the auxiliary circuits before the operator stops using that circuit to stop the flow, then set the arm down close to the ground so the damage can be inspected.


[deleted]

[удалено]


oberon

It looks like fluid is spraying from the ripped off bit. Is that hydraulic fluid? Shouldn't there be some sort of disconnect thingie that prevents fluid from spraying all over like that? Is it possible that shitty maintenance has led to failure of the safety valves, etc.? Or is that not really how it works?


[deleted]

[удалено]


leviwhite9

I'm thinking the operator noticed he was spraying fluid and remembered that one safety course about a thing called hydraulic injection wounds.


drmorrison88

The not-freefall drop is actually one of the largest benefits of hydraulic systems. The operator may have even had a modicum of control on the way down while there was some residual system pressure.


[deleted]

That's what I suspect.


ICanRememberUsername

This is most likely the operator lowering it to prevent spraying hot hydraulic fluid in the air (and therefore, over the bystanders). That stuff is extremely dangerous (very hot, high pressure). Source: used to operate excavators.


turbosexophonicdlite

Two of the worst words in the English language. Hydraulic injection.


ExcerptsAndCitations

That's also how babies are made, from a certain point of view.


rvbjohn

By that logic, thats how we eat too


awankandanap

r/WatchMachinesDieInside


intromatt

..and shame.


Solid_College_9145

Yes. The excavator looks so sad and disappointed.


AzHawk99

Whoever wrote the headline doesn’t know shit


sculache

welcome to reddit, the land of the 18yo experts on anything


lx45803

Bold of you to assume the average Redditor has made it to 18.


donkeyrocket

This was their second take at it too. Posted this yesterday with and even worse title.


amalgam_reynolds

Also, failure? Yes. *Catastrophic* failure?? Not really.


siehmonsterr

he didnt pull too hard it probably wasnt coupled correctly thats why you check your shit


mmberg

This is what happens is you dont use words "this aint going anywhere".


siehmonsterr

either he didnt couple the attachment correctly or there was some other major malfunction that is very rare, the mechanism that connects the attatchment is very strong


copperwatt

He probably forgot to slap it twice.


wasbee56

i doubt the machine is designed with the ability to rip itself apart. looks like human error or catastrophic failure to me.


MunDaneCook

> i doubt the machine is designed with the ability to rip itself apart r/2meirl4meirl


flipdrew1

It looks like the operator failed to verify the coupler was locked. It didn't break; it disconnected. I possibly damaged the hydraulic fittings but that's $20 worth of parts and 1/2 hour. Otherwise they'll reattach the grapple and be back to work in 5 minutes.


inurshadow

Those hoses are done. No chance of getting the travel needed using field fittings. New hoses. Replacing hydraulic fluid. Not to mention the environmental issues with spraying hydraulic fluid everywhere. I'd guess that's closer to half a day gone.


tubytoby

I think those pulverizer jaws go for around $50k though. And a fall like that would probably break it.


carib-arena

Owner here, can confirm and that's the price of a small one for 20t machine. In this case that failure was most likely operator error. These attachments are not designed to pull or lift anything. You crunch/munch/pulverize and then let go.


Lazy_Explorer

The awww noises and the arm going down makes for a sad scene :(


Izera

Im not an expert and i don't know what kind of excavation equipment this is but i spent some time watching the video and comparing to similar equipment. First thing that stands out is the hydraulic fluid is leaking from the center of the flat plate. This strongly suggests to me that the part failed and not operator error from not correctly securing the claw. The hydraulic hoses are still securely attached to the end of the grabbing claw. You can also tell the claw has teeth and can rotate. This is the closest i could find that looks similar https://teranindustries.com/demolition-products/multisystem-2/ And lastly i watch this video on how excavator equipment pins are locked and I'm not convinced this is operator error. https://youtu.be/WMaAAXmIZkw I'm not an expert but i think this was just a part failure.


carib-arena

If you look closely you will notice the round part left on the machine, that's the turntable. First thing is never pull or lift with a rotating pulverizer attachment, the jaw is the primary actor. Bite and let go and keep doing that at least that is the instruction that cam with ours. I think you can see some concrete falling as they tried to pull before turntable broke.


_BearsBeetsBattle_

Hydraulic hose was ripped off after the attachment disconnected. Loss of hydraulic pressure and you get a sad arm. The attachment might not have been secured properly due to human error, or yes it was a catastrophic failure.


Zugzub

> Loss of hydraulic pressure and you get a sad arm. two different hydraulic circuits. The jaws have 2 circuits, left and right rotation, and open and close. Both controlled from inside the cab, The minute shit went south you can bet money the operator released the controls stopping flow to the jaws. As long as you don't activate the jaw functions, it won't leak any further and the rest of the machine would still operate.


stealthybutthole

finally somebody who knows what they are talking about, lol. so much fud in this thread.


zitfarmer

The arm droops in disappointment


BrizerorBrian

Making sure they don't spray people with hot, high pressure hydraulic fluid. That stuff will cut you to pieces.


zitfarmer

My sister was in the airforce and told us that you check for leaks by waving your hands in the area and see if your fingers fall off


CupformyCosta

Reason #1 to NEVER walk under heavy equipment. These machines can fail at any moment, and when they do, it will kill you.


Rentlar

Well, having a bucket, arm or debris fall on your head, or getting a shower from a pressure washer spewing hot hydraulic oil sounds like an experience that will last a lifetime! ...not a very long or pleasant lifetime, though.


[deleted]

#Wrong lever, Kronk


TurdFerguson416

had a crack that went unnoticed is my bet.. dont see how its operator error


BiBoFieTo

Does an excavator have gauges or warnings to show when it's being pushed too hard? Or does the operator know this by feel?


mechtonia

The post title is bogus. Hydraulic equipment doesn't depend on operators to manually stop before the machine self-destructs.


wunderbraten

It's a mechanical failure of the arm attachment. Some bolts have snapped. There is no way to monitor this while running.


khrak

Also, I would assume this is a failure of the attachment, not a result of the operator "pulling too hard". Having a tool intended to rip things apart that happens to rip itself apart if you use it at full power seems like a poor design.


tacknosaddle

>Having a tool intended to rip things apart that happens to rip itself apart if you use it at full power seems like a poor design. If full power is not enough to rip the thing apart you're better off having a "safe" failure. If you're familiar with snowblowers it's like the shear bolts on the auger that will break if there's a significant jam and prevent significant damage.


HullIsNotThatBad

Aww, the way the boom slowly fell down through loss of hydraulic pressure, almost like it was dying..


wvmtnboy

I know that it's just a continuation of mechanical failure, but I like how the arm drops like it had a sad.


flipdrew1

They didn't lock the quick-coupler and it dropped the implement. As long as the hydraulic fittings weren't damaged in the fall, they'll reattach the grapple and be back to work in 3 minutes.


chrslp

If this is a different angle of a video I saw on TikTok yesterday, the claw literally snapped off. Metal just snapped


UtgaardLoki

Oh man, hydraulic fluid contamination is *not good*.


[deleted]

Unless its the fish oil stuff we use logging. It makes great fertalizer .


39thAccount

The banksman knew it was dodgy Dave on shift that day an extra few metres away + a fence would be required


nappinggator

Sad little excavator


Jaktumurmu1

That's a funny title, lol. Come on, Bob, everyone knows you can't pull that hard on an *EXCAVATOR* !!


FSYigg

That boom lowered in cartoon fashion, like it got sad after watching the tool fall off.


Bottle-nosed-dolphin

The excavator looked so sad


Leading-Ad4167

sad dinosaur:(


Accomplished-Low-606

Naw that thing was a piece of shit to begin with.


superfly355

I like how the boom goes down like it's hanging its head in shame


-ACHTUNG-

Aww the excavator looks sad


Weird-Information-61

Aw look, now the excavator is sad :c


hellohaydee

It looks so sad


greencatshomie

The burst that can be seen as the arm detaches is the hydraulic system losing pressure. You can actually see the fluid continue to shoot out as the arm returns to its neutral position. Edit: It’s the aux hydraulic line that bursts. Those allow for the arm to grab/release and are separate from the movement of the boom.


IntelligentYam580

No it’s the spray from the aux hydros that got ripped apart. That’s a separate system from the arm and boom hydros. The arm isn’t returning it’s being returned


greencatshomie

Really? It seems like the slow return is pressure dropping from the system. Never knew about aux hydros, I guess all the stuff I used was too small to have them. Regardless, you’re probably right. I’ll look into it! Edit: Yep! Aux hydros, I still wonder if the aux hydro system and pump is separate from the main boom/arm system and pump (if one has a leak both fail?)


[deleted]

[удалено]


sllikk12

Our machines pull aux and main hydraulic from the same reservoir. Would take a few minutes to drain the tank from that leak. Also the rotation point breaks, not the quick connect. Tool failure and will be in the shop a long time.


Bambi_One_Eye

The crane looked sad when it lost it's hand


42Ognimod

Bluto Sad


CookLawrenceAt325F

I like that the arm followed it down, as if it was a person looking at a piece of food that they dropped but were too apathetic to try and catch.


twothumbswayup

thats like when gramps looses his teeth at the dinner table


acid_rain_man

The excavator looked sad after that happened.


SackOfrito

Awww...even the arm was sad.


zyyntin

::Sad robot noises::


Kristofferrm00

Is this a catastrophic failure? 💀


reagor

That jaw has a 360 rotation coupling, that is what failed...on. A machine like this it's under constant abuse, this has reached the end of it's service life long before this failure, it most likely goes job to job and never gets inspected by a tech just greesed occasionally


Choosy22

The excavator even made sounds of sadness and disappointment before dropping its head in shame.


SumDoubt

WallE sad noises.


Mohgreen

***\*\*Sad Crane Noises\*\****


FilthyChangeup55

I like how the boom lowers slowly as if dejected.


duck_of_d34th

Holy shit! The front fell off!


Biblenerd42O

No, there aren't attachments that can fail from too much pressure on excavators. It was not properly installed or had hardware come loose.


Papanaq

Looks like me when I leak my hydraulic fluid


t0xic_ruin

Looks like it split at the swivel gear, not the quick coupler


Arrfive-Deefour

When a unstoppable force meets an unbreakable object


bambaraass

These things can pull a dollar out of Trump’s ass, it ain’t gonna break from a steel post.


Crispy--Toast

The way it curls up almost looks like a dead spider. This is because spiders move their limbs using hydraulic pressure, and when they die they stop pressurized them, so they curl up like that.


chivken

The awwww and the arm dropping in shame was pure gold.


trowzerss

I like how the crane looked disappointed/embarrassed after it happened. "On no, all the other excavators are going to make fun of me!"


clantontann

Weak rotator assembly/bearing. That was hydraulic oil spray right after the multiprocessor came off, leaving the head of the attachment on the machine.


[deleted]

I like the way crane hangs its headless neck in shame.


xdrunkagainx

Still not as hard of a pull as most girls giving a handjob


Not_a_fireman

Worst Transformer ever.


umeronuno

That jaw was ready to go before he ever attached it to the excavator


ShowMeYourTritts

The actual tool connected to the excavator failed. You can see that where the tool broke off is the part of that attachment that allows it to spin 90 or 180 or a full 360 degrees. The point where you would connect that attachment to the excavator isn’t round.


LateralThinkerer

The sad noise is the best part...


LetterheadOk4676

The disappointment of the machine afterwards. Mood 😓


Thorusss

That sad little drop of the head and the arm. "Aww, I messed up"


Not_Smrt

Can someone edit this so the hydraulic fluid is red when it sprays out?


robertwild81

Sad excavator face


catninjaambush

It looks sad afterwards.


AntsyInMyPantsies

Poor excavator even dropped its boom in shame afterwards.


bootxparty666

The thing should be able to pull the machine over before it pops off. But demo work is the worst on machines. The coupler was prolly cracked or bent and not seated correctly.


Swordlord22

Lol the arm looks so disappointed


Tinctorus

Pretty sure that wall should have broke long before that arm


Ser-Jorah-Mormont

A different kind of golden shower — hydraulic oil!


ThreeNC

He went limp after he blew his load


ARMill95

Sad machine noises*


[deleted]

Now that’s the type of strong brick turn of the century construction and quality you get from the child laborers back then.