Sad, sad day for my supertrak

[SSP&M]

Sorry for your loss of equipment and glad you are ok.

Most fires on the takeuchi tend to start around the battery. Right behind the battery is a idler pulley and above that is the ac compressor. debris tends to fall through the lift arms down to that area and will build up. All this build up gets packed around that idler pulley and belt. The belt will rub that debris enough to start a fire(sometimes). Also as we all know it only takes a small amount of debris to get around the turbo to ignite. Takeuchi tl150 are bad about having a valve cover leak right beside the turbo, so that debris and some leaking engine oil can do it also. with 5000hrs on our takeuchi, it has caught fire several times, luckly all we messed up was a wiring harness once.

I am not trying to say this is what happen to this Takeuchi, just trying to let people know where to look when cleaning them to hopefully keep them from catching on fire from these 2 areas.
We also put mud flaps on the openings around the lift arms to keep debris from getting in there and still allow the arms to move.

Also, Halon extiguishers tend to work really good and will not damage an engine if it were to breathe it. Its a liqiud.

Again i am sorry for the loss.

 

[cbturf]

This stuff happens...parts wear out. And although this is a worse case scenario, this is why you insure your toys. I could understand if the machine had the same problem over and over why you would contact legal counsel but over a blown hose? Mechanical breakdowns are to be expected when you do what we do. Fecon, Supertrak and all the others do all they can to make these things safe so I do not think there is any liability for any part or machine manufacturer. I can personally vouch for how hard it is to burn the FTX140 down. I had the oil line that lubricates the turbo break and drown the turbo in oil and all it did was fill the cab and mountianside with white smoke. I do not know why it did not catch fire but it sure missed a good chance. I did call my insurance company about replacement value on the new machines though.

 

[dfkrug]

I had the oil line that lubricates the turbo break and drown the turbo in oil and all it did was fill the cab and mountianside with white smoke. I do not know why it did not catch fire but it sure missed a good chance.

My experience (and I hope to never have another) supports the theory
that you need a mist of oil and air to touch the turbo housing while the
eng is running. The necessary mist can be created by burst hyd hoses.
Drips on the turbo housing are less likely to cause a fire. BTDT

In my case, I was driving a car that had a tired engine with lots of blowby.
When I got on it coming out of a corner, the positive pressure in the crank
case popped the dipstick off and shot some oil mist onto the front turbo.

I had a Halon fire extinguisher at the time and it puts out a gas that deprives
the fire of oxygen. My problem was the fire would re-flash into flame. Three
or 4 times and I was out of Halon. Thankfully, I was able to borrow a
powder-type extinguisher from a bystander. Afterwards, I could not get
the Halon refilled due to EPA restrictions. The powder style is messier, but
the Halon did not do the job.

 

[Mowermoney]

Landwise:

Sorry for your loss. I feel your pain.

The same thing happened to my Cat 268 last November.

The Insurance Company finally settled in January. The gave me $5,000 less than the lowest price of several comparable tractors listed in Equipment Trader -Online. I was happy to get what I got. Cats skidsteers have a 100% chance of catching on fire if you run them enough. I don't know what it will take for them to fix the problem. I'm still running my 248 and keeping my fingers crossed and my Insurance paid-up.

 

[Heavyduty]

Mower money- Your lucky the insurance company did'nt drop you after the claim.

 

[Mowermoney]

You are right, since this was the second claim on the same machine.

I just got my bill for the renewal policy. Premium stayed about the same for one less machine.

 

[BushWhack]

Is that an FTX140?

 

[cbturf]

Is that an FTX140?

No it is a Supertrak (Tak 150)

To my knowledge Fecons do not burn...won't say that they can't, I just have not heard of any.

 

[Cat_Driver]

The biggest problem is with your insurance company, they should pay 100% for a new one and pay for any lost time/business.

I bought a used 60kw generator 10 years ago, used it regularly and last year it just caught fire. I called up the insurance company and they sent a guy out, said they couldn't fix it as it was too old and said here's 28K to buy a new one, and 1K for lost sales, and found a dealer that would sell me a new one for that price.

Same thing happened when I had a used dump trailer stolen, they said how much is the new one and they paid the invoice.

 

[Landwise]

I will say this.....
after waiting for almost 2 months for a check that was "In the mail", i have closure.

$10,000 upside down, but i have closure and a new machine.

My local dealer for supertracks gave me a heck of a deal on a demo machine with only 28 hours on it, and my interest rate dropped significantly, so i made out ok.

After the run around i had waiting on my check, the president of the insurance company called me and switched everything i owned to replacement cost. !YAY!