Building Lake Corona

[ponytug]

You are a wizard with that TV620B. That looks great.

All the best,

Peter

 

[BackRoad]

Mr. JK, what are the details on your process?

Are you lifting, moving and dropping buckets of clay to where you need it, or are you pushing it from the source like a dozer to cover the areas needed?

 

[jk96]

For the pond basin mostly pushing like a dozer. I'm pushing new cuts downhill from the source. On the new cuts of hardpack clay I have to be carefull because this machine will continue to push and roll it right up to the windshield. I'm probably pushing 2.5 to 3 yards downhill at a pass. Once I get a few good piles of loose material I'm again dozing for the most part but I'm able to move 4+ yards at a time pushing the loose stuff.

 

[jk96]

You are a wizard with that TV620B. That looks great.

All the best,

Peter

Still getting a feel for this machine but I'm really impressed so far. It is amazing for grading. I think the longer 74" track length and huge amount of weight at 16,800 lbs are key to that. Once you set your blade and start pushing it holds true. It doesnt matter how much dirt is in the bucket or how hard the material pack is, the bucket doesn't pull down like other CTLs I've ran requiring adjustments. I would like a few more hp working the hills. This one is 114 and feel like 130 would suit it better. It doesn't struggle but it is slower uphill than my TV450. When you add 1.5 yards of met mucky clay like I had cleaning out the pond thats 21,000 pounds fighting gravity.

 

[4570Man]

How are you going to compact the soil? The very worse machine for that will be something with tracks. For my place, I use my backhoe with a full load of dirt in the front bucket and go over each layer with the tires. My dozer weighs 40,000 pounds and after spreading dirt with it, the tires of my tractor will sink an inch or two when compacting it.

I think a track CTL will compact material better than you give it credit for. If you put it down in 4-6” lifts and track it down with the right moisture you can make a tight pad. I’ve done pads that way that a loaded dump truck barely leaves a mark on.

 

[EddieWalker]

I think a track CTL will compact material better than you give it credit for. If you put it down in 4-6” lifts and track it down with the right moisture you can make a tight pad. I’ve done pads that way that a loaded dump truck barely leaves a mark on.

I disagree. A tracked vehicle is designed to have a little weight as possible under it. The tracks spread the weight so the machine will not sink in and have more contact with the soil to increase traction.

The easiest way to prove this is to drive over an area of soil that has been spread with a tracked vehicle and see how far the tires sink. Even a pickup truck will sink in that soil.

Sadly, there are a lot of homes built by spreading the soil with a tracked skid steer that develop foundation problems over time. It might even be the number one reason for foundation problems in houses.

Even with a vibratory roller, or sheepsfoot roller, and the proper moisture, it is still very hard to get proper compaction to pass an inspection.

 

[bindian]

I agree with Eddie. I can run over ground with my CAT excavator to help smooth out wet muck that the tractor just leaves ruts in. I step in it and my foot sinks deeper than the track did.

 

[Pixguy]

Thanks for the updates jk. Many of us have followed you from the start.

 

[ponytug]

In many areas, the local DoT suggests / requires sheep's foot vibratory rollers to get enough compaction in clay substrates. Most of the weight of the roller is on a single foot in sequence. Even then, for road uses, sometimes lime is mixed in and compacted to make a stronger, cement like road base.

I think that clay is tough to compact as it tends slip on itself, reducing the effect of compaction.

I'm with @EddieWalker on tracked vehicles not being great at compaction. I have done the math on the actual surface pressure for a couple machines and it was quite low, which I think is the intention; I think that an easily bogged piece of earth moving equipment is not very useful on most construction sites.

All the best,

Peter

 

[jk96]

I think a track CTL will compact material better than you give it credit for. If you put it down in 4-6” lifts and track it down with the right moisture you can make a tight pad. I’ve done pads that way that a loaded dump truck barely leaves a mark on.

It will and I haven't commented on it because there are people that will go to their grave saying a CTL is horrible so normally I skip the argument on that one. It depends on how it is done. Larger lifts yes it's no good. Take this machine and load the bucket full shifting the weight forward and in smaller lifts as you suggest it will pack well. I put up a building last year and had about 18" of fill for the pad. Only used the ctl to compact the dirt. You could barely drive rebar into when I was done. I am still going to run a padfoot roller on this project.