mini-excavators in the creek

[rScotty]

I need to know just how well minis and small excavators handle water and gravel in a creek. I see people using them in water, but never have used one much. I need to do some creek bank work, and the only way to get there is to enter the creek a few hundred yards down and go up it, moving larger rocks to the sides as I do. But still there are going to be places where the machine will be up to the top of the treads.

I'd use my JD310, but it would need a thumb. Plus the 310 has motor and tranny parts that stick down where rocks could hit them - although it might try it if nothing else better appears.

Basically I know nothing about tracked vehicles.
rScotty

 

[oosik]

Scotty - I know notta about your mini in a creek. Just be careful - it will be an all new environment for you.

You might also want to check and see if any permits are required. There will be no way to hide your activities. Somebody down stream will know that something is going on.

 

[MossRoad]

Scotty - I know notta about your mini in a creek. Just be careful - it will be an all new environment for you.

You might also want to check and see if any permits are required. There will be no way to hide your activities. Somebody down stream will know that something is going on.

X2 on this. Worst case, you snag a hose and dump a few gallons of hydraulic fluid into the creek. God help you if someone finds out and you were supposed to get a permit and didn't. Best to check first.

 

[rScotty]

Ever since we had the big disasterous flood here in 2013, FEMA and the EPA, state contractors, private contractors, homeowners, and county contractors have all been working in the creek pretty much constantly.

I would be continuing on and finishing the work that FEMA and the EPA were doing when their funding ran out in the middle of the job and they had to quit.

It seems to be a truism that when recovering from a disaster all the normal rules are set aside.

 

[MossRoad]

Ever since we had the big disasterous flood here in 2013, FEMA and the EPA, state contractors, private contractors, homeowners, and county contractors have all been working in the creek pretty much constantly.

I would be continuing on and finishing the work that FEMA and the EPA were doing when their funding ran out in the middle of the job and they had to quit.

It seems to be a truism that when recovering from a disaster all the normal rules are set aside.

Good luck with that.

 

[stuckmotor]

A few years back the ag bill provided payment beef producers who'd been affected by a drought. To get my share, I had to sign a paper saying I'd get a plan if I did anything to a wetland.

 

[rScotty]

Good luck with that.

Yes Moss, it's always all about luck, isn't it? I'll admit that I've always preferred to just dive in and work at making things better - a philosophy that has served our community well in recovering from two weather disasters in the past 20 years..

But we do have friends in the community who feel differently. They have a need to ask permission that is just as strong as my own need to get going & get things done. From my perspctive they risk losing the moment, and are probably going to find that nobody wants to take responsibility to say they can do what they should have already have gotten done.

And I'm sure that from their perspective my actions probably seem as undesireable as their inaction seems to me.
rScotty

 

[CADplans]

Are you gonna buy,, or rent,,??
If you are gonna rent,, do what everyone on YouTube does,,
beat it like a rented mule,,,

There are seals,, the seals keep oil in, that should keep water out,,

If you own it, and go in the water, check that the oil in the drive hubs is not milky,,

If you rent,, run it, then return it,,,

 

[MossRoad]

Yes Moss, it's always all about luck, isn't it? I'll admit that I've always preferred to just dive in and work at making things better - a philosophy that has served our community well in recovering from two weather disasters in the past 20 years..

But we do have friends in the community who feel differently. They have a need to ask permission that is just as strong as my own need to get going & get things done. From my perspctive they risk losing the moment, and are probably going to find that nobody wants to take responsibility to say they can do what they should have already have gotten done.

And I'm sure that from their perspective my actions probably seem as undesireable as their inaction seems to me.
rScotty

I was thinking more along the lines of you getting caught in a bad situation, leaking hydraulic fluids into a creek or stream, and incurring the wrath of the EPA, Army Corp of Engineers, county drainage boards, state DNR, stuff like that. Doesn't matter how they find out. If they do, and you're at faulit, you could be on the hook for the cleanup bill + fines. So just be careful and inquire if permits are required before taking the risk.

 

[Ken45101]

Consider what you are going to do if the unit breaks down and the creek floods before you can get it repaired. I once banged into a tree and cracked a hydraulic coupler on the boom. I could not move it until the coupler was replaced. It was not an issue for me at the time since it was sitting in the woods on my farm.

Depending on where you are, the advise about checking for permits may be very wise. Around here I doubt it is an issue. My neighbor has a small excavator that he works the creek with, trying to keep the flooding out of his hayfields. But the local creek here is only a couple of miles from dumping into the Ohio river.