2018 Mecalac 6MCR

[materthegreater]

Here's my first suspect for water entry - a poorly done case drain by the previous owner.



However bad the welds look, I'm still not convinced that's where the water got in. The grinding they did on the sealing surface of the tank cover is more likely the cause of the leak:


The weld is pretty bad though...


I have a call in to the dealer to order a new cover and o-ring seal, and hopefully they can tell me the proper location for the case drain to enter the tank.

 

[materthegreater]

The dealer has ordered the new tank cover (on its way from France), but they insist that the cover is the best place for the case drain to enter the tank. Apparently Mecalac does not offer a case drain from the factory and they have to be retrofitted by the dealer. At least I should be able to do a better job welding and will refrain from grinding on the sealing surface of the cover plate.

 

[materthegreater]

Seems like I could never get enough curl on attachments when using the skid steer coupler, so I decided to modify the angle. Hopefully I didn't take too much out. Just did a quick and dirty cut with the torch, pulled it together and welded up. Didn't bother cleaning up the cuts with a grinding wheel, so it took a lot of 0.045" wire to fill it back up.

 

[materthegreater]

Definitely liking the better curl angle

 

[materthegreater]

Since I sold my Bobcat E60, I've been planning to convert my grapple to work with the Mecalac. A while back I did some CAD (cardboard aided design) to make sure the new ears end up in the right place. This afternoon I did some torch work. The #2 tip isn't really big enough for the 1-1/2" steel.







Hopefully it's sunny enough tomorrow morning to weld it all together with electricity from my power wall

 

[laidback01]

huh. what kind of inverter are you using to power that welder? that's usually a nasty load, and I've had very little luck with longevity on simulated sine wave inverters. never an issue on rotational generators, but.. that's to be expected. Looks like a nice solar wall though! I do know there are industrial inverters using modifies square wave - meant for heavy motor loads and such - will they work for welders? please let us know the model you are using, and what kind of current you are welding with. that kind of steel, I'm betting it's pretty high current!

 

[materthegreater]

Micro inverters. One for each panel. It's a grid tied system so the grid will make up whatever the panels can't produce. But hopefully the generation for the day will offset the usage. I'm planning to use 0.045" dual shield wire which is a CV process. Not sure exactly what the settings will be, but when I welded the adapter shown in post 203 I noticed the amperage exceed 300A at one point. This probably won't be that high, but likely above 200.

 

[TheObliviousCowboy]

Looking great! Is that a TOFT grapple? I bought and modified one to work on my unit.

 

[materthegreater]

Mine is Jiangtu. Looks about identical to yours. I didn't like the stock angle so I cut it back apart and am adding about 1-1/4" to the near edge of the ears. I don't need it to curl in this much, would prefer to have it go out farther the other way.

Stock angle:



Modified:


I didn't get the second shim installed before dinner time, so I couldn't test it out today. My hope is that I can hold it out horizontally in front of the machine without having the arm fully extended. I use it for holding trees while I cut them.

 

[materthegreater]

Looking great! Is that a TOFT grapple? I bought and modified one to work on my unit. View attachment 361625View attachment 361626View attachment 361627

How does it work having the hoses coming out toward the machine? I'm afraid I would get them tangled up in branches and such. What do you typically use yours for?

 

[TheObliviousCowboy]

I don't use it for taking trees down, mostly just moving downed & limbed timber and for demolition and moving piles of random brush or garbage. The hoses are about as short as they can be without any binding, more by pure chance than planning but they are really out of the way and haven't been a problem.

On a similar note I likely won't be buying &/or modifying any further attachments. I've got a couple custom built items with mecalac ears already coming from china from RSBM and it's so cheap there's no reason to fab anything yourself other than when timing requires results now. For example I got a 24" smooth bucket with at least as heavy specifications than factory units, WITH TARIFFS, CUSTOMS & SHIPPING, for under $1000. Same bucket from Mecalac dealer I would bet is closer to $3500. They were easy to work with had great CAD specification and drawings. Ordered mid April Due in Port of Oakland CA June 30.

 

[TheObliviousCowboy]

This 48" tilt rotate bucket is $5000-5500 shipped. Working on this soon with another order hopefully before years end.

 

[materthegreater]

I don't use it for taking trees down, mostly just moving downed & limbed timber and for demolition and moving piles of random brush or garbage. The hoses are about as short as they can be without any binding, more by pure chance than planning but they are really out of the way and haven't been a problem.

On a similar note I likely won't be buying &/or modifying any further attachments. I've got a couple custom built items with mecalac ears already coming from china from RSBM and it's so cheap there's no reason to fab anything yourself other than when timing requires results now. For example I got a 24" smooth bucket with at least as heavy specifications than factory units, WITH TARIFFS, CUSTOMS & SHIPPING, for under $1000. Same bucket from Mecalac dealer I would bet is closer to $3500. They were easy to work with had great CAD specification and drawings. Ordered mid April Due in Port of Oakland CA June 30.View attachment 361649View attachment 361650View attachment 361651View attachment 361652

That's good that the hoses work well in that orientation. I'm going to keep mine going out the sides at this point but may try the front later on. Does your grapple motor have a case drain?

Wow that is cheap for the bucket. Hopefully they don't get caught selling those with Mecalac ears. They have a copyright on the design so no one else is allowed to make and sell them. Which is annoying as we both know!

 

[materthegreater]

Done for now:

 

[materthegreater]

This 48" tilt rotate bucket is $5000-5500 shipped. Working on this soon with another order hopefully before years end. View attachment 361653
View attachment 361654

Seems like that bucket would be hard to use with the rotation axis not parallel to the bucket bottom.

 

[TheObliviousCowboy]

That's good that the hoses work well in that orientation. I'm going to keep mine going out the sides at this point but may try the front later on. Does your grapple motor have a case drain?

Wow that is cheap for the bucket. Hopefully they don't get caught selling those with Mecalac ears. They have a copyright on the design so no one else is allowed to make and sell them. Which is annoying as we both know!

No case drain on my grapple. Does yours?

 

[TheObliviousCowboy]

Seems like that bucket would be hard to use with the rotation axis not parallel to the bucket bottom.

Yeah that bucket configuration was not what I would order, it was someone else's bucket set up. You can specify any detail and they will change it. I'd get a Scandinavian style bucket instead of a standard bucket like that. I haven't operated a rotating bucket so thanks I will address that with them.

 

[materthegreater]

No case drain on my grapple. Does yours?

Yes, I've thought about swapping the motor for one without a drain. Though in reality it's not a huge deal to have one more hose to connect.

 

[materthegreater]

Micro inverters. One for each panel. It's a grid tied system so the grid will make up whatever the panels can't produce. But hopefully the generation for the day will offset the usage. I'm planning to use 0.045" dual shield wire which is a CV process. Not sure exactly what the settings will be, but when I welded the adapter shown in post 203 I noticed the amperage exceed 300A at one point. This probably won't be that high, but likely above 200.

Yep, that took some juice:



I was welding within view of the panels, I wonder how much power got recycled

 

[Tones]

Don't do welding to close to those panels, they'll get arc eyes and stop working.