New guy no clue

[Buffallobull]

Thank you all for the power info, that will certainly be a factor in building but the closest alligator to my boat is still finding the right machine at an affordable price in which I can spend some time and make all this happen!

On the KOBELCO the seller got back to me saying they really don’t know, they traded for it and it needs some work on the bucket pins and all the fluids need a change but that it runs and the underneath is about 50%.

-- The machine could have been a rental orriginally we traded the machine in from a contractor in Ny on a newer unit the bucket pins are due for replacment machine runs and operates good needs batteries and should be serviced U/c is about 50% I don't belive it was a hammer machine but they did use it for landclearing and loading a tub grinder

 

[Buffallobull]

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Think this guy is too small? It’s got all the things….

 

[HarleyHappy]

Nope. Not nearly what you would want, not close to it enough.
UNLESS you could use it for supplemental and hire out the heavy work.
Could you imagine grubbing in a driveway, pulling stumps as you go?
Would take a long while.

 

[LCA078]

Buffallo- I didn't go back and reread all your posts but have you inspected or sat in many older hoes that were for sale? I ask because I was in your same shoes about 8 years ago. While I wasn't afraid of turning a wrench or getting dirty and was around military equipment for a full career, I had ZERO experience with heavy construction equipment like hoes, dozers, etc. While I learned a lot here from the wise folks, I couldn't really apply any of those learnings until I physically walked up to a machine and played with it. Since I did trips to Dallas and Houston on a fairly frequent basis, I was able to visit the Ritchie Bros yards and walk around and fiddle with the used equipment. Granted, those were fairly large yards with a decent amount of equipment but it did give me a decent amount of learning to better understand relative conditions and get a decent appreciation for pricing (you see past auction results when you register with RB). Within a short time, I could start seeing the differences of hose and pin conditions, normal wear vs. abusive wear, and even more importantly, I could start understanding how different options like thumbs truly mattered. This helped me buy with confidence when I did buy my Cat 325BL and D7F.

Point is, visiting a large auction site like a RB even if you're not buying at that moment, you'll start gaining a lot more info than we can give you through the computer.

 

[LCA078]

One last thing I forgot to mention: It will be a gamble when you buy old, used equipment. Period.

But here's the way I look at it. Let's say I dump $50k (price, transport, simple repairs, etc.) on a piece of equipment. I use that equipment for 5 years clearing my own land. If I put 1000 hours on it (that's quite a lot when using it just for your own property) and then it immediately turns into a pile of scrap metal for whatever reason, well, I basically rented it for $50/hr. Even if I put 500hrs on it, that's $100/hr. That's still a LOT of hours for home use but you get the point. And sure, that's an overly simplified view of costs as it doesn't include fuel, oil, maintenance, etc. but at the end of the day, you're not trying to make money with a hoe, you're trying to do your own thing on your own land on your own time.

So, the gamble is: Can you buy a good enough piece of equipment that will likely last long enough to get what you what done? After it does that job, it's up to you if you want to keep it as a "cool thing" or try to get some money back.

 

[BC Placer gold]

^^^This is so true (LCA078)^^^looking at units on the internet is just not going to cut it....

Have to get in the seat, crawl all over them, start them up and really go over the unit, hopeful with no one looking over your shoulder.

Ritchie Bros. is perfect for this, a good starting point. I was at Ritchie Bros. last year in Chilliwack and started up and performed small, limited movements on at least 8 or 10 excavators. I was easily able to immediately eliminate most of them as having obvious flaws (most of which I never could have determined at home on my computer...)

 

[skyking1]

Here, secondary is limited to 650 feet for 100 amps. It has been a while since I saw a 100 amp service needed to think of long distance.
If you are that remote, you will have solar, with solar you want to approach net zero. 57 years in the trade I have worked on a few homes where "net zero" was the inspiration. Any I have seen wouldn't tolerate a solar field. Typically they are located in a forest. Might get two hours direct sun on their limited solar area on half the roof. These houses have 1/4 acre heated floor under tile, CERV units exhausting more heat than my heating system produces, intake heaters to compensate. Last "net zero" house has 53 amps input from solar when the sun is full focus on the roof, 400 amp service, loaded 24 hours a day.

Need to clear a pretty big swath of land to do ground mount solar in the woods, for sure.
If you want to go off grid, then the house needs to be smaller than you think and designed for efficiency from the start. You can't draw a big box and then heat it with good thoughts and intentions in the cold weather, and propane will just kick your budget to heck if you don't curb the appetite for it.
Passive designs that use what winter sun the house gets and reject the summer heat.

 

[HarleyHappy]

Meh, the new house I built, is only 1300 sq ft, with full basement.
Plenty big for us as our retirement home.
Kids are gone, only 1 extra bedroom and ability to add more with walk out basement.
Every option for cold weather used, spray insulation with R15 over it.
Only use approximately 300 gallons of propane a year, for heat, hot water and cooking.
Electric, even with outrageous rising costs, still average 180 dollars a month.
ROI on solar, with doing the work myself, was still 18 to 21 years.
Just not worth it for us.
Really should have designed for a wood stove, as our open floor plan would have been perfect.
Only issue is, not sure I want the dust, the mess and headache.
Grew up with just wood for heat.
Looked at doing an outdoor boiler and the ROI on that even sucks.
Not to mention, they use a lot of wood.
I do think solar is the future but why can’t they make panels, with the ability to defrost, or melt the snow on them.
Wish we could get natural gas.

 

[Buffallobull]

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Think this guy is too small? It’s got

 

[Buffallobull]

I do agree with the need to go look. There are a RB lot in state and one in MD as well I think. In the meantime I might go ahead and get this old backhoe I found. 1992 JCB. 214 sitemaster 4x4 extendahoe Needs work but for 6000 bucks it might be worth the hassle, I kinda want something to work on. It runs but the steering is locked so I’ll need to work on that. 1800 to get it hauled to the land….

 

[LCA078]

^^^This is so true (LCA078)^^^looking at units on the internet is just not going to cut it....

Have to get in the seat, crawl all over them, start them up and really go over the unit, hopeful with no one looking over your shoulder.

Ritchie Bros. is perfect for this, a good starting point. I was at Ritchie Bros. last year in Chilliwack and started up and performed small, limited movements on at least 8 or 10 excavators. I was easily able to immediately eliminate most of them as having obvious flaws (most of which I never could have determined at home on my computer...)

It's a great thing to walk up to a machine and have it start cold on cold mornings like you'll be doing on a mountain. Last thing you want is a beast hooked on ether. Touch the exhaust manifolds before you start a machine to make sure it's had a good cold soak before you try and start it.

Another good thing is you can see small items like filters, battery cables, etc. A machine that was well maintained will have new'ish filters, hopefully with a date and hours on them. And battery cables will be sturdy with swedged or formed ends. At a bare minimum, someone should be doing the easy maintenance..and keeping the cab fairly neat (no trash like old soda bottles or empty cigarette packs). If you see old, rusty filters or battery cables cobbled up with auto part store bolt-on terminals...beware of that machine. Or worse, a half dozen empty ether cans in the cab. You see that, you better run.

You more than likely won't see these details in pics on the internet.

 

[Buffallobull]

I do agree with the need to go look. There are a RB lot in state and one in MD as well I think. In the meantime I might go ahead and get this old backhoe I found. 1992 JCB. 214 sitemaster 4x4 extendahoe Needs work but for 6000 bucks it might be worth the hassle, I kinda want something to work on. It runs but the steering is locked so I’ll need to work on that. 1800 to get it hauled to the land

 

[Joe Friday]

^^^This is so true (LCA078)^^^looking at units on the internet is just not going to cut it....

Have to get in the seat, crawl all over them, start them up and really go over the unit, hopeful with no one looking over your shoulder.

Ritchie Bros. is perfect for this, a good starting point. I was at Ritchie Bros. last year in Chilliwack and started up and performed small, limited movements on at least 8 or 10 excavators. I was easily able to immediately eliminate most of them as having obvious flaws (most of which I never could have determined at home on my computer...)

All equipment needs to be looked at. I have literally talked for hours about used equipment from the owners, only to find they literally forgot to mention that the king pins were worn into the axle housing - broken cracked buckets - frozen controls when they stated that
"everything works as intended" Please find someone you trust to look at the equipment...

 

[smifwal]

Here is what I found in that publication, 15. Buried conduits shall be rigid PVC, heavy wall, sunlight resistant, listed and labeled, Schedule 40 conduit per NEMA TC2 (i.e., electrical grade).

• Raceway: A raceway is an enclosed channel used for holding wires or cables.

From the internet:

The US National Electric Code (NFPA 70) is the code regulating HDPE conduit use in power applications. Section 353 (2014 edition) specifies that conduit and fittings shall be listed and indicates conditions under which it can be used


NEC Article 353 governs High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) conduit, a nonmetallic, flexible raceway suitable for underground electrical applications, including direct burial and concrete encasement


I would ask to speak to the construction supervisor and lay out your case for using hdpe, it really is a simple conversation with someone that is looking at the specs. You might have got that old head that is stuck in his ways or a kid that is only doing what he has been told and doesn't actually no any other way

 

[Buffallobull]

Thank you for looking at that. I’ll try to reengage with them, speaking to a human is difficult. The engineer that came out and did the site survey is my only POC at this point. Older guy, very knowledgeable.

 

[smifwal]

I have found that a little bit of documentation and a cool head will get you pretty far in those type of conversations.

 

[LCA078]

Thank you for looking at that. I’ll try to reengage with them, speaking to a human is difficult. The engineer that came out and did the site survey is my only POC at this point. Older guy, very knowledgeable.

Hopefully this is a case where the older engineer has spent a career speaking with folks who effectively wanted to do a line install on the cheap and dangerous because most folks don't know what they're doing. The engineer has seen it all and knows when the situation will become dangerous with a certain type of person.

But once you show that you're educated and will follow the right specs, the trust factor should grow. Sometimes even adding a bit of selective overkill in your own design where you point out "I know the baseline is that requirement but I feel safer doing this for my application" may help.

 

[Buffallobull]

I was thinking about the snow issue, since there is so much of it! Having those junction boxes sitting on the downslope side on a fiberglass base doesn’t seem smart if trying to plow snow down the slope of the mountain. I’m thinking I should trench on the uphill side of the road or elevate the boxes. Where is the trench usually, for ease of digging do people run it down the center of the driveway and put the boxes off to the sides? Upslope is where the water drainage ditch is and downslope is way below road level and forested.

 

[HarleyHappy]

Around here HDPE is just starting to be recognized as an alternative to PVC.
They are starting to use it for potable water and conduit but the approval process is slow.
From what I understand, our cousins up north, have been using it for years and a lot of the old timers are not really jumping on that bandwagon.
It may not be even acceptable where you are at.
5 years ago, when I built my house, I had asked about it and they wouldn’t even consider it.
Much like copper was only allowed for plumbing, it took 20 years, to get Pex allowed.

 

[smifwal]

On a big project I will use HDPE for anything 2" or smaller with a open trench, if I get grief I will tell them I may bore some of this, do you want me to glue sticks together and pull them through? That normally gets a " no you can't do that, you might pull it apart" ok so you want me to use HDPE off a spool? Yes! That opens the door to be able to use it everywhere