Rare one.... 834H

[Green Dragon]

Wheeled dozers are normally used on the coal area of OC, not on tips

[SRB]

Yup your right Steve,

However not everyone takes this sage advise, i've seen an old Mitchegan for Millers on the tip trying to knock 777 loads out, it was like that song by Sinatra - "everyone knows an ant can't shift a rubber tree plant but he had - High Hopes"!

[Gavin84w]

Shovel clean up, pushin dumps, you know how it goes once you have a machine on site it,s duties get way extended from what it was intended, the 89,s would tip over the edge but even what was left onn top was still to much for it and the trouble was the machine turned up 6 months after the operators all got used to the 3 D10T we had. It was a new gold mine with multiple dumps so the mobility of the wheel dozer was a big advantage but then not being able to do what they wanted just left poor old me to sell them lots of undercarriage as the D10T did more miles than a greyhound bus!! But what do you expect from the worlds number 1 gold miner!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Deas Plant]

Hi, Gavin84W.
I have never operated an 834 of any vintage. I have operated several 824's over the years, one of the original 4-bangers and the rest 6-bangers. I found them to be quite amazing machines in work for which they were suited.

At one stage, back in the mid/late 1960's, Caratti Bulldozing in W.A. had 2 x 824's, a 4-banger and a 6-banger, set up with rear-mounted rippers 'borrowed' (Nah! Knowing Mick, they'd most likely be stolen from somewhere. LOL.) from D7E's doing dam-sinking around the agricultural areas. From what I saw of them, they did very well. The 4-banger was pretty much a match for a D7E 160hp in almost everything except rock or mud and the 6-banger was not far behind a 235hp D8H, if at all, with the same provisos. They might get slightly behind in the bulk pushing department but they soon picked it up in the clean-up.

I also found the 6-bangers of the late 1960's to be fairly well up there with a 270hp D8H when pushing 631 scrapers in most types of going except sand or mud. Who was in the saddle of the 824 did make a fair bit of difference though. They needed to understand the beast and how it worked.

I tend to agree that knocking over a steady stream of 200-ton truck loads might just be straining the friendship a little, even for an 834. They are better suited to lighter work where there is distance to be travelled between work areas. Cleaning up around shovels and draglines and after shots is good work for them.

Just my 0.02.