225 is almost ready but need strategy to dig large pond.

Method #5,

Get toghether with a few local cat collector's, put on a few Playday's and let people move dirt for free👍

Where are you located. Our local chapter is always looking for scraper dirt.

Hi, Fastline.
If you are anywhere near Glen, just hand the whole issue over to him and the Chapter 5 boys and they will do it for you. You can then join in the fun, meet new friends, maybe learn new skills and have a ball doing it all.

There is an art to dam-sinking and building ponds and almost every dam or pond that I have ever had to repair was put in by an excavator. It seems that many excavator operators, when faced with building any sort of water storage, just want to dig a hole. No thought about sealing it, claying up the walls or putting in a clay core to stop leakage.

It sounds as if you have some good materials with which to build your ponds - so long as it is done properly.

If you don't live near to Glen, then I'd suggest either #3 or #4 of your options above. The BIG plus of a scraper or a tractor-pan combo is that they place and level AND compact the material all in the one process. On top of this, it sounds like you will need to excavate down to the clay-ier material in your wall areas to get a base to start building up from with the clay material that will seal and hold water in. This 'keying in' could be done with your excavator on your own by digging a trench along where you want the upstream face of the wall to be and side-casting the excavated material into the rest of the wall area. This trench should ideally be wide enough to be able get some reasonable compaction on the clay core material that you place in there when you start claying up the wall.

You can begin moving the top 5 feet of loamy material and placing that in the main part of the wall until you expose the clay material so that you can begin back-filling your core tranch.

If you don't live near Glen, you might like to take his suggestion and contact the ACMOC chapter in your area to see if they would like to do a few play days. Failing an ACMOC chapter in your area, as Glen said, contact a few 'yellow rustaholics' and see if they would like to join in and help out.

Hope this helps.

Hi, Glen,
You've already got that itch to get dust and diesel fumes up your nose again, haven't you? In fact, did you even lose it while they had you on the operating table?

Take it easy and get well soon.

WOW, that would be really fun to move dirt and enjoy the process!! This is the place I will die so doing it right and having fun are part of the deal.

I am in S central KS unfortunately. I don't know a sole around here that would want to move dirt for fun... Would be neat to show off the old 225 or at least my resurrection of it. Far from a cream puff but was headed to the scrap yard when I grabbed it up. Engine and pumps are solid and with a little help here, I am just shocked that the old girl may get a nice retirement on the farm.

Need to find a 14-A D8 with a pull scraper. Fuel will run about 33-50 cents a cyd(rough numbers, too many variables) You can work by yourself. Have to start early in season so there is moisture in the dirt, eliminates a water tuck. A pto driven canon also works good for moisture, if you have a water source close by.

The excavator will move the dirt, but needs assistance with haul vehicles, and such.

Look up your local chapter leader of ACMOC. Go to a meeting and tell them you want to host a play day, see what the response is.-glen

It looks like the closest chapter leader is about 3.5hrs away. I would need to schedule some reason to be up there I guess. Is there any way to search members in my area by chance?

Also, you might be able to answer a question regarding scrapers. I have excavation experience but NONE on a scraper. It seems the simplest scrapers are just pull pans either motorized or pull type but require significantly more power to load. The paddle scrapers like the 613 seem to load better on their own if in the right soil conditions.

I stumbled on a Terex locally. I think it is a ts14B which is a twin engine but not a paddle and they look to operate like turds. I am also not much a Terex fan growing up around CAT and Deere.

It looks like the closest chapter leader is about 3.5hrs away. I would need to schedule some reason to be up there I guess. Is there any way to search members in my area by chance?

Also, you might be able to answer a question regarding scrapers. I have excavation experience but NONE on a scraper. It seems the simplest scrapers are just pull pans either motorized or pull type but require significantly more power to load. The paddle scrapers like the 613 seem to load better on their own if in the right soil conditions.

I stumbled on a Terex locally. I think it is a ts14B which is a twin engine but not a paddle and they look to operate like turds. I am also not much a Terex fan growing up around CAT and Deere.

Hi, Fastline.
Chapter One covers Kansas-Missouri. President is Fred Stitt - cell 816 289 2822 or e-mail: [email protected] He ought to be able to put you on to members in Kansas near you.

Happy hunting.

Glen's thumbnail calculations above will give you some idea of what you can expect the project to cost you and some of the options. A real good man with an elevator scraper could probably do most of it on his own. I know i could. How-wevver, when you start turning the inexperienced loose on building walls and banks, you start to run into safety issues like falling over the edge, etc.. Having a dozer or a blade around can help to reduce these risks.

Something of the same risks apply when using a crawler and drawn pan but the crawler is a bit more sure-footed than a wheeled scraper and doesn't travel as fast so you get into trouble a little slower. The Cat-n-can combination will also load itself and dump itself in situations that would have a wheeled scraper struggling.

Just another 0.02. (God knows, I brought enough of 'em home from my last trip over your way.)

If you have any other queries, don't hesitate to ask. There is a LOT of help to be had on this BB.

Hi, Fastline.
Chapter One covers Kansas-Missouri. President is Fred Stitt - cell 816 289 2822 or e-mail: [email protected] He ought to be able to put you on to members in Kansas near you.

Happy hunting.

Glen's thumbnail calculations above will give you some idea of what you can expect the project to cost you and some of the options. A real good man with an elevator scraper could probably do most of it on his own. I know i could. How-wevver, when you start turning the inexperienced loose on building walls and banks, you start to run into safety issues like falling over the edge, etc.. Having a dozer or a blade around can help to reduce these risks.

Something of the same risks apply when using a crawler and drawn pan but the crawler is a bit more sure-footed than a wheeled scraper and doesn't travel as fast so you get into trouble a little slower. The Cat-n-can combination will also load itself and dump itself in situations that would have a wheeled scraper struggling.

Just another 0.02. (God knows, I brought enough of 'em home from my last trip over your way.)

If you have any other queries, don't hesitate to ask. There is a LOT of help to be had on this BB.

Hi, Fastline.
Chapter One covers Kansas-Missouri. President is Fred Stitt - cell 816 289 2822 or e-mail: [email protected] He ought to be able to put you on to members in Kansas near you.

Happy hunting.

Glen's thumbnail calculations above will give you some idea of what you can expect the project to cost you and some of the options. A real good man with an elevator scraper could probably do most of it on his own. I know i could. How-wevver, when you start turning the inexperienced loose on building walls and banks, you start to run into safety issues like falling over the edge, etc.. Having a dozer or a blade around can help to reduce these risks.

Something of the same risks apply when using a crawler and drawn pan but the crawler is a bit more sure-footed than a wheeled scraper and doesn't travel as fast so you get into trouble a little slower. The Cat-n-can combination will also load itself and dump itself in situations that would have a wheeled scraper struggling.

Just another 0.02. (God knows, I brought enough of 'em home from my last trip over your way.)

If you have any other queries, don't hesitate to ask. There is a LOT of help to be had on this BB.