Top 5 Tips to Prevent Damage to Your Excavator

Excavators are heavy-duty machinery that handle the most challenging tasks on construction projects. However, they aren’t invincible, and shoddy maintenance and poor upkeep can damage them, leading to loss of productivity and missed deadlines. Whether you have one or many excavators on your project, you will want to take all possible measures to prevent damage to your machines and keep them performing like they did when they were new.

Crownstone Equipment is your local heavy equipment dealership, and we have gathered a few tips to help keep your excavator in tip-top shape. Keep reading this guide to learn more, and for more information, contact our experts in either Pennsylvania or Maryland.

1. Clean Your Excavator Regularly

Your excavator accumulates a lot of dirt and grime daily. Allowing the muck to sit on your model for too long can cause problems down the line. A few of these are damage to the exterior, clogging of filters and vents, disruption of the electrical system, and even interference with the safety features of your machine. These issues can severely damage your equipment and force you to halt operations and seek costly repairs. As some problems can be more complicated, you might need to leave your equipment at the service department for longer than you first thought.

You can skip the hassle by being more regular and proactive about cleaning your excavator.

2. Keep Up with Maintenance

As stated earlier, poor excavator maintenance can affect its overall health and performance. To prevent damage to your machine, you will want to keep up with servicing it regularly and repairing any faulty components.

Refer to the owner’s manual of your excavator to see what your manufacturer recommends for your specific model. There might be a few daily, monthly, and yearly tasks to perform—so maintain your records and adhere to the frequency suggested for your machine.

3. Understand the Excavator’s Limits

Different excavators have various distinct capabilities and limits. You will want to be familiar with your specific model to get the most of your investment and prevent any damage.

Exceeding the limits of your machine or overworking it can lead to damages and safety concerns for both you and others at your worksite. Check your owner’s manual to see your model's weight load limits and ensure you stay under the recommended parameters.

4. Train All Operators Regularly

Another common cause of excavator damage is operator error. As a project manager, you will want to give proper and regular training to anyone using the machine. It will be helpful to offer refreshers to those who have taken the training previously but haven’t operated these machines in a long time.

5. Store Your Excavator Well

Finally, you will also want to store your excavator appropriately to protect it from extreme temperatures, direct sunlight, corrosion, and other factors and minimize damage.

We hope you find this guide helpful when using your excavator. If you need more safety advice or want to upgrade your machine to the latest model, visit Crownstone Equipment. We have dealerships in Pennsylvania and Maryland, so swing by the one nearest to you.