Paul Nowland’s 120-acre New South Wales property had previously been a working farm, however since acquiring the rural site, redevelopment of access roads and some infrastructure was needed to upgrade facilities to provide all-weather access.
One of the major challenges was the existing and planned access roads around the property. Due to the high clay content, the roads became very slippery after rainfall and required resurfacing with more suitable and durable material that would permit full functionality for vehicle and equipment use under all weather conditions.
Another major project is the construction of a very large shed of 216m² that needed a durable, compacted earth floor of crushed rock/clay blend, to a depth of 150mm.
ROADS A PRIORITY
“Our priority was to get the roads to a condition where we could run equipment around the property in any season,” Paul said.
“We looked at a variety of quarried stone, however none of the material locally available was of the right shape, texture and size for the job. We realised the solution lay at our feet, as our terrain is hilly, and we had already carried out a lot of cutting, excavating and filling. What we originally considered as a disadvantage, turned out to be the solution, as our rock is of a nature that when crushed, produced an ideal material.”
Searching for an economical and practical solution, Paul discovered he could attach an MB-L160 crusher bucket to his all wheel steer/skid steer compact loader.
Experimenting with the settings, he found a variety of ideal aggregate sizes for the different sites and applications could be processed efficiently, with the loader’s lifting arms raising the crusher bucket to a height sufficient to crush material directly into the truck, ready for immediate use.
“I’m using a hydraulic breaker to extract the rock. First, I dig out a section of rock, creating conveniently located piles of rock waiting to be crushed all over the property. The material is crushed directly onto the truck, which I can truck directly to the roadwork site. This really speeds up the production process and avoids double handling. The MB Crusher has provided an ideal solution to our challenge,” Paul said.
“When crushed, the native rock produces an ideal angular shape that is particularly good for bedding as a road surface.
Blended with a bit of clay, it locks in tight, stays in place and will not wash away during heavy rainfall. It’s exactly what we needed – the results have been excellent.
Once we get to the finishing stages of the road, I’ll be using the crusher extensively, including preparation of the floor of the large farm shed.”
RANGE OF AGGREGATE SIZES
With my MB Crusher bucket I can produce aggregate sizes from 70mm down to 15mm.
In fact, it’s more appropriate for my needs than any material I can purchase from a quarry. We are still experimenting with what sizes work best across the range of applications, however the crusher bucket has definitely provided the best solution to our needs,” Paul added.
MB Crushers said its model MB-L160 is practical, handy, and a perfect combination of efficiency and mobility, designed to meet the needs of skid loaders and loader backhoes while maintaining the power and productivity that characterises all MB products. The S2 crusher bucket is suitable for skid loaders starting from 4.50 tonnes and loader backhoes between 7 to 10 tonnes.
The MB Crusher bucket is supplied by Semco Equipment sales. The company’s Graham Murphy said, “The compact size is efficient and easy to use. MB Crushers has developed site and task-specific bucket configurations designed to tackle common scenarios such as the separation of non-crushable steel reinforcement or structural materials, dust suppression, noise reduction and maintenance minimisation in this aggressive mechanical environment.
“Crusher buckets play a major role in reducing waste by saving time, fuel for haulage, reducing landfill charges and minimising adverse environmental impacts,” Graham concluded.
[colored_box color=”yellow”]For further information on the range of MB Crushers, call Semco on 1800 685 525, or visit www.semcogroup.com.au.[/colored_box]