Caterpillar 245 Digging Coal

[nerfterritory67]

that cts in great shape!

[doggystarful]

great machines i operated a 245 me it was one of the last ones made

[MrCico76]

great! massive!

[BAMFHICK]

i just helped rebuild a rear section on one of these except we use ours to load logs at the local mill was a pain at times but a badass experience

[TheMidnightKawboy]

It would be a faster cycle time if he dug it off in 2 or 3 metre benches, instead of reaching the full depth of the face for it! Great video though!!!

[PAmining]

True, but the problem was the pit was so narrow and tight. The bank of clay (seen at the end of the video when I show the 400 leaving) and the clay highwall to the right of the 245 is the properity limit. Not much room for bigger equipment or room to put the overburden, that's why he's digging one lift. Thanks

[maplemanz]

I have always like the old 245's they used to the biggest excavator the cat made fo many years,and the made many improvements leading up to the D series before they came out with the 375 which replaced the 245.

[mojostevo]

Man, I'd love the chance to run an 80's 2 series, they will always be my favorite excavator.

[PAmining]

They're bad ass man, cool!

[009buggy]

This is when Cat made a good machine. These things are beasts

[markm1964]

coal buckets are used in stockpiles after the coal has been crushed anthracite is metomorphic so its hard the hardest soft coal has to be shot befor loading coal bucket would be usless rock buckets with teeth on 988s or 992s are used around here to chop the coal

[Draglineoperator]

i was about to say,,,, surely they can put a monster bucket on that old girl, the coal buckets around here are usualy 3-4 times the size of usual buckets. but now i do see sence there is a longer stick on it, great video!!!

[PAmining]

Yes, that's a 14.6ft stick, which is the longest for a 245. Coal buckets are good if the excavator's just digging coal, but that's not the case here. This machine loads wet clay, shot rock and coal. Thanks!

[jeremylee99100]

@PAmining they need a long reach excavator that ought to be abel to get way down thier and then some

[PAmining]

@jeremylee99100 They do. They'll use that to get what the 245 can't reach.

[E300B]

on my uncles machine he has a 5.3 metre bucket

[MrCico76]

The Best..ia

[countycruiser]

hi justin b gud if you cud get the cat 245 dme on ya travels nice vid though old school machine happy memory,s

[PAmining]

Thanks.  Sure I'll keep my eyes open

[GlobalMiningMachines]

That man has patience. I'd have my hair pulled out, or the levers pulled out of the console, too slow and cumbersome for me. Well looked after though by the looks of it

[PAmining]

Slow?! Listen man, I've been around much slower than this lol! For it's age, I think it's a very fast machine. Most older equipment is slower than modern equipment. What do you expect it to be like a 300 series excavator.

[GlobalMiningMachines]

@GlobalMiningMachines My father owned Akerman and Poclains through the 80's. We still had a Poclain 75 till a couple of months ago, they were all slow . I appreciate the older gear but I just don't have the patience, I'd be physically drained from pulling too hard on the levers in aid of trying to squeeze that extra bit of productivity out of the machine. And no,don't expect it too be a fast as a 300 series or modern equivalent just saying how I'd crack up having to spend 12-14hrs a day in it.

[Elminerocaliza]

nice video lol but put a bigger bucket.....to load faster.. ;)

[PAmining]

Thanks. Can't go much bigger than the bucket you see because of the long boom and stick.

[goshenx132]

Why such an old/small machine for that kind of work?

[PAmining]

Small operation and no room for a bigger machine. 245's are a favorite for coal mining because they're heavy, rough, and powerful burts.

[Xx69roadrunnerxX]

I know you guys know what your doing, I hope my comment didnt come off in an insulting way. Ya I realized the op wouldnt be able to see at the depth level he was digging if he wasnt so close as the vid went on.

So coal is extremely hard and so provides good support to machinerys weight, cool thanks for the info!! What are "tiger teeth"?? By the context im guessing an extremely hard and sharp teeth design to handle hard rock.

[PAmining]

No not at all! Nothing wrong with asking a question

Yep exactly. Tiger teeth are designed for real hard digging. You know how standard teeth are flat edged. Well Tiger teeth come to a point instead.

[Xx69roadrunnerxX]

@PAmining I bet those Tiger teeth are quite expensive. What kind of metal are they made out off or are they a combanation of different metals in layers??

[PAmining]

Oh I have no idea man lol

[Josephtube666]

The coal that he is digging there, what would it be used for?

[PAmining]

This coal is sold to a smaller breaker, which mainly sells the coal for home use. Bigger anthracite coal companies mainly ship their coal overseas and to power plants

[caterpillar729]

Awesome video! I like the design of the older machines!

[PAmining]

Thanks! Yeah the 245's look cool.

[CAT955L]

wow, what a vein of coal.

I can watch all day

thanks

[Xx69roadrunnerxX]

Excellent vid Justin! Love that classic Caterpillar 245 and the D400D! That 245 look pretty close ot the edge there at the start of the vid. How strong is that material it was working on?? Would be a nice drop if the ground caved.

Thats some nice looking coal! Though, I admittedly have no idea what im talking about, haha.

[PAmining]

Thanks man! The 245 is sitting right on top of the coal seam; because of the depth he's digging at, the operator has to sit at the edge so he has better visibility. That coal is as hard as a rock man...hard enough that tiger teeth were put on the 245's bucket to help it break through the coal.

[mgmg385]

roughly how thick is that coal seam? looks thick the biggest i think i have heard of near me is 3m thick and there deep down this looks fairly shallow?

[PAmining]

This seam is in a falt and that's not even the bottom you see in the video. In one spot it's 70ft thick, then as you go back behind the 245 is lessens to nothing. This seam was under 20ft of clay. Anthracite seams can be over 100ft thick in certain areas.

[maddog5483]

Awe some Video!

[cat325ccr]

Awesome video!!

[PAmining]

Thanks!

[Bobtrucker123]

Great video,

Kyle

[letsdig18]

Very nice, thats a pretty deep cut he's making

[PAmining]

Yeah it is. Max reach for the machine too.

[310sj]

Awsome i remember see these on DHS a while back!

[canvids1]

great video Justin thanks

[PAmining]

Your welcome

[THETRASHKING1]

nice to see the old school machines working is that a d400d cat do u have a old 254 shovel that still works any video of it

[PAmining]

It says D400D right on the machine so I guess it is. Working on getting a 245 shovel video. Thanks.