Dragline bucket operation for water supply: SENNEBOGEN 55 t duty cycle crane

The Rangitata Canal diverts water for land irrigation and power generation from the Rangitata River. As one of New Zealand's longest rivers, this significantly shapes the landscape of the Canterbury Plains in the southern part of the country. The construction of the 67 km long canal in 1937 fulfilled the long-standing dream of farmers to use the extensive arable land of the country's largest flat plain for agricultural purposes. Since its completion in 1944, the water of the mountain river has flowed through the plain with an average speed of 80 m³/s and has sometimes carried up to over 10 times the usual water level during flooding. Especially during these times, the river conveys a large amount of sand and gravel into the canal, in addition to the required water, and threatens to block it unless it is regularly cleaned.

55 t SENNEBOGEN duty cycle crawler crane impresses with sturdy technology

RDRML has recently started using the new SENNEBOGEN 655 duty cycle crane with a dragline bucket to keep the riverbed continuously clean. Since the previous dragline bucket material handler had been in service for over 50 years, RDRML Managing Director Ben Curry was faced with deciding on a reliable replacement machine.

"Such a key investment required a detailed analysis of all aspects and different options. Reliability and durability were always the basis for our considerations – and SENNEBOGEN kept coming up as the result for us. In the end, it was an easy decision. The sturdy workmanship, a high practicability, and the simplicity of the components, together with high-quality safety features, tipped the scales in favor of the new SENNEBOGEN duty cycle crane", explains Ben Curry.

The 55 t duty cycle crane that Pace Cranes delivered at the end of 2015 and looks after as a sales and service partner is equipped with a 29 m long boom and a 2 cubic meter dragline bucket. The machine is driven by a 261 kW diesel engine and has two 160 kN freefall winches. For the dynamic loads in dragline bucket operation, the SENNEBOGEN 655 has been equipped with a reinforced 2-row slewing ring and second slewing drive. This considerably reduces the time for a cycle even more, and the riverbed can be emptied faster, especially in critical situations. The special fairlead and a deflection sheave integrated in the boom ensure optimum rope guidance and minimize wear at the same time.