Why Cheap Excavator Bucket Repairs Cost More

In JADCO’s 45+ years of helping our customers get longer life from their wear resistant steel, we have seen nearly every attempt at repairs imaginable.

It is amazing how many people attempt to save money by using the lowest priced steel possible.

What Some People Save In Materials, They Often Waste With Increased Labor.

This before photo was taken at the start of the season. Their new buyer thought JADCO’s quote for a replacement excavator bucket bottom was too high. Rather than using a one piece, accurately formed bottom, the welder was told, “If you weld in several flat pieces of a low price AR400 in the curved section over the old bottom, it will work just fine. After all, we are just digging in sand.”

What the buyer didn’t realize is they work in Frack Sand, which is very abrasive. When you subject low cost AR400 with hard angular particles, you see rapid wear. With none of the protection for your equipment.

THE AFTER PHOTO: This is the condition of the same bucket less than 4 months later. The weld seams wore away, allowing the sand to wear out the multiple edges. The end result? They had to buy a new bucket bottom. This time they ordered a one piece JADCO QT-PLUS ^® bottom, which lasted over four years. Compared to less than four months.

Wider Bucket Bottom Gives Edge Protection.

Here you can see how a formed bucket bottom extends 1” past the bucket side for additional protection of the bottom weld seam. This allows full penetration welds from both sides to the bottom, for superior structural strength.

Remember, Joining Weld Are Not Wear Resistant. If The Weld Seams Aren’t Protected, They Can Wear Away Rapidly.

Cover your joining welds with hardfacing, to protect against abrasive wear.

But NEVER Use Carbide Forming Hardfacing On Heat Treated High Strength, Low-Alloy Steel.

You can identify carbide hardfacing by the checks, or visible cracks across the weld beads. On HSLA steel, these cracks will continue down into the wear plate, leading to premature failure.

What Joining Weld Products Should You Use For The Best Results On Heat Treated Steel?

FUSION™ UNIVERSAL is a hardfacing weld wire that has good impact, cavitation and corrosion resistance. Also available in stick form as Universal E, this alloy has excellent impact resistance and moderate abrasion resistance.

Depending on the amount of impact, the weld deposit work hardens to different degrees. The weld deposit shows exceptionally high ductility and elongation. This weld wire also has exceptional crack resistance.

JADCO’s QT-PLUS ^® delivers greater performance IN YOUR MOST CHALLENGING WEAR APPLICATIONS than the various AR400 steel plates you have used previously.

Being able to create wear resistant steel having the same hardness through the entire thickness of the steel, demands you accurately control the alloying chemistry with precise heat treating.

Doesn’t Every Steel Company Make Their Wear Plate Last As Long As JADCO QT-PLUS ^® ?

The quick answer is No; although the attention to alloy content required at the steel mill is available to anyone. Yet most wear plate distributors choose to reduce the proper quantities and percentages of these essential alloying elements, to get a lower selling price.

When manufacturers cut back on critical alloys, wear life drops.
When that happens…It is always the customer who suffers…
not the manufacturer!

For the last 45 years JADCO has focused exclusively on delivering consistent, longer equipment life for our customers.

Now you understand why we deliver better results to our customers. By strictly focusing on improving your current results, we look at the wear process differently. This is why we deliver better performance results, and lower cost of ownership for our customers.

Allow us to help you today by emailing us at info@jadcomfg.com or calling (724) 452-5252.

We will schedule a meeting with one of our local wear plate specialists at a time that best fits your schedule.

Remember, the only thing you have to lose by not working with JADCO is profit.