By: Tom McIntyre

The mining and construction industries are extremely large. By the fall of 2016, there were roughly 659,000 mining employees across the United States, with millions more working in the construction industry. Not only are these industries a part of American culture, but they are also very important for numerous other industries. Because of their importance, the heavy equipment used by these workers needs to be of the highest possible standards.

If a mining or land construction job is being performed with a team of bulldozers, and the tracks aren’t properly aligned, sized, or welded on, then the entire success of the job, not to mention each employee’s safety, is in jeopardy. Fortunately, when heavy equipment tracks break down, grouser bars can stop a project from grinding to a halt, but only if you find the correct size grouser bars for the machine in question.

This list will help you better understand available grouser bar sizes and their importance.

  • Grouser Bar Section 820— This option is one of the smallest grouser bar sizes and works great for smaller dozer makes and models. At 25.4 millimeters (mm) long and 15.9 mm wide, it’s the perfect option for smaller track sizes and dozers.
  • Grouser Bar Section 840— Perhaps the most common type of all grouser bar sizes, this bar is great for smaller track machines like the D5 and D6 dozers. At 35.1 mm long and 19.1 mm wide, this bar can also be used as a replacement for other machines.
  • Grouser Bar Section 850— Much taller than the other options, the 850 is 41.3 mm long and 22.2 mm wide. This bar is typically used for D6 and D7 dozers but can also be installed on other smaller-sized machines.
  • Grouser Bar Section 870— Like the 850, the 870 is taller at 50.8 mm and has a width of 25.4 mm. It’s typically used on D8 and D9 dozers.
  • Grouser Bar Section 890— The widest grouser bar (by far) at 32.0 mm wide isn’t actually the longest (as it is .8 mm shorter than the 870). However, this bar can be heat-treated and used for older and larger D9 machines.

Have questions about the right grouser bar sizes for your equipment? If you want to learn more about tipping bars, grouser bars, and other aspects of working with heavy equipment during mining and construction jobs, contact 4N Corp today.