Grove M977 Crane

[Fawteen]

Hi, Noob here.

Place where I work just bought a MILSURP Grove 977 crane. It's in pretty decent shape, just needs a couple of hoses replaced and a good lube job.

I've contacted Grove and surfed around looking for info on this unit, and this place has the most hits.

At the moment, I have two major questions:

1. Can someone point me to a source for an Operator and a Maintenance manual for this unit? I think the Army calls them "TO's"? (Hey, I'm retired Navy, cut me a little slack, okay?)

2. We'll be adapting it for fixed operation on our wharf. It's pretty apparent that we'll either have to relocate the controls or find a remote for it. Any ideas on where I might find a remote and the associated cable?

Thanks in advance for any leads.

Not sure how much I can contribute to the forums, but I'll sure keep an eye out for any opportunity to contribute. My background is electronics and electrical maintenance, plus a little welding and fabrication.

 

[BFR]

Welcome to Steel Soldiers!
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I imagine the remotes are out there, but you'll either need luck or deep pockets to get one.

 

[gimpyrobb]

Got a pic? I might know where a remote control unit is.

 

[Fawteen]

Got a pic? I might know where a remote control unit is.

I can make pics happen, what do you need to see?

 

[Fawteen]

Welcome to Steel Soldiers!
TM-9-2320-279-10-1 Truck Tractor Line Haul Light Equipment Transporter Medium Equipment Transporter Truck Chassis Manual

I imagine the remotes are out there, but you'll either need luck or deep pockets to get one.

Thanks for the link.

On the remote, how deep is deep?

 

[gimpyrobb]

Do you have a pic of the remote? I saw a remote for a crane in my travels, don't know what it was for(I know it was for a military crane). If I could see what you need, that would help.

 

[Fawteen]

There's a picture of one in this thread: http://www.steelsoldiers.com/5-ton-up/14579-anyone-hemtt-grove-m977-crane-wheres-dataplate.html

 

[BFR]

I'm not sure, call grove (717) 597-8121
from my limited experience it is best to be seated when asking for parts prices from crane manufacturers.

 

[Wolf.Dose]

I use this crane since about 15 years in my barn. I changed the hoses to European civilian hoses and a civilian valve block with a civilian electric remote controll. The design pressure is 100 bar (about 700 psi), which for our understanding is quite low. My setting is now at 125 bar. The crane works very slow due to the reducer valves. However, due to the design, it is difficult to change that. It would need a replacement of the hydraulic locks. But they are welded to the cylinders.
My crane is officially tested for 1000 kg max load at 5.6 m reach. And it needs annually reinspection according European requirements.
Wolf

 

[Jones]

Grove made the MHC977 as a government contract unit speced out by TACOM so there are no Grove parts manuals or handbooks for it.
The best material for operators is in the 10-1; and for parts list and break-downs, look in the 24P-1 (Group 20).

Oshkosh is the source for parts for these cranes since they're still in service on the HEMTTs.
A long way around but you might even start looking for places that have several cranes they picked up surplus I've even seen them at rancher's supply places). They can't all be complete and in top notch shape so the chances of finding a parts crane is something to consider.

Remotes are out there but what seems to be the harder part to find is the cable. I eventually had to make my own.

Remember too that these cranes are 24v and as far as I've been able to tell there are no 12v versions of things like proximity sensors and extension limiters. If you find a source for them, please let me know. I ended up putting a 12vdc to 24vdc converter (inverter, subverter?) on my truck to give me the right crane voltage from a 12v system.

 

[gimpyrobb]

I might know where a remote is. PM me your phone # please.

 

[Fawteen]

Holy Bat, ****man! I just got a quote back from Manitowoc/Grove on a new remote for the 977. $4600+!!! Obviously, that ain't happening.

I've got the CD on order, hopefully that will include a wiring diagram.

I'll be building a remote from scratch, shouldn't be unduly difficult. Four DPDT rocker switches, a 24v power supply and some cable. Thanks to Jones for confirming my suspicion that it was a 24v system.

Wolf.Dose, might it be possible to get some pictures of how you mounted your crane for stationary use?

We'll be mounting the crane to a subframe on our wharf and using it for unloading fishing boats. Seeing as I'll be buildinging my own remote, I'll include a cable long enough to hand the remote control to the guys on the boat and letting them run the crane, which will free up one of my guys.

Assuming I'm successful in building a remote, I'd be happy to provide plans and parts sources to anyone interested.

Thanks for all the info, guys!

Paul

 

[Jones]

Paul,

The controls on a MHC977 remote are graduated in action like reostats, not on-off like a toggle switch. Might keep that in mind so you don't get yourself into trouble down the road.

I have the wiring and hydraulic schematics for the HEMTT cranes.
PM me with your email address 'cause they're big files; all 1 Mb+.

 

[cranetruck]

........
We'll be mounting the crane to a subframe on our wharf and using it for unloading fishing boats. Seeing as I'll be building my own remote, I'll include a cable long enough to hand the remote control to the guys on the boat and letting them run the crane, which will free up one of my guys.......

Paul

Just curious, how will you provide power to the hydraulic pump....electric or gas or?

 

[nk14zp]

Where at in down east Maine?

 

[dma251]

The remotes aren't that tough to find. Lots of people seem to come across them on surplus. Cut/paste on of my pics from the earlier thread linked farther up this thread, and post a WANTED ad in the resources section. Someone will have one. The tough part is the cable. You will probably have to locate a couple 16 ga 16+ conductor connectors of some sort and make your own cable. Swap out the original connectors on the remote and control box on the crane.

By the way - I have a few videos of this crane in operation on my youtube account - including one that shows how the remote works. here-

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUaTAsNlXR8&feature=channel_page[/media]

IF there is anything you need let me know.

 

[rmgill]

Oh brother, I SO want one of those things now.

 

[Fawteen]

Okay, folks a little update here.

First, sorry for being so long getting back, dang day job keeps getting in the way..

Jones: Thanks for the offer, I pm'd you.

nk14zp: I work at Stinson Seafood in Prospect Harbor, Coupla folks from out your way work in our cutting room.

cranetruck: We have a 5 horse electric motor driving a variable displacement pump that ran our old crane (which was condemned). Home-built Stainless Steel 20 gallon tank with a top-mount pump, 5hp 480V 3-phase.

dma251: Dang IT Nazis at work won't let me do videos, but I'll sure check them out when I get home!

Okay, progress report: Hauled the hydraulic power-pack into the shop and plumbed it up to the valve body. Once I figured out which was pressure and which was return, all the functions worked nicely. One possible problem: Boom up/down function takes a LOT of power for some reason. All other functions barely load the pump, but boom up/down REALLY loads 'er down. Yesterday it'd growl and grunt and once the boom started to move it'd keep moving. Today, the boom goes up okay after a hard start, but won't go down at all. It stalls the pump right down to a dead stop.

My suspicion there is that the check valves that keep the boom from dropping if you blow a hose might be sticking. Any input on that and how to pull them apart and check them would be appreciated.

On the wiring, I got antsy and started tracing things with my multimeter. I've got the pinout on the remote connector pretty well figured out. Using a 24v power supply and a momentary switch, I can make all the functions except Mast Up/Down work by putting 24V on the appropriate pin.

This thing was dropped on BOTH sides at some point, had to replace hoses on both boom cylinders due to crushed/broken swivels, as well as the winch return swivel and the turntable motor return swivel.

One of the flip-flops stove the remote control box all to heck, but I'll be using a different connector when I build the remote anyway as I don't have access to a MILSPEC connector that will match.

So, bottom line, things are moving along nicely, appreciate all the help, and I'll keep ya posted.

 

[nk14zp]

A friend of mines boy friend works there.

 

[Fawteen]

Couple of other things:

Finding the Mast Up/Down wiring is mostly a matter of finding a few minutes to get out there with the multimeter again.

OSHA requires that we have a certified engineer design the mounting for it, so we're waiting on that.

Does anyone know the approximate weight of the crane?