EX135W road speed increase?

[Johnny English]

Hi Guys we have a fiat hitachi EX135W as pictured below. Does anyone have any tips or knowledge on how to increase road travel speed on them at all. We only get 15-16 mph out of her. Could do with any sort of a tinkering to squease a little more speed out of her. Its painfull travelling anywhere in it.

Any help or advise appreciated.

 

[bear]

Johnny E I think AtlasRob should be able to give a hand or assistance on this one for you. He runs similar equipment and may have a trick or two for you. You might do a search and see if he has mentioned anything about it in the past.

 

[Eddiebackblade]

Hi Johnny,
I've always made a habit of checking that the engine is actually achieving 'full throttle'.
Easily done by revving flat out and selecting any 'Hi' modes, then climbing up and pulling the actual throttle lever on the pump to see if it connects with the stop.
The FH150w I drove was transformed once the last few revs were liberated from the engine.
Other than that it would be up to you if you wished to liberate a few more revs by adjusting the actual stop.(Don't go mad but a little more revs should be ok) Don't get messing with anything else on the pump though!
I would never do it to any machine I didn't actually 'own' as it would be a very quick way to get sacked !!
However your time would be better spent throwing the Stabilisers away and getting the Blade on the correct end of the Duck.
The transformation in site performance will make up for the lack of road speed!

 

[Johnny English]

As you can tell from the picture the main use of the stabliser is a footrest for the driver to climb in and out of the cab. Ducks all seem to differ on blade position some at front like our and some at the back, don't know what difference it makes, we clean up to ours mainly so no shovelling required. When we were looking for it all the sales reps couldn't understand why we wanted it to be able to touch its blade, but we need to clean up every last scrap of material, its amazing how many won't touch the blade with the bucket.

 

[Eddiebackblade]

Johnny, in my humble experience not having stabilisers fitted and having the blade on the 'short' end of a Duck will make a real difference in site conditions.
I think the changeover point is around 16 tonne if you have work that demands stabilisers (personally I'd still leave them off at this weight) and on the big un's definately have them for the heavy lift applications.
The blade issue has been discussed before, but trust me it should be on the other end! ( hope Rob will back me up)
I hear you with the cleanup of materials, and have only had two machines that would not quite manage the task. The first a CAT 312m monoboom and the second a CAT318m, but this is fitted with a short dipper and can be completely forgiven as it is a heavily lift monster!
The reason most will not touch the blade quite is you need the little extra height of a tilt bucket to get the last little bit or if you are blessed with a two piece boom then problem solved.
The hitachi FH150w I operated had bolt on stabilisers, and we took them off completely transforming the machine in terms of manouverability and traversing of softer ground.
I collected a js130w brand new and took it onto a large water main replacement job, the blade was on the steering end for all of two days before being swapped on Saturday morning!
As you can gather my preferences are set in 'stone' from past experience, but as I am well aware others prefer things the 'other way round' and if it works for them thats all that matters.
Did you ever try a Leibherr? I always aspired to operate a Duck from them but have never even sat in one yet!

 

[RoadDoc]

Suggestions?

Taller tires? :beatsme

Cat has a hi speed (21mph) option. Don't know what they do but, it may be something that could translate over.....

Agree 100% on bucket touching blade situation! :usa
Must agree with Mr. Backblade on proper blade position. :notworthy
Never had a problem with outriggers, though....I don't use them until I need them and then I'm most grateful to have them when I do. I prefer to be prepared for as many scenarios as possible. (Must admit I probably don't spend as much time off pavement as you guys do.)

Ducks have a way of making you one of the most popular operators ($$$) on the job when they're set up right.

 

[Johnny English]

To be honest we work on hardcore and tarmac nearly 95% of the time so soft ground isn't really an issue for us as we mainly do maintenance and project work on 2 liquid storage facilities so its mainly all firm ground. The blade could be at either end for me its just the way it came and haven't bothered to shift it. We only use the legs occasionally for lifting in formwork into holes or steel mesh etc when presision is required. As a rule the machine is well balanced without them down, we also use them to lift mini diggers over concrete 2m high bund walls fairly regular.

 

[AtlasRob]

speed!

Legs! what legs

Dont get started on the blade, :Banghead I didnt have one when it got delivered

Original problem, SPEED! or lack of :Banghead I agree with Eddie, make sure you are getting full revs before you tinker with anything else.
My Atlas 1404M was roaded a lot due to the job layout. She only ever made good speed when at FULL revs, even 100rpm off the top made a noticable difference. Other than that on an Hitachi :beatsme sorry.

 

[Johnny English]

Thanks for that guys, the machine is in for service this week so I'll get the fitter to have a look at the revs to make sure we're getting full chat. What sort of speeds do you guys get from your makes of machines?

 

[RoadDoc]

Fastest ever was 17 mph going downhill.....

 

[Eddiebackblade]

Hi Johnny,
I've found that the slowest by a mile was the Hitachi FH150w,'slow' would not do it justice but what a super tool for a deep dig in the road or lifting duties.
The owner would sometimes send it out to replace a JCB 3cx if it was standing, and I've done done many days with 3hrs plus travel.
The JCB JS130w and 160w are average performers on the road and the speed is adequate for most applications. (very good cab and controls also)
The CAT 315m and 318m are good on road speed (It's killing me to praise a CAT Duck) and the early 312m was blessed with a real turn of speed.
However if it's speed you want then it's the Komatsu pw130es that would win by some margin in my experience.
The one I operated would nearly keep up with a JCB 3cx in most situations, but show it a long downhill and it would fairly fly past one. (yes I have to admit to a few 'whacky races' from the yard of a morning)
The Komatsu was a star performer on all fronts for me, it was fitted with a Miller hitch that adapted to CAT 315 buckets and handled them with ease.
The slew of the Komatsu was extremely fast, possibly too fast for the inexperienced but made dispatching tippers easy.
Last word on 'Ducks' for me must go to the Hitachi Ex100w, not the largest Duck but an absolute legend in terms of performance and reliability.
The 6 cylinder non turbo Isusu was a fantastic engine in these, and both I operated got over 12,000hrs with no problems.
They had a good turn of speed and superb lifting ability, coupled with an amazing off road perfomance for a Duck.
Anybody operate a Daewoo Duck? as I worked alongside one and it seemed a really capable machine.

 

[Johnny English]

Was talking to a guy a few weeks ago that has two Daewoo's along with two volvos, Daewoos are powerfull, sturdy and reliable but poor service from dealer, numb on the controlls and poor on resale value. The extra couple of grand for the volvo is worth it when you sell it, apparently.