New Case SV340 Tier 4 Final

[Georgia Iron]

I received word that it has left the plant and is in route to the dealer.... Should be here next week

 

[Georgia Iron]

Shipped in today!

 

[KSSS]

Did you order yours with the 14X17.5 tires?

 

[Georgia Iron]

No. I went ahead with the standard tires and wheels. I might order a new set of rims later, a tire guy near me has a set of the 14's that he has not been able to sell and he offered them to me for 1/3rd of new cost.

 

[JS300]

The new yellow and black looks good. I’m still undecided wether or not I like the tracks over the tires. Sometimes the tracks vibrate prety bad.

 

[Georgia Iron]

So I went and picked up the machine today. Everything appears to be in good condition and is nicely done. Really the only complaint I have is the wheels do not have valve stem protection like the older machines had.

I am confused about the emissions also because the owners manual show a filter that needs to be cleaned after 2 years. It also shows engine rpm needing to be increased if the scr system becomes clogged. For some reason I thought the machines with blue Def did not use a filter or need to increase rpm to burn off particulates. So I am unsure as to what this emissions system is.

I was hoping to be able to run on low idle and increase power as needed. Seems this might not be possible?

 

[Georgia Iron]

Here are a few photos of the layout. My machine has the mechanical joysticks. I did a few quick checks. I tested the dump height and tested how close I could get to the dump truck side to see about loading . I checked to see if it is possible to stall the motor under low idle and dig/bog at same time. I also checked to see what would happen under full rpm.

 

[Georgia Iron]

I did not order a new bucket I kept my old one and it fits great, both in width and in cutting angle. That saved me about $1600 or so.

So I got as close to the truck as I could and still get the door open to get out. The rubber tire will touch the dump truck tire before the front door will hit the side of the dump truck which is good. But If you had a front lean happen, the front cab door would most likely be toast. The height and reach appear to be very impressive. It seems like it will reach higher and further in the truck than the 440 series 3 and the case 75 xt. I will update on this once I get to load debris with it. I did not get the engine to stall under low idle with full bucket pushing into a gravel pile spinning all 4 tires and digging a hole in the ground with the tires. The machine might could have stalled out but it did not it was jumping sortaof. Under full power the bucket just fills up and runs over the back and would crowd onto the front door if you wanted to do that. So the best test is in the field in thick sticky dirt carrying a full load in the grapple (that will be bigger and heaver than dirt and gravel) and turning so I will check out more when I am in that scenario.

The 440 was a strange thing I guess it was pilot control like the taks. But the dealer said it was also electro hydraulic. I am not sure really what it was. They told me it was special and they had not had another like it. The controls in it were probably the best for quick fine control with little to no effort on your wrist. It was faster than the 75xt but it also had 15 more HP so it is hard to tell what is what. The 440 had a wiring issue in one of the joysticks that stopped the hydraulics from working right so I just always used the foot control and never fixed it. The 340 does not have a foot control for the aux hydraulic. The 340 has full mechanical servo assist and it is a little more sticky. I think it is due to everything being so tight and new. I was afraid I was going to regret getting the mechanical controls but I so far seem to be good with it. It will take me about a few hours building a slab and controlling the fine cutting near the footings to really see, but it seems like it is going to be good.

You can feel the machine work and you seem to need to move the controls just a little more than the electro hyd. controls to get to full power. So that makes it seem slower but you can feel what it is doing but at the same time it has so much power that you most likely would not kill the engine while preforming work.


All that being said I am commenting much sooner than I probably should since I have only used it about 6 or 8 mins. More to come later.

 

[Georgia Iron]

As of today, I have 12 hours on the machine. I believe I can give an accurate review of the performance of the machine now. It has been on 3 different jobs. One basic driveway gravel job, one grading job moving and packing dirt and one building construction job getting the site ready for a concrete slab

 

[Georgia Iron]

The machine is a loaded high flow unit with cab. 90 Horsepower - FTPF5bFL413 Diesel Engine.

The shipping ticket shows it weighs 9100 without a bucket installed. The machine is rated for a 3400 lb tipping load, which is more than a 90xt at 2500 lbs.. I special ordered my machine with mechanical hand controls.


To put it plainly the machine is another step in the right direction for productivity. It will out work the case 440 series 3 machines and the 75xt series machines which I have both owned and operated. The machine is very stable and carries a lot of material with ease. It does not notice a full bucket of gravel or dirt. The extra weight of the machine makes packing in dirt much easier and it is not tippy when using. So far I am happy with the overall performance of the machine.


I ordered my machine with the standard 12 x 16.5 tires for 2 reasons, they are common and I did not want the extra flotation the larger tires would give. I need all the ground PSI I can get for dirt compaction when leveling areas for buildings. This machine is heavy and it will go to the belly pan in a hurry in soft conditions. So if you plan to use it in those conditions I would use steel tracks or order the bigger tires.


In a direct comparison to the 440 machine, it has less power since you are moving around close to 2000lbs more in weight. In some ways the 440 had too much power with not enough weight.

I have stuck the sv340 5 times so far, each time I have been able to push it out using the bucket and the drive together. When stuck and loaded with a scoop of dirt you can feel it strain, but the power is good. The machine has 12.5 hours on it and I am about to need to fuel it up. I would classify the work done as hard work for a skid steer. The fuel economy is good. I have not noticed the DPF level change yet.


Review of the Mechanical hand controls.


I give 2 thumbs up.


We have had poor weather here the last few weeks. Every thing seems wet and sticky or frozen and hard as a rock. I have used the machine for what I consider ultra fine grading which is for preparing the ground for concrete. It goes forward and backwards quickly and I can get it to stop where I need the edge of the bucket with out damaging a form or string line within an inch or so.


I really like the mechanical controls. They work your arms a little more and they take more effort to use. But I like the feel of them. At first you must adjust to using them. Within a few hours of use I was back to where I was with the pilot controlled machines or the EH machines. I can control the machine very well and they are fast to use. I don’t believe a hand / foot machine could be faster. On the EH machine you can hit the joysticks in the corners and get the machine to respond. The mechanical controls need a front/back or left/right movement so rolling through a corner does not really work. But once you get the groove of it, it works great. Good fast precise control. I am not missing anything by having them, even though some consider them old school.


So if you are unsure of which to get – either way is fine – in my mind the mechanical will add long term durability.


The heater works well and it will make the cab hot on a 20* day no problem at all.


I have not had enough time to review the performance of the hydraulic attachments yet.


More to come later..

 

[KSSS]

They delivered my 340 a couple days ago. Mine has EH controls. I cant go back to mechanical. The 440 had 90 hp just like these only they made it with a bigger motor, the 4.5. I agree they had probably more hp than you can use in a lot of applications but I loved my 440. I would not be with out the 14X17.5 tires. I think once you tried them, you feel the same. You can still wheel pack effectively with them, but they give you more dump height and the machine hooks up much better. It is much easier to access the power of the machine. Your 440 if it was a Series 3 which it sounds like you had was pilot, not EH. It used electricity to activate the aux. hyd. but not in the operation of the machine. Scary that a salesman said it was EH. Only if it was some prototype machine would it had EH in a 400 series body, and those machines get taken apart or destroyed and are not for sale.

The excessive idling with scr creates some injection issues. If you work the machine, you will never have an issue. If you spend a lot of time, idling around, than they want you to kick up the throttle to keep the scr working properly. I will look at mine but there should not be a DPF.

My SV300 was very stable with a full load in an 84" bucket with a backsplash. It is a .90 cy bucket, heaped it gets to an even yard. I could go to full height into a truck and it never got unstable. I expect even better with this machine. The bucket breakout is over 9k on the 340 and with the big buckets we run that will be an improvement over the 300 which was around 7K.

I ran a NH version of the 340 at the factory this Summer during a customer clinic. After stepping out of the machine I told them I was ready to buy it and I did, just in Power Tan. The EH control system was incredible. The best I have run. The refinements made in the system is very impressive and my SV300 was a 2014. It is still more likely to have issues than a mechanical system of course but they are just so nice to run that I am willing to accept that.

I am using mine backfilling a commercial building tomorrow. Looking forward to see what she can do with the frozen ground, and a lot of material to move.

 

[KSSS]

The bucket breakout is noticeably better than on the SV300. Running an 84" high capacity bucket loading blasted lava rock was able to cleanly break the bucket out of the pile. Pretty impressive. The EH system is also noticeably improved over my 2014 SV300. The machine will really lift. I was moving very large pieces of blasted rock and the 340 will lift the tires off the back and keep lifting. The CAT I demoed would not do that. The rocks were so big and the 340 powerful enough that I destroyed the pallet forks. Ripping the steel bar that holds the forks right from the attachment. Clearly need to get a set of more HD forks for this machine.

 

[StumpyWally]

The EH system is also noticeably improved over my 2014 SV300. .

KSSS...In another of your very recent posts (I can't seem to find it now), you were praising the fine control of your new EH controls.

I have a very late 2012 NH L220 (same factory & controls as your Case), that has been upgraded to E-Z EH & even another firmware update after that less than a year ago, to "v4.1.0.0 for the Cluster & v5.4.0.0 for UCM & calibrated". While the EH is much better than it originally was, I don't think I would rave about its responsiveness quite as much as you do.

However, even with my EH upgrades, it might not be as "upgraded" as yours, & may lack some newer hardware version that yours has that will prevent mine from ever being as good.

But, I'm curious what E-Z EH settings do you typically use?? I'm currently set to "high" for both "Speed (tilt/lift/drive)" & "Ctrl (L-arm & drive).

Also, I should note that while the E-Z EH system was a big improvement for the control menu over what it originally was without it, I still find it somewhat less than "intuitive", & I'm a retired professional engineer & computer systems mgr. Maybe I'm just used to a much bigger screen...!!

What do you think??

 

[KSSS]

My 2012 TR320 had the EZEH upgrade after I bought it. It was fine. Not as precise as it could have been but on a tracked machine it was fine. My 2014 SV300 came with EZ/EH and it also was fine but again lacked the fine/precise control that I thought it should have on the H setting, but I was ok with it. The 2018 SV340 and the 234 NH I ran at the factory feature an upgrade in the EH system. It is still called EZ/EH but it much refined. I would suggest stopping by your NH dealer and ask to run a late 2017-18 machine (not sure when this update was started) and grade around the loading dock or something and you will see how the system was updated. It is really that good.

Now for the control panel. I am not a fan, never have been. It is not intuitive. I have spent a lot of time in these machines and so I can navigate the console pretty easy, but I would agree with you, not really easy to use. I was pretty adamant at the factory about my disappointment with the current control menu. The good news is they have what I thought was a most excellent redo of the control panel in the works. I cant share what that is here, but I was very happy with what I saw and ran.

I set all my setting on High as well and I set the console to scroll through the hyd temp, coolant temp and so forth.

 

[StumpyWally]

KSSS...Thanks for the info...Next chance I get I will try the EH on as new a machine as I can. I also suspect that the best EH will be on the largest or large-frame machines, whereas my L220 is the largest of the mid-frame machines. BTW, I run exclusively the ISO pattern....I tried H one day & I was all over the place!! Like all things, takes practice.

Also, glad to hear about the coming control panel improvements, & it's nice to hear that you share my negative thoughts about the current control panel. I don't know if I'll ever trade my current machine for a new one, so I may never get to enjoy (??) an improved control panel.

To be honest, if I ever replace my L220 SS it will probably NOT be with another SS, but with a compact wheel loader. You can't beat a SS for maneuverability, but I increasingly can't stand the difficulty/hazardness of getting in & out of it!!! I do that all the time because I usually work by myself. Also, for working in wet/muddy conditions, a SS just doesn't have enough ground clearance to suit me. I'm thinking I'd be better off giving up some maneuverability for the larger side entry cab & more ground clearance. I could configure it with the biggest, flotation tires that would fit, & just chain them up in the winter for snow work.

Got any recommendations for a VERY well designed, flexible, articulated, compact wheel loader, with decent aux. hydraulic flow?? I have local access to decent dealers for all the major brands (NH, Case, Cat, JCB, Takeuchi , Deere, Volvo, Kubota). Unfortunately, the local Wacker-Neuson dealer does not impress me, as they are really into rentals.

 

[KSSS]

My experience is primarily with WN. I have used the CASE compact loaders on occasion. I don't think anyone in that market can touch WN. If you go on the website, you see all the different variations of CWL they have available. They have center articulation models, 4 wheel steer models, and many with high flow hydraulics for high demand attachments. CWL are the skid steers of Europe and WN supplies the majority of them. They understand this market for sure. They are very comfortable to run, great visibility, fuel efficient, just very well thought out wheel loaders.

Realizing your WN dealer may have rental focus, perhaps research the models and find a machine you would be interested in and arrange a demo or rent it. The machines they rent have to get sold at some point. At least it would give you an idea of the machine can do. They are pretty easy to fall in love with. I had a WL50 on rent for a while a couple years ago. Hated to turn it back. It just didn't have the reach to get into my dump trucks, other than that I was sold on it.

 

[StumpyWally]

KSSS...I was a little afraid that you were going to recommend WN. I agree, though, that their lineup of CWL's is very impressive.

I have already stopped in at my local WN dealer, & found out that they won't even have any to look at...let alone rent...'til Spring, since they are all currently out on rental for snow work. Good thing I'm not in a hurry. In the meantime, I'm starting to compare specs to see if I can narrow my choices some (& learn as much about CWL's as I've come to know about SS's).

Thank you for your help...I may be back with more questions at some point. Are you a follower of the Compact Wheel Loader forum on HEF??

 

[KSSS]

I watch that forum as well. I know the WN area rep for your part of the country, if you need some specific help, let me know, I likely can help. Good luck.

 

[Georgia Iron]

They delivered my 340 a couple days ago. Mine has EH controls. I cant go back to mechanical. The 440 had 90 hp just like these only they made it with a bigger motor, the 4.5. I agree they had probably more hp than you can use in a lot of applications but I loved my 440. I would not be with out the 14X17.5 tires. I think once you tried them, you feel the same. You can still wheel pack effectively with them, but they give you more dump height and the machine hooks up much better. It is much easier to access the power of the machine. Your 440 if it was a Series 3 which it sounds like you had was pilot, not EH. It used electricity to activate the aux. hyd. but not in the operation of the machine. Scary that a salesman said it was EH. Only if it was some prototype machine would it had EH in a 400 series body, and those machines get taken apart or destroyed and are not for sale.

The excessive idling with scr creates some injection issues. If you work the machine, you will never have an issue. If you spend a lot of time, idling around, than they want you to kick up the throttle to keep the scr working properly. I will look at mine but there should not be a DPF.

My SV300 was very stable with a full load in an 84" bucket with a backsplash. It is a .90 cy bucket, heaped it gets to an even yard. I could go to full height into a truck and it never got unstable. I expect even better with this machine. The bucket breakout is over 9k on the 340 and with the big buckets we run that will be an improvement over the 300 which was around 7K.

I ran a NH version of the 340 at the factory this Summer during a customer clinic. After stepping out of the machine I told them I was ready to buy it and I did, just in Power Tan. The EH control system was incredible. The best I have run. The refinements made in the system is very impressive and my SV300 was a 2014. It is still more likely to have issues than a mechanical system of course but they are just so nice to run that I am willing to accept that.

I am using mine backfilling a commercial building tomorrow. Looking forward to see what she can do with the frozen ground, and a lot of material to move.

KSSS, did I miss the picture of the power tan? Mine has 15 hours on it now and I am about to start several fairly large jobs. I have not yet figured out the best way to connect the attachments yet. I believe the aux hydraulic connects are different than what I have on my TL150 and on my attachments. The machine works nice and so far I like it. It is a shame to put it in the field and get it dirty. I have already boogered up my tires, it is amazing how easy that is to do,in slightly wet clay with a few sharp rocks mixed in. Spinning the tires cuts them up.

The machine stability is the most comparable to a track machine I have used so far. It's break out and it's smooth handling is up there. It is awesome to use for construction work. Really like it. All my other machines have been some what loose and worn. A new machine really feels nice and tight and it is easier to work with. I have always had the do what ever it takes to complete my work attitude, so I will use a broken shovel if that's all I got. It will be hard to get in another machine now. I have gotten spoiled. I used the TL150 last week in a wet area, it still holds it own. But this sv340 sure bridges the gap to that machine.

 

[Georgia Iron]

Double timing it.



The wheeled machine could dig just as fast as the tracked machine. It did very well.