numbers and letters... anybody know!?!

[ronburgandy]

these may be stupid questions making me sound like the amateur that i am but...

what do the numbers and letters on the side of excavators mean?
for example cat 345LC
it's fairly obvious that they are model numbers representing the progression of smaller machines to larger but...
do these numbers tell an onlooker anything specific about the machine such as wieght or capacity?

and mini excavators have numbers that contradict larger machines like bobcats 303 mini is much smaller that a deere 225
are mini excavators represented by smaller units of measurement?

and finally where is the cutoff between "mini" and a "full size" excavators in terms of wieght and capacity?

thats quite a list and i hope someone can shed some light... without making me feel stupid!!!

awsome fourm, i'm hooked!!
thanks guys!!

 

[AtlasRob]

these may be stupid questions making me sound like the amateur that i am but...

what do the numbers and letters on the side of excavators mean?
for example cat 345LC
it's fairly obvious that they are model numbers representing the progression of smaller machines to larger but...
do these numbers tell an onlooker anything specific about the machine such as wieght or capacity?

and mini excavators have numbers that contradict larger machines like bobcats 303 mini is much smaller that a deere 225
are mini excavators represented by smaller units of measurement?

and finally where is the cutoff between "mini" and a "full size" excavators in terms of wieght and capacity?

thats quite a list and i hope someone can shed some light... without making me feel stupid!!!

awsome fourm, i'm hooked!!
thanks guys!!

Not stupid at all, and it will take a few to chime in to get them all, and still some will get missed.
The problem is the manufactures dont have a standard to work to. Well they do but each has thier own standard :Banghead
Gererally the number on the side will give you an indication of series, + size, problem is sometimes its the size of the machine, other times its the bucket capacity, :Banghead
C@t, generally 320LC = 3 series, 20ton, long carriage
345 UHD = 3 series, Ultra High Demo
So with C@t last 2 digids give GUIDE to base weight. C@t 245ME 2 series, 70ton :beatsme
ME denotes Mass Exc, shorter dipper arm, bigger bucket = MORE MUCK
Somebody else will have to chip in with others and once explained will be quite obvious. As with most things when you know its easy
Atlas ( Terex Atlas now) 1304M 13 ton, 4 series, Mobile, ( wheeled exc )
Now TW130. Terex wheeled 13 ton.
So first two digits weight, last, series. NO STANDARD

 

[CascadeScaper]

Hitachi, Komatsu, Kobelco, and some others have the series after the weight class number. Like Rob said about Cat is the opposite of the above.

Deere 200CLC = 20 ton, C series, long carriage
Deere 135CRTS = 13.5 ton, C series, Reduced Tail Swing

First two numbers designate weight class.

With Cat, at least on the 300 family, the last 2 numbers are weight
315CL = 15 ton, C series, Long (carriage)
315BL = 15 ton, B series, Long
315L = 15 ton, Long

Only difference between the three is the series, which we use to designate particular machines in a certain year range.

This doesn't play true for older Deere machines. 490E is a 12 ton machine, 590E is a 15-16 ton (actually not sure which is more true), and so on.

Case's numbering on their older excavators didn't make sense to me, same with Linkbelt. The 9010 was a 12 ton machine, 9020 was a 15 ton and so on. The new Case machines, however, are the CX series followed by 3 numbers. CX130 would be a 13 ton, CX210 is a 21 ton, etc..

Minis are the same. For example, Cat's 303CR is a 03 ton mini, first number is family series, last two are weight, the CR stands for Compact Radius. Hitachi, Deere and others use their numbering system minus the zero, so a 50DZTS Deere is a 5 ton machine.

 

[grassmanvt]

The only thing I can think to add is that by my understanding the ton rating is actually a metric ton rating. Maybe that varies by mfg, not sure.

 

[Noose]

What about the dozer's, D8 H etc.

 

[stretch]

When Caterpillar started making diesel-powered dozers in the 1920's, they chose the letter "D" for diesel and the first digit of their horsepower rating (80 HP=8) so the final lettering would be "D8". From there, they just used the same classic model numbers on their future dozers. And the "G", "H", etc. is the letter of the series.

 

[N.CarolinaDozer]

Not a stupid question! I was wondering the same thing! Thanks for asking and for you all answering. Glad to see that we can ask such questions, and help each other! Thats what make this the best forums ever!:usa

 

[Noose]

A D 8 is more than 80 horsepower is it not?

 

[Northart]

Dozer Nomenclature

Caterpillar did not make any diesel engines till the 1930's . They made gas engines for tractors prior to the diesel.

The Diesel 60 was introduced in 1931 .These were the Numbered Series of Diesel tractors .

Diesel 35,40,50,60,65,70,75

Next came the RD Series of Diesel tractors.

RD 4,6,7,8

Then the D Series of Diesel tractors

D2,4,5,6,7,8

Evolving into todays line up of D3 to D11.

 

[Northart]

D8 HP Rating

The Cat RD8 became the Cat D8 . Hp started at 98 and has increased since.

The Diesel 75 had 83 HP which was replaced by the RD8.

 

[JDOFMEMI]

It seems there is a pretty good explanation already, but I'll add:
Newer machines of most all the major manufacturers use the first 2 digits to represent the weight class in metric tonns this is true for deere, Hitachi, Komatsu, Volvo, and MOST others. 200 is 20 ton, 300 is 30 ton, etc.

Cat is different in using the last 2 digits, as they are stuck on using "3" as a designator of ydraulic excavator in general, then following it with the weight. They swithched fron the "2" series when they integrated the Mitsubishi line.
There is no apparent rhyme or reason to the "2" series excavators:beatsme
245 is a 65 ton machine, 235 is a 35 ton, 225 is 20 ton?? Not sure on the exact weights, and away frm my books on it.

At least with the newer ones, it is easy to know what you are getting.



Now then Northart brought up a rating I had nearly forgotten, the Nebraska Test Number
Maybe you can explain that one for thefolks here. I do not remember enough to get it right.

 

[Northart]

Nebraska Tractor Test Laboratory

Nebraska Tractor Test Laboratory test all kinds of tractors.

Lab results available . Read the link for further info.

http://tractortestlab.unl.edu/publications.htm

 

[Hitachi350Man]

To answer the question about mini and full size excavators:
Typically any excavator under 12,000 lbs is considered compact or mini equipment and any excavator over that is considered full size or heavy equipment.:thumbsup

 

[wildy]

if in doubt, look at the chassis plate and make yer own assumptions?

 

[AtlasRob]

It seems there is a pretty good explanation already, but I'll add:

There is no apparent rhyme or reason to the "2" series excavators:beatsme
245 is a 65 ton machine, 235 is a 35 ton, 225 is 20 ton?? Not sure on the exact weights, and away frm my books on it.
At least with the newer ones, it is easy to know what you are getting.

Is it possible the 2 series C@t were numbered in bucket max cu yd ?

 

[ror76a]

I believe the 200 series Cat's were numbered by weight, the first series 235s were 35 ton, (same with early 215's, 225's) but they grew over time - the last series 235D were closer to 50 tons. The same thing happened across the 200 series, though I think even the first 245s were more than 45 ton machines...

 

[ronburgandy]

thanks everyone for clearing things up!!!!
mostly!!

 

[JDOFMEMI]

Is it possible the 2 series C@t were numbered in bucket max cu yd ?

I'll have a look in my Cat performance books, but if memory serves me right, a 235 was 2 to 2.5CY, and a 245 was around 5CY. Not familiar with the smaller ones.

 

[AtlasRob]

I'll have a look in my Cat performance books, but if memory serves me right, a 235 was 2 to 2.5CY, and a 245 was around 5CY. Not familiar with the smaller ones.

Thanks, its just a thought. The only 2 series C@t I operated was a 245 backhoe long lever, funny shape cab as somebody refered to them and I have a pic somewhere of the bucket beside a landrover which got me wondering.
I'm sure C@t had a reason for the numbering even if it was a '4' just because the '2' was first and they saved a space for a '3' if needed :beatsme
Ooops, was the 215 or 225 first :bash

 

[AtlasRob]

funny cab

Heres the pic of the 245 bucket beside a landrover, and me with my ride in 78 just 20yrs old. :drinkup