Would it be worth getting a bigger hammer?

[Canadian_digger]

Would I see much of a difference going from a 1200lbs hammer mounded on a 310SL backhoe to a 2000lbs Hammer mounted on a 308e2 excavator? I need to break lime stone for utilities poles.

If I only need to break 1-2' of stone to get my depth my 1200lbs hammer gets the job done. Sometimes I need to break 3-5' of stone and my hammer really starts to struggle. Do you think I would see much of a difference stepping up to the next size hammer?

I have a magnum 306 at the moment. Was thinking of getting a 310.

 

[AzIron]

I can't speak to that brand of hammer but I use both a 1100 and 1600lbs npk hammers the is a big difference it's not very often I get into rock that the bigger hammer can't get thru. If it will take more than a day we pull the bigger hammer it's more cost effective to our customers

Some of the stuff I notice with how people set up larger hammers is the horse they hang it on it might carry it fine but if you don't have the weight to back up the hammer it won't be as effective

In my experience we us a cat 446 backhoe it weighs in a shade over 21000lbs and we carry a 1600lbs hammer your going to hang a higher energy hammer on a lighter machine it will handle it just fine but it may not engage the hammer to the rock as effectively because you lack carrier weight not guaranteed but is a strong possibility

 

[farmboy555]

I'm looking at purchasing a hammer in the near future, 12,000lb excavator. Wanting the biggest it can handle.
Never have owned one. So many different brands and prices?? Been doing some reasearch
So please keep post info about your hammer breakers Pro's & con's

 

[AzIron]

The thing to remember with hammers are most of the brands have been bought and sold multiple times it's hard to keep up with parts

If your after the best npk is probably close to it that's what we run we have 4 of them 3 of witch are over 20 years Old they are bullet proof and so stupidly simple witch makes them very easy to rebuild and cheap to rebuild and you can find good used ones for a 12000 lbs machine for under 7000 dollars

Stay away from cat unless you want a noise maker cat bought out Stanley they hit stupidly fast and don't accomplish much

Teledine was ok not sure if they are still around or what there parts situation is they are not as forgiving as npk

I hear good things about okida ran one a little they hold there own have no idea about price or longevity

Hope that helps

 

[farmboy555]

Sunbelt rentals have Okada hammers.
Your right on the Npk hammers from what I’ve read. I don’t get in a hurry on my Equipment purchase’s

 

[AzIron]

I can say this about npk I ave never been let down and have never been left stranded on a job by those hammers and I have put equal size competition against an npk and they have not been beat

The other really good thing about npk is the parts we just rebuilt an h4xe all the parts were on the shelf that hammer has not been made since the early 90s and they stock it all I am in the process of rebuilding an h7x (No time) and again all the parts are just a phone call away if you had all the parts the the 2 special tools and the nitrogen gage you could rebuild a 4x or 7x in an afternoon

The newer hammers have even less parts in them and are simpler to work on. Tho they do not perform the way the older ones do they do well but the older ones just hit hard

 

[xr4ticlone]

Be careful putting too much hammer on a tractor. Look at pump specs and flows. Also be careful as some (especially Deere) have too small of wet kit hose for the carriers. If you're blowing out seals that's your issue 99% of the time as it's over heating the hammer seals due to restriction in the pipe & valves.

BUT a larger hammer will be more productive in the right applications.

I agree that Cat is over priced POS for hammers...and pricey as well. Double whammy.

NPK has a good rep, but they're very expensive and expensive to repair. What is the NPK 2000 pound running for price now? $28-$35k?

 

[RjMaan]

I think you should go for the bigger hammer. It may be useful to you in future.

 

[AzIron]

A new npk for an 1100 lbs is around 20 I believe a 2000lbs is upwards of 30 grand that said if you go shopping you can find the older series under 10 grand and you can rebuild them fairly cheap if the pistons not pitted if the bottom of the piston is mushroomed a little a grinder fixes that

You get what you pay for I have never used or owned a better hammer

And you definitely don't want to over hammer your machine if matched correctly hammers won't hurt the carrier but if you hang a big hammer on a smaller Carrier it can stress it fast