Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/348131
I DA U N I V E R S A L J u l y -Au g u s t 2 0 1 4 53 Story continued on page 55 was the company's primary motivation, Quinby says. "We felt like the fuel savings and the increased production on that particular tractor would probably pay a big share of the labor, maybe even all of the labor if you fi gure it all together. We are convinced that they are paying their way," Quinby says. " e operators love them. ey don't lug down, they just push and the engine rpm changes very little. e torque is phenomenal," Quinby says. In a full day of work, Durango Services has found its D7E dozers can push almost as much dirt as a D8T, while burning less fuel than a Tier 3 D6T, he says. Komatsu's HB215LC-1 hybrid excavator uses a diesel engine as the starting point in generating electrical and hydraulic power for the machine, but it also has an electric swing motor/generator that recovers energy dur- ing the swing braking and can rotate the superstructure of the excavator faster than a hydrau- lic system. e generator/ motor is positioned between the engine and the hydrau- lic pump to produce electric power and charges the capaci- tor when the engine is idling. e capacitor can charge and discharge faster than a battery hybrid system and matches the quick response needed for the operation of the machine. Will Dellinger, owner of JW Demolition in Charlotte, North Carolina, bought four Komatsu HB215C-1 excava- tors in 2011. "If I buy another 200-class excavator, I'll buy a hybrid, no questions asked," Dellinger says. Getting 40 percent bet- ter fuel economy is what impresses Dellinger most about the Komatsu hybrid. He says they burn 2.5 to 3 gallons per hour (gph) vs. almost 6 gph on a similar sized conven- tional excavator. In terms of operation, he says the hybrid has slightly less digging power than a conventional model. [Editor's note: e Equip- ment World Spec Guide shows the bucket breakout force of the HB215LC-1 at 31,080 pounds vs. 33,510 pounds for the PC210LC-10, about a 7 percent diff erence.] But Dellinger says the fuel savings and cab swing speed make his HB215LC-1s well worth the investment and the go-to machine for his demolition and material processing work. "You not only save fuel, you save 45 minutes a day not having to track the machine all the way back to the fuel tanks and fi ll it up," he says. Del- linger says he typically gets a day-and-a-half, sometimes two days between fi ll ups. An additional benefi t is the good impression the hybrid machine makes on his custom- ers. "It looks good. It's quieter when you're working near neighborhoods, because the engine idles down a lot. And there are fewer emissions," he says. "My thinking is that this is the future," Dellinger says, "and I wanted to get in early. It's where we're headed and the right way to do things." Miguel Diaz, equipment maintenance supervisor for the Solid Waste Authority in