M O’Brien Plant Hire is pleased to announce that it has taken delivery of its first 22 tonne Hybrid excavators from Kobelco. After weighing up the options of other manufactures and taking into consideration the key measures of performance, fuel consumption and co2 emissions, the Kobelco came out on top and a deal was struck.

The intelligent hybrid system fitted to the Kobelco not only utilises an electric slew motor, but a sequence of lithium-ion batteries that can be charged both from the power of the diesel engine and the deceleration motion of the slew ring. This electricity can be used both to power the slew motor or be regenerated back into the diesel engine to remove strain and save fuel, it can also be used to boost the Diesel engine power by up to 25KW.

2019 will see more of these top of the range excavators added to our 500 strong hire fleet, giving our customers access to best practice equipment that will not only provide them with a fuel and time saving, but will wipe 53,000 tonnes of CO2 per year from their carbon footprint, thats the equivalent of taking 22 range rovers off the road!

So about the test, we tested the excavators in identical conditions giving them the same task to complete on the same stockpile. The excavator was to load one of our Ashvale Haulage 8 wheel tipper lorries with un-screened road stone. Slewing from 180 degrees, and loading 18 tonne to the lorry and alerted by the on-board weigh loader once this weight was achieved.

The results showed that both machines took a similar amount of time to load the lorry, however the Hybrid on average was marginally faster by 5 seconds, showing that the hybrid is every bit on par with the conventional excavator in terms of speed and power. For fuel consumption the average saving for the Kobelco Hybrid was 5.2 litres per hour better off, meaning that over 100 loads 22.8 litres less diesel is used.

Having carried out these back to back comparisons we can see the direct benefit of these excavators and there is definitely a place for them here on our fleet. We are lucky that we have forward thinking customers who take sustainability seriously, and the feedback from customers has been extremely positive. Hybrid is a step in the right direction and we can’t wait to see where machinery manufactures will be taking us in another 5 – 10 years time. As a company that has been in the construction industry for close to 30 years, we know that construction makes an impact on the environment and the local areas, working closely with our clients we can ensure that the impact of construction is a positive one with more benefits than drawbacks. This Hybrid excavator is just one example of a way we minimise our impact on the environment, and through 2019 we will be showcasing more of the initiatives we are using here at the M O’Brien group

The spec sheet and more information on our hybrid excavators can be found here https://www.mobrienplanthire.co.uk/product/kobelcosk210h/