What is your perception of Caterpillar's First-Ever Hydraulic Hybrid Excavator- the new 336E H Hybrid ? If possible, please indicate if you are an Owner, Operator, Fleet Equipment Mgr, Maintenance & Repair Individual, etc. Really appreciate your time involved!
I am a Owner and still really enjoy operating when I have the chance. I will be taking delivery of the 1st UK Hybrid in the 1st week of September, I will start reporting when I have it. However, I do hope that in lowering the revs to 1500 which is about where the current 336E is in Eco mode the performance has not been compromised? If the speed and power of the Hybrid matches the 336E in power plus mode I will no doubt be impressed.
I will be very interested to hear about your experience with the machine being an owner as well as an operator every now and then.
Yes please let us know.I am sure you will be very pleased.
At last this has been delivered, I will report back when it has does a week or so.
Since you only asked for a PRECEPTION I will share some of mine. I have recently retired thankfully. I love the idea of the particulate filters on engines that when full tell you to pull over to the side of the road and empty their contents into the ditch. Now about the Hybrid perception, sounds like a lot of Smoke and Mirrors that should be captured in the EGR filter and dumped into the ditch aswell. The old 200 series core line where a great move forward in North America and the 300's advanced that further. That said I fail to see how an accumulator taking in and expelling energy is much of a saving compared to the normal 300 technology. When you add in the energy and Carbon Footprint needed to keeping them digging dirt. My Humble opinion. Later Bob
I've got a 336E (non-hybrid, with DPF), and, it has been trouble free, AND, uses less fuel per shift than my 330C's. I suppose you'd prefer carburetion over fuel injection, too. The only way to avoid emission controls is to keep the older ones running.
Not exactly I like anything that works. Thanks for sharing first hand experience. Later Bob
1st impressions of our new Hybrid. A quick update, the main reason I purchased this machine was that my plant works on our own projects so we purchase our own fuel, unlike in general plant hire here in the UK where fuel tends to be provided, this hybrid has taken over on an on going project from a 336E loading a McCloskey R155 screen. The 336E was using 25lts (3.9 US Gallons) per hour, the Hybrid is using 14.8lts (6.6 US Gallons) per hour so in that aspect it certainly does save fuel. Getting used to maximum revs of 1500 is strange even though the machine is just as fast as an E you feel you need more revs until you get used to it. In the E swapping between operating modes give large differences between the 3 modes in performance, in the Hybrid the difference in hardly noticeable in performance terms. Speed wise I would be tempted to say the Hybrid is a slightly faster machine, it is certainly faster in slew acceleration and deceleration. Lever feel is certainly much nicer than an E, lighter and noticeably more precise. So far been trouble free. I will update again soon.
Beautiful looking machine Roger. What type of work does your company do?
I managed to get the US Gallons arse about face, the lts are correct. Hitachi, we are Builder & Civil Engineering, we also Remediate contaminated sites as well as purchase and develop Golf Course's etc. Saturday morning, the machine dug a 6mt deep test hole and pop went the factory fit quick hitch pipes at the bottom of the boom. The quick hitch pipes had been tie wrapped to the factory fit auto lube pipes, the pipe gave before the tie wrap! 50 lts of Oil all over the new machine. Dealer coming to clean it next week.