So what is it? Mine is Cat
1. cat 2. komatsu 3. deere
Need some more poll options to get an accurate reading. Case and link belt are basically the same machine, as goes with deere and hitichi. Maybe add in: volvo, dawoo, samsung, kobelco. Thats all the major brands that come to mind....maybe some others will chime in throw some more up. The poll will never be accurate, also because some brands make great small machines, but lack popularity when it comes to large, or vice versa....
Voted for Cat, but deere is right there, if not equal.
1.Cat 2.Hitachi 3.komatsu
1.Deere Hitachi 2.Volvo 3.Cat
1. Any with a stereo 2. Any that won't blow hydraulic lines every 3 days lol 3. Any machine with heat
kobelco....need more options in the poll!!!
Hitachi/deere I had a volvo for about a year but it went up in flames to bad it was a good machine
I'm with you murray33, all machines with a stereo and heat are better than hand digging in mid winter and summer, having said that I'm a massive CAT fan, but I do believe that all brands are capable of turning a good days graft, there aren't any bad brands any more, some are just little better than others.
i am partial to hein warner
right now, i own an older 690 elc...it's on ebay right now for those interested..that's been a GREAT machine...a 210 case, and 210 hyundai...i grew up on drotts, owned a hitachi and a "sumitomo koehring" too....what happened is the american manufacuters got caught with their pants down with low volume, high pressure hydraulics and the electronics, and didn't adapt quick enough. i have a competitor here that runs 320 cats...paid a lot MORe for them, and i would have zero hesitation putting any of my machines up against it total cost of ownership/production wise for 10,000 hr. test against a cat. years ago when my dad bought his first front end loader, "bought a 545 allis chalmers"...had a 920 cat demo'd....i'll never forget what he told the cat salesman..i can see why you can see a 20 yr old cat loader with tires that are weather checked and not worn....they don't have the balls to spin em". and that's what i've seen in the 320 cats...nice hoe, does it's job....just a LOT more cost per hour, and a lot slower.
All Cat here,but some of them are not the end all be all im n a scale of one to ten overall I would rate them around an eight.Two 321CLCR's,325C, two 330DL's and a 345C.Really like the 321's,and the 325C is the nicest excavator I've operated hands down-smooth,comfortable, controls that have good feel,strong for it's size-just a nice machine alround.The 330's and 345 are a bit of a dog-balance and lack of counterweight are my biggest complaints.The problem here is lack of dealer/after sale support from the other makes.Not that some don't make a decent machine,just don't want to wait two weeks for parts or a serviceman if needed.:canada
1. Deere/Hitachi- Gotta love the 450dlc 2.-Komatsu. Cant believe the Pc200-8. Fast , strong, reliable. 3. Cat 4.Tie between Volvo and Jcb
for excavators Jcb/Volvo komatsu Case Hitachi Doosan/hyundai Cat are good but with only one dealer we get nailed on the cost of everything So please include some other makes in the poll
Best Excavator I voted for Komatsu, I have owned them all and for the best overall, dollar for dollar I think this is the one. I will say, I currently own a Cat 320, its because I bought it at a good deal, from a repo co. It seems like the Komatsu, just gave me better service, parts were cheaper, dealer was better to deal with, more aftermarket parts. Example, I went to get a rebuilt, engine water pump from Cat, they wanted $580.00, plus a $580.00 core charge deposit (which you may get back, if the core is OK in about 4-5 weeks) I called the local truck dealer and they got me a rebuilt one for $190 including freight, no core charge, just turned in the old one. I dont believe it cost Cat anymore to rebuild a pump, than it did that company that did mine, thats alot of profit Just my 2 cents
1. Volvo 2. Hitachi 3. JCB As for ones i dislike Cat and Hyudai are the worst!
is there any brand that cat has there name over or is cat completely alone ?
I just purchased a Volvo 240B, have only ever operated a Komatsu 228 short tail. It was impressive for strength, smoothness, and fuel economy. On the Volvo, a 2006 Hyundai 250 was in the running, but the hyundai sales rep told me it was not equal to its contemporaries in terms of hydraulic performance. That machine is all about power, not grace, so we stayed away.
Deere/Hitachi Cat Komatsu seris 7 or 8 Link-Belt Kobelco :drinkup
Cat is the most widely used and is a little slow in turning the bigger the machine. Ive used mostly all but JD seems to have the edge.
Deffinately more options needed. As for me, the ones I like: 1. Doosan 2. JCB 3. New Holland Kobelco. Worst: Kato
Those newfangled hydraulic machines will never catch on!
Back in the 80's (in Australia) Kato was No 1, possibly due to the mob that sold & serviced them. A Company called Banbury Engineering. Hitachi seems to have taken that mantle now, down under
I prefer hitachi hands down. The deere machines are nice, but the isuzu power in the hitachi makes it my favorite.
40-h bucyrus-erie, Those air controls were a blast working around utilities!:drinkup
1. Cat 2. Deere 3. Tonka...haha
1. Link-Belt 2. Deere 3. Komatsu I am kind of surprised Cat that is at the top.
I love it. I was going to say Case but sometimes it's better to be quiet and keep your opinion to yourself.
And the GOLD goes to : 1. CAT And the Silver goes to: 2. Cat and the Bronze goes to: 3. Cat and the runners up are ??? JD Komatsu and no where on my list are "GREY Market anything" SUPPORT Machines built for the N. American markets and Our Dealer Networks !
See i would have it the other way.... 1. Deere 2. Cat 3. Tonka... i'm good with a hoe...
Deere is very user friendly Volvo has crazy power Cat is..... well CAT
I've run nothing but CAT, Hitachi, and Volvo so far, and from an operators stand point(because I've never owned one or had to pay out of pocket for maintenance and such), out of the machines I've run, CAT wins hands down for comfort, power, and reliability. Our main problem with our Hitachi's is the electrical issues. I've only run one Volvo, a 600 with a 4.5 yard bucket. It was nice to run but spent more time down than up. We had a CAT 5230 shovel that we got an award for over a million man hours, highest in the world for that shovel. towards the end she was held together with chains, binders, and bailing wire, but would still out dig our Hitachi 3500 in hard rock digging. Hitachi seemed to make their boom and stick longer for better reach but in affect gave them less break out power in hard digging. In good digging(which is seldom seen here..LOL), the Hitachi's would smoke the CAT's with their swing speed. We grew bigger than CAT makes, so our excavators and shovels are all Hitachi now but we sure miss the CATS.
HOKUTO KICKS ARSE!!!!:drinkup
Now that not nice on a family forum.......
Sumitomo
Kobelco....... In all my years with the Kobelco dealership we NEVER lost a sale to Cat in a side by side on the job demo. 2nd and 3rd would be Deere/Hitchi or Komatsu
My 2 cents........Mid size excavators I like Komatsu. Lately I had a chance to run a PC 228LC. Very nice. For 30 tonne sizes, I always liked the Cat 330 - sold ours after 8900hrs and she always dug hard for us. For little minis, so many good choices, Deere and Hitachi are really tough. Komatsu and Takeuchi are also very good.
like doosan..inexpensive to own,with good productivity...hitachi is a nice machine too!! on mini world, i think that kubota is one of the top brand..
Is Doosan making the Bobcat Minis now? Only seen a few big Doosans around here.
bobcat have been bought by doosan some years ago..(2-3 years think?) but can"t argue on them since a never made a full day with one..doosan make some bobcat excavator model, the new "M" series are shared on both side except for the paint!! personally i"ve just worked with a deere and kubota on mini..and prefered the kubota.. there"s some doosan here in montreal aera...however komatsu and after cat are the most popular here...
1. Volvo (had EC240B 9000hours, Just bought brand new EC240C absolutely brilliant, both have extraordinary power and smooth.) 2. Sumitomo (SH120 and SH210 very quick machines, economical and good breakout especially the 12T) 3. Cat (Used older 322C, had a soft spot for it.) Never tried Komatsu, but heard nothing but good things. Mini's would have to be BOBCAT 323, 435 etc.
I'm a newbie here , but not with excavators,it all depends on what you are doing with them,for m for digging services and residential work the cat 120 c or cl were monsters graded great and had gobbs of power, for pipelining the hitachi or deere 270 again were outstanding, it was not uncommon to get 1000 meters of ditch in a 10 hour shift, for big water and sewer, deere or hitachi, because of there ability to grade well at full extension, for statioary pit or quarry work , I would have nothing but a big cat but for anything that needs finese,I would probably go with..actually a link belt, awesome power great grading qualities and good track power.. but that just my opinion ...
cat and volvo would be my top two.
CASE I really like the Sumitomo excavators. Link Belt Kobelco
Volvo & Hitachi
Clearly, we need to drill down into the "other" category
I'm just curious, how exactly do they calculate man hours for a shovel?
1.hitachi 2.komatsu 3.cat
4. jcb and hyundai
I was thinking the same on the conversion of man hours to machine hours. Is it how long it would take a man to move the same amount of earth a certain distance? Hmmm... A million machine hours. It would have to run about 136hrs per day everyday for 20 years. That's a lot.
I've had the good fortune to have been the sole operator of 3 brand new excavators in succession during my nearly 30 years with the same logging road building and rock crushing company. '88 JD 892D LC, '95 Cat 330BLC, and a 2001 Cat 325B FM Roadbuilder h/w, which as of yesterday has 11,685 hrs. All of them (to me), were the best excavator of their times, at least the way I was using them. Pioneering, decking r/w, endhaul, pit prep, digging shot hardrock, railcar bridge placement,rip rap, and miles of cross drain pipe installs. Company wide,we have gone through 3-JD, 2 - 2nd hand Komatsus and now are primarily Cat based. Currently 1-322C w/hammer, 322B Roadbuilder, 2006 322D Roadbuilder with forestry cab, '08 330D Rb forestry cab. 325B LC (standard excavator), JD270? w/long reach boom, and my 325B roadbuilder. Equipment comparisons can be tough, even interspecies. The reach and power of the 325's is the same, but the Roadbuilder package blows the standard away. H/w uc with Loman finals. Climbed up 77% without pulling or pushing.(stopped midway and measured with abney on window sill). Can work 55%. By '14, we have to have replaced my 325 with one with a forestry cab,and I am curious how other brands with roadbuilder packages compare. The brand thread of yours should help my research at least towards base machines.
#1 is Cat better machine, highest resale value and the biggest factor of all Product Support, I had the salesman from Volvo say to me " well how can you compete with Cats product support " To which I replied " Exactly so why would we want to buy anything but Cat? " Operators complain Volvo's are front heavy ( Best volvo is the 240 / 290 ) Volvo parts prices are out of this world and the delay in getting them is costly, Deere and Hitachi are second to Cat good machines, good resale and 2nd in product support. Kobelco machines in my opinion are O K but people complain to me about downtime waiting for parts, to which I reply should of bought Cat if you hate waiting for parts to arrive. And when they do arrive bring a ton of cash cause like Volvo they are way overpriced, We bought 2 EC460BLC Volvos New in 2006 for 390,000 grand and looking on the net right now i see newer ones with less hrs going for between 50 and 85 grand, We can't let ours go for that so we are stuck with them
when a "typical"...life/ownership of an excavator is 10k hrs...why in the world, unless you had sacks of cash..........spend the 30% premium for Cat equipment? my hyundai and case excavators...don't break down anymore, maybe less even...that my local competitor's 320's. sure, his 320 cat at 10k hrs. might be worth 20-30k...my case and hyundai will have scrap value if nothing else...and i'll have the cost of borrowing that extra 30% money in my pocket. IMO...buying/owning a cat...is kind of like saying..."yeah, i got me a harley"
1 Cat 2 Deere Pretty much all you see here is cat and deere not really any of them ither brands thy are far and few between the only other thing u can buy here is volvo
I have to say, that i think for the most part, the mainline machines are all the same. I know my volvo has several boom options, several counterweight options. So comparing machines has to start with how its speced out. You pretty much have to see the order sheet for that. So to say something like this one has more power than that one, i have to ask, does it really? I tend to think the quoted numbers like breakout and lift force pretty well describe a machine. I like to go by them. I could be all wet though.
lol my budddy claims the cycle times on a deere are twice as fast as cat i ran deere i dont think so i prefered the 315 over the 160 myself
]dblott. put some fotos up in the logging section. i love the road building hoes, all decked out with guarding and heavy duty everything. i am a Link - belt man all the way. have had komatus before. run alot of hoes. but i just like the l-b's .
Cat Komatsu Deere
Hello all. Please see what I found recently: www.komatsupartsbook.com There ara free on-line Komatsu parts catalogues.
Hitachi is number one in my book followed by Komatsu.
Hitachi, even over a Deere. Yeah I know the're basically the same, but the old 10 ,000 hr 120-5 owes me nothing, runs great all the time & never has let me down. The Deere 160 c lc with 5500 hrs has been a problem since day one. It literally was delivered new to my yard leaking hydraulic fluid when it was new (yikes). I'm sure Deere is a fine machine, just hope you don't get the one that was built on Friday like mine was.:Banghead
I agree. For us it has Been #1 Hitachi #2 Kamatsu #3 Volvo. Only run one cat 330DL and it has been a disapointment since early on, good thing we have 5 year 100% coverage, probably sell when coverage is up. The new Volvos could easly take over #1 spot we realy like these machines but the have not been in the fleet long enough fo honest comparison. These machines come completly setup no need for wet kits or quick bucket attachments circuit installation. From an operators perspective the operators tell me they are realy smooth.
Hitachi for me and Komatsu #2
same with my buddys went down cus of blown turbo at less than 1000 hours he had to wait over 3 weeks fo a turbo in the middle of summer the busy season totally rediculous cat has a good supply of parts and we have always got good service from them
The 'other' category is slowly overtaking over CAT.
I vote for a Menzi Muck... second would be a kitty, I realy like the 321's nice machines, I would like to try out a 235 Kebelco high walker.
cat is alway the best
Volvo is a samsung. They are made in Korea at the old samsung plant, Volvo bought them out. bought 2 Volvo EC460B's in 2006. paid 390,000 Canadian for them. they broke down regularly from new. The operators all complained they were front heavy. They drank way more fuel than Volvo advertised they would. See alot of these exact same machines for sale on the internet now for $70,000. Had way better luck with our 450 deere's and Hitachi's. Volvo parts are out of this world overpriced and they are slow coming. This is a quote from the Volvo salesman " well, nobody can match Cats product support " To which I replied " then everyone should just buy Cat "
i have case, komatsu, kobelco and used to have a jcb and still cant answer but komatsu has the highest parts buy far followed buy jcb
where does kubota 080-3 rank?
Dominion 410 you are absolutely right, most people do not give enough thought to product support when buying a machine. And MOST popular current machines out there have no parts network to back them up and parts are way over priced. Here the volvo dealer sells a certain grease nipple for an L150C loader for $24.00 I can buy the exact same grease nipple from Cat for $2.79 When I tell the Volvo salesman this he replies Yes Volvo realizes there parts are a little high and are going to adjust them. I said John they are not a little high, they re totally unreal. People routinely buy machines without having a clue about service and parts availabilty for that machine. Think ahead and realize downtime costs money
Cat!
Volvo, Cat, Hitachi
What do you think of a takauchi TB28FR 3ton excavator 2002 cab rubber tracks can any one help with advice thanks.
sorrydazza but your question should go into the mini x section. welcome to the forums!!
Komatsu
Hitachi.
the one I'm on.
Cat then Deere
cat
then prob komatsu, then deere
Couldnt agree more mate. I like smaller komatsu machines up to about 125 tonne mark. Then after that you cant beat Hitachi for the bigger gear. And what about Leibherr??
Don't be afraid to say Case, It's miles ahead of Cat when it comes to hyd. power.
I like Cats, But the last few months Iv been on a 30 tone Doosan,and its very good.
Doosan gets my vote Hello everyone , I have driven a few brands over the years , old cats but not the newer ones . I always wanted Cat gear but just could never justify the extra money . Got a Cat motor in my Kenworth if that counts . I bought a Doosan because of the dealer here and am very happy with them so Doosan gets my vote
Depends.. Well the only types of excavator that I myself have personally operated would be a Cat, Kobelco, John Deere, Kubota and Bobcat. Cat is definetely my overall favourite, but Kobelco's have the zero swing feature and more cab room. It all depends on what you need them for
what about liebherr guys? http://www.dredgemovies.com/special_4.html see this large 995 on a pontoon!
Hiya All, new to this forum, but been many years with heavy machines, Which brand? I only have exposed to 3 brands of excavators, eg Sumitomo, Hitachi and Kobelco. Of the three, I like Kobelco the most. For backhoe, I like Case (for now at least), but I never own a JCB yet, I heard that the 3CX is very powerful. Thanks Zul Malaysia
I like komatsu then Kobelco then cat ?
Im surprised at people likeing Doosan. We have a dx350 and its slow and have had a few problems with it. Think they sell machine cheep and make back the money on parts,o-ring was $9.00 got the same thing from case for $.86 cents. Maby we got a lemon. Also there paint fades after 6 months. Jason
Hi, Zul68 . i am a dealer for JCB and Hyundai Excavator.. Which part of malaysia are you from. Maybe you can come and try JCB email me or call me for futher detail . [email protected] 012-2801112 Lionel Thanks
1 Komatsu!!!!!!!! I work on very steep ground a lot of slopes an hills... the pc 300lc -8 is the all around machine its balance is way better than Cat or Hitachi!!! and the tram is much stronger than other hoes i have operated...
Cat
lets start another poll.....those who favor "cat"...how many are owner operators...or just operators? if you're not paying for it, makes a huge difference.
anyone with advise on the r480 lc9 hyundai please help before i pull the trigger on this machine
I am just a mechanic not an operator, however, my excavator of choice is a Volvo 210 Makes me look like an operator, is a good all around size for many different jobs.
Kobelco is #1
Komatsu! for this reason. We are a large earth moving company and own around 100 Pc 400's and 10 345's the 100 400's dont give us as much trouble as the ten 345's. Plus Komatsu will warnty things that Cat won't. Now maybe thats because we own 100 of them, But the rest of our Fleet is Cat
all i run is Yanmars brand excavators i;ve had jd cat will never go back
Only have small machines, but have great luck with Takeuchi
Yanmar Only!!
Has every one forgotten about POCLAIN. First digger I ever drove was a pre servo poclain 75 as old as my self. Not as fast as a new hitachi but 10 years ago and 20K on the clock she could still do a good days work if you were man enough for the long levers. You had to keep the door opened to let the lever out to swing left when we said good bye, but 25 reliable hardworking years will take some beating. As for no. 2 Hitachi As for no. 99 Volvo. They should stick witk Loaders & dumpers.