busyboy:
Howya Tricky,
I’ve worked with most cranes since i started on the grab back in 1993. The first was a hiab. Which are best suited to lifting rather than grabbing. I found the HMF’s used to get very hot and leak quite a lot and blow pipes. They might be the cheapest option and maybe that’s why most trucks are fitted with them. They also struggle to lift a full bucket at times. If you get one be sure to fit it with a cooler to prevent it from overheating. Atlas, i just don’t like them. M.P. Burke had problems with them in the 90’s, i.e. A lot of the kingposts started cracking. I’ve used an Epsilon E93 for the past 10 years and find Epsilon, be they E93’s, 120’s or the new 125 the best crane for the job. They were built for this kind of work and i’d definitely buy one again if i had the work to justify buying a new grab. But there is just one thing i would change if i was to buy another dual controlled grab again, I’d get it with a valve block each side and do away with the cables, because they sieze up after a while and are costly to replace and usually sieze up quicker than the first set. Anyway, happy hunting. Keep us posted.
Busyboy great reply1
Must admit the Epsilon keeps coming up as a good un!
Can you tell me a bit more about your e93 as that one is fitted to a few older trucks.
Is Epsilon and Palfinger the same company?
is the Kinsoffer bucket the kiddie?
In an idea world what would be the dream crane /grab set up ( crikey so sad) on a six or an eight wheeler or would you use a different set up for a six or eight wheeler or just same make but just perhaps a longer reach?
Dream set up? and on what make lorry?/ Volvo,Merc■■?
Many thanks
tricky
Hello,
Epsilon is a brand of Palfinger. It’s their brand for timber and recycling cranes which are really well fitted for the job you discribe.
You can find the information on their website: www.palfingerepsilon.com/en
busyboy:
Howya Tricky,
I’ve worked with most cranes since i started on the grab back in 1993. The first was a hiab. Which are best suited to lifting rather than grabbing. I found the HMF’s used to get very hot and leak quite a lot and blow pipes. They might be the cheapest option and maybe that’s why most trucks are fitted with them. They also struggle to lift a full bucket at times. If you get one be sure to fit it with a cooler to prevent it from overheating. Atlas, i just don’t like them. M.P. Burke had problems with them in the 90’s, i.e. A lot of the kingposts started cracking. I’ve used an Epsilon E93 for the past 10 years and find Epsilon, be they E93’s, 120’s or the new 125 the best crane for the job. They were built for this kind of work and i’d definitely buy one again if i had the work to justify buying a new grab. But there is just one thing i would change if i was to buy another dual controlled grab again, I’d get it with a valve block each side and do away with the cables, because they sieze up after a while and are costly to replace and usually sieze up quicker than the first set. Anyway, happy hunting. Keep us posted.
Busyboy great reply1
Must admit the Epsilon keeps coming up as a good un!
Can you tell me a bit more about your e93 as that one is fitted to a few older trucks.
Is Epsilon and Palfinger the same company?
is the Kinsoffer bucket the kiddie?
In an idea world what would be the dream crane /grab set up ( crikey so sad) on a six or an eight wheeler or would you use a different set up for a six or eight wheeler or just same make but just perhaps a longer reach?
Dream set up? and on what make lorry?/ Volvo,Merc■■?
Many thanks
tricky
Hello,
Epsilon is a brand of Palfinger. It’s their brand for timber and recycling cranes which are really well fitted for the job you discribe.
You can find the information on their website: palfingerepsilon.com/en
Its time to start looking for 26 ton or 32 Tipper / grab,well not really stopped looking since last year but weather ,continuing reduction of work in the building game and general state of “Browns Britain” etc means there is no shortage of these trucks, have you seen how many 8 wheel tippers are for sale?
Why is it that approx 70% of tipper /grabs seem to have the HMF 1144 crane fitted. the rest being a choice between Atlas, Hiab and Epsilon.!
Can anybody tell me what they think about all of these cranes ,i did look at a lorry late last year and it was fitted with the HMF 1144 but to me it looked a frail ,skinny bit of kit up against the hiab 105 and the Epsilon cranes??
Any info on the best cranes for muck away etc i would be very gratefull also what is the best bucket /rotator / is it Epsilon .Enercon??
we have 1144,s and 1244,s where i work ,the 1244 is not a good crane ,they have had lots of problems unlike the 1144 which is a good crane
i have heard we are going over to epsilon cranes
the subbies have double push epsilons and they are a good crane ,apart from one control round the wrong way
i use this on a when drivers are sick, holidays, etc
cheers graham
Howya Tricky,
I’ve worked with most cranes since i started on the grab back in 1993. The first was a hiab. Which are best suited to lifting rather than grabbing. I found the HMF’s used to get very hot and leak quite a lot and blow pipes. They might be the cheapest option and maybe that’s why most trucks are fitted with them. They also struggle to lift a full bucket at times. If you get one be sure to fit it with a cooler to prevent it from overheating. Atlas, i just don’t like them. M.P. Burke had problems with them in the 90’s, i.e. A lot of the kingposts started cracking. I’ve used an Epsilon E93 for the past 10 years and find Epsilon, be they E93’s, 120’s or the new 125 the best crane for the job. They were built for this kind of work and i’d definitely buy one again if i had the work to justify buying a new grab.
d4c24a:
we have 1144,s and 1244,s where i work ,the 1244 is not a good crane ,they have had lots of problems unlike the 1144 which is a good crane
i have heard we are going over to epsilon cranes
the subbies have double push epsilons and they are a good crane ,apart from one control round the wrong way
i use this on a when drivers are sick, holidays, etc
cheers graham
Howya d4c24a,
Just wondering, what’s Clancy Dowcra’s like to work for? I heard they’ve a big water job starting in London. Any word on this?
busyboy:
Howya Tricky,
I’ve worked with most cranes since i started on the grab back in 1993. The first was a hiab. Which are best suited to lifting rather than grabbing. I found the HMF’s used to get very hot and leak quite a lot and blow pipes. They might be the cheapest option and maybe that’s why most trucks are fitted with them. They also struggle to lift a full bucket at times. If you get one be sure to fit it with a cooler to prevent it from overheating. Atlas, i just don’t like them. M.P. Burke had problems with them in the 90’s, i.e. A lot of the kingposts started cracking. I’ve used an Epsilon E93 for the past 10 years and find Epsilon, be they E93’s, 120’s or the new 125 the best crane for the job. They were built for this kind of work and i’d definitely buy one again if i had the work to justify buying a new grab. But there is just one thing i would change if i was to buy another dual controlled grab again, I’d get it with a valve block each side and do away with the cables, because they sieze up after a while and are costly to replace and usually sieze up quicker than the first set. Anyway, happy hunting. Keep us posted.
Busyboy great reply1
Must admit the Epsilon keeps coming up as a good un!
Can you tell me a bit more about your e93 as that one is fitted to a few older trucks.
Is Epsilon and Palfinger the same company?
is the Kinsoffer bucket the kiddie?
In an idea world what would be the dream crane /grab set up ( crikey so sad) on a six or an eight wheeler or would you use a different set up for a six or eight wheeler or just same make but just perhaps a longer reach?
Dream set up? and on what make lorry?/ Volvo,Merc■■?
d4c24a:
we have 1144,s and 1244,s where i work ,the 1244 is not a good crane ,they have had lots of problems unlike the 1144 which is a good crane
i have heard we are going over to epsilon cranes
the subbies have double push epsilons and they are a good crane ,apart from one control round the wrong way
i use this on a when drivers are sick, holidays, etc
cheers graham
Ah we bought a couple of all red lwb transits a yr or so ago and we now have some green paint coming through at the bottom edges,on a real bright day you can just see a fleet no on the roof!!
Clancy Docwra i presume!
Cant moan been brilliant and were already kitted out for our game ,i suppose when theyve been ran in at 95mph from new on the M11every day they are nice and loose. haha
d4c24a:
we have 1144,s and 1244,s where i work ,the 1244 is not a good crane ,they have had lots of problems unlike the 1144 which is a good crane
i have heard we are going over to epsilon cranes
the subbies have double push epsilons and they are a good crane ,apart from one control round the wrong way
i use this on a when drivers are sick, holidays, etc
cheers graham
Howya d4c24a,
Just wondering, what’s Clancy Dowcra’s like to work for? I heard they’ve a big water job starting in London. Any word on this?
hi i work for a subbie to clancys ,but get treated real well by them ,i do the extra mile for them and they do the same ,never query hours etc
they have been work in london on the VMR and i think they have won more of it theclancygroup.co.uk/casestudies/16/
Must admit the Epsilon keeps coming up as a good un!
Can you tell me a bit more about your e93 as that one is fitted to a few older trucks.
Is Epsilon and Palfinger the same company?
is the Kinsoffer bucket the kiddie?
In an idea world what would be the dream crane /grab set up ( crikey so sad) on a six or an eight wheeler or would you use a different set up for a six or eight wheeler or just same make but just perhaps a longer reach?
Dream set up? and on what make lorry?/ Volvo,Merc■■?
Many thanks
tricky
[/quote]
I had a recurring problem with the Epsilon E93 just after the warranty expired as did a few operators. That problem being the cylinder/tube on the dipping ram. The weld where the eye for the pin is welded to the main tube would often leak. Even after numerous repairs. In the end Palfinger replaced it, even though the warranty had expired. They’re a great bunch of lads in Tullamore. For me the epsilon is the king of the cranes when it comes to muckaway jobs. It’s fast and steady.
I think Palfinger is an agent for Epsilon. Not entirely sure though.
As for buckets, i have a Kinshoffer. It’s a good bucket, but some lads prefer the Entercom bucket because they think it’s better for grabbing broken concrete and cleaning around kerbs. But i think it’s all down to the individual driver’s capabilities. Regardless of what bucket you buy, make sure you grease it regularly. As it can be quite costly to replace pins etc. Also, when you buy ask if there’s an auto greaser on the crane, if it has one, check that it has grease in it and that it hasn’t run dry. If it’s dry then it probably hasn’t been greased in a long time and you could find youself paying for new pins, kingpost etc. If no greaser, then check it visually, do this even if it has a greaser. Try the crane out to make sure that there’s no play/travel on it.
Before i bought my outfit, i vowed that i’d never buy a hino. But to cut a long story short, i ended up buying one because all parts are in stock and i could drive in and out for repairs without even booking it in and be back on the road in no time.
When it comes to the tip, i’ve seen my Hino go into places where others fear to tread. And come out of Places where Scanias, Man and Dafs have had to be pulled out of.
A friend of mine bought a brand new Scania and got rid of it before the year was out, reckons they’re useless on the tip, i.e. always spinning, too light.
If i was to buy new, i’d probably go for a Daf or Hino, with an Epsilon 125. Although, the cabs on the new hino are a bit on the high side and they’re supposedly heavy on diesel, depending on who you listen to.
If i was to buy secondhand, again it’d be a hino or daf with an Epsilon 120.
Also when you try out, open and close your bucket a couple of times to see if there’s any play in it.
Hope this helps.
If you decide to go for Epsilon, don’t run the revs anymre than 1000rpm and you’ll get a lifetime out of the pump and will blow less pipes. I’ve had mine 10yrs now and the pump is still going fine. I’ve seen lads go through pumps in no time at all because they seem to be under the illusion that they can load it twice as fast when they have it revved to the point where it sounds like concorde on take off. Plus if the revs are too high, it’ll cause the crane to bounce and it’ll be harder to control. this will only cause problems down the line
Tricky, i’d use Epsilon on a both 6w and 8w. I don’t know anything about Volvo grabs, other than they look well, I forgot to mention, i saw a new Hiab XTR on a truck, on the internet. I don’t know anything about the Hiab XTR, but it does look like it was designed specifically for muckaway, maybe someone can enlighten me? I thinf all grab manufacturers should have the same lever set up, it would make life so much easier when hopping from one grab to another. But that’s for another day.
