Options for tilt rotator on wacker neuson EZ26

[Maxus]

So, what do people think? There are a lot of configurations. Direct mount/top hitch, smallest tilty or next size up, additional gripper, engcon, steelwrist, rototilt... then there is the control system, and then the small matter of cost.

I think I've got a pretty good idea of where I'm going to go with it, but interested to hear what others would do on a zero tail 2.7T excavator.

My thoughts so far are, top hitch, engcon EC02, 4 pipe system with a switch in the cab that can divert from tilt to an auxiliary function so I can use a grab I got with the machine. My reasoning is, EC02 is the lightest tilty I can run, and the 4 pipe setup will be cheaper and could be used on another future machine. A bigger steelwrist x04 with a gripper would be an option, but the extra weight would make the setup unstable, so I have disregarded that.

I'm still not 100% sure if I would bother with a top hitch due to extra weight and build height..

 

[Monkeybusiness]

I’d be wary putting a tilty on a zero sub 3 tonner, and would only bother with a top hitch if regularly using a breaker. Definitely don’t bother with a gripper.

 

[doobin]

Are you buying the tilty to suit a machine you already have, hence the zero? Or do you need zero for your work? I've no experience of the EZ26 but I'm pretty sure they sell an extra counterwight for it, making it compact radius like the Bobcat E27 (which @Monkeybusiness will attest is not a large arse in the slightest) If not then I'm sure a compentant fabricator could sort something.

Four piper EC02- presume that will be a manual hitch? Also, it'll be on S30 (which is good, weight). However... you may find Engcon cannot do you a top hitch in S30 for this class machine, only S40. The soloution is an S30 hitch from @CPS . Lower build height than all the genuine brands and simply brilliant geometry. Only problem is actually getting hold of one, I've heard that a bottle of whiskey bumps you up the waiting list though?

Personally I'm a big fan of the top hitch- I share the tilty between the E27 and the E19. I also prefer to run a dedicated forestry grab on each machine for grab duties but that's because that's 90% of my work and the tilty is too slow for that. A worm gear is half the rotation speed plus I like some give in the rotator for forestry work. The angled top hitch i use on my rotators is also essential for me- an angled grab hitch under a tilty wouldn't work the same in all planes and I'd have to be constantly adjusting it with the tilt (which on four pipe setup means constant button pressing). And of course, when you change the machine then just spec an S30 hitch and four pipes and you're good to go. Even on a 1.9t if you spec it with a short dipper.

Other reasons for the top hitch include breaker work, ripper work, deep trenching and any kind of bulking out. All of these a tilty is very much a cumbersome hinderance for. Basically, on such a small machine pretty much any other attachment you might want to run is un-usable under a tilty. Riddle bucket, post knocker, screener bucket, crusher bucket, you name it, it's useless. Have the tilty for landscaping and general duties, make the digger standard (but with way better geometry due to the S30 hitch) for everything else.

My E27 with the Hurricane S30 hitch and the EC02 underneath must be pretty much the same as an EZ26 with the extra counterwight, and it's bob on with the tilty.

 

[Storrsy]

Doesn't @6feetdown run an S40 on his EZ26. Would have thought if he's doing alright with S40 than S30 would be even nicer to use.. I've been looking at lifting specs for various machines and the Wacker is saying more lift capacity over the side with the additional counterweight than a Kubota kx027-4 which is conventional tail. I think the Wacker has quite a wide track base which helps.

 

[Furniss]

So, what do people think? There are a lot of configurations. Direct mount/top hitch, smallest tilty or next size up, additional gripper, engcon, steelwrist, rototilt... then there is the control system, and then the small matter of cost.

I think I've got a pretty good idea of where I'm going to go with it, but interested to hear what others would do on a zero tail 2.7T excavator.

My thoughts so far are, top hitch, engcon EC02, 4 pipe system with a switch in the cab that can divert from tilt to an auxiliary function so I can use a grab I got with the machine. My reasoning is, EC02 is the lightest tilty I can run, and the 4 pipe setup will be cheaper and could be used on another future machine. A bigger steelwrist x04 with a gripper would be an option, but the extra weight would make the setup unstable, so I have disregarded that.

I'm still not 100% sure if I would bother with a top hitch due to extra weight and build height..

Does your machine have twin rollers ?
On this size of machine id go top hitch s30 also and as doobin says might as well go as compact as possible which seems to be hurricane.

 

[APhillips]

The discussion around which size hitch to use for this size machine is interesting, I started working for Steelwrist back in June and it seems our market for units in the sub 3t bracket is quite small because we're told by the factory that S30 is only for machines up to 2.2t as that is the maximum of the design spec for S30.

Seemingly Engcon are happy to stretch this a little and state S30 is up to 3t. I am unsure what Rototilt do in this category but their RC1 looks to be very similar in weight to our X04 so I can only assume it is S40.

As others have discussed, balancing the weight of what your putting on the end is the key factor, when looking at X04's onto the 2.7t class machine it usually top hitch with no gripper or direct mount with gripper, either of these tends to work well from a weight perspective, but top hitch plus gripper gets a bit heavy.

 

[Furniss]

@6feetdown is the man to comment on s40 on this size machine - but lighter is better always and s30 is more than man enough - but iirc no gripper on s30 and even on this size machine it would be a great addition i woukd of thought, saves so much time for us.

 

[V8Druid]

The discussion around which size hitch to use for this size machine is interesting, I started working for Steelwrist back in June and it seems our market for units in the sub 3t bracket is quite small because we're told by the factory that S30 is only for machines up to 2.2t as that is the maximum of the design spec for S30.

Seemingly Engcon are happy to stretch this a little and state S30 is up to 3t. I am unsure what Rototilt do in this category but their RC1 looks to be very similar in weight to our X04 so I can only assume it is S40.

As others have discussed, balancing the weight of what your putting on the end is the key factor, when looking at X04's onto the 2.7t class machine it usually top hitch with no gripper or direct mount with gripper, either of these tends to work well from a weight perspective, but top hitch plus gripper gets a bit heavy.

interesting piece of info. Adam

 

[Maxus]

Are you buying the tilty to suit a machine you already have, hence the zero? Or do you need zero for your work? I've no experience of the EZ26 but I'm pretty sure they sell an extra counterwight for it, making it compact radius like the Bobcat E27 (which @Monkeybusiness will attest is not a large arse in the slightest) If not then I'm sure a compentant fabricator could sort something.

Four piper EC02- presume that will be a manual hitch? Also, it'll be on S30 (which is good, weight). However... you may find Engcon cannot do you a top hitch in S30 for this class machine, only S40. The soloution is an S30 hitch from @CPS . Lower build height than all the genuine brands and simply brilliant geometry. Only problem is actually getting hold of one, I've heard that a bottle of whiskey bumps you up the waiting list though?

Personally I'm a big fan of the top hitch- I share the tilty between the E27 and the E19. I also prefer to run a dedicated forestry grab on each machine for grab duties but that's because that's 90% of my work and the tilty is too slow for that. A worm gear is half the rotation speed plus I like some give in the rotator for forestry work. The angled top hitch i use on my rotators is also essential for me- an angled grab hitch under a tilty wouldn't work the same in all planes and I'd have to be constantly adjusting it with the tilt (which on four pipe setup means constant button pressing). And of course, when you change the machine then just spec an S30 hitch and four pipes and you're good to go. Even on a 1.9t if you spec it with a short dipper.

Other reasons for the top hitch include breaker work, ripper work, deep trenching and any kind of bulking out. All of these a tilty is very much a cumbersome hinderance for. Basically, on such a small machine pretty much any other attachment you might want to run is un-usable under a tilty. Riddle bucket, post knocker, screener bucket, crusher bucket, you name it, it's useless. Have the tilty for landscaping and general duties, make the digger standard (but with way better geometry due to the S30 hitch) for everything else.

My E27 with the Hurricane S30 hitch and the EC02 underneath must be pretty much the same as an EZ26 with the extra counterwight, and it's bob on with the tilty.

Thanks, this is helpful. I'm buying the tilt rotator to suit the machine, the EZ26 came up at a good price, and I couldn't resist. Zero tail was not necessarily my first choice, but it does have the additional counterweight and it will be helpful when I'm working in confined spaces, which I often do landscaping. It has a hydraulic hitch, 4 pipes, proportional rocker switches on joysticks.

A top hitch is going to be worth it for me then I think, I've spoke to engcon and it's possible for me to have a manual top hitch and a hydraulic hitch on the tiltrotator (since the machine has hydraulic hitch). There was some discussion about removing the rotation component on the rotating grab, but based on what your saying it's going to be better just to unhitch the tilty and run the rotating grab on its own (I'll have to buy an s type type hitch for the rotating grab to do this though).

If/when the time comes I know of a lovely bottle of scotch....

 

[doobin]

Thanks, this is helpful. I'm buying the tilt rotator to suit the machine, the EZ26 came up at a good price, and I couldn't resist. Zero tail was not necessarily my first choice, but it does have the additional counterweight and it will be helpful when I'm working in confined spaces, which I often do landscaping. It has a hydraulic hitch, 4 pipes, proportional rocker switches on joysticks.

A top hitch is going to be worth it for me then I think, I've spoke to engcon and it's possible for me to have a manual top hitch and a hydraulic hitch on the tiltrotator (since the machine has hydraulic hitch). There was some discussion about removing the rotation component on the rotating grab, but based on what your saying it's going to be better just to unhitch the tilty and run the rotating grab on its own (I'll have to buy an s type type hitch for the rotating grab to do this though).

If/when the time comes I know of a lovely bottle of scotch....

You already have a rotating grab? I’d just change the hitch like you say. The only thing is… you may to learn to use the tilty with the rotation the other way around from the grab! If you have less flow on one service (rotation circuit) then this will be the service you use for the tilt, as the work drive on the engcon rotate wants a lot more flow than the grab rotator. Some diggers have equal flow on each service (Yanmar) but not sure on the whacker.

You can have hydraulic top and bottom. I do, just use a tap to change. Engcon will say you can’t cause health and safety but it works just fine.

If you go ahead, PM me your WhatsApp and I can talk you through the setup with videos over that

 

[Maxus]

Doesn't @6feetdown run an S40 on his EZ26. Would have thought if he's doing alright with S40 than S30 would be even nicer to use.. I've been looking at lifting specs for various machines and the Wacker is saying more lift capacity over the side with the additional counterweight than a Kubota kx027-4 which is conventional tail. I think the Wacker has quite a wide track base which helps.

The EZ26 is 1550mm wide and feels very stable. I does have limitations of course, the 4' grading bucket full of gravel/soil at full reach will tip the machine when over the side.

 

[Storrsy]

The EZ26 is 1550mm wide and feels very stable. I does have limitations of course, the 4' grading bucket full of gravel/soil at full reach will tip the machine when over the side.

Do you have the additional counterweights on yet though? Most sub 3t machines will be lifting a track at far stretch over the side with a full grader

 

[Maxus]

You already have a rotating grab? I’d just change the hitch like you say. The only thing is… you may to learn to use the tilty with the rotation the other way around from the grab! If you have less flow on one service (rotation circuit) then this will be the service you use for the tilt, as the work drive on the engcon rotate wants a lot more flow than the grab rotator. Some diggers have equal flow on each service (Yanmar) but not sure on the whacker.

You can have hydraulic top and bottom. I do, just use a tap to change. Engcon will say you can’t cause health and safety but it works just fine.

If you go ahead, PM me your WhatsApp and I can talk you through the setup with videos over that

Thanks, that will be helpful when the time comes. Yeah, I have a rotating grab that came with the machine - the previous owner I assume was using it for arb work, there is saw dust in every orifice!

I'll work out which aux has the most aux flow and make sure to get used to rotating the grab using that control. Is there a standard side tilt and rotate go on?

 

[Storrsy]

Thanks, that will be helpful when the time comes. Yeah, I have a rotating grab that came with the machine - the previous owner I assume was using it for arb work, there is saw dust in every orifice!

I'll work out which aux has the most aux flow and make sure to get used to rotating the grab using that control. Is there a standard side tilt and rotate go on?

Often one set of pipes will be larger diameter than the other. It is in on my Wacker. Does the EZ26 have flow controls so you can turn the aux hydraulics down- with the Grab on my ET20 I have it turned quite far down for the rotate and it's plenty, makes it all so smooth

 

[Maxus]

Do you have the additional counterweights on yet though? Most sub 3t machines will be lifting a track at far stretch over the side with a full grader

If what you see on the back of this example is the additional counter weight, then yes.

 

[Maxus]

Often one set of pipes will be larger diameter than the other. It is in on my Wacker. Does the EZ26 have flow controls so you can turn the aux hydraulics down- with the Grab on my ET20 I have it turned quite far down for the rotate and it's plenty, makes it all so smooth

I don't think so... but rotating grab is very smooth to operate

 

[Storrsy]

If what you see on the back of this example is the additional counter weight, then yes.View attachment 76864

Yeah that's the additional weights on the back.

 

[Maxus]

The discussion around which size hitch to use for this size machine is interesting, I started working for Steelwrist back in June and it seems our market for units in the sub 3t bracket is quite small because we're told by the factory that S30 is only for machines up to 2.2t as that is the maximum of the design spec for S30.

Seemingly Engcon are happy to stretch this a little and state S30 is up to 3t. I am unsure what Rototilt do in this category but their RC1 looks to be very similar in weight to our X04 so I can only assume it is S40.

As others have discussed, balancing the weight of what your putting on the end is the key factor, when looking at X04's onto the 2.7t class machine it usually top hitch with no gripper or direct mount with gripper, either of these tends to work well from a weight perspective, but top hitch plus gripper gets a bit heavy.

Rototilt r1 is comparable to the steelwrist x04, the engcon ec02 is comparable to, but slightly heavier than steelwrist xtr2. I haven't made enquiries into rototilt, but engcon and steelwrist have been very good (and patient) when I've called.

 

[Maxus]

Does your machine have twin rollers ?
On this size of machine id go top hitch s30 also and as doobin says might as well go as compact as possible which seems to be hurricane.

This is looking like the best configuration

 

[6feetdown]

@6feetdown is the man to comment on s40 on this size machine - but lighter is better always and s30 is more than man enough - but iirc no gripper on s30 and even on this size machine it would be a great addition i woukd of thought, saves so much time for us.

If I knew now what i didn't know then I'd probably go s30 but mine was already done for a show.
I have factory counter weight plus a home made substance tractor weight with 6 24kg weights.
It is the long dipper so that adds to the original tippy issues not major but could feel it, the extra weight made a huge difference. I need as much dig depth as I can get i think max about 3m with rotation 300mm on vertical dig maybe a little deeper.
S40 on a plus point could be used on a bigger machine and is robust