Management and machine operators at Hanson Aggregates’ St George Quarry near Abergele in North Wales are said to be very impressed with the low fuel consumption of the site’s recently delivered
St George Quarry manager Lee Williams and regular operator Edwin Roberts suspected that the Liebherr LiDAT monitoring system was faulty when it showed that the machine was only using 11.7 litres of fuel/hour. “This is far better than we thought it would be and is far less than any of the previous machines we have used on site. We have been very impressed with the reliability of the machine too.”
The L 586 XPower boasts the pinnacle of engine and transmission technology in the form of a six-cylinder D936 engine and an XPower CVT transmission. This combination allowed Liebherr designers to keep the engine low and to the rear of the machine, replacing the large counterweight. This reduction in physical mass, and therefore weight, equates to a significant fuel saving. The Liebherr diesel engine delivers 267kW at a maximum of 1800RPM. This low revving ability matched to the XPower driveline, which has impressed Roberts with its power and ease of control, gives the range its characteristic driving style. “It took me a couple of weeks to settle into the Liebherr’s driving style, but now I’ve got used to it, I wouldn’t want to go back to anything else.”
The 33tonne L 586 XPower has been supplied with Z-bar linkage on a high lift arm arrangement that gives an effective load over height of 4.5 m, which is ideal for loading both the road-going trucks that leave the site. The high lift arm arrangement also enables the loader to service the 50tonne rigid dump trucks used at the quarry should the need arise. It has also been equipped with a 6m³ straight-edged bucket with bolt-on replaceable cutting edge.
The large loader is seen as the ideal tool to load tippers. The general-purpose bucket can load an eight-wheeler tipper in just two passes and this job is now far easier thanks to the on-board weighing system. “We never had anything of the sort when I first started,” Roberts laughs. “It was a very time-consuming job getting each truck close to the maximum weight.”
And the weighing system isn’t the only thing that has changed. From the large cab with its excellent all-round vision, well laid out controls and comfortable seat to the huge electrically-operated bonnet that provides easy access to the whole engine compartment, the Liebherr L 586 XPower has been designed to make the operator’s working day easier.
Roberts has operated wheeled loaders for over 40 years and is therefore well qualified to give his experienced view on the L 586 XPower. “This is simply the best wheeled loader I have driven! I’ve driven almost everything and this beats them all.”
