Understanding Excavator Boom Configurations | The Scoop

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I often hear excavators called the &#;Swiss Army knife&#; of the construction industry, and it&#;s true &#; they&#;re multi-tasking machines capable on practically any jobsite. A lot of people attribute their flexibility to a broad range of class sizes with multiple attachment options, but you may not realize that a big part of what makes these machines so versatile isn&#;t what&#;s on the end of the excavator arm &#; it&#;s the boom.

If you&#;re new to excavators, or if you use product brochures to spec machines, these excavator boom tips may be beneficial the next time you&#;re in the market for a machine for a specific application.

• Mono Boom (Standard Boom): This is what we call the standard setup &#; it provides good reach and a decent bucket size range and is the most popular setup by far. Some customers use a mass excavation setup, which is a shorter boom and short stick. They go this route because they can put a bigger bucket on it. Using our 42-ton Volvo 380E excavator as an example, you have the choice of a 20&#; 4&#; (6.2 m) mass excavation boom with an 8&#; 4&#; stick, which allows you to put on that bigger bucket and move more material. Plus, it&#;s faster because you don&#;t have as far to swing. It&#;s one of the most productive setups, but you can be limited by reach.

• Two-Piece Boom: Two-piece excavator booms are very versatile and can actually outlift a mono boom up close to the machine. The mono boom, however, gives you more reach and outlifts a two-piece boom at full extension. Two-piece booms allow you to change the bend of the excavator boom to decrease its working height, which is ideal for digging under a bridge or in a building, for example. The price difference between a mono boom and two-piece boom isn&#;t very significant, which gives you options to get the configuration you need to best suit the work at hand.

• Long-Reach Boom: Long-reach excavator booms are great for cleaning out ponds and canals &#; jobs where you&#;re digging out in water and need the extra reach. Boom length varies based on manufacturer and machine model. For example, the long-reach version of the Volvo EC380 excavator is 27&#; 11&#; (8.5 m) compared to the 21&#; 2&#; (6.45 m) standard boom and 16&#; 5&#; (5 m) arm that provide a max reach of 48&#; 5&#; (14.75 m).

  • This brings up a good reminder on machine nomenclature. The &#;L&#; in EC380EL means it has a long undercarriage &#; the &#;LR&#; in our EC380ELR stands for long reach.

• Two-Piece Offset Boom: The two-piece offset excavator boom is another option on some models. A two-piece offset boom knuckles off to the right or the left. If, for example, you&#;re working in a tight alley with limited swing, you can knuckle the boom over so that it digs in line with one of the tracks up next to a structure. Note on large machines it will decrease your lifting capacity because you have a knuckle and the cylinders out on the boom, so you&#;re increasing the weight that&#;s out in front of the machine. Two-piece offset booms are more expensive and can require additional maintenance. This excavator boom configuration is popular in cities with extremely tight workspaces.

In general, a large percentage of customers go with a two-piece boom on wheeled excavators and a standard mono boom on crawler excavators.

A Note on Wheeled Excavators

Wheeled excavators are becoming more and more popular in the U.S. because contractors are learning that they dig just like a crawler excavator but are more versatile. Just pull the outriggers up and drive across the neighborhood or down the street. Or use them for lifters, barriers on the highway, etc. and you won&#;t tear up the ground. When you&#;re ready for a different job, just fold up the outriggers, drive to your next jobsite and get to work again.

With outriggers, wheeled machines are just as stable as comparable crawlers &#; and in some instances, wheeled excavators actually have a wider footprint than a crawler and are more stable. In muddy or rough conditions, crawler excavators are better for the job &#; but if you&#;ve never considered a wheeled excavator for your type of work, check them out.

A Unique Value, Only from Volvo

Where Volvo differentiates itself from competitors is in our lifetime frame and structure warranty on all our excavator booms, arms and frames. We&#;re the only manufacturer that offers this guarantee. When you buy from Volvo, you don&#;t have to worry about breaking them &#; they&#;re guaranteed for life.

View our full excavator lineup to start comparing which machine and boom configuration is right for your job.

And if you&#;re ready to buy, Volvo dealers across North America have a range of medium and large excavators in stock and ready for your next job.

By John Waldron

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For more excavator long reach boom arms for saleinformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.

Excavators are extremely versatile pieces of equipment. They can be used for digging, moving materials, demolition and even forestry work. And while excavators come in all shapes and sizes depending on your needs, one notable difference is the type of arm you use.

The first type is a standard arm, which has one joint that bends, allowing the excavator to reach down, dig, and then start again. The second is the knuckle boom, which is also sometimes known as an articulating boom. This features extra joints, so you can move the boom as needed to get into hard-to-reach places. It can also move left to right, due to the multiple pivot points in the arm.

Both have their pros and cons, and ultimately the one you choose will depend on the type of work you&#;re doing, and the specific location.

The benefits of a knuckle boom

Let&#;s jump straight in and look at the benefits of using a knuckle boom.

The biggest advantage to a knuckle boom is the multiple pivot points. While they may be slightly more difficult to operate, you have so much more flexibility regarding the places you can reach. For example, you can reach over obstacles and still dig clearly behind them.

Being able to move the boom left and right, almost in a swinging motion, also gives the operator much more ability to work with precision.

So, if you&#;re working on a site with lots of obstacles or uneven ground that makes your work difficult, a knuckle boom excavator is probably going to be your best friend.

The disadvantages of a knuckle boom

In all honesty, there aren&#;t too many disadvantages to a knuckle boom. Especially when being compared to a standard arm excavator, because the knuckle boom can do basically everything a standard arm does.

However, one must certainly consider the cost, with knuckle boom excavators being more expensive than a standard arm. They&#;re also slightly more difficult to operate. So, in a lot of ways, you can save yourself time, money and complications by just choosing a standard arm.

The benefits of a standard arm

You would think that with all of the flexibility, strength and functionality you gain from a knuckle boom excavator, there would be no reason to consider a standard arm. However, there are actually some terrific reasons to go standard over articulated.

Firstly, there is the cost. Articulated knuckle boom excavators cost more to buy and hire, simply because they are a more advanced piece of equipment. If you don&#;t need the knuckle boom functionality, then you&#;re simply wasting money by hiring one when a standard arm would suit your needs perfectly.

Secondly, standard arms are easier to operate. While knuckle booms are great, the extra joints mean they are more complex. This means things can take a bit longer with a knuckle boom, compared to just setting up quickly and getting to work with a standard arm.

In addition, standard arms often have a longer horizontal reach, which makes them great for open areas where there are few obstacles in your way.

The disadvantages of a standard arm

When comparing these two types of excavator arms, there are some obvious drawbacks to the standard arm. Most importantly it only has one joint, and can only move with that joint in an up-and-down motion. Naturally, they are still very effective pieces of earthmoving equipment, however, they lack the flexibility of a knuckle boom.

If you&#;re working in a space that&#;s difficult to reach, or where there are a lot of obstacles, the lack of multi-directional movement can make a job much harder, so in those instances, you&#;d be better off with a knuckle boom.

Which one is best?

Ultimately, it&#;s fair to say that a knuckle boom excavator is the &#;better&#; option. However, we only say that because of the extra movement and functionality. If you don&#;t need that extra movement because you&#;re working on reasonably flat, clear sites, there is really no need for a knuckle boom.

The real &#;best&#; option in this case, is the one that suits your type of work best. You can save money by opting for a standard arm, or you can gain extra flexibility with a knuckle boom. The choice is yours.

Looking for knuckle boom excavators?

No matter what type of excavator you&#;re looking for, Earthmoving Equipment Australia has got you covered. From mini excavators to specialist long-reach knuckle boom excavators, we&#;ve got all of the right equipment to get the job done more easily and to a higher standard. If you&#;re not exactly sure what you need for an upcoming project, contact our expert team and we&#;ll be happy to help. We have all types of heavy machinery and equipment, as well as all the attachments you could ever want. Give us a call today, and we&#;ll be more than happy to help.

Contact us to discuss your requirements of 2 piece boom excavators. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.

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