Link Belt

[Dirty Water]

Anyone use a Link-belt mini? Whats your opinion? Are they made by someone else?

I saw a Link Belt today being used to trim brush on a forest service road. The thing must have had at least a 40' reach from its boom...Probably the biggest excavator I've been up close to.

[Tigerotor77W]

Link-Belt *mini*? About how big is it?

Either way, Link-Belt excavators are just about identical to Case excavators. The two are both rebranded Sumitomo machines (I believe with different powerplants, but I haven't checked that... LBX I think uses Iveco, with Case using "Case" engines. Those engines might be rebranded Ivecos, but they could be the Case-Cummins alliance. Kaiser might know better than I.) They're not bad machines, but again, they're the same as Case machines.

They just introduced a 70-metric ton machine... to compete with the Volvo EC700B, Cat 365C, and (not so much here in the States) Liebherr 954 (a little smaller, as is the Deere 600C). But interesting to see the larger end of the market develop healthily.

[Scag48]

I know a couple guys that run Link Belt, one guy had a smaller 2850 I think it was for general excavation and liked the machine, he beat the piss out of it. He bought it with about 4,000 hours and since he was a diesel mechanic he could keep it running good, but it looked like hell. I think he sold it last year after running it for about 2 years. I know another guy that uses only Link Belt log loaders in his logging operation. Swears by them.

[UNISCAPER]

Anyone ever seen a CAT 5038 excavator? They have one running in the rock pile near us. 20 yard bucket. 23' wide, and a 25' stick, total reach of 62'. The operator looks like a GI Joe sitting in the cab. A Cat V-16 twin turbo engine producing 2400 HP. I did not even know they used that numbering until I saw this beast.

[Scag48]

I've heard of the 5080 frontshovel, is it a frontshovel or a conventional style excavator?

[UNISCAPER]

This was an excavator but the bucket could be flipped the front way just like you can do with a Cat MiniX.

[Scag48]

It was probably a front shovel with a drop load bucket. I've never had to put the bucket on our 303 backwards, one of these days I bet it'll happen.

[Gravel Rat]

I was told the Link Belt and Case are pretty much the same the only difference was one machine had a shorter stick. You don't see many Link Belt excavators same with Case excavators.

[Dirty Water]

I really like the case mini excavators.

[Tigerotor77W]

Uniscaper -- it could have been a 5080 (as Scag mentioned), 5090, 5130, or 5230. No Cat front shovel ever produced 2400 HP (no Cat tracked machine does, in fact). But it's amazing that you saw such a big machine... I can't imagine how big it must have been!

[Gravel Rat]

Around here Case is popular with rubber tired hoes you can't beat a 580 or 590 4x4. Cat and John Deere can't compete and JCB isn't even in the contenders line up.

[Dirty Water]

I like case backhoes, except for the 4 stick control ones...I hate them.

[Mowingman]

I used to be the mining equipment manager for a fairly large mining company. I do not have much good to say about the newer Link Belt excavators. Of course, my experience is with the larger machines handling 3 or 4 yard buckets. I had been buying Hitachi excavators for our operations, when word came down from the boss, that he did not want to get all of our eggs in one basket. He wanted to try some other brand. We had a really old Link Belt excavator that had been a real dependable workhorse. So, after a demo, we bought a big new Link Belt excavator for one of our operations. That machine was plagued with problems from nearly day one. Downtime was terrible on it. I retired about 3 years after we bought it, and it still was not a dependable machine. Link Belt has really cheapened up their machines. If I was in the market for an excavator, it would not be a Link Belt, or any other machine built by them. I would look at JD, or Komatsu for small excavators.

[Tigerotor77W]

Uniscaper -- is it the features that sell the Case or is it just reputation and heritage? I know Cat wants to do more with its BHL line in the northern parts of North America. I don't know how far they've gotten with that plan.

[UNISCAPER]

I believe people stick with and switch to Cat products first because they are standard of the industry. Their service reputation can't be equaled and the product research is unequaled by anyone. That said, sure there may be a featuure or two that a person likes better than Cat on other machines. For example, I hate the way Cat operates the stick on it's excavators, so, I switch the valve and run JD controls.

But, if Cat has a feature, it's there for a reason, and in some aspects, they know what is more productive than we do.

[Tigerotor77W]

If you mean the extendable stick, how does JD do it? I know Cat is a foot pedal. If you mean the stick itself, isn't that the same way excavators are set up?

And along those lines, can anyone explain ISO vs. SAE patterns to me?

Aw, heck, I couldn't get my little schematic to work... so basically, the way Cat excavators are setup -- is that SAE or ISO?

[Dirty Water]

Some Case have annoying 4 stick controls, instead of having each joystick move at both axis they can only move one way, so you need 4 sticks instead of two.

As far as JD/Cat controls, I believe Cat is ISO, and its what I'm used to, when I hop on a SAE machine I feel backwards for a few minutes.

Here is ISO controls:

http://www.daewooexca.co.kr/eng/img/prr_cmt_newproduct03_img.gif

Come to think about it, I'm not sure what I'm most used to, I'd have to sit down in the chair and then my hands know where to go.

[Tigerotor77W]

:cool2: Okay, I'm "used to" those, too. (I've only ever run a 303.5, 315C L, and 430D, for a total of less than 1.5 hours, so that's all I know -- and am used to. hehe)

Thanks for the image.

[ksss]

Link Belt uses Izuzu engines on the majority of the machines and CASE uses CASE-Cummins engines. Very smooth running machines. I have a zero tail 225 CASE on rent right now. The Sumitomo machines are poplular in this area. There was a job early in Jackson Hole that had 11 Link Belts on the same job. Sumitomo was (this was several years ago) the number 2 pruducer of excavators in the world. You can't judge and entire brand of equipment from any one machine. A good friend of mine who except for running CASE skid steers is entirely Cat. His new 430 backhoe had some seriously faulty wields and the loader actually fell off the machine. So what does he do? Buys another Cat. The smallest machine sold by Link Belt is the 1600Q/75 which is a 16K machine. CASE uses Kobelco for its smaller machines.

[Tigerotor77W]

Spot on...

interesting story about the Cat!

[Scag48]

I can only run ISO controls, I get on SAE and freak out. I can't do it.

[Dirty Water]

L I have a zero tail 225 CASE on rent right now.

What size is this? I thought Case's CX series were the only zero tail ones they made.

I really like the CX excavators, really handy for landscape work or small power ditching.

[Tigerotor77W]

That's right; CX225SR. It's a newish model.

http://www.casece.com/products/products.asp?RL=NAE&id=10s

[Dirty Water]

Ah, I thought the CX stood for Compact Excavator, not Case Excavator :laugh:.

I've rented the CX36 for small work, its a great little guy. I'm sure the bigger ones are just as nice.

[Tigerotor77W]

Hmm, I'm not sure what I thought CX to mean... :) Good question.