Construction Equipment: Diesel or Electric? Part 1

We received a call recently from a  concrete cutter who was interested in our CB Electric Excavator as well as our CB Electric Tracked Haulers. As we were discussing different aspects of the business and his operation he mentioned that all of his saw rigs were equipped with 480 3 phase generators and water tanks. I asked him what size diesel or gas saws that he had in addition to his electric saws ? His response took me by surprise , yet did not really surprise me. What I mean by that is that the efficiency of electric motors is well documented, some of the most powerful machines on earth are electric powered, but somehow overlooked – guess they’re just not sexy enough . He said that all he sawed with were electric  powered saws.He stated that he was not interested in gas or diesel powered saws period! I suppose that we in the construction industry have a lot of “Tim the Toolman” in us and we gotta have the smoke and noise of ponies at our disposal to feel like we’re “Gittin’ er done” .

This young man who shall remain nameless , pleasantly surprised me with his  clarity of thought and common sense .  He did a lot of indoor sawing where electric or hydraulic was required for air quality and safety reasons. He could saw inside as well as outside with electric saws , not so with diesel or gas or propane. Why spend the  money on equipment that you can only utilize on some of your jobs ? Now, before you guys say “thats the case with a lot of equipment ” I want to point out that he being a two rig operator, this made a great deal of sense to me , and obviously to him. He or his driver could leave the shop in the a.m , and not have to waste time and money  backtracking to get another saw. They could use  the electric saws  outdoors quite nicely.  The time lost by using a lower horsepower electric saw would easily be offset by the savings realized by not having to purchase and maintain a gas or diesel saw. 

Part 2 of this series coming soon.

Partial Demolition of Concrete Pool Deck

Project: Partial replacement of a concrete pool deck. The deck had settled badly, needed to be partially removed and fill brought in. The surrounding area was well landscaped and the remaining portion of the concrete deck needed to remain undamaged. Access was limited through a pool gate.

Solution: CB Tracked Hauler with auxiliary power take off (optional) and a hydraulic breaker were employed for the demolition and removal of the concrete. Gravel fill was also brought in by CB Tracked Haulers.

Leave us a quick comment on how the optional auxiliary power take off may benefit you in your contracting business!

CB Electric Excavator 1

Electric Powered Mini Excavators

Project:  Removal of 2,500 square feet of 9″ thick concrete inside of Cincinnati’s University Hospital.  Absolutely no fumes were allowed and noise needed to be kept to a minimum.

Solution:  CB Electric Excavator was used to pull concrete, after electric saw cutting was done and CB Electric Tracked Haulers were used to haul of removed concrete.  Each of the slabs of concrete were approximately 400 lbs.