Doosan Portable Power was showing no less than four new air compressors on its stand at Conexpo. Two of the four are not powered by diesel; the manufacturer wants to offer its customers more cost effective machines as Tier 4 engines push the price of compressors up. “The price point of the T4 interim and T4 final is getting to the point that contractors are willing to accept alternative power solutions,” said Rus Warner, Doosan’s manager of global air products.
“The price point of the T4 interim and T4 final is getting to the point that contractors are willing to accept alternative power solutions,” said Rus Warner, Doosan’s manager of global air products.
First in the line-up was the P185, redesigned to be T4 final compliant. “That’s one of our iconic machines,” said Warner. “It’s the first in the market at 185 CFM [5,239 litres per min].”
One of the machine’s strong points, said Warner, is that it does not have a diesel particulate filter (DPF ). “DPF is a maintenance issue,” explained Warner. “You have to take it out and give it a scrub. This machine has a Deutz D2.9 L4 engine that only uses DOC. We really feel it’s the best solution for our contractors. Air compressors, light towers and generators are all autonomous, they don’t have operators monitoring them so they should not need extra maintenance.”
Making its debut at the show was the C185 G air compressor, which runs on petrol rather than diesel. “This compressor is a value proposition for contractors or rental sites because they cannot get a return on their investment on T4 final compressors. T4 final compliant comes at a much higher price. Gas or petrol lowers the price point.”
The price of the C185 G, which uses a 2.5litre Kubota engine will be between the T4 interim and T4 final price, said Warner. The Kubota is gear driven rather than belt driven, unlike other gasoline engines, which makes it a robust industrial engine, according to Doosan.
Doosan is also offering an electric-powered compressor, the VP900. “The electric air compressor price point is below T4 final and maintenance in dollars per CFM is less as well,” said Warner.
With a variable frequency drive, the VP900 can operate between between 0.62MPa and 1.03MPa which makes it useful across a lot of applications.
Successful markets for the electric compressor include ship building, refineries and industrial customers said Warner.
The HP915 compressor, designed and manufactured at Doosan’s facility in the Czech Republic, was also on the stand. The compressor has been designed for ease of maintenance, with opening panels located on all sides of the machine for easy access to all components which often require attention.
“This compressor is aimed primarily at bridge contractors,” said Warner. “We have got a lot of ageing infrastructure which needs maintenance and repair.”
Doosan also launched its new L20 light tower at Conexpo. The manufacturer has included many items that were formerly optional features as standard on this 20kW machine, because Doosan found that its customers were requesting them, said Deree Bivins, product marketing manager for lighting systems.
Features include textured paint to prevent damage from rocks kicking up from the road, a removable draw bar and electric brakes. The tower has a vertical mast which rises up to 7.7m in less than 30 seconds.
Doosan was also displaying two generators on the stand: the G125, a T4i product which was released at the beginning of 2013. “We have been adding more features to it throughout the year to make it more robust and suitable for cold weather use for the oil and gas sectors,” said Wyatt Franks, marketing manager for generator products.
Brand new was G240, a T4 final machine which will be available in the first quarter of 2015. This generator features a new control panel for easier operation and a beefed up design to cope with harsh jobsite environments.
Both the lighting tower and generators provide 110% containment. This means that if all the fluids leak out of them, they will be held in the bottom of the unit, with an extra 10% volume to take care of any water ingress.
www.doosanportablepower.com
