Skip to main content

Wacker Neuson’s dual power 803 works inside the Kocher Viaduct

Wacker Neuson’s smallest excavator, the 803 dual power, is punching above its weight on the Kocher Viaduct demolition project near Heilbronn in Germany. The electric-hydraulic and diesel-powered mini-excavator can fully deploy its advantages with emission-free work in confined spaces on site where construction company Leonhard Weiss is reconstructing the viaduct. At 185m, the Kocher viaduct is the highest bridge in Germany. Around 50,000 vehicles cross it daily. The Kocher viaduct was designed as a pr
May 1, 2015 Read time: 3 mins
Wacker Neuson’s 803 cracks it up at Kocher Viaduct
Wacker Neuson’s smallest excavator, the 803 dual power, is punching above its weight on the Kocher Viaduct demolition project near Heilbronn in Germany.

The electric-hydraulic and diesel-powered mini-excavator can fully deploy its advantages with emission-free work in confined spaces on site where construction company Leonhard Weiss is reconstructing the viaduct.

At 185m, the Kocher viaduct is the highest bridge in Germany. Around 50,000 vehicles cross it daily. The Kocher viaduct was designed as a pre-stressed concrete box girder bridge. Demolition is being performed inside of the box girder of the 1,128m long bridge during the rehabilitation.

Since 2013m, the more than 35-year-old Kocher viaduct has been undergoing renovation which should end later this year. Work is taking place simultaneously at several of the project’s construction sites.

Leonhard Weiss Group bought the 803 specifically for the Kocher job, said Thomas Knapp, 1651 Wacker Neuson’s sales manager for the German region of Stuttgart. "I knew that demolition work was planned from within the interior of the bridge and our excavator 803 dual power is ideal for such an application,” he said.

With the dual power option, the 803 mini-excavator can be connected to the external electro-hydraulic power unit HPU8. With the generator, the excavator is operated electrically and completely emission-free. The excavator with the dual power option meets all requirements for conventional compact diesel excavators, but in a few minutes it can be converted to a unit for emission-free work, without losing any machine performance or application flexibility. Dual power means the operator can drive it in conventional mode to the site of operation. Two openings are incorporated in the excavator's dozer blade in which the HPU8 generator can be secured for transport. The dimensions of the excavator and the generator are matched to each other so that the operator can easily drive through narrow door openings with the set.

Once arrived on site, the operator connects the HPU8 unit to the excavator's undercarriage and can then continue to work completely free of emissions.

The hydraulic supply for the excavator takes place via the undercarriage so that the pivot radius remains unrestricted over 360 degrees. The operating weight, stability and dimensions of the excavator have not changed with this option. Importantly for the operator, the sequence of operations remains completely unchanged after the connection of the generator.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Wacker Neuson launches skid steer and compact track loaders
    March 9, 2017
    Wacker Neuson has launched a new line of medium-frame skid steer and compact track loaders at CONEXPO-CON/AGG that the company says are ideal for a variety of applications.
  • Wacker Neuson’s reverse drive site dumper gives operators two points of view
    April 27, 2018
    Wacker Neuson’s Dual View DW60 is the firm’s answer to improving operator visibility on forward-tip site dumpers. It affords the use of a reverse drive format, where the entire operator station – seat, steering column and control console – can be spun through 180-degrees.
  • Wacker Neuson’s standout EH 100 demolition breaker
    May 28, 2013
    Nominated for a design category bauma 2013 Innovation Award, the new EH 100 demolition breaker from Wacker Neuson is said to offer extremely high demolition performance with single stroke impact energy of 100Joules combined with good power to weight ratio. The powerful EH 100 is packed into a new ergonomically-shaped fully spring-mounted compact hood. The new hood design is said to allow the operator to precisely guide the demolition breaker while maintaining visual contact with the chisel’s tip. Wacker Neu
  • Electric machine options
    April 30, 2024
    One of the notable developments in the construction machine market has been the rapid expansion in the availability of compact electric machines and a wide array of new units is coming to market – Mike Woof reports