ELECTRIC AGRICULTURE
by two to eight hours, or four hours’
continuous operation. e standard
charger recharges the high-capacity
battery in ve hours and 20
minutes, the fast charger option
cutting this to two hours and 35
minutes. Full recharge time for the
high-capacity battery is four hours,
but it reaches 80% charge
in in 2.5 hours, and
the fast charger
option cuts the
latter time to
one hour.
“A heavy
workload
may make
charging
during the day
necessary, but
for others
overnight charging
may su ce,” says
Benetti. “Whatever the
work, our calculations suggest
that, beyond the attraction of a
machine with a minimal
maintenance requirement,
46 iVTInternational.com November 2019
emissions and noise, operating costs
are reduced by up to 60%, based on
standard European prices for both
electricity and diesel.”
Wheel promise
Compact wheel loaders lend
themselves well to electric power
and are particularly popular in
housed livestock
operations such as
those for pigs,
poultry and dairy,
where they work
on a mix of
concrete and
rough terrain.
Manufacturers of
electric machines
include Kramer
with the all-wheel
steer 5055e,
Weidemann with its
eHo rac 1160 and Avant with
the its E5 and E6 models.
Schä er claims to have developed
the world’s rst lithium-ion compact
wheel loader, with its 24e model
using electric motors to power the
hydraulics and the drive. Again, there
is a choice of two charging systems
and two battery packs, with an onboard
charger as standard, operated
with a standard 230V supply, with an
optional 400V external charger
charging to 80% capacity in 30
minutes. e rm guarantees a life of
5,000 charging cycles or ve years of
operation for its battery packs,
whichever comes rst.
“A further advantage is that
the machine will work reliably
even at low temperatures, an
important factor when there are
livestock to be fed and schedules to
be met,” says Friedhelm Brede,
Schä er’s head of development.
“With the drive motor anged
directly to the rear axle for direct
torque transmission, the 24e is the
only battery loader of its type
with a maximum 20km/h speed.
We know that for electric vehicles
to gain wider acceptance, they
need to meet these sorts of
performance levels.” IVT
RIGHT: Schäffer guarantees
a lifetime of 5,000 charging
cycles or fi ve years of
operation, whichever comes
fi rst, for its battery packs
20km/h
Top speed of Shäffer’s
24e electric wheel
loader
/iVTInternational.com
