Cover story: New Hidromek H4 range

By: Shannon Williams, Photography by: Shannon Williams

Date: 10.01.2020

2020 is already building up to be a big year for the team at Magnum Equipment, who is looking to add to its extensive portfolio of high-quality machines

Magnum founder and director Liam Field says the team is getting ready to welcome the new H4 series from Hidromek into the fleet and is looking forward to offering the machines to the market.

"Anyone who’s looking at diggers will be excited to see the H4 series, which has gone through an extensive development program and then proved operationally with contractors in Europe," Liam says.

The new H4 range really steps up the game for serious contractors, with digging force, improved hydraulics, and other key areas (see following page for more details).

"Other items that can come as factory fitted options are the Groeneveld auto-greasing system, Leica 3D GPS, and extra auxiliary circuitry, which all comes at heavily discounted pricing," says Liam.

He adds if the new series is anything like the models Hidromek has already launched into the market, they’ll be "fantastic". Liam expects to have more than 50 new orders available to the New Zealand market over the course of 2020; Magnum is taking pre-orders now.

"We’ve already got a couple of forward orders and other existing customers are very keen to see the new H4 models, which as I say and truly believe, are the ‘Mercedes-Benz’ of the excavator market. Hopefully, I’m allowed to say that," adds Liam with a chuckle.

"They’ll be here in time for National Agricultural Fieldays®, so we’re stoked about that. Our stand is going to be massive this year, and we’re looking forward to showing off all the machinery to the industry. But we’re especially excited to showcase the new H4 series and show people all its new features and the improvements that have been made.

"As always, visitors to the Magnum stand can get hands-on with our machines and equipment and see for themselves the level of quality that Hidromek offers."

Liam adds that 2019 was a big year for the team at Magnum, but 2020 is looking like it’s going to be even better.

"The Hidromek excavators have been very well received by our rental customers, with performance of the machines resulting in many of our clients asking for the Hidromek brand specifically. I’m especially happy about this as a number of customers have gone on to purchase from us.

"The H4 series is going to be really huge for New Zealand and the contracting industry."

The team at Hidromek have made a raft of revisions with the H4 series. Some of these include:

Bucket Design Revisions

The hardness of the Hardox material used in the excavator wear plates was increased from 400HB and material with 450HB hardness was substituted. With this revision, the excavators became longer-lasting.
The lower radius of the bucket was lifted to facilitate the material flow.
Reinforcement sheets were added under the bucket ears. As a result, impacts on the body are prevented and the bucket plate has become longer-lasting.
The side sheet corner joint form was changed to increase body resilience and make it even more longer-lasting.

Cylinders and MCV (main control valve) revisions

Reducing the cylinders’ diameters and their internal volume has increased the attachment speeds at the same flow rate.
Since the attachment speed gained by the cylinder diameter reduction could lead to a loss of attachment power if the pressure was kept constant, system pressure has been increased in this revision to avoid losses. As a result, the attachment speeds have increased without compromising the digging strengths.

Design revisions

On the Gen series, there were two work lights on the upper frame and two work lights on the cabin. On the H4 series, there’s one work light on the upper frame and four work lights on the cabin.
The Gen series had one rear work light while the new H4 series has two rear work lights.
Improvements have also been made to the camera safeguards and handles.

Cabin Interior Design Revisions

The Gen series had a five-inch widescreen, while the H4 series features an eight-inch wide touchscreen, a time display has been added, and the amount of language options has also been increased.
The radio and MP3 player can be viewed and controlled from the operator user panel.
The Gen series excavators had an external plastic crusher pedal with an on/off function. The new H4 series excavators feature a proportional metal cruising pedal that can work internally in two ways.
The revisions give the operator the option to choose the single/double effective line from within the cabin, and the option to adjust the yield and the pressure from inside the cabin. The operator has the option to choose the control method for the single effective line, as well as the control method for the double effective line.
The operator can control any line from the right joystick, the left joystick, or the pedal.

Adjustable screen brightness

In the H4 series, the operator screen light is adjustable and can be turned off completely. To turn on the screen light, simply touch the screen with two fingers.

Automatic power boost

The automatic power boost system will activate and deactivate for five seconds without prompting when the machine acquires additional load during challenging jobs. This feature can be enabled/disabled.

As such, this system is disabled and fuel will be saved during jobs where additional power is not required.

Improvements have also been made to the machine’s warning system.

The H4 series includes an automatic start-up horn feature, travel warning, and a swing drive warning.
An overload warning can be set to issue a warning at any specified pressure to help ensure work safety.
When the joysticks are not being used, the machine automatically stops the engine to save fuel.
Regeneration restraint prevents flames firing out the exhaust, which is particularly useful in forest jobs where sparks can be dangerous.