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Breaking up really isn’t all that hard to do … with the right attachment

Spring 2011

Green Soils, based in Toronto, Ontario, recently discovered a new tool that is making the breakup process a whole lot easier for them - a welcome find for a company that is constantly tearing things apart!

Serving as specialists in the field of bioremediation, Green Soils is often involved in demolition projects - destroying buildings and structures; parking lots; driveways; you name it - and they needed a tool to help make the breaking-up process smooth, efficient and productive. With several Doosan excavator and wheel loader models already in their equipment fleet, it was logical for plant manager Alan Hulan to call on his sales rep at Top Lift, also based in Toronto, for guidance when his existing breaker attachment started showing signs of giving up.

"Our relationship with Doosan actually started with excavators," Hulan explains. "We had an unscheduled visit from a sales agent that we had known previously when he worked with a different company, and ironically at the time we were kind of in the market for exchanging an existing excavator. He brought in a Doosan^® DX300LC model for us to demo and compare to competitor models. We were quite happy with the Doosan equipment and that's where it started."

The purchase of the DX300 LC model excavator was the beginning of a long and mutually rewarding relationship for Green Soils and the Doosan dealer, Top Lift. The remediation experts now have several Doosan equipment models, including a DX225 LC excavator, three Doosan wheel loaders - two DL400 models and recently just purchased a DL450. More recently they bought a new DXB170H breaker attachment that Hulan operates from the comfortable confines of the DX225 LC. He explains a few of the reasons the Doosan model was selected over the others during a head-to-head demo competition.

"I have quite a bit of experience with excavators, and I find the Doosan model is very smooth and has controls that are easy to operate," Hulan says. "One of the key things that I discovered, however, has more to do with operational efficiency. Several manufacturers have models with what they call an ‘economy position' that helps save on fuel. However with most of the competitors' equipment, I found I couldn't operate it effectively in the economy position. It was just too slow. But with the Doosan model, I can actually operate on the ‘economy' setting very comfortably. This is a great benefit, because we are saving on fuel and still getting the job done. I don't know how they do it, but Doosan has figured out a way to give you excellent hydraulic power when it's in the ‘economy' position."

Green Soils is primarily a receiver of contaminated soil; the result of a variety of incidents or ongoing conditions such as a chemical spill, gradually leaking underground storage tanks or continuous seepage from factories and industrial buildings that - over years of production - had migrated to the soil, perhaps through cracks in floors or similar compromised surfaces.

The majority of the contamination Green Soils mitigates is hydrocarbon material, i.e., oil-based products, although the company specializes in cleaning up soil that has been compromised by any number of chemical contaminants. Founded by Lawrence Herman more than 15 years ago, Green Soils' demolition services business has grown exponentially over the past several years.

Breaker, Breaker, DXB One Seven Zero H ... can you assist?
As the number of demolition projects increased for Green Soils, so did the amount of wear and tear inflicted by Hulan on the breaker attachment he had been using to rip apart pavement, asphalt and concrete. Keenly aware that a replacement would be necessary before long, Hulan began reading up on the Doosan offering. After doing some additional competitive research, he got in touch with Top Lift, which arranged a demo.

"Previous to working with this company, I worked an excavator with a breaker attachment where the casing configuration was bolted together," Hulan says. "I remember that I was always replacing sheared and broken bolts to try and keep the casing together. This resulted in a lot of downtime, which as you know, is costly. The casing of the Doosan model is configured differently, and is made of very heavy-duty material. Breakers take a beating, especially in concrete with rebar, so we went with the Doosan DXB170H. It is a very rugged and durable equipment attachment."

Recently, Hulan used the DXB170H breaker attachment on a demolition project that involved removing a concrete wall approximately 1 foot thick, reinforced with rebar. Complicating matters, the exterior wall abutted a second concrete wall of similar thickness that was still part of an existing building. Hulan explains the intricacies of the job and how the DXB170H lived up to his expectations.

"I didn't have to apply very much of what I would describe as ‘down' pressure in tackling the concrete and rebar," Hulan says. "With very little effort, the Doosan breaker was able to conquer the concrete. And because I didn't have to apply much down pressure, I felt like I had greater control. The hammer did all the work ... and did it quite well, I might add."

Hulan cites a couple of features that he feels are responsible for allowing the Doosan breaker attachment to perform so effectively. He has been impressed with the upper / lower suspension design configuration that isolates the power unit from the housing and the Doosan patented main valve that optimizes strike power by recovering energy generated by piston rebound. The cylinder of this nitrogen-powered breaker doesn't need an accumulator, which protects from blank piston fire and allows for the most efficient performance possible.

"The nitrogen component enhances the striking power and piston rebound and all those things that make it such an efficient and accurate strike," Hulan says. "I guess the best way to describe it would be energy recovery. The hydraulics triggers the nitrogen to fire the strike ... and strike repeatedly.

No-hassle maintenance
According to Hulan, as with any piece of equipment, proper maintenance is critical to operational efficiency, productivity, and most important, life span. He appreciates all the thought that Doosan puts into designing equipment that makes it easy to maintain.

"A lot of what dictates the life of equipment is how it is treated and operated," Hulan says. "But even equipment that is continuously abused will perform remarkably if properly maintained. Doosan makes it easy for operators to complete maintenance. As with the breaker for example, eventually the nitrogen level needs to be recharged, and the way Doosan has designed the attachment, this is something that is very quick to do and requires hardly any time whatsoever - very little maintenance."

"They [Doosan] really didn't leave anything out," Hulan continues. "For example, I was quite surprised to find out that an auto-greaser comes standard. This feature alone saves a lot of downtime on a job because we are supposed to grease every two hours of work. So rather than make frequent trips in and out of the very comfortable operator cab to grease, this is just an added feature that operators appreciate. It speaks volumes to productivity and longevity, and feeling confident that the machine is lubricating itself as it needs to. It's a great feature."

Standard equipment
The Doosan DXB170H breaker comes standard with a bracket cap, auxiliary hydraulic hoses, automatic greaser, two moil points, a toolbox with additional service tools and a wear indication device.

Operators can choose from four tools to maximize the breaker's efficiency given the types of materials they are most often demolishing. The points include a moil for general breaker use; a blunt point for use in concrete and block-breaking applications; a chisel to break up larger pieces of concrete so it's easier to haul; and a pyramidal or "nail" to break up reinforced concrete and other hard materials.