A new heavy-duty head and new hook block has enabled Liebherr’s 800t-capacity LR1800-1.0 crawler crane to lift a weight of 1000t.
The manufacturer said the performance was “made possible by the new 800t heavy duty head (and) new hook block”, which also played a major role in the test. The new head and block can hoist up to 1,000t and, in addition to the Liebherr 800t crane, can also be used for the 1,000t LR 11000.
Liebherr said it has now delivered more than ten of its new 800t crawler craned to customers in Europe, North America and Asia. All of them feature a standard 650t S head section and are used for heavy hoisting work in industry and for wind turbine erection jobs.
Jens Könneker, product manager, Crawler Cranes at Liebherr, said: “The standard head is absolutely adequate for the vast majority of jobs. However, the LR 1800-1.0 is designed to produce its maximum lifting capacity in real-world conditions as it can hoist 800t with a 9m radius on a 57m boom. That gives it plenty of scope for real applications. That is why we built the 800t head, and now we have tested it as well.”
For the acceptance testing procedures on crane equipment, the test loads are around 25% above the values in the lifting capacity table to ensure a high level of safety when the crane is actually in action, Liebherr said, adding: “The new 800t head and the new hook block to match it passed the test with flying colours with a 1,000t test load.”
Könneker added: “The new hook block can be used on both the LR 1800-1.0 and the LR 11000. That is very important for customers who have both crane models. It enables them to use this block for both cranes flexibly and economically. As a result of the higher rope pull on the LR 11000, it can hoist up to 1,000t.”
For the test hoist, the LR 1800-1.0 had been set up with 70t of central ballast, 170t of slewing platform ballast and 228t of derrick ballast as well as a 33m derrick boom. A ballast trailer was used for the derrick ballast. However, the test could also have been carried out with suspended ballast. The ballast trailer is also new and will be available for delivery shortly.