Volvo CE L25 Electric Wheel Loader Upgrades Improve Uptime, Comfort & More

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Volvo has introduced a number of upgrades to its L25 Electric wheel loader and has announced the impending arrival of the L20 Electric. (Photo courtesy of Volvo.)

Volvo Construction Equipment says a multitude of upgrades it has implemented to its compact, zero-emissions, battery-electric L25 Electric wheel loader bring about greater versatility, operator comfort, and uptime. Improved versatility comes in part from an option to equip the L25 Electric with a new Parallel linkage that Volvo says is well-matched to medium-duty cycles and pallet-handling applications. The linkage compliments an existing Z-type linkage, which provides high breakout torque performance, thus opening up the wheel loader to more applications.

Drawing Comparisons

The L25 Electric includes a 48-volt lithium-ion battery with a 40-kilowatt-hour capacity. The wheel loader, which has a 1.2-cubic-yard (0.9-cu-meter) bucket capacity, can work up to six hours per charge, but it’s now equipped with an improved 6-kW onboard charger that can return the battery to a full charge in six hours when plugged into grid power. Using faster off-board chargers cuts the charging time to less than two hours. A new Electric Machine Management Application (EMMA), meanwhile, lets operators and/or fleet managers monitor charging status, battery level, and machine location, making possible more efficient charging and machine uptime management.

Volvo also has a smaller L20 Electric model that’s set for delivery in 2023. It has a 1.05-cu-y (0.8-cu-m) bucket capacity, is equipped with a Parallel linkage, and comes with a choice of a 33- or 40-kWh battery pack. The company says the L20 Electric will include all the features and enhancements of the updated L25 Electric. Volvo also sells L25H and L20H diesel-powered equivalents.

“The L25 Electric is stronger than and more superior to its diesel brother,” says Arvid Rüster, Volvo customer and product manager at Berliner Stadtreinigung in Germany. “It’s quieter and quicker to respond. The joystick control is also very sensitive.”

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Operators and fleet managers can monitor the L25 Electric’s battery charging status, battery level, and location using Volvo’s new Electric Machine Management Application (EMMA). (Photo courtesy of Volvo.)

An Emphasis On Quiet

The aforementioned joystick boasts the market’s latest design and is more ergonomic, thus more comfortable, Volvo says. Operators can also expect less noise in and out of the cab due to a new hydraulic pump and the relocation of the main control valve to the machine’s front frame. Furthermore, Volvo has added an optional new programmable cab heater that lets operators select the time and days of week to pre-warm and defrost the cab. Additionally, operators no longer have to reach under the hood to turn off the wheel loader’s switch at day’s end.

Also worth noting is a new, automatic electric parking brake with hill-hold functionality, which comes in handy when working on inclines and in rough terrain. Volvo also replaced the disc brake previously used with a spring-applied, hydraulic-released wet-disk brake, which it says eliminates certain maintenance requirements and reduces costs and downtime.

Source: Volvo