Excavators

Lebron

Well-Known Member
Looking to put chase an excavator 10-14 tonnes to dig out and do the ground around the house and also to clean up around the farm. From looking on dodgy deal I’ve decided to go with a Hitachi a so recon that they will hold their value best. Just wondering what is the difference between all the different model no.s eg 120-1 or 120-5 or a ex135 or an ex135ur. Also is ther a difference ones that are Hitachi or Fiat Hitachi (with the blue FH on the boom)

Thanks
 
Looking to put chase an excavator 10-14 tonnes to dig out and do the ground around the house and also to clean up around the farm. From looking on dodgy deal I’ve decided to go with a Hitachi a so recon that they will hold their value best. Just wondering what is the difference between all the different model no.s eg 120-1 or 120-5 or a ex135 or an ex135ur. Also is ther a difference ones that are Hitachi or Fiat Hitachi (with the blue FH on the boom)

Thanks

AFAIK @Kieran97 operates some model of Hitachi.....
 
120-1 was around in 1990 +/- a couple years. isuzu engine. very reliable. starts first time every time.
They are pushing on now and had terrible rusty cabs so hard get a decent one. good machine though. we still have one.
120-5 was around in late 90's isuzu engine aswel. I've no first hand experience of them but they were well regarded. Shoving on now too so hard get in decent condition.
Fiat models had fiat engines and different undercarriage.
The isuzu was more sought after as far as i know.
There is still a reasonble market for them for export.
-1 and -5 had good reputations compared to some other hitachis.
Depends a lot on the kind of budget you have.
 
Ex120-1 is a straight forward with no electronics to go wrong. Ex120-5 is the best of the electronic machines in the EX range. there is a very strong export market for the EX range at the moment. A EX120-1 would be worth about 50% more now than what it could have been bought for 10 years ago which is crazy. For a small bit more money you could get a more modern machine. I have a EX200-1 and i keep getting messages off lads trying to buy it off me even though i am not selling it. I love it too much due to the fact it is so simple to maintain.
 
Looking to put chase an excavator 10-14 tonnes to dig out and do the ground around the house and also to clean up around the farm. From looking on dodgy deal I’ve decided to go with a Hitachi a so recon that they will hold their value best. Just wondering what is the difference between all the different model no.s eg 120-1 or 120-5 or a ex135 or an ex135ur. Also is ther a difference ones that are Hitachi or Fiat Hitachi (with the blue FH on the boom)

Thanks

Dash 1 and dash 5 are the best of them. Dash one had little or no electrics and had twin gear pumps. Dash 5 has twin piston pumps. Dash 2 and 3 have single piston pumps. The only problem with the single pump is if you're in bad ground and get into bother you can't put down the arm and track at the same time. The dash 2 had a bad setup for the electric throttle which could give niggly bother but generally aren't too bad.

As said before rust is an issue on earlier ones. Cab on our uh02 isn't hectic.

Dash 5 will be north of 22k but a good dash 1 or 2 could be picked up for around the 15k mark. Dash 2 were the first with servo levers I believe so they're nicer to drive than a dash 1.

Try and get one on 2ft 6 pads. Keep you up in bad ground.

If you're moving a 120 regular you need a good low loader and a tractor North of 6 tons to be legal. Hence, an ex100 may suit better.

Personally I like the 6 ton digger cause they're easy to move around and a lot more economical on fuel. Hard beat the power of a larger digger but they will be significantly harder on fuel.

Ur is the zero tail swing model. Great on a building site but for making drains they tend to bow a bit in the front so I wouldn't be mad about one for farm use.

Anything older than a dash 1, uh etc are also a good basic machine but I will say its getting harder and harder to get parts for them. I've had to change filter housings and stuff on ours cause some of them are no longer served. If the dealer has a few of them on the shelf I tend to buy them all cause the response I usually get is "We won't be ordering them again"

Usual things to check out, have a look at the chains, and see its tracking alright. One with buckets is not to be sneezed at. You wouldn't find spending another few thousand on 120 buckets.

Fiat Hitachi have iveco engines, 100 120 and uh have isuzu engines. Ex 60 have a sweet little Nissan unit.

Common problem is the filter in the bottom of the tank is rarely cleaned or changed. They get blocked up and as a consequence they have no power.

Make sure the oil isn't gone milky. Moisture ingress can be an issue.

That's all I can think of for the minute.
 
We have a Hitachi UHO 63 with the best part of twenty years now and I would say it has paid for it self many times over. It is probably the most useful machine we ever brought, it has a huge amount of work done over the years and is very reliable never gives any trouble.As mentioned in the posts above it would be hard to find a good one now.
 
I have an fh 130-3
Good machine great reach and power.
Have a longer/ heavier undercarriage than a 120-5 or similar.
Problem with them all now is the hours are likely to be huge though maybe not on the clock.
Bring someone who knows what they are at your look at any machine.
A smaller machine is handier for moving surely.
For the work you mention a 6 ton is plenty
 
Hi all still looking for a machine in reasonable condition for sensible money. Is there any difference between a Fiat Hitachi EX135 and a Fiat Kobelco EX 135?
 
Completely different machines.
One is a Hitachi and one is a kobelco
Both good machines in their own right
 
Hi all still looking for a machine in reasonable condition for sensible money. Is there any difference between a Fiat Hitachi EX135 and a Fiat Kobelco EX 135?

Completely different machines.
One is a Hitachi and one is a kobelco
Both good machines in their own right

A Fiat Hitachi EX 135 and a Fiat Kobelco EX 135 are the same machine, the plate on mine says a Fiat Kobelco and the decals say Fiat Hitachi. I think they were stock that Fiat had made and not sold before the agreement with Hitachi had ran out. Then they entered into an agreement with Kobelco and just rebadged them. The Fiat Kobelco EX135 would be around 2003.

The replacement for the Fiat Hiatchi EX135 and Fiat Kobelco EX135 is the Fiat Kobelco E135 the difference is there is no X in the E135


A Fiat Hitachi EX135
upload_2019-3-17_15-12-5.jpeg

A Fiat Kobelco EX135 (FK on the boom instead of FH)
upload_2019-3-17_15-13-35.jpeg


A Fiat Kobelco E135 there is a different cab on them
upload_2019-3-17_15-14-44.jpeg
 
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