Bucher’s Municipal New MaxPowa E35m was created by customer feedback
By Matt Starnes
When it comes to innovating new asphalt and paving products, there’s nothing more valuable than questions and requests from contractors and municipal industries –– as long as you incorporate that feedback into your products. That’s the concept behind the Bucher MaxPowa E35m single-engine mechanical street sweeper, purpose built to solve the toughest real-world, sweeping challenges.
Sweeping changes
The first version of the E35m launched in 2006. Since then, Bucher Municipal has been continually monitoring its success through customer consultations and evaluations. The thing customers have always wanted most has been a reliable mechanical sweeper without all the maintenance headaches. The E35m fits the bill, thanks in large part to feedback from Bucher’s customers.
Here’s a list of the most common frustrations faced by contractors, and how the E35m’s key features and recent improvements solve them:
“Street sweepers are too wimpy for my construction job. Will your sweeper break?”
Key features: Standard with every Bucher Municipal Easy Sweep mechanical street sweeper is a stainless steel debris hopper. The broom material is made of 26-inch tempered steel tines.
Need sturdier? The E35m mechanical sweeper pairs perfectly with Freightliner’s superior M2 Class 7 chassis.
Latest improvements: A full-width, stainless steel, piano-style hinge has been incorporated in the rear broom cover assembly. Additionally, the broom cover’s rubber latches have been replaced with corrosion-resistant over-center latches.
Even the roller shutter door and locking mechanism’s structure and framework have been improved to increase the machine’s durability and strength.
“My sweeper picks up well, but its turn radius is a nightmare!”
Key feature: The E35m features a tight 18.6-inch turning radius with a 136-inch wheelbase –– the tightest turning radius in the industry. This sweeper isn’t your Dad’s 70s-era station wagon.
“Twin-engine mechanical sweepers mean double the maintenance headaches.”
Key features: The E35m’s single-engine design means no additional oil changes, oil filter, air filter, fuel filter, belt replacement or other traditional maintenance. E35m customers can also choose either the industry-preferred T-plate dirt shoes, or easily adaptable brush model dirt shoes.
The E35m also features a 20-gallon hydraulic reservoir that supplies oil to a variable-displacement hydraulic pump in a load-sensing hydraulic system. This system adjusts flow based on hydraulic demand from the sweeping gear to maximize efficiency and reduce heat.
Latest improvements: As the elevator lowers to the ground for sweeping and moves to the raised position for transport, the weight of the elevator is supported on two pins that slide along sacrificial wear plates. This area of the machine is subject to contact with the aggressive milling material and debris which, over time, causes wear. With maintainability and total cost of ownership in mind, the wear plate material has been changed from nylon to hardened steel. A replaceable collar was also added to the pin. These changes will increase the life of the wear plate and allow maintenance teams to quickly change the collar.
“We’re sick and tired of small payloads and hoppers that don’t lift!”
Key features: The Bucher E35m has a complete load-sensing hydraulic system, a 4.5-cubic-yard hopper and four-piece elevator floor that utilizes a chain-driven, 12-flight, squeegee-type elevator over polyurethane sprockets.
The E35m effectively captures and moves all street debris up its stainless steel elevator and debris hopper. Also, the elevator’s bearings are sealed and self-aligning, and its speed is constant and matched to the main broom speed for significant loading. To accommodate different sweeping requirements, the elevator height can be adjusted from inside the cab. The E35m’s ultra-high dump option increases the lift height by 18 inches to 169 inches, making it ideal for transferring debris into a tipper truck during road surfacing applications.
“The marketing is slick, but does the street sweeper actually sweep?”
Key features: The E35m has a 120-inch sweep path, with an optional extended reach of 144 inches. Operators experience faster sweeping and loading with the equal-width pickup broom and 12-flight elevator, and the leading unhanded, 44-inch arm digger-type gutter brooms. The E35m also has a 120-inch sweep path with an optional extended reach of 144 inches.
Latest improvements: The E35m has long been one of the few machines on the market that comes standard with a stainless steel hopper. Stainless construction provides corrosion resistance, is more durable and delivers a longer life than mild steel. These benefits have been extended even more by constructing the full elevator structure from stainless steel. This important change will extend the life of the machine, increase the time interval between elevator refurbishment and reduce the overall cost of operation for the customer.
The proving grounds
Following these improvements, we tested the E35m at the Millbrook Proving Ground in England, one of the world’s most challenging test track environments. The new and improved E35m didn’t just pass –– it held up to all Millbrook could offer. Consisting of varied and arduous proving circuits that accelerate real life operational loadings on the vehicle, the course helped ensure the highest durability was achieved.
This solidified the E35m’s reputation as The Bulldozer of Sweepers and validated the improvements Bucher has been working so hard to implement.
And most importantly, the folks at Bucher will know whether or not their customers agree.
Matt Starnes is the Product Marketing Manager for Bucher Municipal North America, Inc. headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina. Matt also hosts the industry’s first and original Sweepers & Tankers podcast. To learn more, visit www.buchermunicipal.com, follow Bucher Municipal North America on LinkedIn, or call us at 704-658-1333.
