Tractor, harvester IT comes of age
Over the last halfdecade, digital technology has appeared to be the “must-have” for tractor and machinery companies, who believe that bringing IT to tractors and farming will offer its customers huge benefits.
The latest electrical addition is the 403E compact electric loader, which is claimed to match the performance of its 403 diesel-powered stablemate. Favouring a lithium-ion battery, rather than the lead-acid connection used in its 30-19E Teletruk, the 20kW/h battery is claimed to last a normal eight-hour day or four to five hours continuous use on a mixed cycle.
Primarily designed for indoor work and portability, the 403E weighs in at 2671kg, but still offers a lift capacity of 972kg with pallet forks. It comes with a pivot height of 2.9m – or 3.1m if optional high lift arms are chosen.
Offered with a choice of three charging options, a 110V socket will fully charge the batteries in 12 hours. Meanwhile, a 230V industrial or domestic plug will offer an eight-hour cycle time.
JCB’s own off-board rapid charger delivers a full charge from a threephase power supply in just two hours. This compares to a two-minute battery pack swap for the leadacid powered Teletruk, or a diesel top-up.
