Dutch firm Peeters Landbouwmachines, better known as Peecon, has developed an electric power boost option to reduce the start-up load on its vertical auger mixer wagons. Called Power Booster, an electric motor assists the standard mechanical driveline during the start-up process with a tub full of feedstuffs.
Developed jointly with German firm Continental Engineering Services, the idea is to be able to use a less powerful tractor, and Peecon reckons the hybrid technique allows a 70hp tractor to manage a 20cu.m. twin vertical auger wagon. Providing a maximum power boost of around 30hp for up to five minutes, the batteries supplying the electricity are neatly concealed within the front of the mixer wagon. A feature of the system is that when the tub is nearly empty the electric motor can be used to further increase the speed of the auger to ensure the tub is completely emptied. Also, there is no need to plug the mixer wagon into an electricity supply to re-charge the batteries, because once the peak start-up load is over, the electric motor works as a generator to do this automatically. Activated via a simple start button, the Power Booster option, which can be fitted to all the company’s mixer wagons, costs around €6,000.
