Redesigned ride-ons from Multiquip

Under its Whiteman Industries division, Multiquip, Carson, Calif., has introduced two new hydraulic ride-on trowels for concrete finishing. The new HTX and STX ride-on trowels have redesigned steering, hydraulic and blade pitch control systems.

The trowels are most often used on major industrial floors or multistory building projects that have large finishing areas, explained Juan Quiros, product manager for Multiquip. "Ride-on trowels aid the contractor by helping them obtain much flatter floors with improved F-numbers (the measure of floor flatness)," he said. The trowels typically work in stages, with one trowel using float pans to open the flooring, followed by a second machine equipped with combination blades. A third trowel will follow both to burn and seal the concrete.

"It's not just large construction companies using the trowels, it's contractors that want to grow their business," Quiros added. "Smaller operations can start taking on larger jobs because a ride-on trowel will do the work of two to four operators running walk-behind trowels

The HTX has a 92 in. path width and is driven by a 1.5 L, four-cylinder, liquid-cooled, turbocharged Kubota V1505 diesel engine rated 44 hp at 3000 rpm. The larger STX trowel features a 117 in. path width and is powered by a 2 L, four-cylinder, liquid-cooled, turbocharged John Deere diesel engine rated 55 hp at 3000 rpm. Both engines are positioned just below the operator's seat and are packaged with a proprietary radiator.

Twin spider assemblies, consisting of a set of trowel blades attached to the rotors on each side of the trowel propel the machine across the slab. Tandem-mounted Sauer-Danfoss pumps supply continuous flow to two Eaton hydraulic motors on each rotor. According to the company, this design maintains the same rate of speed for both rotors and the same degree of pitch in all the blades. Multiquip also added a cold oil bypass, new pump linkage design and improved hydraulic filtration for a more efficient and cooler operating hydraulic system, said Quiros.

Prior to placing the trowels on the concrete, the slab has to set to a level of hardness to sustain the 1450 lb. and 2230 lb. weight of the respective trowels. The weight of the trowel is distributed over 10 blades on the HTX and 12 on the STX. Blade pitch is changed using Whiteman's Twin-Pitch system. The redesigned system uses an electro-over-hydraulic actuator switch, located on the control panel, to simultaneously adjust the blade pitch of both trowel rotors.

The trowel's proportional hydraulic steering is also driven off the stacked Sauer-Danfoss pumps by two joysticks, controlling forward, reverse, left and right movement. The steering was made more sensitive to the operator's hand movements by an adjustable pressure control. "The enhanced steering responsiveness makes it easier for the operator to steer the machine with less effort than was necessary before," said Quiros. "It eliminates the fatigue factor."