Your Volvo EC55

Common jobs for the Volvo EC55

The Volvo EC55 is a 5.5-tonne machine that takes long days in groundwork, drainage and smaller civil jobs. On Swedish jobs it runs residential plots, cable digging and drainage trenches where you want more machine than a 3-tonne unit but still something you trailer easily. It is stable enough to work full days without getting tippy.

On a residential plot the EC55 digs out for foundation and drainage, on a smaller civil job it lays services and grades ground. It carries most everyday attachments with good margin at full reach, which makes it a reliable machine for groundwork contracting.

Since the EC55 is light enough to transport but strong enough for real digging, it often becomes the firm's all-rounder. Then it pays to have several attachments so you cover excavation, drainage and lighter demolition with the same machine.

Buckets and attachments that fit the EC55

For a 5.5-tonne machine you choose a digging bucket for excavation, a wide grading bucket for levelling and slopes, and a narrow cable bucket for drainage and cable. On groundwork it is mostly the grading bucket and cable bucket you swap between.

A sorting grapple belongs on the EC55 when you load stone, pull apart and sort spoil. At 5.5 tonnes the machine carries the grapple steadily as long as you do not reach out too far with a heavy load.

All attachments run on the S40 hitch, the standard for mini excavators. With the same hitch you swap quickly between bucket, grapple and breaker without leaving the cab.

Hydraulic breaker and heavy attachments for the EC55

A 5.5-tonne machine drives a light hydraulic breaker for concrete and stone. On groundwork the breaker is good to have when you hit rock in the drainage trench or old concrete that has to go. At this weight you stick to a light breaker the machine can manage.

Check the oil flow against the breaker spec before you buy. On a mini excavator it is the flow, not the weight, that often decides which breaker the machine handles. Match the breaker to your EC55 so it hits right.

An auger drive is useful on the EC55 for post holes and planting pits. The auger bit is the part in the drive, and you choose the size by the hole. On a light machine keep the attachment weight down and do not auger at full reach.

S40 quick hitch and fit

The Volvo EC55 runs an S40 hitch, the standard coupler for mini excavators. Check the attachments are listed for S40 before you buy. With a common hitch you build a set of light attachments that all fit and that you swap quickly.

On a 5.5-tonne machine the attachment weight matters a lot, so the main thing is to stick to attachments the machine can lift at full reach. An attachment that is too heavy far out makes the machine unstable, which is the most common mistake in this class.