Gertzen retrofits Liebherr LR 1800-1.0 with X3 boom for 175 m hubs

The X3 kit replaces the lower section of the crawler crane’s main boom with three lattice sections, each twelve metres long and six metres wide. The extra width sharply increases the lateral stiffness of the boom – the decisive factor when long systems are run out to the heights modern turbines demand. Each wide section splits into two halves that bolt together at the centre; for the road, the halves are offset lengthways and slotted into each other like teeth, keeping transport width to a practical 3.5 metres. Lattice adaptors widen the system to six metres at the base and taper it back to the standard 3.5 metres at the top.

“Our long-standing customer ENERCON has expanded its product range to include various tower variants and therefore requires more crawler cranes in the 1,000-tonne class. With the X3 boom of the LR 1800-1.0, we can erect both current and future turbine types for which the LR 11000 was previously required.”

— Wolfgang Gertzen, Managing Director, Gertzen Kranlogistik

Maiden job at the Heiden wind farm

The upgraded crane went straight to work at the Heiden wind farm, where Gertzen erected ENERCON E-160 EP5 turbines on 166-metre towers – machines that had until now been installed with the larger LR 11000. For the generator lifts the LR 1800-1.0 was rigged with a 166-metre main boom and a twelve-metre fixed jib F; for the rotor blades the jib was extended to 24 metres. The heaviest single component was the 131-tonne generator, followed by the 82-tonne nacelle.

Smaller crane, bigger portfolio

For the Emsland-based contractor, the retrofit shifts a whole class of turbine erection work onto a crane that travels and rigs more economically than a 1,000-tonner. Liebherr positions the X3 system as a targeted stretch of the LR 1800-1.0’s working range for wind work, pairing the extra performance with the compact transport concept.

“We are very satisfied with the LR 1800-1.0. With the new update, the crane has become really powerful and our service portfolio has been greatly expanded. We can now erect wind turbines for our customers that would not have been possible without the X3 kit.”

— Wolfgang Gertzen, Managing Director, Gertzen Kranlogistik