The Versatility of Hydraulic Hammers

The Versatility of Hydraulic Hammers

A good hydraulic hammer needs to be reliable, durable and powerful. The versatility of these hammers makes them a great piece of kit, essential to any demolition project and much more.

What is a hydraulic hammer?

Peckers, hydraulic breakers, hydraulic hammers, whatever you call them they are an essential attachment to have for your excavator. Designed to be used in heavy-duty industries like demolition, construction. quarrying and mining, their primary purpose is to break down concrete, rock and other hard objects into smaller more manageable pieces. They work by using a piston and chisel or point, to create a powerful impact on the surface they’re breaking.

Diagram of the inside of a hammer.

When are they used?

Demolition / Construction
Hydraulic hammers come in a range of different sizes. In demolition you can expect to see smaller hammers being used to break up concrete slabs, foundations and walls. Smaller hammers in demolition can also be used for breaking down rubble for re-use as low-cost aggregate. On the other hand, larger hammers are used to demolish large structures such as multi-story buildings. They will quickly break through rock and concrete, making light work of a demolition project. The PRODEM range have cushion dampener to make it suitable for sound sensitive sites.

PRDOEM break on site.

Mining & Quarrying
Having become increasingly regulated due to environmental restrictions, drill and blast as a primary breaking option is sometimes not possible. On sites like these, large hammers have become a favoured alternative for primary breaking. On sites where blasting is allowed, the hydraulic hammers still have their use breaking down debris into smaller pieces.

PRODEM hammer in working in quarry.

Road Maintenance
In road construction and maintenance hydraulic hammers are often required to help break asphalt and concrete surfaces that need to be built on or repaired.

PRODEM hammer in action on roadworks.

Doubling as a post driver
With the addition of bolt on removeable brackets and a cup, the breaker becomes an efficient post driver. The brackets can be side mounted for extra height and control, or top mounted for standard use. This is ideal for speedy work on larger fencing projects or where the ground may be hard.

Post driver hammer attached to excavator.

What should you look for?

Given the type of work and amount of duress the hammers work under, they need to be strong and reliable. Using good quality, well made attachments will serve best and be more productive and economical overall. Cheaper alternatives are often less efficient, more likely to break down and can prove difficult to find parts for.

Our attachments are known for their quality, durability, and reliability as well as for being competitively priced for customers in the plant hire, construction, civil engineering, demolition, and recycling/waste sectors.

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