Cover Story: Dieci Agri Plus Evo 2
Dieci gains strong traction after Webbline Agriculture recently added the brand to its line-up of harvesting and feeding equipment
Some of this popularity can be put down to the inclusion of the vario transmission in the Agri Plus Evo 2. Part of a six-model line-up, there are options for powershift, hydrostatic, or vario transmission, with either 127hp for the hydro and powershift or 152hp for the vario model. Of the six models, there is lift range of 3.8 to four tonnes, with maximum boom height from seven to nine metres.
To see this impressive machine in action, Farm Trader headed to the mighty Waikato, somewhere between Putaruru and Tokoroa, to check out Fernaig Farms’ Dieci Agri Plus Evo 2 40.7 VS machine – a full spec 152hp, vario transmission with four-tonne lift to seven metres.
Engine
As mentioned, this is the 152hp machine, which comes standard with a Tier 4i FPT, 4.5-litre four-cylinder, common rail engine, equipped with AdBlue SCR. This is the reason behind the larger (external) silver exhaust pipe, as this is where the catalytic converter is located. A 180-litre fuel tank and a 35-litre AdBlue tank round out what is a well-proven power plant, particularly in tractors.
Easy access to the engine bay is provided down the right-hand side, with a large one-piece bonnet. It is equipped with a dual radiator, dual fans for water and oil coolant, and a reversible fan to get rid of any debris.
As a clever method of keeping things cool, one of each of the dual cooling packs for the engine and oil coolers are at the rear of the machine behind the boom pivot. The only downside here is one of the radiators is right behind the front wheel, which is prone to get caked in mud.
Transmission
The vario transmission is the main attraction of this machine, and if you think it’s good in a tractor, it is excellent in a telehandler – extremely smooth. The large 210-litre hydraulic pump powers two motors and has four working modes with different parameters to suit the task at hand.
- Normal Mode: This is ideal for driving on the road, moving bales around paddocks, and towing, with a 40km per hour top road speed.
- Eco Mode: If the machine doesn’t need all available power from the twin motor drive, it just cuts one motor until there is enough demand for it to re-engage. Dieci quotes a 20% fuel saving. This is particularly handy when manoeuvring (not loading) around the yard and really comes into its own on the road.
- Loader Mode: I predict that this is what most operators will be using 90% of the time for general telehandler tasks. It is ideal for loading and pushing situations, with full power available from both the engine and hydraulic pump, although the transmission is sacrificed with top speed dropping to 17km per hour.
- Creeper Mode: This allows you to set the engine revs and the speed of the transmission separately. It uses two potentiometers – one acts as a hand throttle, and the other limits the top speed while the foot pedal sets the speed. This is ideal for tasks such as stacking silage.
The Dieci has three steering modes: single front axle turning, all wheel steer, or crab steer. There is also an inching pedal, brake, and accelerator. However, on the vario, the inching pedal is almost unnecessary, as you can quite easily inch with the accelerator pedal. But I can see that it would be a huge asset on the power shift machines.
Hydraulic pump and boom
The hydraulic pump, with 210 litres per minute, is a hefty pump and the cycle time reflects this with a handy and quick loading of the waiting maize truck. Technically speaking, the main hydraulic pump is 180 litres per minute, however, it can take any excess flow from a separate pump, which supplies the brakes, steering etc., resulting in a combined output of 210 litres per minute. An external rear sight glass allows you to keep an eye on hydraulic oil levels.
A couple of things that you are likely to notice first on the boom is that it sits within two neoprene wear pads, which reduce side stress when working at ground level. Secondly, the internal geometry of the headstock gives attachments 146 degrees of movement.
Equally as important is the fact the swan neck is lower than the top of the attachment, meaning no more taking out the rafters in the shed. The big benefit for customers looking to move from another brand of telehandler to a Dieci is that they can fit any other brand of headstock to save having to get the grinder out and re-attach all your brackets.
Another clever feature on the boom is that the boom extension slows just before it is completely sucked in. This reduces shock, while the main lift ram uses a dump valve to speed up boom lowering along with the Descent Control System (DCS), which allows the boom to be lowered with a reduced engine speed.
Cab and controls
The large one-piece door opens wide for easy access. The door has an electric window and the lower section is solid rather than the more popular split-door arrangement. The cab has an industrial feel to it, aside from the bright, colourful dash, which provides the bulk of the machine information and is slightly off-centred to allow better forward visibility.
The joystick is firm and comfortable to use, with forward and reverse as the red rocker switch on the joystick, along with the boom in and out, plus all the usual four-way operations.
One feature I particularly liked is that the user has a third service on the back of a joystick. This allows you to use a grab or clamp for example. However, you can also use the hydraulic hitch from inside the cab without having to hop out and switch taps.
This is simply done with an additional switch on the dash – just hold the third service button and the one on the dash. This also eliminates the risk of your attachment accidentally ending up in the loading trailer. The only downside with the boom is that it cuts out when overloaded, which could be a little dangerous when loading from a large, tall maize silage stack. The only way to regain control is to back up as the boom controls stall.
This sensitivity can be adjusted, which may have been the issue on this particular machine.
Visibility is extremely good. The large right-hand panel where visibility can sometimes be patchy is not a problem area on the Dieci. A large two-piece mirror on the far right of the machine gives good visibility down the blind right side. Tinted windows, air conditioning, and a one-piece curved glass (with a sunshade) all help beat the likelihood of baking in the hot sun all day.
Verdict
By far the best feature of this machine is the large hydraulic pump giving silky smooth power to both the proportional controls and the vario transmission. The Dieci Agri Plus is a pleasure to drive, thanks to the smooth drive combined with a comfortable, spacious, and well-laid-out cab. It’s a clever machine with some outside the box thinking which I really like.
Pluses
- Well-proven FPT engine
- Vario transmission transforms how manoeuvrable and smooth the machine is
- LED work lights and tinted window make it versatile all hours of the day/night
- Large 210L/min combined hydraulic pump
- Large 460/70R24 tyres increase stability and give a larger footprint, which makes them better in the paddock
- 4000kg lift, 7m maximum height, outreach of 3.9m
- 7.7-tonne empty, which gives an indication of the strength of the machine
- Comfortable and easy-to-access cab
- Four driving modes make it ideal for several tasks
- Dual cooling packs
- Ability to fit any type of attachment hitch style
Minuses
- The location of the grill for the cooling pack in the front of the engine bay has a tendency to get caked in mud
- When the boom is overloaded, it can cut out
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