Electric Skid Steer: Should You Buy One?

The Bobcat S7X Electric Skid Steer - ©2023 Bobcat Company. All rights reserved.

Is an electric skid steer actually something you should invest in?

I know that with the rapid pace of change these days, it can be incredibly frustrating to keep track of the new developments in machinery. 

All of us want to make sure we're getting the best value for our money, and investing in the latest technology can be a really effective way to do that.

So in this no-nonsense guide, I'll cut out all the noise and show you exactly what you need to decide if an Electric Skid Steer is something you should purchase.

The electric wave is hitting the construction industry. Have you noticed? 

Electric Mini Excavators have already hit the scene, with brands like Volvo, John Deere, and Bobcat offering models as part of their line-up. 

Komatsu even announced an electric mid-size Excavator that began development in 2021.

However, at ConExpo 2023, Bobcat revealed its first line of Electric Skid Steers and Compact Track Loaders.

Meanwhile, in the Czech Republic, there's a company with an Electric Skid Steer and a Mini Track Loader already out in the field.

The Battery-Powered versions of our machines are coming -- they offer more versatility in operations in certain scenarios, such as being able to operate indoors. With batteries becoming more efficient as well, the operating time is really on its way to becoming competitive.

Now that you have some context for how widespread this change is, let's take a look at what this means for Skid Steers and how this newly-announced electric lineup can seriously change your operations. 

For those who are unfamiliar, Skid Steers are an incredibly versatile machine.

They're highly mobile and sport a huge variety of attachments available for almost any use-case you can imagine.

Whether you need to cut through brush, drill post holes, or do demolition or scrap cleanup, you can adapt your Skid Steer to the job with minimal effort.

Skid Steers are a staple on almost all construction sites and even find use by landowners with large areas of land or agriculture to manage.

So it makes perfect sense when, according to CALSTART's 2022 whitepaper on the electrification of construction equipment, Electric Skid Steers are poised to be the second largest market of electric equipment behind Electric Mini Excavators

Now that we have an understanding of how big this impact is going to be, let's look at the actual technology behind an electric Skid Steer.

What makes it different than a gasoline or diesel-powered Skid Steer? Are there things it can or can't do? I'll go over all of that in the next section.

An electric Skid Steer is a Skid Steer with an electrically-powered motor. 

That's the qualifier. You'll notice I didn't say that it has no internal fluids. This is an important distinction to make.

When we're talking about Electric Vehicles, we're usually talking about replacing the engine as a source of energy with a battery as a source of energy. So we'll drive the motor with electricity, rather than combustion and pistons. 

But we will still need coolant and brake fluids, at the bare minimum. We just won't need Engine Oil, Fuel, or any of the filters and mechanical parts that come with a combustion engine.

What this means, though, is that there's room for interpretation with the remainder of the design. How Electric are we going to go? Is there still a Hydraulic System? 

That's actually a very exciting question to answer, which we'll get to right away.

On the surface, an electric Skid Steer can do everything a normal Skid Steer can -- we're just swapping the combustion engine for a battery.

However, the newly announced Bobcat S7X marks a distinct departure from traditional Skid Steer design -- It does not have a hydraulic fluid system!

The hydraulics on the Bobcat S7X are powered by an electric actuator -- and it can drive, lift, and tilt all simultaneously and without any input lag. 

But -- and this is important -- remember all those attachments we discussed earlier? All of those operate off of Hydraulic Fluid.

Bobcat calls this "All-Electric" (see the FAQ section in that link) -- and they specifically distinguish this from "Battery-Electric" designs where there is still a hydraulic fluid reservoir and a hydraulically operated cylinder. This battery-electric design is what they have on their line of electric mini excavators.

This is a distinct design change and it is not universal!

For example, the Elise 900, a currently available electric Skid Steer developed by Firstgreen Industries, does have a hydraulic fluid system. 

This would mean we now have two distinct classes of Electric Construction Vehicles: Battery-Electric, and All-Electric.

First off, from what we've seen so far, the Quick-Tach system is here to stay. So the answer really comes down to hydraulics. 

Let's break this up into two classes of electric Skid Steers: All-Electric and Battery-Electric. We'll list out the hydraulic functions for each below.

The Battery-Electric Skid Steers are easy -- the hydraulic systems in these function almost exactly the same way that your diesel-powered Skid Steers do. 

See the Elise 900 from Firstgreen Industries for an example. This machine has a battery-powered motor, but it has a 40L hydraulic fluid reservoir and the lift arms, tilt, and auxiliary hydraulics all operate exactly like a regular Skid Steer.

It only puts out about 17gpm of Hydraulic Flow, but it is fully compatible with all attachments that are hydraulically powered today (as long as their optimal hydraulic flow range is within this machine's capabilities). 

For example, this 2DSS Auger Package by Digga will absolutely shine on the Elise 900.

The main detriment I see here is that the hydraulic flow is definitely on the weaker side compared to some diesel skid steers, and there's been absolutely no mention of a high-flow electric skid steer, so high GPM attachments may be out of the question for now. 

This is where things divert.

The Bobcat S7X uses an Electric Actuator to control the Lift Arm and Tilt functions. That's right - An All-Electric Skid Steer does not have a Hydraulic System.

Bobcat specifically mentions "Our all-electric compact loaders do not have a hydraulic system, and we’ve replaced the hydraulics with custom-designed, fully electric lift arm actuators."

So what does this mean when it comes to hydraulic attachments for all-electric skid steers?

Well -- that has yet to be revealed. Bobcat just mentions in the FAQ from the link above that "Bobcat is working on a new line of Electric Attachments". 

I'd venture to guess that a literal "plug and play" attachment configuration for All-Electric skid steers will emerge, where high GPM attachments like Augers and Brush Cutters will use a high-voltage plug to operate off of the battery's electricity. 

We'll see what develops -- I can imagine that this will surely impact the machine's operating life on a single charge.

For now, we'll relish in being able to Lift & Tilt simultaneously with no input lag. Seriously, what a huge quality of life increase. It'll feel even better when you're using a high-quality bucket like the one below from Blue Diamond Attachments to do your earth work with.

Next, let's go over the Pros and Cons of making the switch to electric. There may be some situations where it is a huge asset to have an electric Skid Steer -- but there are certainly other situations where you'll still need the versatility of a diesel-powered machine instead.

If you've ever driven an electric car, you know the immediate difference in acceleration and initial torque that comes with a battery-powered motor.

Expect the same on the driving functions of an Electric Skid Steer.

As a bonus, if it's an All-Electric Skid Steer, you'll be able to Drive, Lift and Tilt simultaneously. 

All in all, your machine will feel more responsive and more intuitive to operate -- no more anticipating the small pauses when switching functions.

As operators, we make our living off of the environment. It's how our society operates, and the harvesting and processing of natural resources is a staple component of the global societal ecosystem. It's a very important role that we are lucky enough to fulfill.

So in addition to the noticeable shift in responsiveness and performance of the operating experience, we get to add the benefit of performing this role in a way that lets us do this forever. 

Less emissions preserves the environments we build our society with - and it doesn't require us to do anything other than use a battery instead of a combustion engine. 

Small change, big impact, and the assurance that the next generation of operators after us can follow in our footsteps with plenty of resources to continue to move humanity forward -- you just can't beat that.

On a whole, Electricity is significantly cheaper than Diesel or Gasoline as well by volume of output. Add to this the fact that Electric Skid Steer batteries are not getting drained at idle and you start to see how quickly the savings add up over a lifetime of operating a machine with a battery powered motor.

Done for the day? Plug it in a 240v outlet and let it charge overnight for tomorrow's work.

You're going to be surprised at how quiet the operating sound of an electric skid steer is. We get so used to the din of the engine on our standard skid steer loaders that it's not something we think about.

With no idling engine to fill the air around you, you'll be able to use your ears to fine-tune the work you're doing. You'll hear when you hit rock when you're digging or drilling, or when your brush cutter catches a hidden stump, and can react much quicker than you would have before.

No more shouting over the engine to relay instructions either – communication on-site will be significantly improved with the lower operating noise of these machines.

Firstgreen Industries has a really excellent tool on their website to hear the noise difference between the Elise 900 and a standard skid steer – check it out here.

Isn't that wild? 

No Engine = No Oil Filters, No Oil Changes, No Engine Maintenance, and No Costly Repairs.

Regardless of which type of Electric Skid Steer you get – Battery-Electric or All-Electric – the most costly part of owning a Skid Steer after you start to get up there in operating hours becomes the engine. 

With Electric Skid Steers, that part of the system has been replaced with a battery pack. So many less moving parts, so many less opportunities for mechanical failures, and so much less maintenance over the life of your machine.

In fact, Bobcat states that it has 50% fewer components and 96% less fluid than the combustion engine Skid Steers it offers.

It's no exaggeration to say that you will drastically reduce maintenance and simplify all troubleshooting with an Electric Skid Steer.

Now that we've covered the benefits of owning an Electric Skid Steer, let's make sure we're prepared for the obstacles that this transition can present to our operations.

With all Electric Vehicles, regardless of use-case, the purchase price tends to come at a premium because of the initial cost of the battery. We pay up front for the stored energy, and amortize it over the time we use it.

We don't have prices on the S7X or the Elise 900 yet, but the tradeoff we tend to make when we buy electric is that the price is higher at the start and then significantly lower as time goes on.

This is the opposite of a Diesel Skid Steer, where it is cheap to start but expensive over time with fuel and maintenance costs.

From what we've seen in other industries, the switch to Electric ends up being a significant money-saver over time, but it comes after paying the high initial purchase price to access those savings.

This is something you want to be mindful of when considering whether or not an electric skid steer is right for you. 

Now, let's take a look at what this means for operating time over the course of a day's work.

Right now we only have clean information on the Elise 900, which according to this page can have a battery life under load of 6 hours with the largest battery option

Add to this that the charge time to 80% is about 3 hours on a 240v outlet, and you can see where this can get challenging.

If you have to run a job that requires more than 6 hours of work in any one day, you aren't going to be able to do that with the Elise 900 just yet given current battery capacities and energy outputs. 

And until we can either swap batteries out or increase their capacity to last for a full day under load, this is a limitation EVs will continue to have compared to their petrochemical-fueled brethren.
 

The S7X & T7X don't have official numbers yet. However, they do have technical specs that we can glean some information out of with a quick comparison to the Elise 900.

Bobcat's T7X loader boasts a 60.5kWh gross battery capacity – an impressive feat.

For comparison, the Elise 900 has a maximum 39kWh battery capacity with the 400Ah size. 

The ROC of the T7X is about 2900 lbs, compared to the 2645 lbs ROC of the Elise 900.

But the Operating Weight of the T7X is much heavier – coming in at nearly 12,000 lbs compared to the 9,259 lb total weight of the Elise 900.

So let's review this:

• The Bobcat T7X Battery is 55% bigger than the Elise 900
• The Bobcat T7X is also 29.6% heavier than the Elise 900.
• The Bobcat T7X's ROC is only about 9.6% higher than the Elise 900.

Although the battery is bigger, the fact that it's so much heavier has me thinking that the operating time of the Bobcat T7X under load is actually probably only a bit longer than the Elise 900. I'm thinking it will come out around 8 hours under load. 

We're painting with broad strokes here. The point I want to make with this is that, for the most part, the efficiency of just quickly refilling a fuel tank with diesel and getting back to work is still unmatched.

For longer jobs, batteries still have a long way to go until we match the uptime of a Diesel Skid Steer with readily available fuel.

Next, let's take a look at the charging process for these batteries – but first, take a second to subscribe if you're enjoying the content.

The charging infrastructure to support the transition to Electric Construction Vehicles is still in its infant stage as well.

The currently available charging options can be divided into three different levels:

• Level 1: This utilizes your standard 120-volt AC outlet that most folks have in their home. This is called “Drip Charging” and it can take up to 24 hours to return to full charge on some of these larger commercial batteries.
• Level 2: This is a dedicated charger running off of a 240-volt AC Outlet. This offers twice as much charging speed as the Level 1 “Drip Charging”. 
• Level 3: A dedicated 480-volt plug hooked directly to the electrical grid – using DC current. This is often the charging speed quoted on technical specs and is significantly faster than Level 2 charging, usually allowing full charge in just a few hours, compared to the 24 hour charge time for larger batteries that Level 1 offers.

However, as you can guess, we won't always have access to a Level 3 charger. So we'll go into the different options for At-Home operators and Commercial Sites below.

For At-Home Charging, much like Electric Cars, you can usually access Level 1 and 2 charging with relative ease if you're plugged into the country's electrical grid.

Level 1 Charging will be available to anyone with a standard home outlet, and will very slowly charge the battery over the course of a day most of the time.

Level 2 Charging requires a 240-volt AC outlet – so you'll need to have one installed at your house or garage in order to plug a Level 2 charger into it. This is a common install considering the rise of electric cars, so it's not a heavy lift – plus it hooks directly into your home's electrical system.

Unfortunately, Level 3 Charging requires tapping directly into the electrical grid and installing a 480v DC plug. This is likely off-limits to the average home or farm owner without an explicit permit and specialized equipment.

In general, the “Mobile Battery Pack” solution seems to be the frontrunner for the commercial EV infrastructure rollout at this time.

Energy companies like Northvolt are starting to develop highly mobile energy systems intended to be used for commercial construction sites.

The Voltpacks that Northvolt has developed are essentially just giant, portable battery arrays and they can be moved, stacked, and arranged via Crane or Forklift to create an ad-hoc refueling station.

Other options developing from Volvo's partnership with BEAM include things like a Solar-Powered Trailer for charging batteries off of.
 

Both of these can theoretically be used to recharge an Electric Skid Steer on a commercial site. However, both also require an additional initial investment.

As the options here continue to develop, we'll keep this post updated with the new innovations that appear. 

For now, though, let's move on to the considerations we need to have around the types of jobs we take with an Electric Skid Steer due to the attachments we can actually use with them.

We'll keep this short and sweet.

All-Electric Skid Steers (Bobcat S7X & T7X)

No. You cannot use Hydraulic Attachments with All-Electric Skid Steers because they do not have a hydraulic system (see the FAQ in that link and expand the last option). Bobcat has stated that they are working on All-Electric attachments – but as of right now, none have been announced. 

Battery-Electric Skid Steers (Firstgreen Industries Elise 900)
Yes! You can use Hydraulic Attachments with Battery-Electric Skid Steers. For example, the Elise 900 puts out 17gpm of hydraulic flow at 2650 PSI – this is plenty to use Augers, Grapples, and smaller Brush Cutters with.

However, we have yet to see a “High-Flow” Electric Skid Steer model – so be aware of that when considering if this is right for your job!

Keep this crucial difference in mind when assessing whether you'll be able to make the jump to electric. Next, let's hit a quick comparison between Diesel and Electric. How different are they in performance, really?

Author's Note: This section was last updated in June 2023. We will continue to update this section as new machines and technical specifications are released.

Listen, not only are machines constantly changing, but they are expensive. So we get that when you make an investment, you need something reliable that's going to last you a long time.

We've put together a quick comparison of diesel and electric Skid Steers so that you can quickly check if you'll benefit from the advancements brought on by the new machines.

Without further ado, let's get into the big one right away – performance and power.
 

Winner: Diesel

We'll need to give this one straight to Diesel. It is true that Electric has a higher peak power (The T7X peaks at 107HP). 

However, on an operational level you are going to get more effective sustained use out of a Diesel Skid Steer for the time being. 

We will concede, however, that the quality of life increases promised by the T7X will be incredible. Lifting, Tilting, and Driving simultaneously and with no input lag – that truly is the future. 

However, the operating time of the electric skid steers just isn't there yet for long work days, and the refuel time is far too long to win out here.

For example, just compare the Bobcat S770 to the Bobcat T7X.

Winner: Electric

This is actually an easy win for Electric.

It truly is just cheaper long-term to own an Electric Vehicle. Less moving parts for maintenance and repairs, and the cost of energy/fuel per operating hour is heavily in favor of Electric.

Check out this cost comparison Firstgreen Industries put together. Translated to USD:

Annual Energy Cost of 750 operating hours with an Electric Skid Steer: $810.00

Annual Fuel Cost of 750 operating hours with a Diesel Skid Steer: $12,960.00

Winner: Electric

This should be a surprise to no one. Even factoring in the emissions created in the production of the batteries and the refinement of lithium, Electric Skid Steers are still significantly better for the environment than Diesel Skid Steers.

Just check out this image from that same CALSTART whitepaper we quoted at the start:

We do a lot of construction and agricultural work around the world – for very good reasons. So it's easy to understand how much all of that fuel use adds up, and how much of a benefit a zero-emission electric skid steer is for the environment compared to a diesel one.

Winner: Electric

I'm sure some of you have come home from a day of work with your ears ringing and your head still buzzing from the noise.

That's called noise exhaustion and it adds up. 

Electric is an Easy Winner here again – there are plenty of videos of just how silent these operate, but our favorite example is this tool that Firstgreen Industries put together which shows the stark difference in ambient noise. 

Pretty big difference, huh?

Winner: Diesel

Diesel, by a mile, wins out here.

When it comes to maximizing the utility of your machine for different jobs, the current Attachments market just does not support Electric Skid Steers yet.

Trust me, we would know.

The massive reveal of Bobcat's S7X & T7X not even having a hydraulic system immediately means that there is not a current attachments market for all-electric skid steers.

Luckily, our battery-electric machines (like the Firstgreen Industries Elise 900) still have a hydraulic system, and can still use any attachment that operates in the flow range they put out.

However, we have yet to see a High-Flow Battery-Electric model announced.

The fact of the matter is, the current market supports Hydraulically-Operated Attachments – and even Battery-Electric Skid Steers cannot compete with High-Flow Diesel Skid Steers.

Winner: Electric

Hand-in-hand with the Long-Term Costs comparison, Electric Skid Steers just have less parts to maintain.

No Engine, No Oil Filters, No Spark Plugs or Exhaust Systems or anything. 
 

Bobcat's All-Electric Machines have a flat-out 50% reduction in components compared to their Diesel Skid Steer line.

Electric Vehicles are just easier to maintain and service, because there are just less parts to maintain in general. That's all there is to it.

The current market for Electric Skid Steers is still heavily in its infancy.
 

Already, though, it's been split into two categories:

1. All-Electric (Bobcat S7X)
2. Battery-Electric (Firstgreen Industries Elise 900)

The First-To-Market is the Battery-Electric Firstgreen Industries Elise 900.
 

There is not currently an All-Electric Skid Steer available. Bobcat announced their S7X model at ConExpo 2023, but we have not seen them readily available yet.

 

When it comes to Charging Infrastructure as well, there is not a lot of support for these machines yet. 

Most operators will be charging at home with a Level 1 or a Level 2 charger.

Commercial Companies can invest in battery arrays like the Northvolt mobile voltpacksor the BEAM solar-powered charging trailer, but this is very much a burgeoning market that has not hit maturity.

We are keeping our eyes peeled as the landscape continues to unfold, and will update this post regularly with industry developments.
 

The largest opportunity for advancement still lies in Batteries. They are just not at the capacity or the availability yet to be a no-brainer replacement for Diesel.

The battery problem can be solved in one of two ways:

1. Replaceable Batteries. Run out of juice? Swap it out.
2. Bigger Batteries. Just never run out of juice during a standard day of operating.

However, the global battery production infrastructure is still being built and batteries are not fully commoditized yet – so this is still the major constraint on Electric Skid Steers.

There are other advancements we can discuss in the meantime, but for the purposes of this article we want to keep the focus on the viability of Electric Skid Steers – and this is the single biggest variable in that system.

Bobcat's choice to go All-Electric and remove the hydraulic system entirely was a shocker, to be sure. These machines are completely cut off from the current attachments landscape.

With this change from such a major player, we would not be surprised to see more machines developed with this approach. 

And with that context, we at Attachments King envision a new branch of All-Electric Attachments that will begin to take market share over the next decade.

As the market begins to grow – as batteries become more commoditized and as more All-Electric machines get released – we believe an entire new market for all-electric tools will start to take root and that these tools will eventually gain considerable market share for lightweight jobs.

Is your company developing attachments for Electric Skid Steers? We'd love to work with you – reach out to us today to discuss how we can get your products the reach that they deserve.

As you saw in this article, Electric Skid Steers present a massive change in the Construction Machinery market. 

The choice to purchase one definitely requires consideration around your specific job requirements and what you'll need your Skid Steer to accomplish.

Check out our five key considerations from the posts above :

1. The effective operating time for Electric Skid Steers is not as long as Diesel Skid Steers without charging.
2. Electric Skid Steers have a higher initial purchase price but are significantly less expensive over the operating life of the machine.
3. There are two types of Electric Skid Steers – All-Electric Skid Steers do not have a hydraulic system at all. Battery-Electric Skid Steers DO have a hydraulic system still.
4. You won't be able to use current Hydraulic Attachments with an All-Electric Skid Steer!
5. The charging infrastructure required to effectively charge an Electric Skid Steer requires the installation of a 240v Outlet in your home, garage, or warehouse.

So, is an Electric Skid Steer right for you?

We'll, it depends on what you'll be doing! 

We've summarized the main points in the article in two columns below for you to quickly assess if an Electric Skid Steer is right for you.

If you liked this type of article and want to keep in the know about the upcoming changes with Electric Skid Steers, take a second to subscribe to our email list below.