Pat O’Connor and Sons Agri and Plant is a well-established contracting business based in Ballyporeen, south Co Tipperary. Contracting for several decades, Pat is now joined by his sons, Patrick and Aidan. The family-run business undertakes a wide variety of services, encompassing all major grassland and tillage work, right through from sowing to harvest.
Alongside agricultural work, the O’Connors are involved in plant hire and construction work. In 2023, a box-fresh New Holland W190D wheel-loader joined the impressive fleet, to better handle inexcess of 2,000 acres of silage annually.
“At the time the loader was the bottle-neck, with grass arriving to the pit quicker, we felt we needed more weight and capacity in order to keep grass moved and rolled,” Pat explains.
Why New Holland
“In years gone by we would have always run JCB loaders, right from the earlier Farm Masters with the articulation point behind the cab, right through to running several 414 and 416 models, and then up into the larger 434S. We still run a JCB 434S for general duties and as a backup machine.
“In 2017, we changed tack and decided to upgrade to a New Holland W170D. Our local New Holland dealer, M&S Machinery, had sold a good few and we had heard good reports on them.”
Running a mix of New Holland and Case IH tractors, Pat says the backup from M&S was another major attraction to New Holland over other brands.
“We ran the W170D loader from new in 2017 up until 2023, when it was traded at 2,500 hours. It worked away without fault and our loader driver liked it well. When the time came around to change it, we felt the extra weight and power of the W190D would be a serious benefit.
“The only slight hesitation was its size, especially on small pits and in small yards. However, it proved more manageable than we initially thought. A lot of yards and silage pits across the country haven’t increased at the same rate its herd has, and it’s a challenge with most modern machinery” Pat explains.
A deal was later struck for a W190D, which arrived in time for the 2023 season, along with a larger 16ft folding MDE silage fork.
The W190D is New Holland's current flagship loader, weighing in at 19,250kg and churning out 230hp.
Pat moved to the wider 16ft MDE folding fork, to better suit the larger loader.
W190D
The W190D is powered by a 6.7l FPT six-cylinder engine, which churns out 230hp, up notably from the 197hp Pat and the team were used to in their old W170D.
Power is transmitted to the ground via a five-speed powershift transmission, with torque convertor lock-up between second gear and fifth gear. A Power inch feature sees proportional declutching, depending on braking intensity. Road speed tops out at 40km/h.
While Pat still commends the agility of his JCB 434S, something he feels JCB has always excelled at, he is impressed with the responsiveness and acceleration of his W190D considering it has an operating weight of almost 20t, nearing 4t more than the W170D not to mention the additional weight of the 16ft fork which weighs 2.1t alone.
When comparing spec sheets, everything is just that little bit larger with the W190D in comparison to the W170D, which in its own right is still a very capable machine for most fleets. The only two components that share the same physical size is the cab and the engine. The wheelbase is 87mm longer and the overall length is 250mm longer. The W190D is fitted with heavy-duty axles supplied by ZF. The O’Connors machine is spec’d like the majority of others sold for pit work with a 100% locking front differential and an open rear differential.
Pat points out that the front-diff lock can be set to engage automatically under load or manually engaged via the floor switch, which doesn’t tend to be the preferred method.
The shovel is shod on 800/65 R32 tyres which are considerably larger than the 750/65 R26 tyres on the previous W170D. If anything, the higher ground clearance associated with the larger diameter rims just about sees the standard boom long enough when lowered fully.
The W190D is shod on 850/65 R32 BKT tyres.
The positioning of the engine over the back axle leaves the loader well balanced.
Cab
Pat also points out that the cab is practically unchanged to the W170D. However, ‘visibility’ was the first compliment he had , pointing out the full-length glass windscreen and doors. He also noted that the controls are well laid out, the majority of which are grouped on the right-hand console. An 8in LCD display positioned at eye level on the A pillar displays all machine information in a clear manner. Once the reverse gear is selected, the screen automatically displays the rear reverse camera.
Seating position and overall comfort are two major likes Pat has for the cab. A single lever joystick controls all linkage and third service movements as well as forward, neutral and reverse gears. An option now available, is joystick steering which sees a left-hand joystick take over the function of the steering wheel at the press of a button.
Under the bonnet is the easily accessible 6.7l FPT engine.
The cooling pack is located between the cab and the engine.
Other features
Moving from the cab back through the loader, Pat highlighted the layout of the engine bay and the large degree of space for maintenance. New Holland has opted to position the engine in its D series loaders directly over the rear axle. This leaves the cooling pack positioned between the cab and the engine reducing noise and heat around the cab.
The W190D is also equipped with closed-centre load-sensing tandem hydraulic pumps, sourced from Bosch Rexroth. These produce a maximum hydraulic flow of 236l/min, 30l/min more than the W170D.
“Hydraulic performance is exceptional, no doubt about it. I’d also consider it quite a bit more responsive to the previous W170D. When you watch it, even with the 16ft fork loaded with grass, it just glides up the pit flicking the fork at ease,” says Pat.
Oil flow is set up to be on demand so that when the brakes are pressed, full engine power is made available to the hydraulics, but the system will only demand extra power as required.
The 8in LCD display shows all machine information, as well as the reverse camera.
New Holland’s flagship 19t W190D model.
Pat O’Connor and Sons Agri and Plant is a well-established contracting business based in Ballyporeen, south Co Tipperary. Contracting for several decades, Pat is now joined by his sons, Patrick and Aidan. The family-run business undertakes a wide variety of services, encompassing all major grassland and tillage work, right through from sowing to harvest.
Alongside agricultural work, the O’Connors are involved in plant hire and construction work. In 2023, a box-fresh New Holland W190D wheel-loader joined the impressive fleet, to better handle inexcess of 2,000 acres of silage annually.
“At the time the loader was the bottle-neck, with grass arriving to the pit quicker, we felt we needed more weight and capacity in order to keep grass moved and rolled,” Pat explains.
Why New Holland
“In years gone by we would have always run JCB loaders, right from the earlier Farm Masters with the articulation point behind the cab, right through to running several 414 and 416 models, and then up into the larger 434S. We still run a JCB 434S for general duties and as a backup machine.
“In 2017, we changed tack and decided to upgrade to a New Holland W170D. Our local New Holland dealer, M&S Machinery, had sold a good few and we had heard good reports on them.”
Running a mix of New Holland and Case IH tractors, Pat says the backup from M&S was another major attraction to New Holland over other brands.
“We ran the W170D loader from new in 2017 up until 2023, when it was traded at 2,500 hours. It worked away without fault and our loader driver liked it well. When the time came around to change it, we felt the extra weight and power of the W190D would be a serious benefit.
“The only slight hesitation was its size, especially on small pits and in small yards. However, it proved more manageable than we initially thought. A lot of yards and silage pits across the country haven’t increased at the same rate its herd has, and it’s a challenge with most modern machinery” Pat explains.
A deal was later struck for a W190D, which arrived in time for the 2023 season, along with a larger 16ft folding MDE silage fork.
The W190D is New Holland's current flagship loader, weighing in at 19,250kg and churning out 230hp.
Pat moved to the wider 16ft MDE folding fork, to better suit the larger loader.
W190D
The W190D is powered by a 6.7l FPT six-cylinder engine, which churns out 230hp, up notably from the 197hp Pat and the team were used to in their old W170D.
Power is transmitted to the ground via a five-speed powershift transmission, with torque convertor lock-up between second gear and fifth gear. A Power inch feature sees proportional declutching, depending on braking intensity. Road speed tops out at 40km/h.
While Pat still commends the agility of his JCB 434S, something he feels JCB has always excelled at, he is impressed with the responsiveness and acceleration of his W190D considering it has an operating weight of almost 20t, nearing 4t more than the W170D not to mention the additional weight of the 16ft fork which weighs 2.1t alone.
When comparing spec sheets, everything is just that little bit larger with the W190D in comparison to the W170D, which in its own right is still a very capable machine for most fleets. The only two components that share the same physical size is the cab and the engine. The wheelbase is 87mm longer and the overall length is 250mm longer. The W190D is fitted with heavy-duty axles supplied by ZF. The O’Connors machine is spec’d like the majority of others sold for pit work with a 100% locking front differential and an open rear differential.
Pat points out that the front-diff lock can be set to engage automatically under load or manually engaged via the floor switch, which doesn’t tend to be the preferred method.
The shovel is shod on 800/65 R32 tyres which are considerably larger than the 750/65 R26 tyres on the previous W170D. If anything, the higher ground clearance associated with the larger diameter rims just about sees the standard boom long enough when lowered fully.
The W190D is shod on 850/65 R32 BKT tyres.
The positioning of the engine over the back axle leaves the loader well balanced.
Cab
Pat also points out that the cab is practically unchanged to the W170D. However, ‘visibility’ was the first compliment he had , pointing out the full-length glass windscreen and doors. He also noted that the controls are well laid out, the majority of which are grouped on the right-hand console. An 8in LCD display positioned at eye level on the A pillar displays all machine information in a clear manner. Once the reverse gear is selected, the screen automatically displays the rear reverse camera.
Seating position and overall comfort are two major likes Pat has for the cab. A single lever joystick controls all linkage and third service movements as well as forward, neutral and reverse gears. An option now available, is joystick steering which sees a left-hand joystick take over the function of the steering wheel at the press of a button.
Under the bonnet is the easily accessible 6.7l FPT engine.
The cooling pack is located between the cab and the engine.
Other features
Moving from the cab back through the loader, Pat highlighted the layout of the engine bay and the large degree of space for maintenance. New Holland has opted to position the engine in its D series loaders directly over the rear axle. This leaves the cooling pack positioned between the cab and the engine reducing noise and heat around the cab.
The W190D is also equipped with closed-centre load-sensing tandem hydraulic pumps, sourced from Bosch Rexroth. These produce a maximum hydraulic flow of 236l/min, 30l/min more than the W170D.
“Hydraulic performance is exceptional, no doubt about it. I’d also consider it quite a bit more responsive to the previous W170D. When you watch it, even with the 16ft fork loaded with grass, it just glides up the pit flicking the fork at ease,” says Pat.
Oil flow is set up to be on demand so that when the brakes are pressed, full engine power is made available to the hydraulics, but the system will only demand extra power as required.
The 8in LCD display shows all machine information, as well as the reverse camera.
New Holland’s flagship 19t W190D model.
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