Compact. Versatile. Quiet. Fully Electric!

Aug 20, 2025 - 10 months ago

Sea Lion Electric Equipment is causing sparks on Vancouver Island, BC with their new line of custom-designed electric construction equipment. Story by Ronald Mullins; Photos courtesy Sea Lion Electric Equipment.

Sea Lion SL500 Electric Mini Excavator.

It has often been said that “necessity is the mother of invention.” But in the case of this British Columbia homeowner, ‘necessity’ was an excavator that was small, versatile, tough, electric, and, most importantly, quiet.

Dylan Wallinger and his wife own a home and small acreage on British Columbia’s Gabriola Island, located in the Georgia Strait and about five kilometres east of Nanaimo. Gabriola Island is quaint, quiet, and home to about 4,500 residents. So when Dylan wanted to do some clearing and infrastructure work on his property, he was faced with a dilemma. Hire the traditional heavy, noisy, environmentally unfriendly diesel equipment or search around for something with electric power.

Sea Lion SL500 easily fits within confined spaces.

Regrettably, the options close to home were few and very expensive. So he commenced an international search and found a small, half-ton class electric excavator manufactured by an overseas company. Being of entrepreneurial spirit, he ordered one. But when it arrived, it was just not ready for Canadian operations. The fittings, gauges, and connections, right down to the grease nipples, were wrong. It was built for use in Asian and European markets.

There are many attachments available.

Build What Ever You Want

“So I reached out to the company and they were quite prepared to make any changes necessary. What I discovered in this process is that Chinese manufacturers will make anything…you just have to be very explicit and tell them exactly what you want. So over the next few months, numerous phone calls, email messages, and a visit to the factory, they were happy to build something that we had designed,” Dylan said. Shortly thereafter, a half-ton class, fully electric, mini-excavator arrived on Canadian shores, and Dylan put it to work right away.

Put to work right away.

As an aside, during this back and forth redesign, the China-based manufacturing company asked, “If I would be interested in being their dealer representative in Canada.” Remember that ‘entrepreneurial spirit’, Dylan said yes, he assembled a team, and Sea Lion Electric Equipment was born.

The quiet machines are perfect for city jobs.

Sea Lion’s first offering was a half-ton class (1,565 lbs 710 KG), compact, fully electric mini-excavator, the Sea Lion SL500. Fully Canadian designed by the Sea Lion team, the SL500 is only three feet (91 cm) wide and is ideal for working in those cramped locations and yet light enough to be transported in a pickup truck. The ideal homeowner or landscaper unit. Better and faster than a shovel, but not large, noisy, no smelly carbon emissions, and no fuel.

Since that time, the Sea Lion team has designed and is fully prepared to service this new and exciting offering. To date, the company has added three more fully electric, mini excavator models to their continuing-to-grow lineup; the one-ton class (2,425 lb/1000KG) Sea Lion SL1000 with a fully enclosed, air-conditioned cab; the 2.5-ton class (5732 lb/2600 kg) Sea Lion SL2600 with pro-class power and up to 6 hours of full digging power on a single charge; and the four-ton class (8,378 lb/3800 kg) Sea Lion SL3800 with the reach and power you expect from a top-tier, pro-class excavator. But wait… the Walrus, a Sea Lion team-designed, fully electric, stand-on, skid steer, is on its way.

There is also a complete line of versatile excavator attachments available for all models. Any job, anywhere… there is a fully electric Sea Lion machine ready to go to work.

Small, but mighty!

What Do Users Say

Huitt Manering of Roberts Creek, B.C., has been using an SL500 mini-excavator for some time. “I use this machine for ten-hour days, and it’s busy for at least seven of those ten hours. The battery stays above 40% on most days. I could charge it midday for a bit but haven’t needed to. The alternative to a machine this size is pick and shovel manual labour. The amount of work an SL500 can perform in one day is easily equal to a crew of three or four on most days and maybe even more in hot weather. And sitting in the cab isn’t exhausting at the end of the day. With the hydraulic thumb, this machine can pick up and move 400-pound chunks of concrete with ease.” The words of a satisfied user.

"With the hydraulic thumb, this machine can pick up and move 400-pound chunks of concrete with ease."

“I was surprised with how easy it was to learn to use a Sea Lion excavator,” said Mitch Kenyon of Powell River, B.C. “Within no time, I had dug up a pile of dirt so large that I needed a dump truck to haul the dirt away. The best part of the experience was the excellent service I got from Sea Lion’s staff. I would highly recommend using a Sea Lion excavator for small jobs.”

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More To Come

“We are proud of and stand behind all of our offerings,” Dylan said, “but we are especially proud of our first, fully electric UTV, the Manta”. The Manta is a compact, powerful, selectable 4x4 with up to 100 kms of range on a single charge. With a 4 x 6 foot (122 x 182 cm.) power dump bed, standard 3000 lb. winch, instant torque, the Manta is ready to work hard and all day, without noise, fumes, and fuel. Dylan went on, “We think the Manta is ideal for golf courses, wineries, ranches, farming, municipalities, literally any place you’ve got things to move.”