BUYING KUBOTA BH 92 Vs HIRING/BUYING mini EXCAVATOR

   / BUYING KUBOTA BH 92 Vs HIRING/BUYING mini EXCAVATOR #21  
Just got the BH92. It is not like having a mini-ex. But I couldn't afford a tractor AND a mini-ex, and I'm not trying to make money with this thing so saving time is not that important. As Kyle241 said, it is great to have the tool on hand when you need it, and take care of what needs done right away. Say for example that a storm plugs up one of your drainage ditches, you can get out there and take care of it before it starts raining again. With the BH it takes maybe 10 or 15 minutes including getting into position, vs. an hour or two of digging with a shovel. Which is more enjoyable?
 
   / BUYING KUBOTA BH 92 Vs HIRING/BUYING mini EXCAVATOR #22  
mini ex. can be pretty nice machines. being able to do a 360 degree turn, without ever turning a tire or tract. to drop spoils. and being able to get into smaller loctions.

on other hand. prefer a TLB. that is setup for a backhoe. some tractors and some 3pt backhoes are just not there, and you need to hop off tractor and get onto backhoe seat to operate backhoe. if you get a setup like that. i cringe. a lot of time and miles walked between tractor seat and backhoe seat. on other hand if tractor is setup you can turn seat 180 degrees and your backhoe levers are right there, then awesome!

3pt backhoes for a given tractor, i would double check and get a backhoe with a subframe. the sub frame can really help transfer the weight of the backhoe to the tractor. vs placing all the weight and force on the 3ph pins.

i really need to get a smaller bucket for the TLB i have. the 24" wide bucket is awesome, but a 8" to 10" bucket, for digging trenchs, and poping roots up and out for stumps would be prefered. the 24" bucket just takes to big of a swipe granted if you need to get down in the trench to install stuff. the 24" bucket is awesome. (bucket does have teeth / tooth bar on it)

i do not have a tooth bar on the FEL bucket, on the new holland 60HP 2WD TLB. just a generic flat cutting edge. as a result i tend to get into some nasty concrete hard dirt mixed with rocks. and will do a 180 with tractor do 180 in the seat, and within a couple minutes have a nice large pile of dirt. that i can easily dig into with FEL. when i need to move dirt from one location to another on the farm. the path i have to take is any were from 1/2 mile to 1 mile long for dirt. so i tend to load the backhoe bucket up with dirt, and the 24" FEL bucket up with dirt. and for every 3 trips doing it this way i save an extra trip by just loading the FEL bucket up with dirt.

i like compacting the dirt as i go when filling a trench back in. mini ex. can compact dirt, but prefer the extra weight of a larger tractor and backhoe. so i do not have to hammer or rather quick drop the bucket with force from a mini ex. i do abuse the swing cylinders when i do compacting of dirt with backhoe though. and can get the tractor a rocking, litterly as i swing push down, lift up, swing a little more and repeat. jack hammer compaction anyone? is what goes through my mind some times. as i end up barely lifting rear of tractor up as i push the backhoe bucket down to compact the dirt.

on older backhoes / TLBs / even mini ex's, you might here someone say that is a loose backhoe or tight backhoe. what they are refering to, are the bears/pins/holes and amount of slop there is. the TLB i have, the swing cylinders are a little loose, and the boom is loose right at the bottom. result is, when i swing fast, the backhoe will keep on swinging some, and then bounce back in opposite direciton. and if i raise or lower the boom to quickly. it will want to bounce up and down some.

even on new backhoes with tractor set to high RPMs to PTO speed. can cause bouncing and jerkyness. when trying to swing backhoe side to side, or up and down. when you open up the levers full open and then try to goto a sudden stop. to get bucket just in the right position. if it is moving to fast, and your jambing the levers back and forth and all over the place lower the RPMs the tractor is running at. and with experence work your way up to higher RPMs. and go with lower RPM's when ya working right up near something. so you have more response time to adjust things. vs trying to be niddy gritty and barely trying to move a lever.

a thumb either mechanical or hydrualic thumb, can make a backhoe more feature rich, and allow alot more doing things. such as grabbing up small limbs, pulling out bushes, picking up a root ball from a stump easier.

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there may be some issues if you go with a third party backhoe for a given tractor. as far as warrenty issues come up. but there are other brands of backhoes out there on the market, and most of them. most likely require a little bit of a modification of subframe to fit a given tractor. perhaps drilling a hole or 2. and getting correct size and grade of bolts / pins.

a higher relief valve kick in. or break out pressure. can come in handy when dealing stumps. and using larger size backhoe buckets. gotten myself in some situations, when trying to break through a gravel drivey, to dig a trench. and trying to break through the top few inches of hard as in concrete compacted dirt / rock. or trying to pry up a root and you end up lifting front of tractor up off the ground. or perhaps trying to roll a stump up out of a hole.
 
   / BUYING KUBOTA BH 92 Vs HIRING/BUYING mini EXCAVATOR #23  
To compact your fill never use the bucket as a hammer. This will wear your pins out quick. Also don't use it like a broom to sweep dirt into the hole if possible. Swinging sideways to move dirt is really hard on them.
 
 
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