Looking at Mini Excavators

[Gale Hawkins]

Lt Cheg I think you are on the right track for your needs. I bought the our JD full size backhoe because I was looking for a FEL for the 265 MF because the used BH complete with FEL and OK 60 HP tractor was only $2000 more money. After bushing hogging Friday in the tight/steep places we have I was VERY thankful the 265 MF gets to stay an naked 2 WD tractor that can turn on a dime.

Getting a more full size BH of smaller TH can make a lot of sense. After having the back hoe for a short while I can tell you a TH does interest me because you can keep moving and swing 360.

IF we had a good FEL set up already knowing what I know now at small TH would have been as good if not better choice. I expect a 30-40 HP unit would dig as much as our 13,000 pound BH.

Of course hours are always a concern but if the turn table, undercarriage was OK as well as other wear points I would not fret over more than 3000 hours. You can just look at the hours/price ratio and decide.

Clearly fewer hours in most cases are better BUT once in a blue moon someone will go to the expense to "fix up" a piece of equipment to keep for years that winds up on the market before they planned. They never fetch the purchase price + major rebuild but the value is there. POINT: More hours could be better than fewer hours.

 

[Lt CHEG]

Lt Cheg I think you are on the right track for your needs. I bought the our JD full size backhoe because I was looking for a FEL for the 265 MF because the used BH complete with FEL and OK 60 HP tractor was only $2000 more money. After bushing hogging Friday in the tight/steep places we have I was VERY thankful the 265 MF gets to stay an naked 2 WD tractor that can turn on a dime.

Getting a more full size BH of smaller TH can make a lot of sense. After having the back hoe for a short while I can tell you a TH does interest me because you can keep moving and swing 360.

IF we had a good FEL set up already knowing what I know now at small TH would have been as good if not better choice. I expect a 30-40 HP unit would dig as much as our 13,000 pound BH.

Of course hours are always a concern but if the turn table, undercarriage was OK as well as other wear points I would not fret over more than 3000 hours. You can just look at the hours/price ratio and decide.

Clearly fewer hours in most cases are better BUT once in a blue moon someone will go to the expense to "fix up" a piece of equipment to keep for years that winds up on the market before they planned. They never fetch the purchase price + major rebuild but the value is there. POINT: More hours could be better than fewer hours.

Thanks for the input. I know what you mean by sometimes finding a piece of equipment with higher hours that is in better shape than one with fewer hours. Recently I saw a Kubota mini excavator about in the 3.5 ton range going for a pretty good price. It was an older machine with a lot of hours but had a brand new engine and a lot of freshly rebuilt parts. It was going for about $8500 for a cabbed unit. I'm just not able to pull the trigger right now, but if I was, I likely would have picked that unit up in a heartbeat. As of now, I'd say that I'll likely concentrate on trying to find something with about 2500 hours or less, and with healthy drive motors and turntable and undercarriage. Also is $2000 to $2500 about right for a set of replacement rubber tracks? I suppose when I'm ready that I should not discount an otherwise nice machine in need of tracks as long as everything else is healthy and the price is discounted accordingly. Thanks again for the input. I know that digging a house foundation may be a big job for one of these mini excavators but using the machine to do that is probably one of the only ways that I'll be able to justify the purchase to my wife. I don't care if it takes me 60 hours to dig the foundation that would have taken me 6 hours to dig with a Cat 320 if it keeps me from renting the big machine. I can't work overtime or another job or anything, and I like playing with equipment so I'm not missing out on any money by taking longer to do a job by using a smaller piece of equipment. Plus I'm digging in clay and the area is not at all rocky so I don't have to worry about dealing with big boulders. I do think that a 3.5 ton unit can do the job, and I'm grateful for the advice I've been given thus far instead of just hearing discouragement from people that prefer to do things a different way. It's one of the great things about this forum.

 

[davygp38]

I am also looking to get a small excavator. I need to do some ditching, and stump removal. My concern, is that I won't be able to dig out stumps with a small excavator, compared to a full sized BH. I am not talking about monster stumps. I am talking 10-15inch stumps. Anyone want to recommend a mini excavator, or is an 80 horse BH the way to go. I have a kubota L4400, with a BH90, but it just can't do it very fast on those stumps.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Stumps can be slow go. Even larger trackhoes like to dig and fall them then take the log after the tree is down. The tree is the best stump puller.

At 13,000 pounds it is hard to keep from dragging the tractor on stabilizers when digging stumps but so far mine have pretty good size trees from 25 year old suckers so after a triangle dig they push over with the loader easier then a pure dig it out by the roots. Of course if the stumps are old and dead that can help.

I expect a dozer with a strong backhoe would be about best and the dipper bucket could flip them right out but metal tracks have to be hauled from point a to b.

 

[Ken45101]

Digging stumps out depends a LOT on whether it has a tap root or not. Trees without taproots are easy, especially if you do it before the tree is cut. Trees with taproots are a lot more challenging, a totally different world.

The first stump I took out with my KX-121 was a double stump with each stem about 20" diameter. It took me about 20-30 minutes to get it out.

It was an older machine with a lot of hours but had a brand new engine

I know diesel engines don't last forever, but they should last a long time if properly maintained. I'm always concerned when I see a mini ex or ss that has had an engine replaced. Makes me wonder if they didn't maintain the equipment.

Ken

 

[niemeyjt]

I have Takeuchi TB125 - 2.8 ton - with the long dipper arm. This is heaviest machine that can be towed on a normal trailer in Europe.

I just fitted a semi-automatic quick-hitch - which is still very nice - I have to leave cab once to fit a bucket and once to release it. There have been safety scares over here with buckets dropping off some types of fully automatic hitches causing injuries and death.

Bigger would certainly have helped me reach into a pond I was clearing, and would have more power for digging out stumps - however I have been transplanting smaller trees and bushes recently and have found a rake bucket to be superb for this. So another thing - look at buckets you want to use as well.

I have also had to work around the house and even on rubber tracks, it does chew up grass. SWMBO is not happy! Also, at 1.5M wide, it is a tight fit in certain places, and as it is not zero tail swing, I have to be very careful. Another issue on size is that the width of the dipper arm will determine the size of the smallest bucket you can fit for things like trenching.

J

 

[Ken45101]

I have Takeuchi TB125 - 2.8 ton - with the long dipper arm. This is heaviest machine that can be towed on a normal trailer in Europe.

Out of curiosity, what do you mean by "a normal trailer"?

Ken

 

[SARG]

I would love to have one. Last week a friend "of a friend" brought his Bobcat mini excavator over and made a 21 x 87 foot barn disappear in about six hours. Eleven 12 yard dumpsters worth of wood and rolled roofing.

And with the push blade it does a fair job as a bulldozer. Remarkable tool that I'd like to have ....... especially with a thumb attached.

 

[20 20]

I am also looking to get a small excavator. I need to do some ditching, and stump removal. My concern, is that I won't be able to dig out stumps with a small excavator, compared to a full sized BH. I am not talking about monster stumps. I am talking 10-15inch stumps. Anyone want to recommend a mini excavator, or is an 80 horse BH the way to go. I have a kubota L4400, with a BH90, but it just can't do it very fast on those stumps.

One word will sum up a small excavator digging stumps........TIME! I have a 4000lb machine, it is small, but I have dug more stumps then I care to remember. I have used bigger excavators which will pop stumps quick. I have dug 30" diameter stumps out with my mini, it takes time. Of course these stumps are so big it is easier to hook onto the stump and pull with a tractor{dozer etc...} to move them out of the hole. I can roll them out by using the bucket also on the mini if needed. So to answer your question YES a mini will remove stumps it just depends on size time and depth/soil. A BH is fine if that is what you have or want but nothing beats the versatility of an excavator. Also lb for lb an excavator will walk all over a BH . Most mini's will easily out perform much bigger BH's.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Our BH is 13,000 but the hydraulics and time to move are limiting factors for sure. Loosing the 24" bucket for a 12" I expect would help.

What I am digging are sucker out stumps with about 25 years of growth so I dig a triange about 3' deep and push them over with the bucket so far.

As a guess a 7500 trackhoe would dig as well cutting roots and run circles around me when it came to moving to the next spot to dig.