Looking to buy a Mini-X. Your experience and opinions, please

[Seven Gables]

Ok little more rambling. You wanna be a little bit leery of some of these specs, mfgs can scew them to make their machines look better. One of them is the bucket break out force which actually depends on the design of the bucket in particular the distance from the bucket pivot pin to cutting lip, shorten this up and and your breakout force magicly increases. You could actually have a weaker bucket cylinder and show a high break out force with a short pin to lip distance bucket. Distance from pivot pin to cyl pin on opposite side longer = more leverage = more breakout force, now your trade off is slower speed for this increased breakout force. Just one example. Then ye got your total hyd flow, what you got there is the cubic in displacement per revolution of every hyd pump on the machine x the rpm the particular machine is rated at, and then divide by 231= gpm total flow. Now your tak is rated at 2400rpm which is screaming Purdy good compared to some of the others. It's also a 2 liter. My ec60e has a axial piston pump that displaces 32 gpm that all the mfg refer to as a dual/twin 16 gpm pump, ******** it's one one pump with one rotating group of Pistons in one cyl, Divided into two equal 16gpm outlets. Piggybacked on this is a 9gpm gear pump that supply's the house swing motor and dozer blade cyl. Piggybacked on this is your pilot/ servo gear pump displaceing about 4.5gpm. Now because I have the secondary remote outlets their is one more gear pump bolted to the engine that I believe displaces 7gpm, this one is designed to run mainly a rotator which I have to run on the lower side of the flow control or its to fast. Add it all up and it's total hyd flow is 52.5 gpm of displacement. This ec60e uses a 2.6 liter engine that I'm 99% sure is a kubota, which is a good thing in my opinion. I'm too tired to ramble any more, like to talk hyd pressures little bit but have to wait. As a side note I priced out the same 57 kubota and my dealer had it down to 67000 I believe, 11/2 yr ago. Really glad I went with the Volvo though, I got it for less and its about a half size up in ability. B

 

[JimP]

A couple more considerations as you narrow down your search. I'm not sure I would pay extra for a 6 way blade on an excavator. I could see it if you dig long trenches and wanted to backfill them in a single run, but as a dozer substitute the excavator lacks traction for heavier work. Full disclosure, I have a mid size dozer for that.

You list fence row clean up and tree take downs. Check if there are mounting points for a screen over the front windshield and or top. I have taken out the top windshield section when a tap root came flying back on a stump I was digging and another time when a snag hidden in the leaves swung down from a tree I was digging. The laminated windshield stopped both but they were Oh **** moments for sure. My exc doesn't have mounting points in front and the dealer won't add them as that is an unapproved mod to the ROPS structure. If you already have the mounting points making and adding a wire or metal screen later is easy.

Buckets are expensive when new and one size doesn't fit all. Mine came with a 24 inch bucket. That's ok for my general digging. I bought a used 12 inch bucket for stump digging. The smaller size allows me to sever roots more easily. A frost tooth might work better but I haven't seen a used one show up near me.

This brings up bucket mounting systems. There are no standard bucket mounting specs, every manufacturer is different and most will not interchange. If you use the OEM two pin system you have to find OEM spec buckets (and bang pins out and in and line everything up for each change). There are lots of mechanical and hydraulic quick connect mounting systems. Some like the Wain Roy system require you to use their proprietary buckets. Others use a mechanical wedge or interlock that you tighten or loosen with a wrench. Mine came with a Geith hydraulic pin grabber. Push two buttons and it releases, swing one bucket off, the next on and push buttons again and its locked. It allows buckets from different manufacturers and having a range of pin sizes and spacing to be used (e.g. I can shop for cheap used buckets). Its a beautiful thing (until a hose blows and you puke 20 gallons of hydraulic fluid from under the cab in seconds stranding your machine). Aftermarket mounting systems add a few inches of length between the stick and bucket. This slightly lessen digging force and can allow the bucket teeth to hit the blade or cab. Be aware of this.

So, back to a thumb. The thumb and bucket should work together to give you the biggest usable range of motion and prevent the teeth from locking together. If you add a bucket quick connect you change the spacing relationship. My exc came with a Geith bucket and Geith pin grabber. I added the Geith thumb later. When ordering the thumb Geith asked for all of the dimensions and accounted for the pin grabber length and tooth spacing. This isn't critical but its nice when everything works smoothly. When I added the Geith 12 inch bucket the dimensions and tooth spacing were similar and it works just as well.

If you have a thumb you will have a bidirectional hydraulic system. The thumb circuit pressure must be below the bucket curl pressure to prevent blowing a hydraulic hose or cylinder. The allows the bucket to push the thumb back in use. If you want to use a hammer or brush cutter you need a one direction flow setup with different flows and pressures from the thumb and possibly a case drain. Changing from a bidirectional system to a unidirectional system will be more complicated than unplugging the thumb hydraulics and plugging in another implement.

Sorry if I'm going over stuff you already considered. Jim

 

[Bigfoot62]

Hello Bigfoot62, If you can afford it definately hydraulic thumb and a/c in the cab. Make SURE you test the ERGONOMICS before you buy. I found that on some diggers the footrests on the smaller models are too close to get properly comfortable.
IF you can get a seat with a fore-and-aft isolater, not just up and down. These seats are hard to find, but the improvement is amazing,as you are not being constantly shuntted you are far fresher at the end of the day.
If you work with the door open you will need to keep a close eye on the a/c filters as when these clog up you will get a/c issues(the boss used to dry hire his digger).
Lastly, look at a used fleet rental unit, these are usually 1 or 2 operater machines on fixed term lease(not hire) with fixed maintenance and come with records.
Good luck which ever way you go.

Absolutely must have the hyd thumb. I want the cab, but will have to see what's available, if I don't buy new.
I'm familiar with the seat you're talking about. That's what I have in my John Deere 5M tractors.
Right, if it has a cab, you need to keep the door shut.
Yeah, the better used machines that I'm finding are dealer rental fleet.

 

[Bigfoot62]

Ok little more rambling. You wanna be a little bit leery of some of these specs, . . . B

Yessir. Mfg specs are like political statistics. It depends on how you ask the question!
Over the past four decades, I've been on a bunch of different machines. The Takeuchi is absolutely the fastest I've ever seen. There are several more that come close, but I could tell a difference.
My local Kubota dealer said that they don't rent, but a dealer in N. LA does, as well as a couple in E. TX. I'll probably check with them this week.

 

[Bigfoot62]

A couple more considerations as you narrow down your search. . .
I'm not sure I would pay extra for a 6 way blade on an excavator. . .

Check if there are mounting points for a screen over the front windshield and or top. . .

Buckets are expensive when new and one size doesn't fit all. . .

This brings up bucket mounting systems. There are no standard bucket mounting specs, every manufacturer is different and most will not interchange. . .

So, back to a thumb. The thumb and bucket should work together . . . If you have a thumb you will have a bidirectional hydraulic system. . .

Sorry if I'm going over stuff you already considered. Jim

I've never seen a 6-way blade on a mini-X, but I haven't seen it all. The 4-way angle blade is a nice, but not necessary option. The advantages of the angle blade is, of course, that it angles for backfilling. But, also it sits further out front, providing a longer base for heavy lifting, etc. In looking at used machines, I'll just take what I can find. If I buy new, probably won't cough up the extra $$$ for an angle blade.

If I make a deal on a cab machine, screens would be a big help. Personally, I've never broken the glass on an excavator. (or my cab tractors) But, I know it happens.

The utility department of the little town I live close to has a X about the same size as I'm looking for. Manager said that they have several buckets, but 90% of the time they use the 18". Both of the rubber tire hoes (TLB) that I've owned had a 24" bucket. Never felt the need to change.

Definitely want a dealer installed hyd thumb. If I buy a Takeuchi, it comes with both auxiliary hyd circuits installed. I like that feature. :thumbsup: (pun intended)


No need to apologize for plowing the same ground twice. I'm kinda slow. Probably didn't get it the first time anyway!

 

[Code54]

AS for buckets - I have the Kubota factory quick connect and find I change buckets frequently. Have a 12, 24, and 36smooth. It is NICE to pick the right bucket for each job and with the quick attach it maybe takes a minute to switch them. Sort of having the right tool for each job, it really does help - love the 36 for grading and ditching, the 12 for digging stumps and the 24 for most other stuff.
Good luck on your search

 

[Seven Gables]

Jim P brought up some good points. Angle blade vs straight , like lots of things pros and co ns to each. I can see where it would be handy to angle blade when finish leveling and as Bigfoot says it definitely gives more leverage being out front further. On the other hand I think I would miss the reduced work area in front of machine for digging. I always pile at least part of the dirt I'm removing directly in front of my blade, makes it easy to push back in quick when done with stump. Maybe I'm doing it wrong, lm a newbie at this. As far as hyd coupler they are handy. My wouldn't release when I got it, basically it was engineered so redundantly safe that it couldn't come off even when you really wanted it to. Luckily it was easy for me to see their issue, had to remove their final safety hook. I did for safety sake make my own final safety by drilling out some HDPE plastic that I snap over the cyl. rod of QC. Simple and it positively stops that cyl from retracting/releasing if it ever got past the first safety . Now it works fine and glad to have it. B

 

[JimP]

I've never seen a 6-way blade on a mini-X, but I haven't seen it all. The 4-way angle blade is a nice, but not necessary option. The advantages of the angle blade is, of course, that it angles for backfilling. But, also it sits further out front, providing a longer base for heavy lifting, etc. In looking at used machines, I'll just take what I can find. If I buy new, probably won't cough up the extra $$$ for an angle blade.

Your'e right, 4 way not 6 way. Senior moment there.

 

[redman135]

Bigfoot62, one thing I forgot is MAKE SURE the thumb can be over powered (pushed back) by the bucket ram or you WILL bend the spear or blow a hose.

 

[laurencen]

never got the thumb on the E32, there are times I would love it the issue is its 16 inch wide, if using a 12 inch bucket it will not go in the trench, I also use a breaker and ripper, the ripper would also have issues with the thumb