How difficult to operate a mini excavator

[airbiscuit]

Have fun. Please post some before and after pics and maybe a video.

 

[PILOON]

You have it all wrong, the question is not how difficult but how much fun.
Compared to a tractor a a mini excavator scores much higher.
Most minis have a blade mounted that provides a means to cover up all your messes and make the job look like a pro did it.
Mind U that blade also provides much stability when U are digging.

 

[airbiscuit]

 

[laurencen]

the one thing I will add the video is how I dug trees and roots until last year when I purchased the Bobcat E32, because I had buckets already I opted for the ripper tooth, its now the best way to pull trees and roots, no digging a hole around the tree to get to root ball just comb the tooth besides the tree, here is a link to a video of one in use

Mini Excavator With Ripper Attachment - YouTube

 

[deezler]

Only thought I have about the ripper tooth, is that you cant get very deep into the ground unless you just mash the end of the excavator arm into the dirt. With a narrow bucket at least you can still pull some dirt out if you want, to enable you to dig deeper. A 9" or 12" bucket works almost as well as a ripper tooth in looser soil types, IMO.

 

[TractorGuy]

Only thought I have about the ripper tooth, is that you cant get very deep into the ground unless you just mash the end of the excavator arm into the dirt. With a narrow bucket at least you can still pull some dirt out if you want, to enable you to dig deeper. A 9" or 12" bucket works almost as well as a ripper tooth in looser soil types, IMO.

This is something that prevents me from considering the ripper. It is fairly common for me to have to dig 10-12 feet deep to get some stumps out.

 

[Code54]

Only thought I have about the ripper tooth, is that you cant get very deep into the ground unless you just mash the end of the excavator arm into the dirt. With a narrow bucket at least you can still pull some dirt out if you want, to enable you to dig deeper. A 9" or 12" bucket works almost as well as a ripper tooth in looser soil types, IMO.

That is why I went with a 12" bucket, around here you always end up going at least 3-4' deep (often more). The 12" bucket allows for a lot of curl strength and still can move some dirt so i find it super handy. I keep the 12" on the machine almost as much as my 24".

 

[Tigershark]

I would get a quote for someone to come in with a highlift. We had a couple acres cleared for a pond all solid woods and the highlift cleared everything in 1/2 a day it was impressive to watch an experienced operator. So of our trees were 24-30 inches in diameter. After they were knocked down he would grab them with the teeth of the bucket and just drag them to the burn pile. Around here it runs 125$ an hour. I had a HUGE burn pile at the end of the day.

 

[Deerherd]

I have easily dug 100+ stumps this year with a ripper on my Bobcat E42 and it痴 at least twice as fast as using a bucket, plus it disturbs a lot less soil. It doesn稚 twist components like lifting on the edge of a bucket, all the pressure is centered on the shank and you can easily snap roots with the tip.

So do those of you who are saying you prefer a bucket over a ripper for stump removal actually OWN a ripper?

 

[Code54]

After using one felt I didn't need to spend the money on one for our trees and soil types. I have dug down 5' before to get to the bottom roots of trees so a ripper would be tough. Now some of our shallowed rooted trees it would be very handy!