How hard is it to learn to use a rental mini-excavator?

[m7040]

I got a small Kubota X KX033-4 with cab that I use in retirement to make up for being old and not as capable as I used to be. Now 82. But took me a good amount of time playing with it to get it to be second nature. Sure I could lift things, dig out stumps etc but took time. Now it goes fast and easy because it is in the memory bank.
Dug out a few big pine stumps and since I had left 4 ft of the trunk it was able to get leverage to pull it over and break the roots after digging around it.
The thumb is used all the time for lifting trees branches etc. Pushing over trees is surprising easy up to a certain size.
The 36 inch bucket is very useful and can smooth or move dirt fast
I even use it for gardening
not cheap to buy but I can likely sell it for close to what I paid for it if I wanted

 

[Geoffm]

I have a New Zelaand made Tracgrip RM25 backhoe on a Massey Fergusson MF50 (a MF165 based industrial tractor). It is a chunky 40 year old large commercial backhoe about the size of a JCB 3cx or a large Case. I also have a 5.8T Mitisibishi excavator, but that wasn't running when I needed it. They have different controls and it takes quite a while to get used to swapping from one to the other.
I recently took out 8 smallish trunks in a day (in a machine I use once in a while). a 1.7t trailer mini ex would have done it but would have struggled with some.
I had another one a few weeks ago, say 300-400mm diameter that was not coming out. I dug down a long way all aroudn, and in the end I had to cut through the roots with a chainsaw and then it came out, and buried the rest. Didn't do the chain any good...
I think a stump grinder would be faster. Mini ex if you have other earthwork to do or grind the stumps then tidy up with the mini excavator.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

Another vote for grinding them. I had a friend pull out a few stumps with a backhoe, with my rocky soil it took about three times as long to clean up the mess as it took him to pull them. I couldn't get all of the rocks to go back in the hole, so I had to figure out a way to get rid of them and then find some dirt to fill the hole.

I rented a grinder and did about 20 stumps of various sizes in a day.

 

[dodge man]

This thread reminds me of scene from the movie Moneyball. Brad Pitts character is trying to talk a player into switching positions and playing first base for them. “It’s really easy, nothing to it”. At the same time another coach is saying “it’s extremely difficult, it’ll take a lot of work”.

 

[eKretz]

This thread reminds me of scene from the movie Moneyball. Brad Pitts character is trying to talk a player into switching positions and playing first base for them. “It’s really easy, nothing to it”. At the same time another coach is saying “it’s extremely difficult, it’ll take a lot of work”.

Well, isn't that about the gist of it? Everyone learns and adapts at different speeds. For some, it's jump in and go after 5 minutes. For others, it's very slow going, and tedious. I've been lucky and always fit into the former part of that range.

 

[MoKelly]

This thread reminds me of scene from the movie Moneyball. Brad Pitts character is trying to talk a player into switching positions and playing first base for them. “It’s really easy, nothing to it”. At the same time another coach is saying “it’s extremely difficult, it’ll take a lot of work”.

Great movie. One of Brad Pitts best.

 

[Rockbadchild]

id say it depends, I've never been good with multi function joystick but I get good quickly on the old single action stick spool... some people get it fast some not as fast... but the cost of a operator can buy you many hours...what you have to do is not very technical so I would go for it if I was you, the main thing is be good before you try to be fast... speed will come once you get good.

 

[johncanfield]

Another vote for grinding them. I had a friend pull out a few stumps with a backhoe, with my rocky soil it took about three times as long to clean up the mess as it took him to pull them. I couldn't get all of the rocks to go back in the hole, so I had to figure out a way to get rid of them and then find some dirt to fill the hole.

I rented a grinder and did about 20 stumps of various sizes in a day.

Let me say right off the top that I'm a fan of grinding stumps depending on their location. The problem is after several months you are left with a depression where the stump was ground into little bits. If it's in a field that's no big deal, but in turf/lawn - big deal (for me anyway.)

 

[Rockbadchild]

Also depending on the type of trees grinding it is not a good idea ... like poplars or willows every roots will sprout again so you are better digging it out... for spruce or pine its not a problem. So that's a consideration to take in that decision.

 

[TimberFarm]

Also depending on the type of trees grinding it is not a good idea ... like poplars or willows every roots will sprout again so you are better digging it out... for spruce or pine its not a problem. So that's a consideration to take in that decision.

Not to mention there is still a lot of termite food left. Middle of field, no worry. Anywhere near a structure, no thanks.

 

[deezler]

OP posted that on Jan 22.... 6 weeks later and no update from them, eh. So maybe people join here to ask one question and then never follow up (edit: he said long time member, but only has 3 posts). Meanwhile, the TBN forum regulars just keep hashing it out for weeks, lol.

In case it helps at all. I've rented a Bobcat E35 three times now, for whenever I had trenching or land clearing projects. It was incredibly easy to learn to operate. At first you'll be clumsy and slow, but after 10+ hours, it's like the machine is an extension of your body. I went from lurching around with it, to literally bending over trees, grabbing the trunk with the hyrdaulic thumb, rip the rootball out of the ground, spin the machine as you lift up the boom and THROW the tree to the side, drive forward and repeat. I'm talking 4-5" saplings that would take under 20 seconds apiece to pull and discard of. So fun, haha.

After a full weekend of constant digging on slopes (20+ machine hours) I had some serious vertigo!

I would have encouraged the OP to leave the 12" trees intact, and fell them by digging out the rootball and using the tree's weight to pull it's own stump out. Digging a flush cut stump is much harder, you have no leverage. But when you get into a 24" tree.... that might be 80+ feet tall.... thats pretty sketchy to do with a mini ex. Grind those ones instead.

 

[Tractorman46]

Here In the South of France I have 7 hectares, 550 olive trees and a lot of woodland most of it not managed before we bought the place 11 years ago. The first digger I had was a JCB 8014, after 4 years I traded it in and bought a JCB 8025. This machine is much more powerful. We have a lot of areas of rocky ground and with the grab bucket I can dig out and move some very heavy stuff. I also use the machine for felling trees, with the roots and all, then hold the trunk up level to be able to chain saw into logs without having to bend over. Handy at my age – 78.

I would say most people with reasonable hand/eye coordination can learn to dig holes, basic trenches, push over trees etc but it needs care. Its easy to injure the machine itself, for example by over curling the bucket and hitting the boom.

I was a pilot (private) for 40 years and operating the digger gives me a satisfying way of keeping hand eye and feet coordination - except that the pedals operate in the opposite sense than on an aircraft.

Greater skill is required for fine finishing and smoothing and that is unlikely to be developed over a couple of days hire.

Our land is on an slope so one safety tip is always to wear the safety belt. Not so much in case you turn the machine over but more to stop you going head first out the front door if stopping suddenly especially going downhill.

 

[Joel/ak]

My brother borrowed ours for the first time a couple years back. Drainage issue that the city wouldn't take care of....so he did it himself.

Now this guy is total city. He tries to act like he's country but he was happy with his EV car vs a deer stand.

I showed him the controls when I dropped it off at his house. Surprisingly, he took to it rather quick. In no time he was moving and leveling dirt and digging trenchs.

He still got in trouble with the city cuz of doing the work but he told them to pound sand

 

[SteveS42240]

If you can handle a tractor with a front end loader you can figure out a mini excavator pretty easily. The 2 handle machines are simple operate and easy to adjust to. Just take your time and know you will make some small mistakes.

 

[WoodChuckDad]

I know the OP has gone radio silence on this post, but for anyone else considering an excavator, the best advice I got was move so slow that it seems you are not moving. You will speed up slowly but you will learn. That is true.
My second point is a safety warning. The machines are usually set up so you cant bash yourself with the bucket. But you can still kill yourself with the material you are moving.
I was pulling some pushed down trees that I had cut root balls off of. There were a few stacked together. As I reached out to pull some forward, I didnt notice that one of them was about 5 feet closer than I thought and I pulled it right thru the glass and stopped with the end of the log about a foot from my chest. It happened so quickly that I could easily have pushed the log right thru my chest. I only stopped by chance. I hadn’t even processed what happened, to know that there was a problem.
Be careful.

 

[Fixastuff]

1) Watch some excavator fail videos on YouTube so you know what not to do.

2) Make sure you learn in excavator control pattern and not backhoe so you don’t feel inferior for the rest of your days

 

[johncanfield]

Here In the South of France I have 7 hectares, 550 olive trees and a lot of woodland most of it not managed before we bought the place 11 years ago. The first digger I had was a JCB 8014, after 4 years I traded it in and bought a JCB 8025. This machine is much more powerful. We have a lot of areas of rocky ground and with the grab bucket I can dig out and move some very heavy stuff. I also use the machine for felling trees, with the roots and all, then hold the trunk up level to be able to chain saw into logs without having to bend over. Handy at my age – 78.

I would say most people with reasonable hand/eye coordination can learn to dig holes, basic trenches, push over trees etc but it needs care. Its easy to injure the machine itself, for example by over curling the bucket and hitting the boom.

I was a pilot (private) for 40 years and operating the digger gives me a satisfying way of keeping hand eye and feet coordination - except that the pedals operate in the opposite sense than on an aircraft.

Greater skill is required for fine finishing and smoothing and that is unlikely to be developed over a couple of days hire.

Our land is on a slope so one safety tip is always to wear the safety belt. Not so much in case you turn the machine over but more to stop you going head first out the front door if stopping suddenly especially going downhill.

Good post. Even with 150 hours in the seat I’m still not great at finish grading with my grading bucket (no teeth.)