Mrs. Suggested that we might consider a Mini-Excavator in our future.

   / Mrs. Suggested that we might consider a Mini-Excavator in our future. #1  

KilroyJC

Elite Member
Joined
Mar 30, 2022
Messages
2,873
Location
Appalachia
Tractor
1962 Case 430, 1995 Craftsman Yard Tractor/mower, 1949 South Bend 9A Lathe, WoodMizer Lx55 sawmill, Kubota KX033-4 Mini-Excavator
The primary tasks on our woodlot/not-yet-hobby-farm would be:

-log transport/loading with sawmill
-stump removal
-drainage ditch maintenance
-road maintenance
-construction/overhead lifting
-brush pile burning

Now, this is not going to happen anything soon.

I will not be buying anything new unless Ed McMahon shows up on my doorstep with a big check.

I have never operated a tracked excavator - my whole heavy equipment experience is a Bobcat 610 skid steer.

ANY/ALL input /suggestions/comments etc gratefullynaccepted!
 
   / Mrs. Suggested that we might consider a Mini-Excavator in our future. #2  
Following. I love to watch people spend money!!! :)

Of your list, log transport, road maintenance and overhead lifting are things I'd never consider using a mini ex for.

You might better benefit from a CUT or Utility tractor with FEL and backhoe. It would be a much better broad range tool.
 
   / Mrs. Suggested that we might consider a Mini-Excavator in our future.
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Following. I love to watch people spend money!!! :)

Of your list, log transport, road maintenance and overhead lifting are things I'd never consider using a mini ex for.

You might better benefit from a CUT or Utility tractor with FEL and backhoe. It would be a much better broad range tool.
My Plan B would be something like a Ford 555 or equivalent, mainly because my tractor does not have a bucket up front. But a mini-ex can go places a backhoe cannot. But a backhoe can go places further and faster than a mini-ex.

by log transport, I mean from a log rack to the mill. I would primarily move logs dragging behind my tractor. And when I finally build the shed for my mill, it would be much easier to use an arm to lift and maneuver a 20’ long beam than to do it with jacks and pulleys And ladders.

but this is the type discussion I want to have here! And maybe it will help someone else, too.
 
   / Mrs. Suggested that we might consider a Mini-Excavator in our future. #5  
My Plan B would be something like a Ford 555 or equivalent, mainly because my tractor does not have a bucket up front. But a mini-ex can go places a backhoe cannot. But a backhoe can go places further and faster than a mini-ex.

by log transport, I mean from a log rack to the mill. I would primarily move logs dragging behind my tractor. And when I finally build the shed for my mill, it would be much easier to use an arm to lift and maneuver a 20’ long beam than to do it with jacks and pulleys And ladders.

but this is the type discussion I want to have here! And maybe it will help someone else, too.
I've had a 555 for a few years now. It's a 2wd model. It will go anywhere your hoe talents can take you. I would assume the same from a mini ex, depending on the size machine you are looking at. Moving a mini ex an 1/8 mile by tracking is a painful experience.

Again, depending on mini ex size, they are limited as to what they'll lift with the boom extended horizontally. Not being familiar with your mill setup, I don't know how far horizontally you want to lift the logs?

Hopefully this thread will draw the attention of excavator owners. An excavator is a very handy tool in the right circumstances.
 
   / Mrs. Suggested that we might consider a Mini-Excavator in our future. #6  
An excavator is a very specialized tool that does a couple of things really really good, but it's also horrible at just about everything else. Transporting stuff, or moving anything is one of those things it's horrible at.

On your list, an excavator is probably the best tool out there for stump removal. Digging is what it excels at. The more HP, the better it is. Just remember that not all stumps are the same, some trees have shallow roots that are easy to take out, others have deep tap roots that can be very difficult to take out.

Drainage ditch maintenance is the only other thing on your list that the excavator might do well. It might also be very time consuming and not the right tool at all.

For transporting logs, you want something on wheels with a grapple. Tracks are very slow.

Road maintenance can be one of the most frustrating things you will ever do. The blade on a mini excavator is for short distances, small piles of dirt. But mostly it's to stabilize the exactor while digging because it's so light and unstable. Trying to use it for dozer work will be very frustrating. I personally like to use the loader bucket for maintaining my roads. I can carry a load of dirt or gravel to where I need to fix my road, dump it, spread it and smooth it out with the front bucket faster then I can with anything else.

While an excavator with a thumb is capable of lifting things overhead, I believe that the front end loader on a tractor is much more practical and easier to use. You can remove the bucket, use pallet forks, or a grapple, or even attach a boom to the loader for lifting things a lot higher, like setting trusses if the tractor is big enough.

An excavator does do a good job at feeding a burn pile, but it's so slow that this is why so many excavators catch on fire. Once you get too close to the fire, a hose melts and hydraulic fluid sprays out. The fluid is very flammable and when this happens, there isn't any hope to save the excavator. It's good for picking up branches to build he pile higher, but a burn pile shouldn't be too high. Long and thin is best so you can control the fire. Once the fire is going, a tractor with a loader works treat at punching up the fire to keep it going. Those bigger logs don't burn very well, so they need to be moved around to keep the fire going. You want to push them, back up quickly, change position, and do it again and again. I work my way around the entire burn pile several times pushing everything on top of itself with my tractor until there isn't anything left.

In my opinion, a Loader Backhoe with a quick attach front bucket and the hydraulics to operate a grapple is the best machine to do everything on your list. It's not the best at digging up stumps, but if gets the job done. And once the stump is out, it's better then an excavator at filling up the hole by being able to haul dirt to the hole, fill it up, compact it and smooth it out. Where you spend you money on a backhoe is in HP, cab or open station, 4x4 and how new it is. A 20 year old Backhoe works just a good as a brand new one, it's just not as fancy and you have to wrench on it more often. But if the HP is the same, an older one will do what a new one will for a fraction of the cost. I paid $18,000 for my open station, 2wd 555E backhoe 20 years ago, and it's still running strong. I've taken out tens of thousands of trees with it, and moved thousands of yards of dirt with it. I plan on doing more this year and every year in the future. My neighbor hires guys with excavators to work his land, then somebody else with a dozer, dump trucks and loaders to clean up the mess. I do it all with my backhoe for a lot less money, but I spend a lot more time doing it myself on one machine then he does paying to have it done.

When my backhoe finally dies it's final death, I will buy another backhoe. I'll get 4x4 next time. More traction would allow me to get even more done, even faster!!!
 
   / Mrs. Suggested that we might consider a Mini-Excavator in our future. #7  
An excavator is a very specialized tool that does a couple of things really really good, but it's also horrible at just about everything else. Transporting stuff, or moving anything is one of those things it's horrible at.

On your list, an excavator is probably the best tool out there for stump removal. Digging is what it excels at. The more HP, the better it is. Just remember that not all stumps are the same, some trees have shallow roots that are easy to take out, others have deep tap roots that can be very difficult to take out.

Drainage ditch maintenance is the only other thing on your list that the excavator might do well. It might also be very time consuming and not the right tool at all.

For transporting logs, you want something on wheels with a grapple. Tracks are very slow.

Road maintenance can be one of the most frustrating things you will ever do. The blade on a mini excavator is for short distances, small piles of dirt. But mostly it's to stabilize the exactor while digging because it's so light and unstable. Trying to use it for dozer work will be very frustrating. I personally like to use the loader bucket for maintaining my roads. I can carry a load of dirt or gravel to where I need to fix my road, dump it, spread it and smooth it out with the front bucket faster then I can with anything else.

While an excavator with a thumb is capable of lifting things overhead, I believe that the front end loader on a tractor is much more practical and easier to use. You can remove the bucket, use pallet forks, or a grapple, or even attach a boom to the loader for lifting things a lot higher, like setting trusses if the tractor is big enough.

An excavator does do a good job at feeding a burn pile, but it's so slow that this is why so many excavators catch on fire. Once you get too close to the fire, a hose melts and hydraulic fluid sprays out. The fluid is very flammable and when this happens, there isn't any hope to save the excavator. It's good for picking up branches to build he pile higher, but a burn pile shouldn't be too high. Long and thin is best so you can control the fire. Once the fire is going, a tractor with a loader works treat at punching up the fire to keep it going. Those bigger logs don't burn very well, so they need to be moved around to keep the fire going. You want to push them, back up quickly, change position, and do it again and again. I work my way around the entire burn pile several times pushing everything on top of itself with my tractor until there isn't anything left.

In my opinion, a Loader Backhoe with a quick attach front bucket and the hydraulics to operate a grapple is the best machine to do everything on your list. It's not the best at digging up stumps, but if gets the job done. And once the stump is out, it's better then an excavator at filling up the hole by being able to haul dirt to the hole, fill it up, compact it and smooth it out. Where you spend you money on a backhoe is in HP, cab or open station, 4x4 and how new it is. A 20 year old Backhoe works just a good as a brand new one, it's just not as fancy and you have to wrench on it more often. But if the HP is the same, an older one will do what a new one will for a fraction of the cost. I paid $18,000 for my open station, 2wd 555E backhoe 20 years ago, and it's still running strong. I've taken out tens of thousands of trees with it, and moved thousands of yards of dirt with it. I plan on doing more this year and every year in the future. My neighbor hires guys with excavators to work his land, then somebody else with a dozer, dump trucks and loaders to clean up the mess. I do it all with my backhoe for a lot less money, but I spend a lot more time doing it myself on one machine then he does paying to have it done.

When my backhoe finally dies it's final death, I will buy another backhoe. I'll get 4x4 next time. More traction would allow me to get even more done, even faster!!!
Excellent post Eddie.
 
   / Mrs. Suggested that we might consider a Mini-Excavator in our future. #8  
Following. I love to watch people spend money!!! :)

Of your list, log transport, road maintenance and overhead lifting are things I'd never consider using a mini ex for.

You might better benefit from a CUT or Utility tractor with FEL and backhoe. It would be a much better broad range tool.

A mini excavator is actually decent for moving logs. It drives slow is the main downside but it can carry logs sideways which is nice when your trail isn’t very wide. Sure a tractor could drag it but that gets dirt in the bark and scars the ground. You can also pull a trailer and load it with the mini x to help with the low travel speed. I assume he doesn’t literally mean lifting stuff over peoples head. Not very many machines are rated for that. But a mini x is actually good at lifting stuff. You’d need a pretty big tractor to match what my KX-040 can lift. My L3800 can’t come close. Road maintenance definitely isn’t a minis strong point. I guess if you got a Kubota 40 with a 6 way blade you could do it.
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   / Mrs. Suggested that we might consider a Mini-Excavator in our future.
  • Thread Starter
#9  
I've had a 555 for a few years now. It's a 2wd model. It will go anywhere your hoe talents can take you. I would assume the same from a mini ex, depending on the size machine you are looking at. Moving a mini ex an 1/8 mile by tracking is a painful experience.

Again, depending on mini ex size, they are limited as to what they'll lift with the boom extended horizontally. Not being familiar with your mill setup, I don't know how far horizontally you want to lift the logs?

Hopefully this thread will draw the attention of excavator owners. An excavator is a very handy tool in the right circumstances.
I am currently loading logs with a 3pt boom on a Class 1 hitch on a 1962 Case 430 With nylon sling straps.
 
   / Mrs. Suggested that we might consider a Mini-Excavator in our future. #10  
According to my Kubota dealer he said contractors are replacing their backhoes with a Skidsteer and a minix
 
 
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