Trenching with 24" bucket vs 16"

[Chuck K.]

I do a bit of trenching for an electrical contractor friend of mine. The BH came with a 24" bucket which is great for excavating large areas but a little too wide for electrical conduit .

To add to matters we are in a serious drought, the black gumbo is unbelievably hard to point where the ground has ~3" wide cracks in it. I could not believe the difficulty I had digging today, even taking small bites I was dragging the machine backwards... Two foot down was only slightly better, we need rain BAD...........

I am asking for some input if the 16" bucket would be a good choice making it noticeably easier to dig with. I don稚 want to go too narrow and have to deal with a bucket that easily plugs with mud if and when we ever get rain

 

[newbury]

<snip>
To add to matters we are in a serious drought, the black gumbo is unbelievably hard to point where the ground has ~3" wide cracks in it. I could not believe the difficulty I had digging today, even taking small bites I was dragging the machine backwards... Two foot down was only slightly better, we need rain BAD..<snip>

Water the trench overnight. Work with the earth, don't fight it.

 

[Chuck K.]

Water the trench overnight. Work with the earth, don't fight it.

That would be an option but unfortunately when he calls he needs the trench ASAP.

 

[Treemonkey1000]

Do you have one of those blades that attaches to the bucket teeth that you can score and break the hard soil first? Unless in your bag of toys you have the jack hammer option????

 

[irwin]

I like having two buckets..12" and 18" but wish I had a 24".
I like the 12" for stumping and trenching..but this is with CT rocky soil (don't know about TX).
The 12" bucket does hold dirt a little when it's wet, but not too bad. Unless your soil is too sticky I'd go 12" for trench work.

 

[JoelD]

I use a nine inch for trenching and it works really well, good for stumping also.

I use a 16 inch for digging, but rarely us it, the nine inch does most of what I want, particularly with my rocky soil.

Joel

 

[kf4uda]

I bought a 555 Ford TLB when preparing to build a new shop and home. It came with a 18" and 24" bucket. When I realized how much trenching I was going to have to do, I purchased a new 12" bucket. I have never regretted it. The trenching goes faster and it is easier on the machine. I tried to locate a used one but they are hard to find in decent shape. I have had some problems with dirt sticking when wet but not too bad.

 

[Kays Supply]

I had a problem with a small machine like you describe. I changed the teeth. There are teeth made for hard ground. They are shaped like a dagger but with a flat point. They made a world of difference on a small machine I had in our rock hard clay.

 

[Country1]

Had a small 12" on a bobcat 331 excavator and it worked very well for a general use bucket. I also had a 18 and it didn't get used much. The 12" didn't hold soft clay/mud very bad. Every once in a while you'd have to bang the bucket cylinder back hard a few times, but it would let go....
Think you'd be good with a 12 and try a set of "Tiger" teeth on it for better penetration in hard ground... Think a 9" would hold the material too much, but I'm not familiar with your soil comp.

 

[powerstroke444e]

I have a 12" 18" & 30" ditching bucket for my b26 and for trenching the 12 seems to big but it is much better than using the 18" and it don't stick to bad if you don't pack it to hard in there. Most of the small jobs we use a walk behind trencher & I can cut from 4" to 9" with it and its 100 times faster unless there are a lot of lines to cross.

And for real work we bring in the one of the vermeer trechers & can cut up to 7"-16" x 60" with them. Thus I don't dig more than I have to but the B26 is much easier to move around.