Looking at Mini Excavators

[Greg_Phillips]

I am currently looking at mini excavators for my personal use around the house and our farm. Main uses would be digging out some bush stumps around the house, digging some drainage/tile ditches in some pastures, digging some foundations for a shop and other buildings in the future, and just other general digging chores. I am not married to any one brand, and am not sure what size machine I need. I would like to have a cabed machine, but that would not be a deal breaker.

Any of you have run these machines any and all opinions are welcome.

Thanks

Greg

 

[bstrom]

I think a lot of people might agree it's better renting one of those unless you are going to use it for a business. I hired a guy with a JD50 when I needed bigger stuff than my tractor would be doing and he was very talented with it carrying big rocks between the blade and bucket well as building a couple stone walls. They are quite pricey to have sitting around the farm but maybe that is not an issue.

Anyway maybe my answer will draw some attention to your post so someone can actually give you an answer.

 

[nobull1]

I have a Kubota KX-91-3 that is about 3.5 ton. My opinion is you would not want any smaller and a little larger could be an asset. The main reason people get small excavators is size. If your requirements don't need a small machine then all the better. The other side is too large just burns more fuel and cost more to repair and purchase. For what you are doing 3.5-5 ton would be a good size IMO so long as you are not in a major rock belt, if so larger would be better. All said a good dealer and ease of parts is a big deal. I would start by finding out what brand dealer gives the best support and who gives the worst and start from there.

My machine is used much the same as you will be using your's except I also do some landscaping as well. If you look at my info in my nobull1 personal info you can visit my website and see what we do with our machine.

 

[Kays Supply]

I have a Yanmar VIO-27. It isn't the smallest but for my needs it has served me well. I am a plumbing contractor. I use it to dig inside foundations and install water and sewer lines. At home I have used it basically as you describe. It out does itself every time I try something new. The one outstanding feature it has , is the hydraulic quick attach for the bucket. That aloan makes it stand out above the other three machines I had before it. I have 4 buckets and a hydraulic grapple. I can swap attachments in less than a minute while setting in my seat.

 

[drivadesl]

I've been looking at Mini Ex's also and considering those in the 4Ton range. Wondering how many owners of these wished they had gotten the enclosed cab or visa versa. I like the idea of AC in these machines in the summer months plus cuts back on noise and dust. Sorry don't mean to hijack this thread, but maybe the OP is also interested.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

I have a Yanmar VIO-27. It isn't the smallest but for my needs it has served me well. I am a plumbing contractor. I use it to dig inside foundations and install water and sewer lines. At home I have used it basically as you describe. It out does itself every time I try something new. The one outstanding feature it has , is the hydraulic quick attach for the bucket. That aloan makes it stand out above the other three machines I had before it. I have 4 buckets and a hydraulic grapple. I can swap attachments in less than a minute while setting in my seat.

That is some nice machine with a lot of options.

 

[Kays Supply]

Two of my last machines had cabs. The cabs did not have air. Heat was nice, but it was a greenhouse in the summer. I work with a crew when plumbing. The cab made it very hard to talk to them and hear them. It also was a problem to see to the sides and a little unsafe when working with a crew. If you are looking at a new one, cab and air is pretty pricey. I decided on a newer machine with out the cab, this time. If I used this machine day in and day out, the cab might be more important.

 

[Ken45101]

I bought a KX-121-3 (Kubota) last summer for use around the farm. Great machine. Wider and more stable than the KX-91 but light enough (8600#) to be hauled with a 1 ton dually.

No cab, and I haven't missed it. I don't tend to use it much in winter nor when it's raining. I prefer the openness. It's fairly quiet, so noise isn't an issue. Big $$$ to add the cab and heat/ac.

Ken

 

[Lt CHEG]

I'm starting to consider a used mini excavator or TLB myself. As I've started doing some work on my property I think I'm going to need more drainage help than I originally anticipated. So I will probably be digging more ditches than originally anticipated. Also I'm probably going to locate the house even further from the road and the utilities than I originally anticipated so that means more digging there too. I also have a couple of stumps that I'd like to remove that will be hard for me to pull out with my tractor due to their location. So I'm thinking about buying a used mini excavator and using it for what i need and then sell it. I can even use the excavator to dig the house foundation out. I know it will take a while to do it that way, but I'm not planning on actually starting construction on the house for well over a year, so if it takes me two weeks of nights and weekends to get my foundation dug with a mini excavator, so be it. If I factor in not having to rent a full size excavator for the foundation along with not renting a mini for all the trenching and drainage side projects then I should definitely be ahead of the game over the cost of renting all that equipment. Plus I have a fried that I used to work with that is always looking for someone with a backhoe or mini excavator to help him dig for water and sewer lateral replacement side jobs. I've helped him out in the past and a few $400 cash jobs for a Saturday morning's work would also go a long way to offset the cost of a mini excavator.

Oh I do have a question about looking at these machines as well? I'm pretty clear on what to look for with respect to track wear, but in general if a machine has a good 50% or more track life left and the pins and bushings all look pretty decent, and everything seems to run fine is 2,300 to 2,500 hours a lot of hours on a machine like a Kubota KX-71, 91 or 121, or say a Takeuchi 135? Thanks

 

[vettemanwight]

I bought a IHI 28J 5 yrs ago to do as you want to, did=g some ditches and dig out trees. Well I told the wife we would have it for 2 yrs get done what we want and sell it and get my money back..... well.... 5 yrs later and no plan in sight to sell itand its still worth about what I paid for it. The only problems was one injector and I changed all 3 for $100 and some hoses. I have also put 450 hrs on it so If you figure I paid rental of $20 per hr thats $9000 thats what I paid for it. So anything I sell it for is a +

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Lt Cheg I think you are on the right track for your needs. I bought the our JD full size backhoe because I was looking for a FEL for the 265 MF because the used BH complete with FEL and OK 60 HP tractor was only $2000 more money. After bushing hogging Friday in the tight/steep places we have I was VERY thankful the 265 MF gets to stay an naked 2 WD tractor that can turn on a dime.

Getting a more full size BH of smaller TH can make a lot of sense. After having the back hoe for a short while I can tell you a TH does interest me because you can keep moving and swing 360.

IF we had a good FEL set up already knowing what I know now at small TH would have been as good if not better choice. I expect a 30-40 HP unit would dig as much as our 13,000 pound BH.

Of course hours are always a concern but if the turn table, undercarriage was OK as well as other wear points I would not fret over more than 3000 hours. You can just look at the hours/price ratio and decide.

Clearly fewer hours in most cases are better BUT once in a blue moon someone will go to the expense to "fix up" a piece of equipment to keep for years that winds up on the market before they planned. They never fetch the purchase price + major rebuild but the value is there. POINT: More hours could be better than fewer hours.

 

[Lt CHEG]

Lt Cheg I think you are on the right track for your needs. I bought the our JD full size backhoe because I was looking for a FEL for the 265 MF because the used BH complete with FEL and OK 60 HP tractor was only $2000 more money. After bushing hogging Friday in the tight/steep places we have I was VERY thankful the 265 MF gets to stay an naked 2 WD tractor that can turn on a dime.

Getting a more full size BH of smaller TH can make a lot of sense. After having the back hoe for a short while I can tell you a TH does interest me because you can keep moving and swing 360.

IF we had a good FEL set up already knowing what I know now at small TH would have been as good if not better choice. I expect a 30-40 HP unit would dig as much as our 13,000 pound BH.

Of course hours are always a concern but if the turn table, undercarriage was OK as well as other wear points I would not fret over more than 3000 hours. You can just look at the hours/price ratio and decide.

Clearly fewer hours in most cases are better BUT once in a blue moon someone will go to the expense to "fix up" a piece of equipment to keep for years that winds up on the market before they planned. They never fetch the purchase price + major rebuild but the value is there. POINT: More hours could be better than fewer hours.

Thanks for the input. I know what you mean by sometimes finding a piece of equipment with higher hours that is in better shape than one with fewer hours. Recently I saw a Kubota mini excavator about in the 3.5 ton range going for a pretty good price. It was an older machine with a lot of hours but had a brand new engine and a lot of freshly rebuilt parts. It was going for about $8500 for a cabbed unit. I'm just not able to pull the trigger right now, but if I was, I likely would have picked that unit up in a heartbeat. As of now, I'd say that I'll likely concentrate on trying to find something with about 2500 hours or less, and with healthy drive motors and turntable and undercarriage. Also is $2000 to $2500 about right for a set of replacement rubber tracks? I suppose when I'm ready that I should not discount an otherwise nice machine in need of tracks as long as everything else is healthy and the price is discounted accordingly. Thanks again for the input. I know that digging a house foundation may be a big job for one of these mini excavators but using the machine to do that is probably one of the only ways that I'll be able to justify the purchase to my wife. I don't care if it takes me 60 hours to dig the foundation that would have taken me 6 hours to dig with a Cat 320 if it keeps me from renting the big machine. I can't work overtime or another job or anything, and I like playing with equipment so I'm not missing out on any money by taking longer to do a job by using a smaller piece of equipment. Plus I'm digging in clay and the area is not at all rocky so I don't have to worry about dealing with big boulders. I do think that a 3.5 ton unit can do the job, and I'm grateful for the advice I've been given thus far instead of just hearing discouragement from people that prefer to do things a different way. It's one of the great things about this forum.

 

[davygp38]

I am also looking to get a small excavator. I need to do some ditching, and stump removal. My concern, is that I won't be able to dig out stumps with a small excavator, compared to a full sized BH. I am not talking about monster stumps. I am talking 10-15inch stumps. Anyone want to recommend a mini excavator, or is an 80 horse BH the way to go. I have a kubota L4400, with a BH90, but it just can't do it very fast on those stumps.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Stumps can be slow go. Even larger trackhoes like to dig and fall them then take the log after the tree is down. The tree is the best stump puller.

At 13,000 pounds it is hard to keep from dragging the tractor on stabilizers when digging stumps but so far mine have pretty good size trees from 25 year old suckers so after a triangle dig they push over with the loader easier then a pure dig it out by the roots. Of course if the stumps are old and dead that can help.

I expect a dozer with a strong backhoe would be about best and the dipper bucket could flip them right out but metal tracks have to be hauled from point a to b.

 

[Ken45101]

Digging stumps out depends a LOT on whether it has a tap root or not. Trees without taproots are easy, especially if you do it before the tree is cut. Trees with taproots are a lot more challenging, a totally different world.

The first stump I took out with my KX-121 was a double stump with each stem about 20" diameter. It took me about 20-30 minutes to get it out.

It was an older machine with a lot of hours but had a brand new engine

I know diesel engines don't last forever, but they should last a long time if properly maintained. I'm always concerned when I see a mini ex or ss that has had an engine replaced. Makes me wonder if they didn't maintain the equipment.

Ken

 

[niemeyjt]

I have Takeuchi TB125 - 2.8 ton - with the long dipper arm. This is heaviest machine that can be towed on a normal trailer in Europe.

I just fitted a semi-automatic quick-hitch - which is still very nice - I have to leave cab once to fit a bucket and once to release it. There have been safety scares over here with buckets dropping off some types of fully automatic hitches causing injuries and death.

Bigger would certainly have helped me reach into a pond I was clearing, and would have more power for digging out stumps - however I have been transplanting smaller trees and bushes recently and have found a rake bucket to be superb for this. So another thing - look at buckets you want to use as well.

I have also had to work around the house and even on rubber tracks, it does chew up grass. SWMBO is not happy! Also, at 1.5M wide, it is a tight fit in certain places, and as it is not zero tail swing, I have to be very careful. Another issue on size is that the width of the dipper arm will determine the size of the smallest bucket you can fit for things like trenching.

J

 

[Ken45101]

I have Takeuchi TB125 - 2.8 ton - with the long dipper arm. This is heaviest machine that can be towed on a normal trailer in Europe.

Out of curiosity, what do you mean by "a normal trailer"?

Ken

 

[SARG]

I would love to have one. Last week a friend "of a friend" brought his Bobcat mini excavator over and made a 21 x 87 foot barn disappear in about six hours. Eleven 12 yard dumpsters worth of wood and rolled roofing.

And with the push blade it does a fair job as a bulldozer. Remarkable tool that I'd like to have ....... especially with a thumb attached.

 

[20 20]

I am also looking to get a small excavator. I need to do some ditching, and stump removal. My concern, is that I won't be able to dig out stumps with a small excavator, compared to a full sized BH. I am not talking about monster stumps. I am talking 10-15inch stumps. Anyone want to recommend a mini excavator, or is an 80 horse BH the way to go. I have a kubota L4400, with a BH90, but it just can't do it very fast on those stumps.

One word will sum up a small excavator digging stumps........TIME! I have a 4000lb machine, it is small, but I have dug more stumps then I care to remember. I have used bigger excavators which will pop stumps quick. I have dug 30" diameter stumps out with my mini, it takes time. Of course these stumps are so big it is easier to hook onto the stump and pull with a tractor{dozer etc...} to move them out of the hole. I can roll them out by using the bucket also on the mini if needed. So to answer your question YES a mini will remove stumps it just depends on size time and depth/soil. A BH is fine if that is what you have or want but nothing beats the versatility of an excavator. Also lb for lb an excavator will walk all over a BH . Most mini's will easily out perform much bigger BH's.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Our BH is 13,000 but the hydraulics and time to move are limiting factors for sure. Loosing the 24" bucket for a 12" I expect would help.

What I am digging are sucker out stumps with about 25 years of growth so I dig a triange about 3' deep and push them over with the bucket so far.

As a guess a 7500 trackhoe would dig as well cutting roots and run circles around me when it came to moving to the next spot to dig.