Excavator/pond/thoughts?????

Fuddyduddy1952 · 2025-11-12T21:22:07-0500

On my place I have a really good spring. It's about 60 feet uphill from my creek. If I follow upstream along creek I put in a large culvert pipe and there's a road going through woods across it to another pasture. Also next to spring is a road I put in, RR ballast & gravet that crosses creek. Creek is on bedrock and that short road is very steep but ok (you can walk up it).
A few years ago I had a friend/neighbor put in a very small pond (about 30'x60') that WAS about 10ft deep. 6" PVC overflow pipe down 11ft, Y elbow, out 20ft.
I pump out of it to a tank when we had a drought, water trees, etc.
The problem is it's filling with dirt, the overflow pipe is leaking around it and since he trenched down to pipe it's washing out. At pond height my road branches off and it's washing out.
I had another excavator fix the homeplace driveway, then I had him look at this as I want to make pond bigger. He said it was never done right, he would dig down to bedrock and larger overflow done properly.
Then our area had a flood, washed out homeplace driveway, I paid all over again (not his fault)...but free tractor time. So now I've called a few times, never returns my calls, I think he's pixxed at me.
(Sorry so complicated).
So I'm faced with a few choices:
1) Probably get the guy eventually talk to me and small but better/larger pond will be $15K-$25K.
2) Friend/neighbor do it by my instructions (I know him...he'll do it but prefers "his way"

Probably $10K (? may be ok?)
3) I can buy a mini-Ex, do it myself, this one has a Kubota diesel motor...great reviews, $20K but will it do it?
4) I can buy a new Kubota at cost (another friend)...wife says who cares the price...it's always worth $$$.
My point is I can use the Ex for lots of other things. I have a tractor with FEL & 9.5' backhoe...but not like an Ex.
Thanks any thoughts.

Fuddyduddy1952 · 2025-11-12T21:22:53-0500

Disregard last schematic picture.

Jstpssng · 2025-11-12T22:22:50-0500

Why are you even asking? Anytime you can buy a new piece of equipment the answer is obvious.

jjeff · 2025-11-13T07:02:31-0500

Ok I have a mini x jd 26 g and ponds I use the mini x to dig and angle caving pond banks from solid ground along shore. And digging out the channel that connects the two small ponds. I didn't do it this year cuz the Water was so low. Both ponds are fairly deep and unlined. Local fruit growers irrigate with ground water and several active sand mining operations have decimated water levels imo. Anyways the minix despite having rubber tracks does not have close the the traction or stability as my former 326 steel track over tire ss. My point is if your using a small excavator to dig or repair a pond be extremely cautious or you may bury the thing or worse. I use my mini x for pond restoration and it's smaller size excels at other projects where smaller equipment is way better to accomplish tasks. but if it had a longer boom it would be much easier and better to work on my ponds. I dig along the banks and channel making piles than use the loader on my old l2850 to move the nutrient rich sand to about 10 acres of fields grading it with loader, back blade or my new cheap Chinese box bladefor future planting of Xmas trees.

Carl_NH · 2025-11-13T09:04:03-0500

Fuddy - Door #4 would be my choice a new Kubota mini at cost and get one with at least 10' reach or digging depth (U35 KX33 or KX40 8-10K machines) You can run it for 2-3 years and sell it for what you paid. Yes, its going to cost 2X the Typhoon probably but a lot more machine.

The Typhoon 2.7T is a nice machine but 8' digging depth is a limitation since your BH is 9.5' (I have the 1.8T 3500Lbs) Typhon min ex and a Kubota B21 7.5' digging depth and both are similar in digging depth. The quality of the Typhoon is good but not refined like Kubota - things like flow rate 35LPM or 9GPM. Another option for China a mini $26K is CFG STE 35SR made by Shantui a big Mfg in China 2.8 Ton, Yanmar Diesel Engine Mini Excavator w/ Hydraulic Thumb | CFG-STE35SR

In my case the mini is the lifting and digging tool, and the TLB is the transport tool. For larger jobs best to have two people - one to dig the other to transport spoils.

EddieWalker · 2025-11-13T09:44:13-0500

Digging is easy, the real work is in moving the dirt to where it needs to be. I've always wanted an excavator, but it's too limited at what it can do for me. I went with a full sized backhoe. It doesn't dig as good as an excavator, but it still digs really good. The big advantage is that I can carry a yard of dirt fairly quickly on tires to where I want it. If you have an excavator, you need something else to carry the dirt. I can also remove my front bucket and put on a grapple or pallet forks. The grapple gets more use then the bucket because I use the backhoe to clear trees more then anything else since digging my two ponds.

gsganzer · 2025-11-13T10:03:18-0500

When I had my pond dug, they used an excavator and dozer in tandem. The excavator digs and loosens, while the dozer spread the spoils. The dozer pushed the spoils out in a straight line from the pond, like the spokes on a wheel. It was really efficient.

D&D · 2025-11-13T10:24:33-0500

Fuddyduddy1952 said:
On my place I have a really good spring. It's about 60 feet uphill from my creek. If I follow upstream along creek I put in a large culvert pipe and there's a road going through woods across it to another pasture. Also next to spring is a road I put in, RR ballast & gravet that crosses creek. Creek is on bedrock and that short road is very steep but ok (you can walk up it).
A few years ago I had a friend/neighbor put in a very small pond (about 30'x60') that WAS about 10ft deep. 6" PVC overflow pipe down 11ft, Y elbow, out 20ft.
I pump out of it to a tank when we had a drought, water trees, etc.
The problem is it's filling with dirt, the overflow pipe is leaking around it and since he trenched down to pipe it's washing out. At pond height my road branches off and it's washing out.
I had another excavator fix the homeplace driveway, then I had him look at this as I want to make pond bigger. He said it was never done right, he would dig down to bedrock and larger overflow done properly.
Then our area had a flood, washed out homeplace driveway, I paid all over again (not his fault)...but free tractor time. So now I've called a few times, never returns my calls, I think he's pixxed at me.
(Sorry so complicated).
So I'm faced with a few choices:
1) Probably get the guy eventually talk to me and small but better/larger pond will be $15K-$25K.
2) Friend/neighbor do it by my instructions (I know him...he'll do it but prefers "his way"
Probably $10K (? may be ok?)
3) I can buy a mini-Ex, do it myself, this one has a Kubota diesel motor...great reviews, $20K but will it do it?
4) I can buy a new Kubota at cost (another friend)...wife says who cares the price...it's always worth $$$.
My point is I can use the Ex for lots of other things. I have a tractor with FEL & 9.5' backhoe...but not like an Ex.
Thanks any thoughts.

I would rent/buy a fullsize TLB extendahoe. Travel and cycle times on those smaller machines is slooow, not enough reach, etc

Fuddyduddy1952 · 2025-11-13T11:47:51-0500

My close friend/neighbor is an excavator by trade...he just doesn't know about ponds. He has a 19ft Kubota steel tracked excavator and Bobcat skid steer.