Which bucket for Kubota BH92 - 16" or 18"?

[Rick_Morrell]

I'm looking to trade up in both tractor size and attachments, and one of the things I'm curious about (and would love some feedback on) is which size bucket to go with. I don't have a specific task in front of me, other than digging up nuisance trees on the property (the trees are mostly small buckthorns and are typically <10" at the base of the trunk). I'm sure I'll wind up doing some trenching at a later date, but nothing is pending at the moment. Also, I'm not interested in buying both as it seems like a waste of money when they're so close in size.

 

[4570Man]

I had a 12” and a 18” for my BH-90. The 12 was much better for digging stumps. Either bucket was fine for trenching. The 18 was way better for digging holes. Given the choice I’d have a ripper and a 18” bucket.

 

[Oldoak]

I bought a 16" bucket with my BH-92 last year. I think it's the ideal "all purpose" bucket for that size backhoe. Plenty big enough for trenching and digging holes. And the 16" bucket having only has three teeth, it still makes a good root ripper when it comes to digging out tree stumps. In fact thus far, I've spent more time digging out tree stumps, a few 24"+ in Dia., then I have digging holes or trenching.

I could see where the 18" bucket, with it's larger capacity would be better for digging holes. A ripper and an 18" bucket would be ideal. I searched and could not find any manufacturer that sold a ripper tooth to fit a Kubota BH-92 backhoe.

 

[ning]

I'm looking to trade up in both tractor size and attachments, and one of the things I'm curious about (and would love some feedback on) is which size bucket to go with. I don't have a specific task in front of me, other than digging up nuisance trees on the property (the trees are mostly small buckthorns and are typically <10" at the base of the trunk). I'm sure I'll wind up doing some trenching at a later date, but nothing is pending at the moment. Also, I'm not interested in buying both as it seems like a waste of money when they're so close in size.

Smaller is better for stumps, bigger for holes.... assuming that there's not too much rock where you're digging holes. If there's lots of big rocks, you may be better off with a narrower bucket for holes, too.

 

[Henro]

I do not think the difference is worth asking about.

Get the 18 inch.

I got a 10 inch 16 inch with my backhoe and afterwards wished I had went with a 12 & 24 ( or maybe 16 & 24?)

Since you are only getting one, and the difference is so little, go with the larger one. It is what I would do. YMMV naturally.

 

[Rick_Morrell]

Thanks to all for taking time to provide input; I very much appreciate it.

 

[3Ts]

One more consideration - if you dig a trench, use a bucket wide enough so you can stand in the trench and turn around. I makes it a whole lot easier to lay pipe, etc. Typically 16" would be a minimum for that and 18" would be better. If you have big pipe, then bigger bucket will be needed.

I agree with the ripper and 18" bucket.

And if anyone comes across a ripper for a JD 485 backhoe, please let me know. It looks like I will have to make one.

 

[4570Man]

I do not think the difference is worth asking about.

Get the 18 inch.

I got a 10 inch 16 inch with my backhoe and afterwards wished I had went with a 12 & 24 ( or maybe 16 & 24?)

Since you are only getting one, and the difference is so little, go with the larger one. It is what I would do. YMMV naturally.

If your soil is nice loose topsoil you might be ok but otherwise a tractor backhoe will suffer with a 24”. My 18” was a good match for my BH90. I’ve got a 36” on my 310 and it does good on regular dirt but it’s a workout in hard dirt.

 

[Gary253]

thanks all this helped me as well.