Small excavator - how to choose a good mini excavator?

Mini excavators can add versatility to landscape design, construction and remodeling jobs. They also enable to complete projects that require working in limited space or more mobility than a traditional excavator can offer. Users of mini excavators claim that getting the most out of them starts with careful decision-making at the time of purchase.

What size of a mini excavator should you go for? What power will provide best performance? What maximum digging depth will you require? These are all things to consider when choosing the best small excavator for your needs.

In this article, we'll discuss in detail what makes mini excavators so highly regarded and help answer any questions you may have before buying one.

What to consider when choosing a mini excavator?

How to choose the right mini excavator? Once you're convinced of the benefits of owning a mini excavator instead of, say, a backhoe loader, it's important to make the right choice of a manufacturer and the model.

There are many different types of mini excavators available in the U.S. market, both new and used, and with such a wide selection to choose from, it's easy to get lost. When looking for the right equipment, consider the following factors.

Weight of the mini excavator

The small size of a mini excavator is just one of its advantages. The average mini excavator weighs no more than 13228 lbs, so it's perfect for places where heavy equipment can't go because of its weight.

Various manufacturers offer models with different weights. For example, the CAT brand produces mini excavators weighting between 2205 and 22046 lbs (e.g. CAT 302.5C 2008r weighing 5512 lbs) and JCB has a range of mini excavators in the 1764 to 22046 lbs weight range (e.g. JCB 8025 weighing 6019 lbs).

The weight of a mini excavator translates into digging depth, stability, additional equipment, or cab type and safety levels, among other factors.

Popular mini excavators on the market

Most popular mini excavators are those mostly preferred by companies and individual buyers not only around the world, but also in the United States. Here are some of the most popular brands that offer mini excavators:

BOBCAT

This American manufacturer specializes in the production of compact equipment for construction, agriculture, or road works. The greatest popularity in our country has been gained by two models of Bobcat mini excavators, the older 430 and the still produced E45 with a body that rotates perfectly in the contour of the machine.

Kubota

This company manufactures agricultural machinery, but also specializes in the production of mini excavators and midi-excavators. It offers dozens of models that differ in engine power, operating weight, bucket cutting force, and parameters such as maximum digging depth and maximum dump height.

If you are looking for a mini excavator for urban work, you can choose from the three most popular models, the KX018-4, KX016-4 or KX19-4. The KX41-3 model boasts the greatest digging depth in its weight class (7.8 ft.).

JCB mini excavators

The Hydradig series of mini excavators is recommended as ideal for the city. It performs particularly well in narrow places, close to walls, where the possibility of turning is severely limited (four-wheel steering mode or diagonal driving mode).

One of the recommended models is the JCB 8025 ZTS mini excavator, which, in addition to its compact shape and standard performance, is distinguished by easy access to mounted parts (tilting cab).

If you are looking for an easy to use and the most compact machine on the market, you might be interested in the JCB 19C-1 model. Thanks to its reduced size and simple design, you can use it for any work in narrow places and around fences. Safety is guaranteed by the JCB Livelink system.

Takeuchi

This manufacturer's mini excavators (models TB 216, TB 228, TB 235 and TB 260) are equipped with a Powertilt, a combination of a hydraulic quick coupler with a rotary motor. This makes the machine more stable, and in addition, it can be efficiently rotated by 180° without leaving the workplace.

Individual Takeuchi models applied interesting solutions such as hydraulic hoses for supplying external tools, a cargo hook, an overload alarm, and an upgraded chassis to limit excessive use.

CATerpillar

CATerpillar mini excavators have earned a reputation for high productivity and reliability, even in very tough conditions. The company manufactures mini excavators weighing 2205 to 22046 lbs and offers C, D and E series machines. Their small size will work well in hard-to-reach areas such as fences or walls. 

The C-Series 301.6C, 301.8C and 302.5C mini excavator models feature a spacious cab with plenty of legroom for the operator, suspension seats and adjustable wrist rests. This helps to ensure excellent visibility and comfort during long hours of work.

The D-Series mini excavators are powerful and ideal for working in confined spaces. The 301.7D, 302.2D and 302.4D are equipped with an auxiliary hydraulic system with bi-directional flow that can operate a hydraulic breaker and even bi-directional tools. Equipped with pilot control, which makes operation smooth and effortless.

The E Series, on the other hand, includes the 303.5E CR, 304E CR, 305E CR, 305.5E CR and 308E CR SB models. These mini excavators have a specially designed COMPASS digital control panel. In addition, the E-Series mini excavators are equipped with an economy mode function where proper speed control can reduce fuel consumption by up to 20%.

Small excavator for farming

While there are dozens of different types of heavy machinery available, such as compact track loaders, wheel loaders, and mini excavators, the latter are considered particularly useful for smaller farm jobs. They are ideal for navigating small spaces and can easily rotate a full 360 degrees. Mini excavators can also combine with a variety of attachments to increase the number of farming and agricultural tasks.

This type of smaller equipment is generally more fuel efficient, which can help reduce costs compared to larger and heavier machines. A mini excavator can help with a number of agricultural jobs and projects beyond daily production needs. The most common uses for this equipment are: construction, landscaping, putting up fences, removing soil, debris, and compacting soil.

Before you decide on a particular model, analyze what kind of surface you have on your farm. If the terrain is not difficult or demanding, a mini excavator on wheels should not have problems with moving around. Challenging terrains, wetlands, places that are often moist, are environments where tracked machines will perform better.

What to look for when buying construction equipment such as a mini excavator?

In addition to focusing on the scope of work and where it will be performed, when buying a mini excavator, consider:

- the terrain where the equipment will be used (size of terrain, type and level of difficulty of access, limited mobility),
- tracked or wheeled version: the choice is usually dictated by the type of surface,
- weight of the mini excavator: it affects the strength of the excavator, counterweight and transport options (excavators weighing up to 4409 lbs can be easily transported on a trailer),
- range, capability and work pace,
- machine capabilities: larger mini excavators will be able to perform a greater range of work (influenced by, among other things, maximum digging depth),
- operating conditions,
- availability of spare parts,
- customers' reviews.

New or used?

It's a good idea to rent a particular model of mini excavator to get an idea of how it performs on the job. Renting a mini excavator will allow you to see if this equipment is what you are looking for. Individual clients often buy used machines in good condition.

Demolition hammer, drilling rig, grapple - the choice of attachments for mini excavators

A wide range of attachments for mini excavators offers countless possibilities to use them for various construction, renovation and cleaning works. The compact size of these machines makes the attachments suitable for use in tight spaces.

A well-thought-out selection of attachments allows to significantly increase the functionality of a mini excavator, which makes it a good solution for people involved in various types of works.

Plumbing, paving, foundation digging, image shaping - whatever the job, simply choose the right attachments to complement your machine. So decide on a mini excavator that has the features to complete all your current and future jobs.

Grapple

The most popular accessory is the grapple. With its help you can easily move concrete elements, which allows, for example, to set a fence or lay a sidewalk. Despite the compact size of the mini excavator and the low weight of the grapple (about 132 lbs on average), you can move up to 441 lbs at a time.

Often the grapple is equipped with additional functions such as a 360° rotator and gripping more delicate parts can be facilitated by rubber jaws. An example of a mini excavator with this type of equipment would be Kubota Hunklinger S100.

Hydraulic hammer

Can be successfully used for smaller demolition works. Its light weight (about 198 lbs), simple design and easy operation make it an indispensable component of a mini excavator used by companies engaged in basic construction work.

The demolition hammer is hydraulically powered, and its power should be adjusted to the weight of the machine. The weight of the mini excavator to which the hammer can be attached is detailed in the hammer's technical specification.

For example, a MAD 90 breaker can be placed on a 3307-5512 lbs mini excavator. You should also consider how the breaker is attached (a hydraulic breaker can be purchased separately, choosing the model that works best for a specific job). It is standard for a mini excavator to be equipped with a quick coupler for mounting buckets.