I'm starting to shop for a full size excavator. In the past month I've spent almost $4000 in rental fees for a 200 size hoe, so now I'm starting to shop for one of my own. Having had the chance to run one quite a bit I've noticed they seem to have a ton of hydraulic hoses that would stack up to a huge repair cost and amount of down time to replace which brings me to the question of how old is too old? I'm looking in the 150-200 class. My budget to spend so far puts me in the 5-8K hour range. I know there are a ton of things that play into a machines general condition and worth but at what point do the hoses, seals and "rubber" components of a full size how start to dry rot and turn to junk. Looking for thoughts John
I usually figure anything around 6,000 to 7,000 hours of operation or about 7 years since new. The hoses usually start bleeding through the outer covers making a mess while the O rings get hard and flatten out. Any shock load at that point and they weep or blow completely. Good question.
That's hard to say as I have seen hydraulic hose that doesn't have to bend hard continuously last 20 years plus . I suppose if you find a machine you like and the hose looks weathered & rough might get an estimate from a hydraulic shop on what it would cost to replace the hose before purchase . Myself ... When looking at an older excavator the hydraulic hose is the last thing I would worry about . I'm more concerned with structural integrity of the car body & house & boom structure looking for cracks & old repairs . Look close at undercarriage ,engine , swing bearing and finals as those are areas that will cost the most to repair . I like to go look at them at a job site & let the owner run it while I set back & watch & listen to machine when possible .