I am very new to Mini Ex's and was wondering if there is a good place to do some reading on the proper operation of Mini Ex's. The do this not this type of stuff. I am not operating professionally (hope to at some point in the future) but want to keep learning and becoming a better operator and was looking for some information. Also any thought on the matter is greatly appreciated. Thanks
Check out YouTube. Caterpillar, Deere, Bobcat and others as well have safe operating procedure videos. There are plenty of what not to do videos as well. Definitely wear your seat belt and don't dig off the side of the tracks would be my first tips. Blade is best behind when digging, in contact with the ground for stability. This allows the deepest excavation. Blade could be in front if working on a slope, pond bank or pulling out a stump.
Solid advice. I personally like the blade in front of me since I can usually pull harder than the tracks can hold. If I need to see or dig deeper, I'll put the blade behind me. Take your time, and start off practicing. Watch some videos and you will start to notice tips and tricks.
What size machine are you going to be using?
Thank you for the idea of looking at video by the manufactures - didn't really give that a thought. I always dug over the blade but mostly I am not working too deep so I never gave that a thought. I am still a little unclear on where the final drives should be when digging and what is bad. As for size - Looking at something around 7000lbs (used machine) - sort of liking the Kubota KX71 (we have a bunch of Kubota Eqpt and some good dealers fairly close by). Thanks for the information and please feel free to keep it coming.
There are so many tips: I use my flying experience and carry over some good ideas from that. When a rookie, I had a mental checklist. Preflight: Check fluids, walk around, bucket bolts tight, tracks tension-ed properly, grease. If I get into a tip over situation, hands off, engine off (thankfully I never got there, but came close many times). I play in mountainous terrain, and slope management is always top of mind. I always try to keep blade and arm in front of me. Many times I have to use both to climb back up a hill. I saw a great Youtube vid on hill climbing in a mini (worth watching). Many times I have to carry heavy loads to the side, but if you keep load close to ground, you can't tip. Where I've run into problems, is sunlight glare around slash piles. I've ripped off my aux hose twice because I couldn't see with the sun low and of course, a log sticking out of pile wanted said hose. Avoid high speed turns, unless you like replacing your rollers. Blade on ground while digging or whatnot saves your back...even then, I sometimes feel like I am on a bull. Being 360 situationally aware at times will save you from expensive repairs or killing someone. I nurse my machine (aka Bobby) in hot weather. You can easily work a small machine into a overheat condition by being speedy Gonzales. I keep an eye on temps, and once it gets up there, I take a break...a couple minutes at idle, with hydraulics disengaged will cool things down. Sometimes, I'll open lids to allow more air in. When working on bedrock, I keep an eye on my teeth. I have lost many teeth, but I've also recovered many because I was watching for it. Saves a few bucks. I've learned my lesson on using buckets as battering rams...don't. You'll crack the bucket. I've had good success finding an erratic (glacial rounded rock - hard rock), and using it as a rock crusher...from 10ft or so high I drop it on whatever I want to pulverize. When taking down trees, I always find it easier to not cut the tree down and then try to dig out root. I dig half the roots out on side I want push on, then with digging bucket up high, push. Most of time, I don't need accurate drop zone. If I do, then I chainsaw (backside cut is cut short) and use Bobby to drop it exactly where I need to (handy if your near something you don't want crushed). blah blah blah...
Do not use the bucket as a battering ram in rock. ⛏
You can get away with a lot of "side-sweeping" in light material .. on clean up & finish work ..... but absolutely avoid sweeping sideways & bashing into stuff !!! That will be the fastest way to destroy a hoe.
Blade in the back will give you stablity and smaller minis will not push the bucket in the dirt without that. When trenching in septic systems years ago, we were able to dig farther between moves with the blade behind. When minis come back from rental with the freaking boom cylinder guard tore up or tore off they said it was from digging deep over the blade. I believe the Cat mini ex video recommends the blade in the back for smaller machines. Not sure what the cutoff is.
I was thinking I would want the blade towards where I was digging for more stability. Guess I had that completely backwards! Thanks for the info. Is it ok for me to push the dirt back in the trench/hole by side sweeping or is it better to doze it in with the blade? Does one cause less wear on the machine than the other. These are the things that guys like me that are very new to these machines can really benefit from!
On a 7K lb machine having the blade towards the front will give you better breakout force with the bucket. Think about the physics, the bucket is digging in hard ground and pulling the machine down towards the ditch or excavation, the blade gives resistance towards the cut. With the blade to the rear it offers no such resistance other than extra counterweight which isn't much. I prefer digging with blade forwards on a mini for these reasons for most applications. If you're excavating a deep trench the machine can be repositioned in order to see the cut better and not hit the blade. It's quicker to backfill with the blade than side sweeping with the boom if you're able to do so. Now for advice for a novice, get the machine in an open area with no obstructions or utilities and operate it - that's how all seasoned operators learned, one stick/lever pull at a time.
That is exactly what I did, the only problem is the first time I ever was on one that lasted 10 minutes. Then it was off to dig a water feature and drop a 80 tree - lucky everything worked out great but not really how I wanted to learn!! Figure if I buy something I will have a ton of time to practice and I have several buddies that want some dump little jobs done on their farms so that may help me learn. I hope to get a fair amount of practice using it to set rocks for some retaining walls - figure that will help me get the thumb operation down and precession placement. I just want to make sure I don't do anything stupid and break something including myself! Thanks again for all the information
I'm with CM on this one. In all instances except going deep, digging with the blade down in front of the machine offers a lot more breakout power, it's more stable and more comfortable on the operator. Besides those advantages, if the customer happens to be watching, you won't look like some hack with all of that herky jerky bouncing around.
Cat recomends for machines under the 2 ton mark that the blade be behind the machine when digging, it acts as a reverse outrigger, helps to keep the front of the machine from coming off the ground. However for your size machine it should be in front
Thanks all! I am really looking forward to getting a machine and starting on all my projects. This idea of not lifting rocks to build walls is also super appealing!
Digging over the blade or in back. Guess it doesn't matter which way you dig, you can still damage the boom cylinder guard. The customer hit the tie down loop in the back when digging deep with the new Deere 17G mini. Went out with 3 hours, came back with 8 hours and this beautiful gouge. Said he didn't even notice hitting it. :Banghead My advice to the OP was basically to avoid damage to guard or cylinder.
Ouch - that left a mark!! Don't want to do that!
Haha, I have to second that! My first go was when I saw a sticker on a mini (331) saying rent-me! It was a block from my place, so I drove it home. Had to dig 100 holes to plant 6-8' cedars. Area was generally clear of obstructions, like houses and trees. It was good practice, digging a 100 holes in hard packed glacial till/blasted rock. Still, I almost managed to turtle myself on several occasions. I'd get too comfortable with the digging motion, and not being seasoned, I would jam the boom into the ground, lifting excavator front end off ground. The sudden jerking upwards, would make matters worse, as my body would lurch forward, causing my left hand to push the boom into the dirt even more. I'd panic, of course, and use my right hand on arm or curl and roll back some more....this is how I came up with the novel idea that I ought to remove hands from controls, recollect my wits, and slowly bring myself back to earth. I did that a number of times, in the beginning. Eventually, one works that bug out, once your properly hardwired upstairs.