Hello all, I am new to the forum and looking to purchase an excavator but have no knowledge of the requirements I should be looking for. As an electrical contractor, I am mainly looking to dig trenches 10"-12" wide and 4-5' deep. I also am not sure how to describe the soil and clay in the Northern Illinois/Chicago area that I live in. Top soil easy to dig for maybe 1' depth max, then the clay is very dense no matter how deep you go. Maybe someone here can help describe it better. My questions are: 1. Will any very small excavator be capable of digging these soils for 4' trenches/holes, as well as possibly small crawl space/trench foundation areas? 2. Are there affordable electric versions out there? I may have interior digging jobs as well where the exhaust would be an issue but this is just a possibility. I have seen some IHI 240V excavators but they seem to be hard to find. A lithium ion battery excavator would be great but would be way out of my price range I think. I do not want to spend more than $15k and am willing to purchased used Thank you all for the help Pete
Rent. Yor 15k will get you a nightmare of a machine that would struggle in the heavy clay soil, and cost a whole bunch more to keep going. For that kind of material you want at least a 1.7 to 2.5 ton machine.
A smaller machine will take more skill to operate efficiently, and will take a little longer. You're probably not digging long distances, so I wouldn't be afraid of a small one. $15K would be tough to find something from what I've seen. At the bottom of the market, they DON'T get cheaper with smaller size. For 15 you could get any size you want, they'd all have lots of issues, but the big ones will have much more likelihood of a major repair. Harder to have a $30,000 failure on a micro excavator than an 40 tonner.
I agree with the guys here, $15K will get you a machine that's pretty well wore out. As for size, I'd get the largest machine you can move with your equipment, although for interior work size will be a limiting factor.
Thank you all for the advice. Much appreciated. My main concern is also buying a machine that wouldn't be strong enough to dig this clay we have here. Does anyone have any advice on that?
Good day Skyking has good advice to try before you buy, that way you will know which machine to find. Kind regards Uffex
We always used a skid steer with backhoe attachment for this type work. Much more functional all around than a mini excavator.
Just like digging by hand with a shovel. If the shovel is sharp, and you take small bites, you can dig through tough clay. Almost any size excavator will be able to stall out the stick and boom by digging too aggressively in hard soil, that's where the skill comes in to take a couple inch deep scoop at the right angle to fill the bucket, but not pack it because you won't get the clay out if you pack it into the bucket.
yes that is the particular curse of the narrow bucket too.
If you are just doing trenching work and you don't have a lot of rock a skid loader and trencher might work better. The comments regarding 15k machines would apply here as well though.