Mini Excavator

[yoderjac]

Well, I ran into a glitch. When they took it into the shop to check it out before the sale, the monitor died. The shop is so booked up that they are going to send the machine to another location that has an opening in the shop. So, it look like it will be a few more days.

 

[yoderjac]

Well, I ran into a glitch. When they took it into the shop to check it out before the sale, the monitor died. The shop is so booked up that they are going to send the machine to another location that has an opening in the shop. So, it look like it will be a few more days.

They replaced the monitor with a new one and are checking everything out again. Turns out they did not have to send it to another location. Looks like I'll be picking it up in the morning.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[yoderjac]

Well, I got it! I picked it up this morning. The weight with the long-arm and counter weight is about 9,000 lbs, so I was a bit worried about trailering it. I put the extra buckets in the bed so I didn't make things worse. I was surprised at just how well it trailered. I drove about 80 miles to the farm and then another 12 to my retirement property. I spent the afternoon playing with in working on the driveway. I couldn't get the wedge bolt loose to chance buckets. I only had an adjustable wrench. Tomorrow, I'll take over a breaker bar and socket and give it another try. I just used the 24" digging bucket that was on it for today.

I need a lot more time to get the muscle memory down. Unlike my FEL, I need to think about how to move the controls to do what I want. So far, I really like it.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[breddick]

Jack, I think I mentioned it earlier in the thread but yes the muscle memory will come... but there are exponentially more coordinated movements given you’re working two joysticks.

there’s a reason when someone talks about a person being a “good operator” they’re not talking about on the front end loader. The better you get the more fun it is. It will eventually be like riding a bike and you’ll not even have to think about it at all.

 

[yoderjac]

Jack, I think I mentioned it earlier in the thread but yes the muscle memory will come... but there are exponentially more coordinated movements given you’re working two joysticks.

there’s a reason when someone talks about a person being a “good operator” they’re not talking about on the front end loader. The better you get the more fun it is. It will eventually be like riding a bike and you’ll not even have to think about it at all.

You are absolutely right. My neighbor has a backhoe. I worked on his crew to do my power trenching for the barn. I was absolutely amazed at how he operated the machine. He operated that button like a scalpel. Beyond his precision, the techniques he used were superb. I was able to watch videos to learn what techniques to use for what. The skills to execute them even half as good as he can will take lots of time in the seat.

But the good news is, it won't be long until I retire fully and have the time!

Thanks,

Jack

 

[rocksnstumps]

Well that's a nice looking unit. Is the thumb hydraulic or manual? Do most units come already with the hydraulic circuits from the factory to add that later? Just trying to learn a few things.

Reading this thread makes me want to scratch that backhoe itch I've had for awhile but will see. Like you would rather get something that I can drive and look at vs an auction online and several states away. Was drooling over a JD 310E in the corner of Menards parking lot for winter snow removal just the other day. Maybe I can offer to store it at my place for the summer for them , lol.

 

[yoderjac]

It is a factory hydraulic thumb. I think most being made today in this class are setup, but with the older units. It depends on the brand an unit. Some have the axillary hydraulics and a place for the cylinder. Some just have secondary hydraulics and you have to weld on the thumb.

I ended up buying from a dealer. They leased this machine. When it was returned, they put it on their short-term rental fleet for a short while.

I spent the entire day on it today. I'm starting to get the hang of it. I was mostly grading around the new barn. I had a bit of an issue removing the bucket. The bolt came out with a breaker bar and not too much fuss, but the wedge was really jammed in there. It took a lot of persuasion and help from my neighbor (who had tools) to pop it out. This was my first bucket swap. My neighbor stuck around and helped direct from the ground. Looks like I'm going to need to carry more tools than just the socket wrench to change buckets.

I got a chance to use my inclinometer. I wanted a 3 to 5 degree slope away from the barn for drainage. I swung the bucket to 90 degrees and pulled up to the overhang. I attached the magnetic inclinometer to the bottom of the front crossbar on the rops. I simply dropped the blade until it read between 3 and 5 degrees. That gave me my bucket angle. I kept the high side of the bucket at surface level and just raked back. I then moved out a half bucket width at a time and repeated the process. I worked my way from the low end of the barn to the high end doing it. It seems to work OK. I'll know more when we get the next good rain.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[WeedyJ]

It is a factory hydraulic thumb. I think most being made today in this class are setup, but with the older units. It depends on the brand an unit. Some have the axillary hydraulics and a place for the cylinder. Some just have secondary hydraulics and you have to weld on the thumb.

I ended up buying from a dealer. They leased this machine. When it was returned, they put it on their short-term rental fleet for a short while.

I spent the entire day on it today. I'm starting to get the hang of it. I was mostly grading around the new barn. I had a bit of an issue removing the bucket. The bolt came out with a breaker bar and not too much fuss, but the wedge was really jammed in there. It took a lot of persuasion and help from my neighbor (who had tools) to pop it out. This was my first bucket swap. My neighbor stuck around and helped direct from the ground. Looks like I'm going to need to carry more tools than just the socket wrench to change buckets.

I got a chance to use my inclinometer. I wanted a 3 to 5 degree slope away from the barn for drainage. I swung the bucket to 90 degrees and pulled up to the overhang. I attached the magnetic inclinometer to the bottom of the front crossbar on the rops. I simply dropped the blade until it read between 3 and 5 degrees. That gave me my bucket angle. I kept the high side of the bucket at surface level and just raked back. I then moved out a half bucket width at a time and repeated the process. I worked my way from the low end of the barn to the high end doing it. It seems to work OK. I'll know more when we get the next good rain.

Thanks,

Jack

Congrats. I can't justify an excavator right now, but I look around and see a million reasons to have one! Are we just born that way??? :-)

 

[yoderjac]

Congrats. I can't justify an excavator right now, but I look around and see a million reasons to have one! Are we just born that way??? :-)

I think we are. Here was my logic and justification. We have a pine farm with lots of logging roads. Some are hilly and have worn out waterbars. Others are flat where water pools. They are in sad shape right now, but once fixed properly they should last for a long time. I just bought a retirement property that has about 1/4 mile of driveway roughed in. That will need work. We will be building a new hous next to the barn at the retirement property in a couple years that will need trenching and stuff.

Meanwhile I have an old Kioti tractor that I use for farm work. I really worked it hard with the FEL in early years clearing for plots and stuff, so it will need to be replaced. So, my thinking was this. If I take some load off the kioti buy using the excavator for heavy tasks it should last longer for food plot tasks. These min-excavators seem to hold most of their value as long as they are well maintained. So, my plan is to use it for the next 3-5 years to get the work done I need done. Once they roads are fixed, a rear blade should be enough to maintain them. So, I'll sell the mini-excavator and Kioti and buy a new tractor with the money.

WIll it happen that way? Who knows...but that is the plan.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[breddick]

My E42 did not come with the thumb when I bought it last year. It was plumbed for it from factory though.

Bobcat E42-E45-E50-E55-E60 Pin-on Hydraulic Excavator thumb w/ Hoses

This turn-key thumb kit fits Bobcat E42, E45, E50, E55 and E60 mini-excavators using the Bobcat factory xchange system. See our other products or contact us if you need a thumb for a different machine, have an "extend-a-hoe stick" or have an aftermarket coupler. OEM-style two tine 13" wide...

showtimefab.com

bought the thumb with everything needed (hoses / pins / etc). Took me a couple hours to install. Love it.

 

[yoderjac]

Yes, I'm really glad I got the thumb with mine!

 

[yoderjac]

I've been learning pretty quickly and getting the hang of it. I don't have a tilt bucket and wanted to grade around the structure and my roads at 3 to 5 degrees. I'm not sure how you are supposed to do that, but here is what I did. First, I bought an inclinometer:


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077T7XW7X/

It is magnetic, so I stuck it on the ROPS frame in front of the seat. It gives me the angle of the ROPS frame which should be the same angle as the bucket. Next, I spun the station 90 degrees from the tracks. I then dropped the blade and tilted the until until the inclinometer read about 3 degrees or so. I the extended the bucket starting at the high side of the grade. I then raked the grading bucket back toward me keeping the grading blade just touching the soil on the high side. I then moved laterally another bucket width and repeated the process.

This method took a while, but gave me a nice consistent grade.

How do other folks with excavators grade. I'd love to hear some tips.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[jsasker007]

I use the blade for grading.

 

[yoderjac]

I use the blade for grading.

This one does have an angle blade, but I'm not good enough with it yet to get good results with final grading. It is great for me to rough things in if I'm filling low spots but it only has a left right angle. I can see where I could grade with a 6-way blade. I think the competing Kubota has a model with one.

I'd live to hear your technique for grading with the blade. It would probably be faster. Hopefully I can learn something.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[jsasker007]

I'm far from a pro. I just putz here and there on my own land so i only have to live up to my standards and no one else even sees what i do. Some projects i do try to make it look good and the others are for function only(ugly). I use the blade because that's what i have. No idea if it's the best option but it's an option that will help me move dirt without much manual labor. Probably half of my projects i would advise other people against doing because it's not real safe. Some machines have a float function when you go backwards you just push the lever all the way forward to drop the blade or bucket and the machine applies even pressure downward. Just sayin' for guys that haven't done it yet--nice feature. Push the lever all the way forward when going forward and you just keep digging deeper or lifting the front of the machine. Seat time is the best way to learn.

 

[yoderjac]

I'm far from a pro. I just putz here and there on my own land so i only have to live up to my standards and no one else even sees what i do. Some projects i do try to make it look good and the others are for function only(ugly). I use the blade because that's what i have. No idea if it's the best option but it's an option that will help me move dirt without much manual labor. Probably half of my projects i would advise other people against doing because it's not real safe. Some machines have a float function when you go backwards you just push the lever all the way forward to drop the blade or bucket and the machine applies even pressure downward. Just sayin' for guys that haven't done it yet--nice feature. Push the lever all the way forward when going forward and you just keep digging deeper or lifting the front of the machine. Seat time is the best way to learn.

I have a float function on my FEL and I love it. Unfortunately, I don't have one on the mini-ex blade. That means I need to adjust the height of the blade either going forward and pushing dirt or cutting or backdragging.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[jsasker007]

You can grade with a 2 way blade it just takes a few different angles at it. Start by making it higher in the center and that puts your machine on an angle if you keep one track riding higher the rest will just follow suit. Just need to scrape up a little material to create a high spot. You can also tale slope out just by dropping the blade more and taking a level pass.

 

[yoderjac]

You can grade with a 2 way blade it just takes a few different angles at it. Start by making it higher in the center and that puts your machine on an angle if you keep one track riding higher the rest will just follow suit. Just need to scrape up a little material to create a high spot. You can also tale slope out just by dropping the blade more and taking a level pass.

Ahhh... Good advice. I kind of do that to get things roughed in, but then I go to tilting the machine and using the inclinometer to get everything to the slope I want. Maybe as I get better with the blade, I won't need that step.

 

[jsasker007]

The good part is when you make a mistake you get to fix it too. Diesel therapy.

 

[yoderjac]

The grading bucket/inclinometer method is pretty much subtractive. When I can keep one corner of the bucket barely on the ground and rake, I get a very nice cut with a pretty precise angle, but the bucket is only 3' wide. It takes multiple passes with overlap to get much distance. I think grading loose dirt is different. I find it hard to keep the bucket at an even height if it is not pushing on solid ground.

I saw an interesting video where I guy screwed a couple 2x10s together, picked it up with the thumb, and used it to grade loose dirt. It seemed to work pretty well and you could get a much wider swath graded in one pass. It won't cut like the bucket, but it seems like a good idea. I may give it a try. He said you only get a couple projects done before the wood looses it edge. If I found an old broken down 8' rear blade with a good cutting edge, I'd be tempted to make something I could pick up and put down with the thumb as needed.

...just thinking...