Mini Excavator Stuff

[Roger440]

Nothing wrong with running older kit if you are handy with a spanner and mechanically sympathetic. Spares are thin on the ground and eye wateringly expensive for a lot of these older machines.

Bob

What Bob said^^^^

I had a late eighties 3t kubota. Sloppy, but did the job. Until the slew motor failed/leaked.

Major pain to get it out, and proper expensive to get fixed. Anything hydraulic usually is.

Running an old machine is a lottery.

 

[Roger440]

Was just called the 2CX and they did a variant called the StreetMaster (which I have) which was all the options ticked. Extradig, auxiliary hydraulics on the back actor and side (for hand tools). Hydraulic quick hitch on the front and 6 in 1 bucket.
View attachment 403364
If you had to have one machine I'd definitely be thinking strongly about a backhoe.

Bearing in mind this is a baby 2CX rather than a full size. Mine will out lift most tractors on the front loader (comfortable with 2t to 14ft). She'll fit down a 6ftish alleyway and dig right up next to the walls because of the side shift (something you would struggle to do with a similarly capable 360). The back actor will out dig most 5t 360s and turn within her own length due to the four wheel steering.

Downsides are she's a bit tippy on side slopes (but everything is) and very soft ground she'll make a right mess of (5.5t with no buckets). I find I use the loader and front bucket far more than the back actor. If I need to excavate an area and haul it away I tend to loosen up stuff with the back actor then use the loader to either load a trailer / dumper or simply cart it. If things are positioned right you'd need to have a 13 tonner or bigger to keep up with loading a trailer from a pile but those would outshine it if digging out of the ground.

They take skill to master but they are incredibly versatile machines as people have said but not particularly excellent at any one job (apart from possibly grading surfaces). If I didn't have the 2CX I'd be looking at 5t 360, a dumper truck and possibly a forklift to replace all the jobs that she can do. Not really suited for contract work but great for home use.

Hmmm, interesting.

Got a tractor, primariliy for grass cutting/flail etc.

But have other work to do, and was toying with getting another digger. But abything decent is bonkers money at the moment. Theres virtually no older stuff about either as its all exported.

This looks like a good option for occasional use on various small projects.

 

[gaz1]

and if you want homemade

 

[sako243]

Hmmm, interesting.

Got a tractor, primariliy for grass cutting/flail etc.

But have other work to do, and was toying with getting another digger. But abything decent is bonkers money at the moment. Theres virtually no older stuff about either as its all exported.

This looks like a good option for occasional use on various small projects.

The 2CX SiteMaster / StreetMaster aren't that common from what I've seen, well cheaply anyway. Also a real shame that JCB canned it in favour of the 3CX Compact which is just a bit bigger. If you have the space then the 3CX sized machines are far more readily available and cheaper.

The 2CX does appear to punch significantly above it's weight though.

 

[Roger440]

The 2CX SiteMaster / StreetMaster aren't that common from what I've seen, well cheaply anyway. Also a real shame that JCB canned it in favour of the 3CX Compact which is just a bit bigger. If you have the space then the 3CX sized machines are far more readily available and cheaper.

The 2CX does appear to punch significantly above it's weight though.

Thanks

Im familiar with the 3cx as the landlord at our old business place had one. But probably a touch large for me. That said, its roughly only a ton heavier than yours.

Ive only got 5 acres, and its all on clay so challenging in winter. Lighter the better.

Anyway, food for thought. Need to do something as hiring starts to add up fast.

The old kubota i had for 5 years. I lost £500 on £5k over that time. That would barely have covered 2 weekends of hire.

And delivery costs out here are a killer.

 

[plewlandsbob]

@8ob , thats a pretty broad generalisation, I live on the moray coast. We are a bit North, but we don't all live in caves, chiseled, out of the rocks .
It depends, where on the coast, the place is.
No offence taken and none meant

 

[Geoffm]

I have an old backhoe (Massy Fergie MF50 (MF165 tractor) with a locally made Trackgrip backhoe, about the size of a big JCB. I also have a Mitsibishi 5.5T excavator. The backhoe has the advantage of simplicity and ease of repair, without expensive track motors, tracks, hydraulic servo controls etc. It can get tot eh back of the farm many times faster than the digger. When it comes to earthworks, speed, convenience and everything else, the digger wins hands down by far. I can see the advantage of a JCB machine with loader and 4 in 1 bucket for versatility.
I have a tractor with front end loader as well. Good fro moving piles of stuff, but not for digging.

 

[henry Kadzielski]

My two cents worth. I had been looking for a while for a new toy. I thought that shouldn't be hard to get as there are so many used for sale, in the 5ish ton category. How hard could it be, low hours in good condition. Well as it turned out, bloody lot harder, so got a new one. 4 years warranty or 4000hrs which ever comes first. It must be capable to lift the biggest log that I have '1.5t' at full reach, no problem. The only extra that I got was a hydraulic grab. This I needed to lift logs and I can tell you it is wonderful at removing agapanthus clusters from the ground .
Also very good at lifting and digging out tree stumps. It has a tilting front blade which works great for grading, so it is everything that I would like. The only problem is the faulty operator unit, but I will be working on that!

 

[Burdekin]

The road crew resurfacing the road round the corner have a 3CX, looks a well used machine.

 

[8ob]

@8ob , thats a pretty broad generalisation, I live on the moray coast. We are a bit North, but we don't all live in caves, chiseled, out of the rocks .
It depends, where on the coast, the place is.
No offence taken and none meant

Been caught out a few times over the years, been told the going will be soft and then needed to fit a breaker to the machine.Worst we ever had was a mile of security duct laying at Chirk Castle, was told ground conditions were stoney gravel, what they never told us was the stones were bigger than the van. If in doubt I always dig a few trial holes before committing..

Bob

 

[sako243]

Im familiar with the 3cx as the landlord at our old business place had one. But probably a touch large for me. That said, its roughly only a ton heavier than yours.

On much bigger tyres so I suspect it'll handle soft ground a bit better. It is compact though and apparently visibility is phenomenal compared to a 3CX. A friend was over doing some building work and they were using it and he said he hated driving 3CXs and 4CXs because they couldn't turn very easily and visibility was crap. The 2CX by comparison he loved using because it was so maneuverable yet packed a punch and he could see everything out of the cab.

The only things I'd like on it (apart from a working engine) is the ability to change the steering mode like a tele-handler. If it could crab steer, rear steer and front steer in addition to the 4WS then it would be amazing. I find being a "centre" pivot for the steering means that both the front and back of the machine swing out which makes shunting sideways along a wall trickier than in a conventional front steer vehicle. It's a minor point though and solvable by a few changeover valves on the steering ram.

I don't think the 3CX Compact is much bigger apart from being a few inches wider and taller. For me those extra few inches would mean I can't get it in the workshop.