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Thinking about buying a digger


MarkyP

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Absolutely, Declan. No chance of putting a man-basket on for sure...

I've got a copy of the load curve for mine (it's at the back of the manual) so I'm well aware of what she's capable of and testing confirms that if it's too much, it just aint getting off the ground. If that means we're only raising one sill at a time to the top lift, so be it. Still easier than doing it by hand/ cheaper than hiring in a telehandler for the day/ faster than waiting for the tame farmer to arrive with his.

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I've found a small dealer locally with 3 x 2.5t kubota machines. KX61-3 and UR25-3. These seem pretty well regarded so going to go and have a look. Also, by bizarre coincidence, a bloke knocked on the door recently who it turns out grew up in our place (well, in the timber shed we demolished). He was passing and just wanted to have a look around. It was then 50 years back a full blown small holding and was very interesting to learn about the history of the plot. And it turns out he's a semi-retired machine operator and he gave me a load of contacts including a local plant engineer who will for a small fee come and inspect any machine I am thinking of buying, which was nice.

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 03/01/2019 at 08:18, Russell griffiths said:

Have you looked into spares for the bobkat 

its not a massive player in the mini digger market over here. 

I was advise against a Bobcat, skid steer means it will chew up the ground and  access to the mechanical bits is from under side - Its a lot of weight to be working under on a building site!

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1 minute ago, squealeyhealey said:

I was advise against a Bobcat, skid steer means it will chew up the ground and  access to the mechanical bits is from under side - Its a lot of weight to be working under on a building site!

All tracked diggers are skid steer.  Yes a steel tracked one like I had will chew up tarmac if you are not careful.  But if you have to turn sharp, lift one end up with the boom.

 

The alternative to skid steer tracks is a wheeled machine, but they are more likely to get bogged down on soft ground.

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On 16/01/2019 at 09:45, MarkyP said:

kubota machines. KX61-3 

If I was in the market for a great mini digger this would be my choice if I did not require one for narrow access. big enough to move bulk bags (just) and small enough to transport on a trailer for repairs.  For my site I would go for a KX019-4 as I have a lot of narrow walking tracks to negotiate, but for anything half decent your looking at 15k so it’s off my shopping list for now......  

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On 16/01/2019 at 09:45, MarkyP said:

 local plant engineer who will for a small fee come and inspect any machine I am thinking of buying, which was nice.

This would be highly advisable. Unless you are very familiar with plant then you could well end up with a crapomatic.... Hopefully the dealer is honest. Lol! 

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  • 2 months later...
  • 1 month later...

I was looking at a JCB 3cx as the 4 in 1 bucket with forks would be very handy for lifting pallets around the site and upto first level of scaffolding ( were building a 1 1/2 storey dormer bungalow). I did have my concerns over the mess it could make of the site though and as it can get very wet and mushy I would imagine it would get stuck too. 

So after reading this thread I'm now steering towards the 3-5 tonne tracked digger option. 

My question, what weight and height could a 3 tonne digger lift with pallet forks? Has anyone used their digger to lift pallets of materials onto scaffolding etc? 

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I've forks on my TB125. A couple of hundred kilos up to the first lift is realistic, as the forks weigh a fair bit themselves. The range of angles the fork head can work within limits options a bit too.

 

Twenty block on a pallet onto the scaff? yup.

A dozen PV panels on a pallet out the side door of a Sprinter? yup.

A full pallet of insulation rolls, on the bed of a BM's wagon? nope.

 

I'd note also that a maxibag of materials is OK off the boom on this size of machine too. My smallest digging bucket has two teeth on and is very handy for hanging a bag off...

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Think the backhoes are a bit more cumbersome as you allude to. Also harder to operate backhoe than you think. 

I've got a rough terrain forklift. They're a handy tool. Again though the bigger jcb/Sanderson ones weigh around 5t will soon churn up a site. 

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I keep doing the lottery --I  really need all 3 pieces of equip 

tractor with front bucket + self loading pan mixer on the back

,telehandler+ man cage   +

5ton digger

I keep on dreaming 

Edited by scottishjohn
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14 minutes ago, scottishjohn said:

telehandler+ man cage

 

You mean a death box ...??? 

 

These are now coming under scrutiny and it looks like the MEWP rules will apply soon which means the cage will have to be able to have some sort of interlink with the lifting gear. 

 

And the downside with 99.9% of tele-handlers is they have no fork pivot lock off so you catch the lever and dump your mate to the floor .... 

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Honestly Quest have a new series on scrap kings. they follow a few firms. I couldn't believe one of them other week. Jumping off scaffold into man cage. Loading from scaffold into man cage. Driving 1/2 mile down road with someone in man cage. I honestly don't know how they wont get a pull now...

https://www.questod.co.uk/show/scrap-kings/video/botley-shops/EHD_214416B

Edited by Oz07
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I used a digger and driver (local farmer) for £150 a day. The things he done it that thing were death defying. He got more done in a day than I could of in a week. 

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