Mini Excavator is a compact construction machine that is growing in popularity in recent years. They are ideal for different types of construction and household jobs, making them a preferable choice to backhoes or bulldozers.
But, you should know different mini excavator sizes before renting or buying it for your construction industry. The word “mini” covers a range of sizes and they all are ideal for different projects.
As these construction machines are easily available, easy to operate, and maintain, you may need one mini excavator in your life. They can help you in renovating your house, helping you in starting your side hustle, and can help in farming and construction work.
They are cost-effective as they have a long lifespan and can easily be stored. Unlike large excavators which require driver’s licenses, you don’t need a special driver’s license to deliver this machine to your workplace.
But to make it cost-effective, you have to make the right decision. For making the right decision, you should know the mini excavator sizes.
Mini class of excavators covers a large range of sizes up to 10 tons. Every brand and manufacturer has a size chart of mini excavators. Some manufacturers will call it a mini, some will call it a compact excavator or some will call it a midi excavator。 They all come under the mini excavator category.
To make the right decision about mini excavator sizes, you have to consider some aspects. Let’s discuss these aspects before discussing mini excavator sizes.
Factors to Consider before choosing the size of the mini excavator:
Before selecting a specific mini excavator size, you should consider your job site and the type of project you want to fulfil with your machine.
- Size of your Job site:
The shape and size of your job site are crucial before considering the width and sizes of a mini excavator. You should choose a size that can easily navigate your job site.
For it, measure the narrowest part of your job site and choose the mini excavator size according to it. Your machine should navigate the narrowest part easily to fulfil your task.
Do know that your mini excavator has to swing to do the task without hitting any object.
You should consider the boom and tail swing of your machine before choosing from the sizes of mini excavators.
- Tools and attachments you need for your work:
You may need different attachments to fulfil your project. As a mini excavator has a lot of attachments, you can choose from them for your ease.
But, you have to choose the size of the mini excavator according to the attachments. You should select the size of a mini excavator which can easily navigate your job site after attachments are attached to it.
After attachments, the size and width of the mini excavator will increase. If you select a slightly large size, it will become difficult for it to navigate the job site after attachments are attached to it.
So, you should know what type of attachments you need before choosing from mini excavator sizes.
- Consider the transportation:
You will need specific transportation to transport your mini excavator to your job site. So, you should choose the size of a mini excavator that will easily mount the transportation you have available.
That transportation should be able to bear the weight of your mini excavator and can reach your job site. So, consider this element too.
- Type of projects:
Every size of mini excavator has different bucket breakthrough powers, swing, dump height, reach, and ability to dig deep.
They have different operating weights and lifting capacities. So, you should know how much weight your job site soil can bear.
How deep do you want to dig into your project? You should know the answer to this question before choosing from mini excavator sizes.
- Bucket Capacity:
You should know the bucket capacity of your mini excavator. Whether the bucket of your mini digger can lift your debris or not? Ask this question to yourself before choosing the right size of mini excavator.
- Lifting Capacity:
Different sizes of mini excavators have different lifting capacities so you should know their range before choosing the right excavator.
These are some factors that should be in your mind before going to select mini excavator sizes.
Now, let’s have a look at different mini excavator sizes.
Guide to Mini Excavator Sizes:
You will see a lot of overlap in different sizes of mini excavators. That’s why you should have a clear idea about your job site and project to make better decisions.
Mini Excavator Sizes: 1 to 2 Tons:
It is the smallest mini excavator and is ideal for tight spaces and Indoor projects. They can easily pass the doorway and elevators. And, they are easy to operate.
They can be transported to the job site through a trailer or pickup. They are lightweight so they will not damage any job site. It makes it ideal for most spaces.
Its key point is a low tail swing and low operating weight. So, they can operate on muddy soils or in wet conditions.
They can do small jobs such as digging trenches, digging plants and trees, or doing light demolition. They are ideal for small landscaping jobs.
The mini excavator of about one has a width of almost 2 ft 5 in.
A 2000-pound mini excavator can dig up to 6 feet deep.
Mini Excavator Sizes: 3 to 5 Tons:
This is the most versatile and high-demanding mini excavator in the market. According to Caldwell, they comprise about 40% of the compact market. They are heating up in the market, replacing many large-size pieces of machinery.
This mini excavator size has more reach, digging capability, and lift capacity. They are ideal if you want to lift heavy objects such as manhole covers, junction boxes, and pipes. You can use various attachments with them too to enhance their digging capacity and reach. These attachments enable them to do tasks beyond digging too.
A 3000-4000 pound mini excavator can dig about 7-8 deep holes.
Some projects they can perform are grading, levelling a driveway, digging in a hot tub, waterline installation, and removing stumps.
They also have various other amazing features such as enclosed cabs, backfill bladers, retractable undercarriages, and extendable sticks.
Their mighty technology and enclosed heated air-conditioned cabs make their operator comfortable.
Mini Excavator Sizes: 6 to 10 Tons:
Though these excavators came in the category of mini, they are not much suitable for tight spaces. You have to select the mini excavators with reduced tail swings from this size category for tight spaces.
These excavators are known as midi or mid-sized excavators too.
A 6000-pound mini excavator can dig about 8.5 deep and can dumb loads more than 10 feet in the air. Other mini excavators in this class can dig about 10 to 15 feet deep.
They are ideal because they can fit into smaller spaces and have a high-power engine and can perform a range of tasks. They are capable of household and construction work too.
They can install a swimming pool, do demolition, dig a utility trench, place footings, build construction, and do landscaping tasks.
They offered high power and increased manoeuvrability which made them an ideal choice for operators.
Also, they have high flow for hydraulic power and stick steer for comfortable control. Its enclosed cabs make the operator comfortable throughout the year.
What if your project or job site is large?
You have seen features of mini excavator sizes and which factors you must consider before buying or renting the mini excavator.
But, what if your project is on a large scale and you need more digging and demolition work?
In this case, going for a mini excavator will not be an ideal choice. It will be a waste of money if you buy or rent them for large-scale projects.
For such projects, you have to go for a standard or large excavator. These excavator sizes range from 10-45 tons and they have more power and capabilities.
These excavators can handle commercial construction with multiple tools attached to them at the same time.
Though they are unmatchable in their power and capacities, their large size is their drawback. It is more difficult to transport and store them than a mini excavator.
Wrap Up:
So, this is all about different sizes of mini excavators. You have seen how this machine is suitable for a range of jobs depending on its size and power.
1-2 ton mini excavators can perform small indoor tasks as they can easily fit into an elevator and doorstep.
3-5 ton mini diggers are ideal because they have high power and can perform various construction work.
6-10 ton midi excavators have various features which make them an ideal choice for a slightly large project.
We hope this mini excavator size guide has given you a pretty good idea of which size of mini excavator is ideal for your job site.
If you need to rent or hire a mini excavator or need any guidance, you can contact us. We will reply to you within working hours, and be glad to be of your assistance.
