U17 mini excavator - the good, the bad?

[JBazzano]

We are looking at mini excavators for soil sampling jobs in vineyards.

Does anyone have any opinions?

Just need to dig down usually no more than 6' , but vine rows can be 5' apart so the unit needs to be narrow at times. Also the U17 only weighs 3703 pounds so it would trailer easily.

Any experience with these out there?

John

 

[DDCD]

I have rented several u25s and u35. U25s have a hard time with heavy clay at 4'. It was a miserable experience with a 12" bucket. I had to use the teeth on the bucket to scrape it out.

This was a 250' trench 4' deep, so your experience may be better.

U35 runs much better than a u25(u27) and is still towable with a 3/4 ton.

I'd definitely recommend renting one or all 3 if you have a rental yard nearby. If you hit any roots, rocks, or whatever else, the u17 wont work.

 

[JBazzano]

I have rented several u25s and u35. U25s have a hard time with heavy clay at 4'. It was a miserable experience with a 12" bucket. I had to use the teeth on the bucket to scrape it out.

This was a 250' trench 4' deep, so your experience may be better.

U35 runs much better than a u25(u27) and is still towable with a 3/4 ton.

I'd definitely recommend renting one or all 3 if you have a rental yard nearby. If you hit any roots, rocks, or whatever else, the u17 wont work.

Thanks for the input.

At 5'7" wide the U35 would be too wide for many of the vine rows we work in.

So the extra 5 hp. from the U27 to the U35 would make that much difference?
We don't do long trenches just inspection pits to check soil make-up.

Renting beforehand is a great idea but nobody close by rents Kubotas.

Thanks.............

 

[DDCD]

Thanks for the input.

At 5'7" wide the U35 would be too wide for many of the vine rows we work in.

So the extra 5 hp. from the U27 to the U35 would make that much difference?
We don't do long trenches just inspection pits to check soil make-up.

Renting beforehand is a great idea but nobody close by rents Kubotas.

Thanks.............

If your serious about buying you could ask a dealer for a demo. If they wont let you haul it they might bring it to a job site. Or rent whatever is in the 3000lb class from a local rental center and it will be close enough to show you if it works.

It's not the HP, it's the weight.

 

[PaulL]

A couple thoughts.
1. If you're size limited, get the largest one that'll fit down your vines, and that you can afford. It'll be much better than a spade for digging holes

2. Are you sure an excavator is the right tool, not a borer? You could get an auger on a skid steer or a mini-ex that perhaps would do this specific task much more quickly/easily. Would an auger be suitable for soil samples? I think you dig a hole, then use a tool to grab a bit of soil from the bottom, right? Or do you need to sample all the way down at different heights / not want the soil mixed up on the way down?

 

[JBazzano]

Actually we often have the vineyard owners go down in the cut to show them the stratification of their soils. For them it's quite interesting to see all those layers at one time.

 

[PaulL]

Actually we often have the vineyard owners go down in the cut to show them the stratification of their soils. For them it's quite interesting to see all those layers at one time.

Ah. So if you need to make a trench big enough to get a person in.....you need a reasonable size machine.

I think all machines in that size range have similar performance, so it's more a discussion of "that's a smallish machine and in heavy soils it'll have difficulty". But still better than a spade, and the machine has to fit down the rows, so that's the size you can have.

You could get a ripper tooth separate from the bucket, so in heavy soils you could loosen first.

 

[PaulL]

Coincidentally enough, out running this morning and they're running fibre down our road. They dig a pit every 100 metres or so, and thrust the conduit through with a machine. They have two U17s. They could have any excavator they want - they're not space constrained, and they're digging pits about 4' deep, and 4-6' square. If a U17 was underpowered they'd have something different - they're literally digging pits all day, that's the whole job. I take that to mean they're at least adequate.

 

[dirtydeed]

I don't have experience with a U-17, but I dig quite a bit with a KX033. It's a beast. I have no reason to think that a U-17 wouldn't do what you needed...it may take just a bit longer. The key to digging in heavy clay is to use a larger digging (toothed) bucket. The larger bucket reduces the problem of clay soil sticking in the bucket. Secondly, dig with the front blade behind you (called pinning). This allows you to use all of the (limited) weight of a small mini-ex for penetration.

Keep in mind that if you're digging 6 feet in depth and want landowners to get in the trench, it's going to need to be a large (width) trench in order to be safe. You don't want your clients getting buried. You'll need to slope the sides or bench it. That requires much more soil to be removed (easier done with larger bucket).

As others have suggested, rent one for the day and give it a whirl. You'll know for sure if the size is adequate.

Best of luck to you.

 

[JBazzano]

Coincidentally enough, out running this morning and they're running fibre down our road. They dig a pit every 100 metres or so, and thrust the conduit through with a machine. They have two U17s. They could have any excavator they want - they're not space constrained, and they're digging pits about 4' deep, and 4-6' square. If a U17 was underpowered they'd have something different - they're literally digging pits all day, that's the whole job. I take that to mean they're at least adequate.

Paul,

Exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for re. the U17!!!

Thanks............

 

[JBazzano]

I don't have experience with a U-17, but I dig quite a bit with a KX033. It's a beast. I have no reason to think that a U-17 wouldn't do what you needed...it may take just a bit longer. The key to digging in heavy clay is to use a larger digging (toothed) bucket. The larger bucket reduces the problem of clay soil sticking in the bucket. Secondly, dig with the front blade behind you (called pinning). This allows you to use all of the (limited) weight of a small mini-ex for penetration.

Keep in mind that if you're digging 6 feet in depth and want landowners to get in the trench, it's going to need to be a large (width) trench in order to be safe. You don't want your clients getting buried. You'll need to slope the sides or bench it. That requires much more soil to be removed (easier done with larger bucket).

As others have suggested, rent one for the day and give it a whirl. You'll know for sure if the size is adequate.

Best of luck to you.

Thanks for the bucket and blade placement info.
Still looking for one to rent........