Lister Engine Forum
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: guest22972 on October 27, 2018, 11:28:17 AM
-
After being frustrated with not being able to do what I want around the place and the distinct of any decent used machinery, I am ready to buy one of these little toys:
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NEW-Baumr-AG-9HP-Backhoe-Petrol-Excavator-4-Stroke-Hydraulic-Bucket-Towable/142130452746?epid=1342406533&hash=item2117a2990a:g:~NgAAOSwMBdb1C-1
I know they are only a glorified powered shovel but that's probably all I need round here anyway. I have been doing my research on YT and they seem more capeable than what I would have thought.
I got a quote from an excavator guy the other day for $2500 for some work we want done, mainly landscaping although that was with taking a lot of plants and a few stumps away. It's pretty much the price of the machine and I reckon if I took a trip to the tip which will cost about $350 a ton here, I'd get rid of most of it.
Just wondering if anyone has owned or played with one of these little things? I know they are sold by Hava Fright in the US and saw some UK distributors as well.
I reckon I could do a lot with one of these even if I can't do it fast. Time to think too much is something I have too much of as well so speed isn't real important. At least I would have an assett I could get probably decent money back on it I sold the thing rather than having dead money just hiring... which really is a pain in the arse anyway. Much better to have the gear there when the inspiration strikes you than have to plan an event to get something.
Spose the best thing with one of these will be I'll have the gear to build a new shed which I'll need because I have so much damn equipment here! :laugh:
-
Your intuitions about it are pretty much spot on in my experience
Beats the hell out of a shovel but a far fetch from convienant or fast when compared to a track mounted mini excavator.
-
I have never used one of these but one like it and found it has a few limitations. With a full bucket and on full extension when slewing they are inclined to tip over even with the outriggers. They usually use a very short slewing ram and to get enough travel you usually have to remove and replace a pin to get the full arc and the don't like hard ground not enough weight they will lift the outriggers off the ground. Not a problem if you have a good sense of balance but too scary for me. I sent it back and bought a 2nd hand Cranvel wombat. Has a twin cylinder wisconsin on it like pouring fuel down the drain but ultra reliable.
-
Around here, the smallest machine that has proved useful is a small rubber tracked excavator. These small gas powered rigs don't have the steam to do any hard work. We have hard rocky ground, much unlike the TV gardening shows soft and limitless loamy soil.
Cheers,
Hugh
-
Saw something similar a while back and earmarked it as a project to put together sometime... The one I saw hooked up to the 3 point link on a tractor and used the pto to drive the pump... nice little affair that could be stashed away while not in use... easy to remove to... outrigger feet were fixed in place, you just raised the 3 point to move along, drop it down and start digging...
-
There are supports available for some tractors for the 3 pt hitch versions. Otherwise it's a frame mount with a new sub frame. I already have a subframe for the front end loader for my Kubota L2550, so figure I should be fine with one of the smaller, 5 or 6 foot backhoes on the 3pt.
Annoying that they are all PTO powered; that seems unnecessary and more expense but so far I haven't found one without it. Cheapest I could find so far is $3800 for a PTO powered 6 foot one from China. That's pretty stiff for a whimpy little backhoe. For $100 an hour I can hire a late model, full sized CAT backhoe with a skilled operator. Our rocks and clay make for very slow going for modest trackhoes and such. My neighbor recently did a big trenching job with a trackhoe borrowed from a neighbor, and spent 2 weeks doing a job that would be 5 hours or $500 for the CAT backhoe. That didn't seem like a bargain to me.
I'm toying with the idea of a sub soiler ripping blade followed by a middle buster plow blade for trenching. They are pretty cheap.
-
I had one at my disposal for 6 years, and used it all the time, digging, hauling logs out of brush
It was a REAL mini-excavator. treads, cab that would spin like a top (that's how you make a flat pad, use the blade to un-tilt the cab, then whirl around using the bucket to scrape off the high bits.)
What you linked to is a towable back-hoe. It will not have the power or speed that a true excavator has. Looks like the ones HF sells here in the states. If "looks*like*tools" sells it, it's not likely to be really durable. If it's cost is about the same as a rental, if you got 2 days of real work out of it, it might be worth it. Figure out what flavor of hydraulic fluid it drinks, and get some spare jugs, I'd expect it to seep a lot at the seals.
Be sure you can tow/maneuver it into the spots you want to use it at, because you will not move it much by hand. And leave it hitched to the tow vehicle for more stability.
-
After owning tractors with a backhoe I found the backhoe to be a specialty item. Ditches! The backhoe you showed is lightweight for sure and would work to death on a stump or rocks. Digging or plowing is all about equipment weight. I am an equipment lover but that is a piece that will just serve one purpose. I will go rent one fit to the job dig all and future ditches and be done with it. Renting a good one for the size of the job will be fun and much cheaper. It will also do it in a fraction of the time. Of course that is me and renting can have it's adventures.
-
The digging force is relative to the weight of the machine. The lightweight one won't do much more bolted to a heavy machine. The hydrolic system is rated for the design. I had a 3 point type mounted to a 43hp Kubota. The pump attached to the pto. It was weak but like it was said beat the heck out of a shovel! You could take it off and use the tractor for other things.
-
If you have rocky ground, the ability of a large backhoe to just rip through the rocks without stalling is amazing. Still, I'd love to have a small 3pt hitch backhoe for my 30hp Kubota, if I didn't have to pay for it.
I just finished the rehab of the L2550. The engine is in great shape, starts immediately with a clear exhaust. The alternator and other electronics are disconnected, and the battery is kept charged via a solar panel on the new roof and linear charge regulator. The exhaust is extended upward as diesel's are my friends but the exhaust isn't. It's got a new hydraulic top link from Magister.
-
It's way too cold here for straight vegetable oil in the winter. Biodiesel is a noticeable improvement though I don't find even that exhaust something I can handle well. Much like my disappointing experiment with burning hydrogen, I suspect a part of the problem with diesel exhaust is also the high temperature combustion gasses such as NOX created from air. I ran my Listeroid on B99 for it's first few years of operation primarily for the delightful fuel handling (no problems there) but I can't get it anymore.
The tall stack does work quite well. The Kubota engine mechanical noise is ferocious and requires earplugs plus shooting ear muffs or I'm a wreck the next day.
Any time I can manage to do something myself, somehow, it goes in the win column.
-
Thanks, Glort. I'm just too damned stubborn to lay about whining.