When to Choose Mini Excavators over Standard Excavators

Excavators are one of the most common pieces of equipment in the construction industry. Literally, you can see it almost everywhere due to its great functionality. 

Excavators commonly ranged from as low as 1 ton up to over 20 tons in operating weight. In the mining industry, the excavators used are enormously huge and can go up to over 50 tons in operating weight. Therefore, the selection of the right operating weight excavator is such an important knowledge to acquire in order to choose the most suitable and most cost-effective equipment for your project.

Let’s look at a few key factors in choosing between a mini excavator vs standard excavator:

1. Size

As their name suggests, mini excavators are more compact and lightweight than standard excavators. The market for mini excavators currently includes machines weighing 5 tons or less. As for standard excavators, they are usually in the range of >5 tons to 20 tons. Not only is the weight different, the dimension of the excavator is also greatly different across the different operating weights.

2. Manoeuvrability

Due to their compact size, mini excavators tend to be easier to manoeuvre, especially around other objects and vehicles. Mini excavators can also move through narrow and crowded areas with ease such as urban areas, cities and tight construction spaces. Whereas standard excavator is usually used for productivity and size may not be the key consideration. Standard excavators are commonly used for open space digging, foundation digging, reclamation etc.

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3. Transportation

Because of their lighter weight, mini excavators are easy to load onto small trucks or lorry cranes for transportation to and from job sites. Where a standard excavator may be too big and heavy for a utility truck to accommodate and require a big trailer for transportation.

4. Environmental Impact

Again, its lighter weight means that mini excavators tend to make less impact on the environment. Mini excavators leave fewer and lighter track marks and do less damage to soil and plants on the ground. An electric mini excavator is getting popular in the market especially in European countries for its minimum carbon footprint. However, the standard excavator is still pretty much in engine combustion type. 

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5. Productivity

It's true that the higher the operating weight, the higher the digging volume and load, the longer the digging reach and also the deeper the bucket can reach. However, it doesn't mean you should also go for higher capacity. Productivity may be just one of the factors to be considered. There are some other restrictions that you may need to think about it such as indoor or outdoor, ground allowable loading, basement or open groundwork etc. 

Read: Guide to Choosing the Right Excavator for your job.

What are mini excavators commonly used for?

One of the mini excavator’s greatest strengths is its versatility to accomplish different tasks. The sheer number of possible attachments and its light frame is what makes the mini excavator such a versatile machine. The following examples showcase some construction job activities that are ideal for using a mini excavator.

1. Tight Space Digging 

Mini excavators excel at digging because of their unique ability and compact size to manoeuvre into hard-to-reach places. Especially in residential areas, mini excavators come in handy to tackle any kind of site condition. No doubt, a standard excavator with a much higher capacity has greater productivity. But the bulkier size may not allow them to travel in tight residential areas.

2. Light Demolition Works

Mini excavators are useful for demolition works as well. Though you are unlikely to use a mini excavator to demolish a full-sized building, many construction projects require tearing down smaller structures like sheds and other outbuildings. Mini excavators are much more efficient and safer than using hand-powered tools to tear down small structures, and their compact size means they can manoeuvre through gates and tight spaces on the job site. 

3. Landscaping Works

Mini excavators are one of the best options for landscaping work due to their lightweight. While travelling on the existing grass, a mini excavator's rubber track or pad causes minimum destruction to the existing ground. Leaving less footprint behind. 

Read: What are the Different Types of Excavator Attachments?

In Summary

Choosing the right mini excavator is not all just about the operating weight but other factors should be considered as well. By pulling together all the factors mentioned above, you should have a good background about the most suitable excavator for your projects. Choosing the right fit excavator can give you greater productivity and cost-saving.

Read: 7 Safety Tips on Operating an Excavator that you must know.

Search, Compare and Rent excavators online with Antbuildz.com!

The great thing about mini excavators is that they are ideal for renting on a per-project basis. To make your sourcing easy, visit Antbuildz.com today to find the right equipment or machinery. With our comprehensive filter panel and well-categorized listings, you can source the right mini excavator or any other equipment instantly. 

Looking to rent excavators and other construction equipment? Visit Antbuildz.com today to check for the best daily/weekly/monthly rental rates of all equipment types instantly. You can now Search, Compare, and Rent in just a few clicks!

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