How To Choose The Right Excavator? A Beginner’s Guide

Are you trying to find Helena excavation services? An excavator is the tool you require if you need to dig, transport, or lift big things like soil, boulders, waste, or machinery. However, it might be difficult for a novice to choose the best excavator because there are so many variations in terms of sizes, styles, and features.

What Is An Excavator?

An excavator is a powerful construction machine built to move massive amounts of materials like soil, rocks, trees, debris, and heavy equipment. Its components include;

• Long arm with a bucket
• Another attachment at the end
• Cab for the operator
• Undercarriage supported on wheels or tracks.

The boom, which is the long arm, has upward and outward extension. It also has a stick that moves the bucket. This gives the excavator a wide range and depth for digging into the ground or loading materials. The tracks or wheels allow it to move across rough terrain while the heavy counterweight helps balance the excavator as it lifts and swings its load.

Types Of Excavators

Here are some of them listed below:

Crawler/Truck Excavators

These are the biggest and most powerful excavators. They can go over uneven ground because of their large tracks and undercarriage, which provide them exceptional stability. Even bigger models and truck-mounted excavators need to be flatbed-trailered from one location to another.

The heaviest variants of the Crawler Helena excavating contractor have operational weights ranging from over 200,000 lbs to 7,000 lbs. They can reach far and excavate depths of more than 20 feet because of their boom and stick. These enormous equipment are excellent in demanding applications such as quarries, mining, and major building projects.

Read More Articles: The Environmental Impacts Of Private Jet Travel

Mini/Compact Excavators

On the smaller side are mini or compact excavators under 20,000 lbs. Though not as powerful as larger ones, these small diggers have some advantages. For working in tight spaces like basements, building interiors, landscaping tasks, or urban construction sites, they are incredibly maneuverable due to their smaller size and shorter turning radius.

Although there are models with wheels, the majority of compact excavators are constructed with a tracked undercarriage. Typical working weights are between 2,000 and 18,000 pounds. Mini excavators are nevertheless capable of digging down to a depth of 10 feet or more, depending on the type. 

Other Types

Long-reach excavators have an exceptionally long boom and stick arm to extend their digging range out 60-100 feet. This allows working from a safe distance for applications like demolition or slope cutting.

Dragline excavators are built with a bigger boom and shorter stick to pull materials in an arc across a broad area rather than straight digging. They are employed in bulk material handling, harbor and river dredging, and mining activities.

Instead of having tracks, wheeled excavators are built on tires. This gives them faster travel speeds for working on paved surfaces while sacrificing some stability. Other types include those built for special uses like forestry, railways, or underwater dredging.  

Excavator Sizes & Capabilities

One of the most important factors in choosing an excavator is the size required for your particular job and job site conditions. Too large and you’ll waste money on excess capacity. Too small and the machine may struggle or be unable to do the work efficiently and safely. Size is typically measured by the operating weight and digging specs of the excavator:

• Micro is under 2,200 lbs
• Mini can have 2,200 – 6,600 lbs  
• For Small it is 6,600 – 12,000 lbs
• Medium will go around 12,000 – 40,000 lbs
• Large is all about 40,000 – 85,000 lbs
• Massive can go over 85,000 lbs

Consider The Type Of Work

What kind of tasks and materials will the excavator be digging, moving, or handling? This impacts the required size and type:

Excavating Dirt/Debris: 

For general excavation, grading, digging trenches/footings, or loading dirt and debris, a standard crawler or compact excavator works great.

Demolition: 

Heavy-duty high-reach demolition models with hydraulic thumbs are best for tearing down buildings and structures otherwise use a compact model for interior demolition.

Brush Cutting/Forestry: 

Land clearing of trees/brush is best with a forestry excavator that has a hydraulic saw attachment.  

Mining/Quarry: 

For surface mining, quarries, or digging shot-rock, the largest massive mining excavator models are required.

Landscaping: 

Excavators with hydraulic thumbs are very maneuverable for landscape jobs like installing pools, waterfalls, etc.

Dredging/Underwater: 

Specialized dredgers are needed to dig underwater for harbors, shoreline restoration, etc.

Lifting/Material Handling:

Excavators can swap buckets for different lift hooks and grapples to move heavy materials and equipment.  

Attachments for Excavators

Excavators may be equipped with a broad range of attachments to increase their flexibility, while the bucket is the most commonly used one:

• The hydraulic thumb makes it possible to hold objects with the bucket, such as pipes, logs, or garbage.
• Grapple: Opens like a clam to grab and lift materials
• Auger: For drilling holes in the ground 
• Breaker: Hydraulic hammer for breaking up concrete or rocks
• Ripper: Rips through tough ground or high-lift materials
• Brush Cutter: Rotating blade for clearing brush and vegetation
• Compaction Plate: For compacting soil or gravel
• Tilt Rotator: Rotates the attachment for better positioning

The attachments are powered by the excavator’s hydraulic system. Swapping between attachments allows one excavator to perform many different tasks, saving on equipment costs. Most attachments use a quick-coupler system for easy changes.

Work Environment Factors

The job site environment is another key consideration that impacts what kind of excavator is best:

• Ground Conditions: Stable, flat ground? Wet, muddy areas? Rocky or frozen terrain? Excavators on tracks handle poor underfoot conditions better.
• Operating Space: Spacious open areas or confined spaces like road work or building sites? Compact swing models may be required.
• Transportation: Will the excavator be transported frequently between job sites? Opt for smaller, easily towable sizes or truck/trailer mounted.
• Environment: Will it be working indoors, outdoors, extreme temperatures? Make sure to get the proper heating, cooling, filters, etc.  
• Underfoot conditions and maneuverability space are the biggest factors. Rugged crawlers may struggle with space while compact rubber-tired units can’t handle poor terrain as well.

Read More Articles: What are Some of the Challenges Audubon Faced During the Creation and Publication of Birds of America?

Consider Operation Costs

Excavator pricing and operating costs can range drastically depending on the size and brand. Here are some sample prices:

• Compact Excavator: $30K – $90K
• Medium Excavator: $100K – $275K
• Large Excavator: $275K – $650K  
• Massive Excavator: $750K+

Conclusion

It’s important to carefully evaluate your project needs, the operating climate, and your budget before choosing an excavator. At Schaefer Excavating & Constructions, we’re not just excavators in Helena MT, we’re creators of possibilities! We’re your trusted partner for turning visions into reality.