Now,,
I need some accessories,,
any recommendations??

Very, very nice. If you drop it off and let me use it for a bit I might come up with some ideas.

 

How many hrs on it?
Get a 36” muck bucket

 

This plus a 12” trenching bucket and weld on a 2” receiver on top of the blade to move trailers/take one with you.

 

A guy in our Wisconsin office bought one of these in September, just the mini ex, not the package for 7k. Strictly a hobby machine but we think keeping it going might become his hobby.


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The text string between him and my boss.

 

Almost 1,400 hours,,
I have a 16" bucket that I think I can adapt to the Bobcat quick hitch,,
Heck, I got a 7" and a 18" also,,

No muck bucket,,
but, I might have a small loader bucket that I could make into a muck bucket,, Hmmm

I got 2 I-beams that will probably become a grading beam,,

Lots of possibilities,, I think I have 50 pounds of 1/8" 7018,, so that ought to do for a while,,
( I would rather weld, than spend $$$ )

 

Those quick coupler attachments for the buckets are available from Bobcat as a replacement part. No idea of cost, but may be easier than trying to fabricate your own.

 

Well ya got a thumb so just grab an I beam and have at it. You got that front blade also and get good enough with it and you’ll forget anything on that tractor for grading. A muck bucket with that front blade is all we use for grading. Grade beams are nice but usually a lot to handle with the thumb of a mini that small. Easiest to use a muck bucket to heel in your backfills or grade with it. You get more familiar with it you use the front blade to lift up the machine to match the desired grade and off you go. Minis are a great tool for finish grading small areas in the right hands. Have fun and keep the tracks snug but not too tight. Get to know the slack adjuster and just apply grease to tighten it. And remember, if your working on a slope, do it blade facing downhill and use it to stabilize the machine. Lemme know if you need anything to know. I have years on those little bastards

 

kinda curious what you have planned for it ....i have never run one in that size range the smallest i have used are e40+.....i imagine it will be excellent in tight areas and good in other areas if your not in to big of a hurry....a mini-ex is quite a handy tool for sure....only thing i dont like about them is traveling with them they will beat the crap out of you the smaller you get .....im a bit jealous LOL

as Kbar said above use the stabilizer blade for sure

 

I have a lot of time on small backhoes, I am hoping that will cross-over some.

He needs several hundred feet of trench for the installation of buried power service,,

Plus,,,,!!??!!

I want to replace probably a 1/2 mile of trail I lost when our property was logged,,
I also have a couple wet weather springs that need attention,,

Projects?? they could pop up every day,,,,,

My wife CLAIMED that she has kept track,,
I have had to buy grass seed for EVERY one of the 42 summers that we have lived on this property,,
because dirt has been disturbed,,
I think she is right,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

sounds like you have perfect projects for it, im sure you know but it should have selectable control patterns so you can use it with backhoe control pattern........that machine looks to be in very good condition esp with the original paint ...

 

Very, very nice. If you drop it off and let me use it for a bit I might come up with some ideas.

DARN IT! You beat me to it. 🤣

I have a lot of time on small backhoes, I am hoping that will cross-over some.

Same here. I'm thinking first project and you will be good to go.
Boy am I ever jealous. Good luck with it. Did I mention I'm jealous?

 

Congratulations and put me in with the jealous crowd. It seems like a perfect size and the hydraulic thumb is going to be very, very handy.

If you don't like it, I can be there with a trailer. Just saying you don't have to keep it, you know.

 

Congrats and good luck with your new to you mini-ex. Looks like it's in great shape.

 

I have owned a Kubota KX121-3 for15 years and it has served me well. I bought it with 1200 hours and it has almost 2000 hours on it now. You won’t believe how many projects you will find for it once you have one!

I bought a 3’ grading bucket( no teeth) and a root rake/ stumper from USA attachments. This was quite a while ago and extremely reasonable as well.

Good luck with it!

 

Congrats on the mini excavator!

I’m currently looking for a 6’ beam to put a quick hitch on for my KX040. I’ve seen some small companies use them to dress house lots and spread loam. Seems handy and a cheap attachment.

The hitch for my cleanup bucket came from Amazon, it was $125 at the time, and no welding ears to a plate. I couldn’t draw out the part, but the steel, cut it, and weld it together that cheap.

 

Congrats on mini.
I would take that any day.

 

I have looked for a nice used mini-excavator for over a year,, and have not found even one for sale near me,,

I did not try the rental yards, that may have worked,, BUT!
We rode about an hour to see my daughter, and new grandbaby,,
I spotted a Bobcat mini-excavator setting on A USED CAR LOT!!

Well, I drove on the lot, the price was right,, it will be delivered next week.

It is a Bobcat E26,, original paint, 2019 year model, 24.8 HP (no emissions stuff)
It has a 24" bucket, and thumb,,

After I got home,, I decided to check opinions,,
( close the barn door, after the horse got out!!?? LOL!! )

It appears that it is a well liked machine,, Phew!!

It is the perfect weight for moving behind my pickup,,
yet, not so light that it can not work,,

I will report back,, after I try it out for a while,,

View attachment 981544

Now,,
I need some accessories,,
any recommendations??

I rented one years ago I think it was a 325? I really liked it and really surprised me what it could do. I was digging a trench and pulled a boulder out got it against the blade with bucket picking it up and walking it out of the way. They are way better than any tractor mounted backhoe,and I don't think you'll be sorry for buying.

 

Well, it got dropped off yesterday,, I fiddled with the controls a little, and greased it.
My past experience is with a "4 stick" machine,, but, I have used joystick,, a little,,

I got grandchildren duty today, so, I gotta wait to play more,
It seems to have tremendous power,, i was surprised,,

 

Congrats on the new toy CAD, I have a Cat 304 with thumb and boy you can do so many things with them. do not regret one cent payed for it. Minis are a jewel. Had mine for about 10 years and it is still a great joy to enjoy.

 

Congrats on the new toy, man! Bet that thing is going to be super useful!

 

Before it got dark last night,, i decided that the bucket could use a little hard face welding,,
The machine digs so fast, it must put lots of wear on the teeth and bucket edge,,

This is the "before" pic,,
I do not think the bucket comes with "scallops" in the cutting edge,,

The teeth are cheap enough that it is probably best to replace them periodically,,
BUT, since the welding leads got drug out,, might as well weld them also,,

"After"

If the hard face does not hold up, I have some cutting edge that size, so, I can replace it.
This only cost an hour of time, and ~20 or so welding rods,,
( I loose track of time when welding,, that is fun to me!! )

 

After I quit for the night, I noticed the wear bars on the back of the bucket show a LOT of wear,,
I guess I will drop the bucket, and weld some of the back side.

The wear is not "real" bad, but the ends of several wear bars are paper thin,,
I think I do not want the wear bars to come loose,,??

I got the manual out, and learned how to grease the slew,, that was tricky!!

AND,, I can not believe how Kubota designed the engine oil drain,,
I can not imagine how to remove the drain plug without covering your hand and arm down to your elbow with engine oil.

As soon as the drain plug is cracked loose,, it starts leaking oil,, at a pretty good rate!!
(

not fast enough to wait for 6 quarts of oil to drain.,,, )
THEN, it keeps leaking oil until the plug is turned about 4 or 5 rotations,, the whole time dumping oil down your arm.

i might put a vacuum cleaner on the oil fill next time, to see if that will hold the oil in, until the plug is unscrewed,,

That might work for the filter, too,,
That is the same situation,,
You have to reach 18 inches up into a hole under the excavator to reach the filter,,
THEN, you have to either wait for the filter to leak out the oil,,
or get oil down your arm the SECOND TIME!!

The new adventure continues!!

 

I KNOW Yanmar engines are good,,
but, I think someone is kidding someone!!
My 1.5 liter Yanmar (with a turbo) is rated at ~41 horsepower,,
and it is easily producing that much power.
it runs the 390 flail they way I would expect 41 horsepower to,

The Kubota 1.5 liter (without a turbo) is rated at ~24.8 horsepower.

A turbo is supposed to add 25 to 40% more horsepower,,
My Yanmar is getting 65% more horsepower with a turbo,,

I think the Kubota has a skad more than 25 horsepower,,
The engine NEVER labors,, it just sets there and hums,,
keeping the cylinders and other functions going,,

I am not complaining, I am just pointing out that 1.5 liters is not RATED for much power,,,

 

Sooooo, when is the turbo kit arriving for the mini?