best mini excavator on the market current opinions opinions reviews ranking

[barracane]

Hi excuse me, if every now and then I open a weird discussion with my interventions.
A question if I may ask: in your opinion what would be the best mini excavator on the current market?
the most versatile lightweight robust easy to use and repair, versatile, which can be used for many jobs, both in the agricultural and industrial construction fields. a friend of mine suggests me to narrow the field between those weighing more than three tons and less than five, what do you think? comparing the various brands which emerges from the ranking as the most reliable robust agile powerful, with the right weight-to-power ratio. thank you wait opinions opinions reviews thank you.

 

[Furniss]

I have a similar thread that you might want to read, im on the search as well ... although I'm looking at 5.5t approximately.

https://www.planttalk.co.uk/threads/which-5-6t-class-machine.2309/

 

[Maxus]

I think the 2.5 - 2.8 T machines might be worth consideration due to ease of transportation. Any heavier and you will need a lorry which opens up a pandora's box of red tape. But maybe that's too small for what you're wanting to do?

 

[barracane]

I usually rent a komatsu pc 75 from a local farmer, he transports it with a flatbed trailer pulled by a tractor. I would need it for the countryside, the farmer also uses it as a post driver to drive the fence posts into beautiful soil.

 

[DaveDCB]

I like the look of the new Takeuchi 225, ticks a lot of boxes..

 

[V8Druid]

I like the look of the new Takeuchi 225, ticks a lot of boxes..

I like the look of the Mogatsu, but understand the lead time is horrendous

 

[DaveDCB]

I like the look of the Mogatsu, but understand the lead time is horrendous

It’s all about who you know

 

[Storrsy]

I like the look of the new Takeuchi 225, ticks a lot of boxes..

It does. I spent all day Saturday on one- it's pretty wild, . Customer had hired it in to backfill and grade some trenches I dug weeks ago, but he struggled to do much on it on anything much more than tick over. However for all its liveliness I was disappointed when it came to breakout- it struggled to curl a grader through a spoil pile ( with bits of concrete in it etc).
For its convenient weight category it feels more like a 2.8t than a 1.8t despite sitting bang in between weightwise.

 

[barracane]

Mogatsu??what is ...'''?????
''''
'''

 

[doobin]

Mogatsu??what is ...'''?????
''''
'''

Yeah, that's pretty much how he made it!

 

[doobin]

It does. I spent all day Saturday on one- it's pretty wild, . Customer had hired it in to backfill and grade some trenches I dug weeks ago, but he struggled to do much on it on anything much more than tick over. However for all its liveliness I was disappointed when it came to breakout- it struggled to curl a grader through a spoil pile ( with bits of concrete in it etc).
For its convenient weight category it feels more like a 2.8t than a 1.8t despite sitting bang in between weightwise.

It's just too much of a halfway house IMHO. Who needs retractable tracks on that size machine? Jobs tend to be either a doorway (micro), metre gap down a passageway (1.5t) or a field gate or fence panel out above that, so what's the point? Lower ground clearance too.

 

[V8Druid]

Mogatsu??what is ...'''?????
''''
'''

Mogmans creations 🤔

I really hate the way you fanny about procrastinating.... Must try harder sorry😂

www.planttalk.co.uk

 

[GazCro]

It's just too much of a halfway house IMHO. Who needs retractable tracks on that size machine? Jobs tend to be either a doorway (micro), metre gap down a passageway (1.5t) or a field gate or fence panel out above that, so what's the point? Lower ground clearance too.

In cost and weight the 225 isn't far off the 3 ton taki but the 230 is too heavy for towing behind a pickup (not that it seems to matter). My thinking has always been that if they had shaved a little weight off the 230 to make it legally towable on a 3.5 ton trailer it would have been better. I guess the issue with that is that it would lose some capabilty/stabilty etc and so people would just keep buying the 230.
The 225 may actually not be a uk market machine, it's main market may be elsewhere but it seems to be selling ok over here. Takeuchi have done this in the past 219 was not a uk market machine but someone got a dealer to get him one over and word got round and before you know it became a big seller.

 

[Storrsy]

It's just too much of a halfway house IMHO. Who needs retractable tracks on that size machine? Jobs tend to be either a doorway (micro), metre gap down a passageway (1.5t) or a field gate or fence panel out above that, so what's the point? Lower ground clearance too.

It really depends how you look at it and what your line of work is- at 2.4 ton bare it's probably the biggest machine you can realistically have on a trailer with all the attachments you might need for a job and not worry about the mud in the tracks etc.
I can the appeal to be honest- by the time you have it at 2.5t with hitch and bucket- that gives you 200-300kg worth of attachment capacity and everything's not pushed to the hilt.
I do agree about the expanding tracks though- bit limited amount of variation and I'd have preferred them just to out a proper X frame undercariage with 300mm tracks instead of 250mm- I don't think it'd make much weight difference over the expanding.
It doesn't have the breakout of my 2.8t but the buckets were all the same size and grading/loading dumpers etc there wasn't really much difference

 

[Storrsy]

In cost and weight the 225 isn't far off the 3 ton taki but the 230 is too heavy for towing behind a pickup (not that it seems to matter). My thinking has always been that if they had shaved a little weight off the 230 to make it legally towable on a 3.5 ton trailer it would have been better. I guess the issue with that is that it would lose some capabilty/stabilty etc and so people would just keep buying the 230.
The 225 may actually not be a uk market machine, it's main market may be elsewhere but it seems to be selling ok over here. Takeuchi have done this in the past 219 was not a uk market machine but someone got a dealer to get him one over and word got round and before you know it became a big seller.

I agree- think Tak made a big mistake making the TB230 too heavy to tow. An extra 200kg really isn't going to set the world on fire when it comes to extra productivity yet completely alienated the towable market.

 

[GazCro]

I agree- think Tak made a big mistake making the TB230 too heavy to tow. An extra 200kg really isn't going to set the world on fire when it comes to extra productivity yet completely alienated the towable market.

Strip a 230 back to standard spec (non uk) with short dipper and counterweight and they'll likely be 200 kg less but behind the others in the sector on reach.

 

[Gunners]

I believe they have just released a TB325R which is a bit heavier (2500kg) than the 225 (although still on 250mm tracks) to try and cover this market.
Takeuchi's problem is the 219 is too good for its size and these slightly heavier 2.5t class machines don't really offer much more in terms or reach or performance.
With a dig depth of 2540mm and aux flow of 40lpm, its not exactly setting the world on fire the new 325... Its almost identical to the 219! Bit more tearout and dipper force mind you. The kubota U27, Volvo ECR25D, Yanmar Vio25 are all higher performing machines if you want a zero radius 2.5t machine.

 

[Storrsy]

I think if I was running just the one machine Id want the max weight that I could tow with buckets and an attachment- so that's probably 2500-2600kg. Once you've got a circa 1.8t to handle the small stuff and towability convenience I think the bigger 2nd machine really wants to be the absolute max you can put on a trailer- even if buckets and attachments have to come on a separate trip.

 

[Gunners]

I think if I was running just the one machine Id want the max weight that I could tow with buckets and an attachment- so that's probably 2500-2600kg. Once you've got a circa 1.8t to handle the small stuff and towability convenience I think the bigger 2nd machine really wants to be the absolute max you can put on a trailer- even if buckets and attachments have to come on a separate trip.

Thats exactly where I am today. But as I am discovering, its a lot of trips to and from a job to get all the kit there!

 

[barracane]

in my part they are pulled by tractors or transported on truck bodies, I think you have problems towing them on rained off-road trailers, I think.