Dumpers - Cab or no Cab

[JD450A]

guy that i worked for always insisted that the digger and dumper should be the same size ie 3 ton digger 3 ton dumper 30 ton digger 30 ton dumper
always seemed to work out fine

Digger should always be a dumper and a half bigger...... 1.5t digger, 1t dumper, 2t dumper 3t digger, 6t dumper 9t digger, 9t dumper 14t digger, 25t ADT 40ish ton digger.
That's my view anyways

 

[Canal Navvy]

I have it in the back of my mind that for maximum efficiency an excavator should fill the dumper in seven passes

 

[JD450A]

I have it in the back of my mind that for maximum efficiency an excavator should fill the dumper in seven passes

Ideally 4 passes for anything over 20 tons.... Under 20t you are really talking a need of a cycle time rather than passes.

Efficiency wise regardless of size your cycle time should be under 2 minutes in poor conditions.... When working for Trax I could setup a 40t EC360C on a bench and load A25c's in under a minute and A30's in just over a minute.

That said a poor driver can completely blow the sizing out the water with just a poorly run load out. As I did a few times when learning @Conor

 

[Gunners]

I really like my 1.5t swivel Thwaites - its been a great little dumper - basically a big wheelbarrow, and there's not many places it wont go. Sure its half the size of a 3t dumper, but these are easily and cheaply hired. So if I really need to move stuff, I hire a 6t and do it properly!
But for most of my groundwork jobs, the 1.5 is ideal.