mini digger - easy to use?
Discussion
wjwren said:
Going to dig the drive out and block pave it myself. Anyone here used a mini digger or better to have one with a driver?
It's a man toy - Get in!The learning curve is steep, if you've not got plenty of space around avoid DIY, and if you need accuracy....
It's a laugh though working out how everything works - and then rotatating through 90 and having to think differently again. All credit to skilled operators.
Depends. How long do you think it would take a pro to do the job if a day get someone in if you have no experience.
If you are good with this sort of thing and you rent in in for a few days it isn't hard but takes a good hand to eye co-ordination and a good logical mind to know the steps required to achieve your end goal. If you can play X box then getting the hang of the controls is doable. But be careful if there is anything close by you don't want to smash or damage.
If you are good with this sort of thing and you rent in in for a few days it isn't hard but takes a good hand to eye co-ordination and a good logical mind to know the steps required to achieve your end goal. If you can play X box then getting the hang of the controls is doable. But be careful if there is anything close by you don't want to smash or damage.
I dug out all my foundations in a hired machine. It was great fun. Tricky in parts and takes some practice, especially tracking over a trench using the arm as a 3rd leg/support.
You need to weigh up the cost though. It's probably not a great deal more to get a machine plus driver. I managed to get one cheap through a mate so had a go myself.
You need to weigh up the cost though. It's probably not a great deal more to get a machine plus driver. I managed to get one cheap through a mate so had a go myself.
Gas pipe repair is around £500 (ask why I know)
Water pipe repair £10 (ask why I know)
<Gave up, got an experienced guy in>
Avoided gas pipe for 2nd time as it was not laid in a straight line £-500
Avoided 14" pipe - assumed to be a storm drain £-200?
Paid pro £120
Here it is in pictures:
http://www.mez.co.uk/bungalow-5.html
Water pipe repair £10 (ask why I know)
<Gave up, got an experienced guy in>
Avoided gas pipe for 2nd time as it was not laid in a straight line £-500
Avoided 14" pipe - assumed to be a storm drain £-200?
Paid pro £120
Here it is in pictures:
http://www.mez.co.uk/bungalow-5.html
Fer said:
Go visit Diggerland and have a practice!
You can get in there dead cheap with tesco points sometimes. Unfortunately it doesn't teach you anything useful, spinning round in the bucket is fun though. As long as you're confident with your gas and electric positions then just be careful and hand dig if needed.
If there's plenty of space, it's a straightforward shape and you can hire a machine for cheap then have to go. If you've any young kids they always like a go too.
It depends on what you've got to do. Digging accurately for foundations etc will take much longer if you're not experienced (I can set out and dig an average house foundation in a day, someone with no experience would likely take a week and make mistakes which will cost them in concrete later on.) Anyone with half an hour's practice can dig out soil for a driveway and load into a skip in about twice the time it would take an experienced driver. If the work is simple and the price per hour for the machine is less than the price per hour for the driver, (usually roughly similar) then it'll be worth while doing it yourself. If there's other work being done at the same time and the machine will be standing idle for any length of time, best to do it yourself.
Surprisingly, the bigger the machine, the more stable and smooth and easier it is to drive and it will get through the work disproportionateley quicker (the easiest machine I have ever driven was a 60 tonner), so get the biggest machine you can fit on the site.
Enjoy.
Surprisingly, the bigger the machine, the more stable and smooth and easier it is to drive and it will get through the work disproportionateley quicker (the easiest machine I have ever driven was a 60 tonner), so get the biggest machine you can fit on the site.
Enjoy.
I was just going to hire one to do our new pathways, about 400M of cut and fill, remove top soil and level ready for aggregate.
In the end, purely because I couldn’t fine one available I used a local excavation company with man and digger.
I’m bloody pleased I did, I would have taken 3 times as long and my path would currently look like something out of a Tim Burton film.
In the end, purely because I couldn’t fine one available I used a local excavation company with man and digger.
I’m bloody pleased I did, I would have taken 3 times as long and my path would currently look like something out of a Tim Burton film.
I had a go with one in the past. I drove it into a ditch! Don't ask how because I honestly have no idea, luckily the guy next door does this kind of thing day in day out on motorways so i politely asked him to get it out which he did in 30 seconds and then offered to dig my ditch for free for us which was ace!
Other then that it's fairly easy but i'd just rent it for twice as long as you think you need it.
Other then that it's fairly easy but i'd just rent it for twice as long as you think you need it.
I had one for a month last year to sort out my garden, first time I’ve ever used one, was a 7.5 ton unit.
It was delivered on Friday evening by a friend. I made the mistake of jumping in it at 930pm to practice and familiarise myself with it. Safe to say I made a right mess of the area I was working on, it took so much concentration and forward planning in my head on what to do with the controls and even then I got confused. I went to bed that night thinking “what have I got myself into”. Didn’t sleep much that night with the vision my garden was going to end up like someone had dropped a bomb on it.
However, by the end of the first full day, it became completely second nature to use. In fact, once you’re used to it, you can be very accurate with it, scooping just a couple of inches off the surface. I hired another one later in the summer and I was used to it again in about 5 minutes.
Kids and I had so much fun in it! Now looking seeking out other jobs just to borrow it again 
It was delivered on Friday evening by a friend. I made the mistake of jumping in it at 930pm to practice and familiarise myself with it. Safe to say I made a right mess of the area I was working on, it took so much concentration and forward planning in my head on what to do with the controls and even then I got confused. I went to bed that night thinking “what have I got myself into”. Didn’t sleep much that night with the vision my garden was going to end up like someone had dropped a bomb on it.
However, by the end of the first full day, it became completely second nature to use. In fact, once you’re used to it, you can be very accurate with it, scooping just a couple of inches off the surface. I hired another one later in the summer and I was used to it again in about 5 minutes.
Kids and I had so much fun in it! Now looking seeking out other jobs just to borrow it again 
wjwren said:
its to dig the drive out so I want to be accurate with the levels. Am I right in thinking a standard bucket will take the old tarmac up?
They usually come with 3 buckets, a wide flat ditching/grading bucket with no teeth, a middle sized bucket (about 450mm wide on a mini digger) with teeth, and a narrow (about 150 or 200mm for digging trenches .You'll need the middle sized bucket with teeth to break up the tar (start at the edge and lift it like peeling a skin off), then change to the wide flat bucket to grade the subbase level.I've had great fun with them. Consider a skid steer loader ("a Bobcat") if the job is mainly shifting shallowish depths of muck. A conventional minidigger carries very little, very slowly, but digs trenches well. I found the dozer blade on minidiggers very difficult to use - the machines are too short. I hired a JCB 3c with driver for a 60 yard long driveway, with a lorry to take away the spoil. He hit the gas pipe twice, destroyed most of the levelling stakes, and left big areas loose, low, or both, needing more MoT1 than planned.
One problem I hadn't expected with minidigger hire: motion sickness. They don't half pitch.
One problem I hadn't expected with minidigger hire: motion sickness. They don't half pitch.
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