Excavator Types and Their Uses: A Five Minute Guide To Excavator Hire
Looking to hire an excavator but don’t know where to start? Well, you’ve come to the right place!
Finding the right tool for the job is important, and although excavator hire is simple enough in practice, there are a few important things you’ll need to know before you get started. In this article, we’ll cover the different questions you should be asking yourself before hiring an excavator so you can make an informed decision, and keep your construction plans on track.
It’s a bit of a no-brainer, but first thing’s first you’ll need to think about why you’re hiring an excavator. Will you be digging, landscaping, flattening out foundations, or clearing up debris? For each of these tasks, you’ll need to use a specialised tool and that may require a fair amount of time and research.
General advice: backline excavators are the most versatile, while hydraulic shovels are some of the most powerful. If you’re looking for something more precise, you may want to consider a suction excavator.
Another important factor in excavator hire is the terrain you’ll be working on. You’ll need to think about the stability and evenness of the ground below you and consider all appropriate weight restrictions, both on-site and coming to and fro. It’s all well and good to hire a powerful excavator, but if it’s too heavy to access the construction site in the first place then you’ve got a serious problem.
General advice: wheeled excavators are best for flat terrain, and crawlers are more appropriate for uneven areas. There are also long-reach excavators which are great for navigating large obstacles and otherwise inaccessible areas.
Lastly, it should probably go without saying, but before hiring an excavator, you should always, always, check the numbers. How much does it weigh? What’s the bucket capacity? What’s its fuel consumption like? Wrack your brains for unanswered questions, because there’s nothing worse than getting on-site and realising the excavator you’ve hired just won’t cut it.
General advice: if in doubt, always ask. The hire company should be able to answer your questions and give you the peace of mind you need to get on with the job in hand.
