Mini X tips and tricks...

Dead pine is out.
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I love the smell of a good lighter knot stump...I hate ground bees though and they seem to love pines.
 
Been burning the first stump since Friday night. Made some good progress. Dropped the pine stump in yesterday. Removed some privit along the fence line too. I’m still under 8 hours. Amazing what I can get done with one of these. It’s an EZ - 38 which is a 9k lb machine. It’s the biggest this place rents. I wish it had a 4 way blade. I can’t grade for shit with it.
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awheelterd said:
You have been fighting this mess way too long, I hope you've had fun. Id have called the man a long time ago :beer:
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It’s been fun and a learning experience. I’ve got a couple piles of privit and the oaks and maples I took out to burn. Nothing bigger than 6” across. There are some things here I am going to have to call in help with.
 
So the big stump is basically gone. Pine is mostly still there. I’ve got this big privit cluster to drag in the Pitt now.
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I have had good results with buying a bag or two of charcoal for grilling, piling it all over the stump and let it slow burn it.
 
Good time to get rid of used motor oil/any petroleum product.

Not that I'd ever do that or anything.

And I'd certainly not get it rolling with a leaf blower to really get it burning.

No...never :D
 
Bringing this back up. I'm going to be taking out the last pines soon. Shortly there after I'll be renting from another rental place that has Bobcat's. IDK what machines they have but after talking to some local people the Bobcat is supposed to be better. Price it close to the same so I figured why not. Now I was going to make a new thread on used machine advise and brand thoughts but figured all of you that have an opinion a already in this thread. I'm dreaming and researching getting a used machine after the first of the year after taxes are done. So Bobcat, Kubota, Cat? I see those for sale the most. Hours. I've seen them with less than 1K hours and as high as 4K. Any iut would be greatly appreciated and I research this topic.
 
ghost said:
Bringing this back up. I'm going to be taking out the last pines soon. Shortly there after I'll be renting from another rental place that has Bobcat's. IDK what machines they have but after talking to some local people the Bobcat is supposed to be better. Price it close to the same so I figured why not. Now I was going to make a new thread on used machine advise and brand thoughts but figured all of you that have an opinion a already in this thread. I'm dreaming and researching getting a used machine after the first of the year after taxes are done. So Bobcat, Kubota, Cat? I see those for sale the most. Hours. I've seen them with less than 1K hours and as high as 4K. Any iut would be greatly appreciated and I research this topic.
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Takeuchi. Everyone I know who has one loves it. They are fast, strong, simple, reliable Japanese machines. I have an older TB135, but if I were looking for one now, it would be a TB235 or TB240 with angle blade.
 
jeepinmatt said:
Takeuchi. Everyone I know who has one loves it. They are fast, strong, simple, reliable Japanese machines. I have an older TB135, but if I were looking for one now, it would be a TB235 or TB240 with angle blade.
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That is another name I have seen but not as often. I forgot to add looking into a 8K -10K machine.
 
ghost said:
That is another name I have seen but not as often. I forgot to add looking into a 8K -10K machine.
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Dollars or pounds?
 
Not mini-x necessarily but we have a small articulated Ta-Hootchie loader at work for getting under the conveyors and so on for clean out chores. It is the definition of rode hard and put away wet. The thing just doesn’t quit!
 
ghost said:
I'd assume a 8K - 10K DOLLAR machine would be rough. Everything I have seen has been north of $20K. Just researching to see if it's doable. All that to say pounds. ;)
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Figured, but just making sure. You can get an older little 2 ton machine for that price range.

Personally, I think a 10k pound machine is starting to get on the "too big to be handy" side of the spectrum. I've had a lot of situations where my 7500lb, 59" wide machine just barely fit, but only 1 or 2 times where I absolutely couldn't get the job done because the machine wasn't powerful or heavy enough. Usually it just entails busting a few more roots to push a tree over, or repositioning to get a better angle or shorter reach on something. I've thought about upgrading to something bigger, but everything on mine is a good fit for what I do, and I assume your usage would be similar. It's also easier to drag around on a trailer compared to a heavier machine, but not sure how much you'd be doing that.

Looking back through this thread, that machine you rented had way too wide of a bucket for what you were doing, and probably made it seem much less powerful than it was. A 12" bucket would have been ideal, and an 18" better than the 24" that it appears to be. You're welcome to come run my ragged out TB135 with a 12" and 18" bucket and see how it performs. It's hard to tell from the pics, but it looks like a Wacker EZ38 that you rented, and those have about 7200lb breakout force. My TB135 has 8400lb breakout force, and can really tear through some stuff with a 12" bucket on it. I also looked up the Bobcat E35 and Kubota KX121 and they both have about 7200lb breakout force. Whereas the newer generation Kubota KX040 has a 9500lb breakout force.

Also, the one you were using was a zero tail swing model. Unless you are regularly working against walls or other constraints, you're better off with a "traditional" mini ex that has a longer body and more counterweight. They have a narrower width outside to outside, and the counterweight out back gives you a lot more stability and resistance to lifting the rear.

To me, the perfect do-all machine would be a KX040 with hydraulic thumb, 6way blade, and enclosed cab (in that order of priority). But they are north of $40k in decent condition with those options, so I'll probably keep riding the Taco-hoochie (that's the correct pronunciation @skyhighZJ :laughing:) for a while.
 
jeepinmatt said:
Figured, but just making sure. You can get an older little 2 ton machine for that price range.

Personally, I think a 10k pound machine is starting to get on the "too big to be handy" side of the spectrum. I've had a lot of situations where my 7500lb, 59" wide machine just barely fit, but only 1 or 2 times where I absolutely couldn't get the job done because the machine wasn't powerful or heavy enough. Usually it just entails busting a few more roots to push a tree over, or repositioning to get a better angle or shorter reach on something. I've thought about upgrading to something bigger, but everything on mine is a good fit for what I do, and I assume your usage would be similar. It's also easier to drag around on a trailer compared to a heavier machine, but not sure how much you'd be doing that.

Looking back through this thread, that machine you rented had way too wide of a bucket for what you were doing, and probably made it seem much less powerful than it was. A 12" bucket would have been ideal, and an 18" better than the 24" that it appears to be. You're welcome to come run my ragged out TB135 with a 12" and 18" bucket and see how it performs. It's hard to tell from the pics, but it looks like a Wacker EZ38 that you rented, and those have about 7200lb breakout force. My TB135 has 8400lb breakout force, and can really tear through some stuff with a 12" bucket on it. I also looked up the Bobcat E35 and Kubota KX121 and they both have about 7200lb breakout force. Whereas the newer generation Kubota KX040 has a 9500lb breakout force.

Also, the one you were using was a zero tail swing model. Unless you are regularly working against walls or other constraints, you're better off with a "traditional" mini ex that has a longer body and more counterweight. They have a narrower width outside to outside, and the counterweight out back gives you a lot more stability and resistance to lifting the rear.

To me, the perfect do-all machine would be a KX040 with hydraulic thumb, 6way blade, and enclosed cab (in that order of priority). But they are north of $40k in decent condition with those options, so I'll probably keep riding the Taco-hoochie (that's the correct pronunciation @skyhighZJ :laughing:) for a while.
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Thanks for that info on the bucket. I didn't think about the smaller one having more force. I have looked at a few machines on line that are in the 7K - 8K area and they aren't super expensive. I put 10K as a top end. I know I don't want anything bigger. This one caught my eye. I'd add a thumb of course.

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2008 Takeuchi Mini Excavator tb228​

$23,900

1698780334871.jpeg




Very clean Only 1912 hours 2 speed Quick coupler Aux hydraulics Very Good tracks Add hydraulic thumb for $1750 We offer all types of financing We deliver nationwide Blue Best Equipment Sales.
 
ghost said:
Thanks for that info on the bucket. I didn't think about the smaller one having more force. I have looked at a few machines on line that are in the 7K - 8K area and they aren't super expensive. I put 10K as a top end. I know I don't want anything bigger. This one caught my eye. I'd add a thumb of course.

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2008 Takeuchi Mini Excavator tb228​

$23,900

View attachment 406123



Very clean Only 1912 hours 2 speed Quick coupler Aux hydraulics Very Good tracks Add hydraulic thumb for $1750 We offer all types of financing We deliver nationwide Blue Best Equipment Sales.
Click to expand...
I think you’ll be unhappy with a 228 (2.8 ton). Not enough weight, reach, or power. For what they are asking, once you add the thumb and tax, you could probably end up with a TB135 with hydraulic thumb, quick coupler, 12” & 18” buckets, a known history, and new tracks. ;)

For real, I’d say a minimum 35 series machine.
 
jeepinmatt said:
I think you’ll be unhappy with a 228 (2.8 ton). Not enough weight, reach, or power. For what they are asking, once you add the thumb and tax, you could probably end up with a TB135 with hydraulic thumb, quick coupler, 12” & 18” buckets, a known history, and new tracks. ;)

For real, I’d say a minimum 35 series machine.
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I had to double check the for sale threads to make sure i didn't miss it when you listed yours for sale :laughing:
 
jeepyjman said:
I had to double check the for sale threads to make sure i didn't miss it when you listed yours for sale :laughing:
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I took that as an offer to me when I was ready. I could have taken that totally wrong. I have full intentions on hitting up anyone on this board to advise me when I do go for it. Assuming I can make this dream a reality.
 
jeepyjman said:
I had to double check the for sale threads to make sure i didn't miss it when you listed yours for sale :laughing:
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ghost said:
I took that as an offer to me when I was ready. I could have taken that totally wrong. I have full intentions on hitting up anyone on this board to advise me when I do go for it. Assuming I can make this dream a reality.
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It's not listed anyway, but as they say on facebook, It is still available. I don't want to deal with offering it up to the world, but I'd deal with NC4x4 people and get it soldt.
 
jeepinmatt said:
Figured, but just making sure. You can get an older little 2 ton machine for that price range.

Personally, I think a 10k pound machine is starting to get on the "too big to be handy" side of the spectrum. I've had a lot of situations where my 7500lb, 59" wide machine just barely fit, but only 1 or 2 times where I absolutely couldn't get the job done because the machine wasn't powerful or heavy enough. Usually it just entails busting a few more roots to push a tree over, or repositioning to get a better angle or shorter reach on something. I've thought about upgrading to something bigger, but everything on mine is a good fit for what I do, and I assume your usage would be similar. It's also easier to drag around on a trailer compared to a heavier machine, but not sure how much you'd be doing that.

Looking back through this thread, that machine you rented had way too wide of a bucket for what you were doing, and probably made it seem much less powerful than it was. A 12" bucket would have been ideal, and an 18" better than the 24" that it appears to be. You're welcome to come run my ragged out TB135 with a 12" and 18" bucket and see how it performs. It's hard to tell from the pics, but it looks like a Wacker EZ38 that you rented, and those have about 7200lb breakout force. My TB135 has 8400lb breakout force, and can really tear through some stuff with a 12" bucket on it. I also looked up the Bobcat E35 and Kubota KX121 and they both have about 7200lb breakout force. Whereas the newer generation Kubota KX040 has a 9500lb breakout force.

Also, the one you were using was a zero tail swing model. Unless you are regularly working against walls or other constraints, you're better off with a "traditional" mini ex that has a longer body and more counterweight. They have a narrower width outside to outside, and the counterweight out back gives you a lot more stability and resistance to lifting the rear.

To me, the perfect do-all machine would be a KX040 with hydraulic thumb, 6way blade, and enclosed cab (in that order of priority). But they are north of $40k in decent condition with those options, so I'll probably keep riding the Taco-hoochie (that's the correct pronunciation @skyhighZJ :laughing:) for a while.
Click to expand...

For the record kx121 has 1500lb more lifting cap at ground level and a ft longer reach than the 135, is only 3" wider and pretty much every one sold had an angle blade not to mention they are powered by kubota. Just saying
 
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