Mini excavators, sometimes called compact excavators, usually fall into the smallest weight class of excavators due to their compact size. Like standard excavators, they’re used to dig trenches and ditches. Though their dig depth is more limited, these small excavators can fit into tight spaces where standard-sized vehicles can’t. They’re typically used in applications like outdoor landscaping projects, home renovations, sewer repairs, and water line installations.
Mini excavators are measured by their operating weight, the total weight of the machine when it’s in use, including any excavator attachments. Knowing the operating weight of your vehicle is important, both so that you operate safely within the machine’s limits and make sure that it’s appropriate for your jobsite.
In this post, we go over the typical operating weights of mini excavators, as well as other important specs, and provide some tips on how to choose the right size excavator for your job.
Table of contents
- How Much Do Mini Excavators Weigh?
- Common Mini Excavator Operating Weights
- How to Determine A Mini Excavator’s Weight
- How to Choose the Right Size Mini Excavator
- Mini Excavators vs. Standard Excavators
- How Much Does a Mini Excavator Rental Cost?
- Need to Rent a Mini Excavator?
How Much Do Mini Excavators Weigh?
The specific weight of a mini excavator depends on the model. Generally, mini excavator operating weights can range from about 2,000 lb to 20,000 lb. Sounds pretty heavy for a “mini” machine, but they’re small when compared to standard excavators, which range from 22,000 lb to 99,000 lb.
Typically, heavier and larger machines have more horsepower and deeper maximum dig depths. So if you’re in need of a relatively small piece of equipment with a powerful digging capacity, you might be looking for a vehicle on the bigger side of “mini.”
How Attachments Impact the Operating Weight
Mini excavators can accommodate a wide range of attachments. Each attachment can impact the operating weight of your vehicle, depending on its own individual weight.
Here are some of the most common excavator attachments and approximately how much weight they add:
- Bucket—12”/63 lb: Buckets are used for scooping up soft materials, like soil. They’re useful for jobs that require sloping, leveling, and backfilling.
- Auger—285 lb: Augers are used to dig holes. They can also help with breaking up hard ground and removing debris.
- Hydraulic breaker—659 lb: Similar to an auger, a hydraulic breaker is used to break up hard material, but it’s even more powerful. It’s generally used in demolition, breaking up concrete structures and rocks. It’s powered by the excavator’s auxiliary hydraulics.
- Clamp—218 lb: Clamps help remove debris from a worksite, like tree stumps and broken concrete. They’re better at holding more cumbersome objects than buckets are.
- Grapple—200 lb: Grapples also help pick up, transport, and sort debris and material that other attachments can’t manage. They’re useful for many material handling applications and make easy work of grabbing and maneuvering hard-to-reach, unwieldy material.
Common Mini Excavator Operating Weights
The weight of a mini excavator can vary depending on the model. Here are the operating weights of common excavator models.
| Model | Operating weight (lb) | Horsepower (hp) | Digging depth (ft) |
| Bobcat E10 | 2,593 | 10 | 6 |
| John Deere 26G | 6,110 | 20 | 8.5 |
| Kubota KX057-5 | 12,346 | 48 | 12.75 |
| CAT 308 CR | 20,077 | 70 | 15.2 |
How to Determine A Mini Excavator’s Weight
The best way to find out your mini excavator’s exact weight is to consult the manufacturer’s materials. Usually, the weight is stated in the manual or on the data plate.
If you’re looking for a mini excavator to rent, BigRentz lists mini excavators by their operating weights.
As a general rule, you should always read the operator manual for construction equipment before you use it. That way, you’re aware of the machine’s limitations and know how to operate it safely.
How to Choose the Right Size Mini Excavator
The right mini excavator for you depends on the specific needs of your job. Here are some factors to take into consideration when looking for a mini excavator to rent.
- Digging depth: Make sure you choose an excavator that has a sufficient maximum dig depth for your project. Larger machines typically have more digging power than smaller ones.
- Horsepower: The horsepower of your machine not only affects its capacity to work, including speed and force, but also how well it handles attachments. So consider which attachments you plan to use and their individual power needs. If your power demands are higher, you might want to opt for a larger, more powerful machine.
- Reach: The reach and lift capacity of an excavator can vary. Some models are equipped with longer or more flexible arms, which can be useful if you’re dealing with varied heights or need to transport heavy loads. You might also want to consider your excavator’s dump height and ensure that it’s high enough to reach your dump truck for easy transportation and disposal.
- Attachments: Most mini excavators support a wide variety of attachments, but some are better at handling them than others. If you need to use multiple attachments, make sure your excavator has both the horsepower and the appropriate operating weight limitations to support them.
- Type of boom: There are three types of booms found on mini excavators: fixed, knuckle, or swing. Swing booms are the most common and have the ability to move both up and down and side to side. Knuckle and fixed booms are mounted directly to the frame, which can limit their range of motion.
Mini Excavators vs. Standard Excavators
Mini excavators can perform well in a wide variety of applications, but they’re not ideal for every situation, especially if you need more power. Understanding the difference between mini and standard excavators can help you identify which is best suited for your job.
To help you get a sense of which piece of equipment might work best for your job needs, here are a few points of comparison:
- Size: Mini excavators are smaller and lighter than standard excavators. That makes them ideal for work in tight spaces, small jobs, and areas that are susceptible to surface damage. But if you have a big job with a large scope and high power demands, you’re likely to need a standard excavator.
- Maneuverability: Mini excavators are very maneuverable. Some models even come with retractable undercarriages, making it even easier for the vehicle to fit into tight and narrow spaces. Some areas are too small or difficult for standard-sized excavators to navigate, so if that’s a concern, you might be better off with a mini.
- Versatility: Both types of excavators are versatile in their own right, but having more horsepower does mean that the standard excavator can generally support more attachments more efficiently than the mini.
- Bucket capacity: The larger size of a standard excavator translates to a bigger bucket, as well as a deeper maximum dig depth as compared to the mini.
- Reach: Standard size excavators can both reach higher and lift heavier loads more easily than mini excavators. But mini excavators can reach into narrower spaces than standard machines can.
- Cost: Due to their smaller size and more limited capacities, mini excavators typically cost less to buy or rent than standard excavators do.
- Job: Mini excavators typically work best in small, narrow, and more delicate areas, though they’re also useful in some heavier duty construction work. Standard excavators are generally better for bigger projects, with heavier materials and more difficult terrain.
How Much Does a Mini Excavator Rental Cost?
The rental cost of a mini excavator can vary based on factors like the size of the excavator, availability, rental duration, and where you live. Typically, daily rental rates range from $225 to $575, weekly rates range from $700 to $1,550, and monthly rates range from $1,800 to $3,675.
Need to Rent a Mini Excavator?
If you’re ready to rent a mini excavator, you’ve come to the right place. With a wide variety of mini excavators to rent, ranging from 2,000 lb to 20,000 lb, BigRentz has the equipment to meet all your project needs.
