Digger for farmer

Ford4life

What digger do ye reckon would be best for around 15k?
Seen a lot of EX-60s on donedeal, are the dash 2,3&4 problematic on them or just on the bigger ones like the 120s etc
Would want something with a bit of size, a 6 ton would be ideal as can do drainage, lifting fert bags, bits of reclaiming and still use it around the sheds for cleaning out and push in silage if im feeling lazy
What are kobelcos and UHO Hitachi's like seen a few of them aswell

AckwelFoley

Ford4life wrote: »

What digger do ye reckon would be best for around 15k?
Seen a lot of EX-60s on donedeal, are the dash 2,3&4 problematic on them or just on the bigger ones like the 120s etc
Would want something with a bit of size, a 6 ton would be ideal as can do drainage, lifting fert bags, bits of reclaiming and still use it around the sheds for cleaning out and push in silage if im feeling lazy
What are kobelcos and UHO Hitachi's like seen a few of them aswell

We have always had a JCB on the farm great all rounder and mobile, but limited if you're doing mainly digging.

Stay absolutely away from an ex hire machine.
Ie, ex tool hire.
And yea, father feeds the silage with the JCB

But I agree, 6 tonne is a good size for farm work.

orchard farm

Have a ex60 _1 here for years great farm machine easy run,easy on ground,easy to fix only issue is position of the levers

Ford4life

AckwelFoley wrote: »

We have always had a JCB on the farm great all rounder and mobile, but limited if you're doing mainly digging.

Stay absolutely away from an ex hire machine.
Ie, ex tool hire.
And yea, father feeds the silage with the JCB

But I agree, 6 tonne is a good size for farm work.

The JCB wouldnt be great in wet ground id assume sink fierce easy under her own weight, youd go insane driving them too if you were digging out a drain, Drop the legs, dig a bit, lift them up gomove the tractor and trailer then repeat
Ex hires are always abused, grease doesnt exist when its not your machine is the usual thing

Ford4life

orchard farm wrote: »

Have a ex60 _1 here for years great farm machine easy run,easy on ground,easy to fix only issue is position of the levers

Is it really as bad as most fellas say? is it that you cant rest your arms on anything while using them or what

TooOldBoots

Wouldn't bother with an EX-60, they are the farmers 390 of the excavators. Undersized, Under-powered, over priced and over hyped. You'd be better off with a ten to 14 ton machine. A small excavator under pressure will burn more diesel and break down more than a proper sized machine.
Great value out there in the 10 - 14 ton range. You could pick up a Hyundai 140 or Komatsu for more or less the same price as an ex-60.
Either way you need a low-loader to move them so maybe a Backhoe JCB might suit better

older by the day

I have dreamed many years of getting a digger. "I told all of my friends, again and again and again, I drove them round the bend, now you're my only friend". But most lads with the digger, has the farm looking like Stalingrad after the war. A one man band going for pipes, going for hard core, trying to look after cattle. I couldn't start a drain without hitting a nob of rock. So I need to buy a breaker. Need a low loader to go to the outside farm. And don't have knowledge on how to fix them. Cost of oils parts. Twud hardly pay a farmer. I'd love a digger

ballinadog

We’ve an EX100-5 Hitachi, bought it in 2013. Serious machine, can’t fault it. Loads of power and even at 10tn still neat enough to fit in to tight enough corners. Posters are right tho, the Hitachis have a premium price. For same money ya’ll get a fresher machine. The Green Kobelcos (stay away from any yellow NH Kobelco’s) and Komatsu’s would be my next recommendations brand wise

Kevhog1988

I drove an 8 tonne kobelco on a job I'n Scotland a few yrs ago when we were under pressure for site based lads and I had to leave the comfort of the office. Serious machine altogether for its size and was handy on juice. I think I put about 600m of duct in one day with it. Had the swivel boom aswell which is great for tight digging or getting rocks out etc.

AckwelFoley

Ford4life wrote: »

The JCB wouldnt be great in wet ground id assume sink fierce easy under her own weight, youd go insane driving them too if you were digging out a drain, Drop the legs, dig a bit, lift them up gomove the tractor and trailer then repeat
Ex hires are always abused, grease doesnt exist when its not your machine is the usual thing

The problem with ex hire machines isn't lack of grease. The seen more grease than most machines. But in particularly the smaller ones you would have weekend warriors hiring them and using them for work they were not intended to do. They're only a tool. It's easy break a shovel or spade if you don't know how to use it.

5000 hours in an owner operated machine and its practically new. 5000 hours tool hire are absolutely wrecked.

Also, what happens is lads who can drive machines hire them to use rock breakers on them rather than wreck their own.

One guy hired a 13 tonne with a rock breaker for 2 weeks. Owner got a little suspicious paid a visit to him..here's the digger in practically a stone quarry hammering out tanks for a slatted shed out of practically all solid rock while his own machines lay there polished doing little.

"I'll need it for another week, so can you book it in for the next 2 weeks"

I will in my bollocks he says

Stihl waters

Take a bit of advice and pay a man with a digger to do what needs to be done when it needs to be done, you'll buy the digger and it'll get wavin for the first month or so until silage starts or cows start calving or milking starts up again and it'll be left where you started the last job half done and up to its tracks in mud like 80 percent of farmers diggers, coupled with the fact most lads aren't good enough to make a right job of what they start and finish up in a hurry because theres a test or slurry to spread
Leave it parked then for 6 weeks and wonder why are hoses bursting and slow to start and battery dead the day you want it because you didnt get a chance to finish that job because you didn't get time
You'll end up spending 2 grand on it to make it respectable for selling only to sell it on to the next lad who'll think he'll make 45 acres of rushes and freach into the golden vale because he opens up a hundred yards of drain, by all means buy a digger but like 80 percent of farmers diggers it'll probably end up like the batty pony bought in spancil hill for the young lads and you looking in over a gate at it telling yourself I must do something with that yoke after buying it
From experience all diggers on farms seem to do is make work for lads who have enough to do anyway, pay someone else to do it and do it right, and if it's for pushing in silage to cows you want, buy a jcb 2cx with bucket and forks and it'll do all you need it to do

K.G.

In west cork 20 ton is the only job,for what the lads down this way do.smaller ones are fine for cleaning drains but for reclamation you need the 20 ton.if ye want to see the kind of thing that regularly goes on in west cork especially from around skibbereen west check out jb agri video s on you tube-"5 diggers one job"400 euro an hour id say for the 5 and this isnt the first job this crowd have done,could have 40 acres done this way

Crackedjim01

I hire an ex60-5 on steel tracks with a blade every now and again and I can get a lot of work done with it. It will load into a 14t dump trailer on level ground but the bucket will be close to full crowd and you can't go full chat when slewing. I have used it in and around the yard and under sheds where a 13t wouldn't be practical. Controls are nice and plenty of power for its size. Definitely not compatible to a 12/13t machine though.

orchard farm

Ford4life wrote: »

Is it really as bad as most fellas say? is it that you cant rest your arms on anything while using them or what

I used it for 15 years, i guess you get used to it but in the end had to move digger on as my shoulder couldnt hack sittin in that forward position any longer, once you sit in a more modern machine with controls on the armrests youd never go back apart from that id recommend the -1

older by the day

K.G. wrote: »

In west cork 20 ton is the only job,for what the lads down this way do.smaller ones are fine for cleaning drains but for reclamation you need the 20 ton.if ye want to see the kind of thing that regularly goes on in west cork especially from around skibbereen west check out jb agri video s on you tube-"5 diggers one job"400 euro an hour id say for the 5 and this isnt the first job this crowd have done,could have 40 acres done this way[/quote,


5 diggers, 3 lorrys hauling, 2 tractors and dump trailers, 2 bulldozers grading all in the same day. So don't be going by them fellows. Roughly 200 acres in the last ten years

K.G.

older by the day wrote: »

K.G. wrote: »

In west cork 20 ton is the only job,for what the lads down this way do.smaller ones are fine for cleaning drains but for reclamation you need the 20 ton.if ye want to see the kind of thing that regularly goes on in west cork especially from around skibbereen west check out jb agri video s on you tube-"5 diggers one job"400 euro an hour id say for the 5 and this isnt the first job this crowd have done,could have 40 acres done this way[/quote,


5 diggers, 3 lorrys hauling, 2 tractors and dump trailers, 2 bulldozers grading all in the same day. So don't be going by them fellows. Roughly 200 acres in the last ten years

Ah i know where they are but wouldn't be that close to them.but there would alot of similar stuff going on but maybe not on that scale.we bought a.place 5 years ago and have started doing a section every year with a couple of years probaly another 5 years in it

davidk1394

We have a 1990 3cx. Great tool to have. A versatile machine around the yard but slow and cumbersome on the roads. While we do a lot of digging with it some jobs like putting in ducting for the three phase cable and digging the foundations for the parlor I hired in a 7 tonne Doosan and a friend drove it. It allowed me to stay working at other jobs.

Ford4life

ballinadog wrote: »

We’ve an EX100-5 Hitachi, bought it in 2013. Serious machine, can’t fault it. Loads of power and even at 10tn still neat enough to fit in to tight enough corners. Posters are right tho, the Hitachis have a premium price. For same money ya’ll get a fresher machine. The Green Kobelcos (stay away from any yellow NH Kobelco’s) and Komatsu’s would be my next recommendations brand wise

Price doesnt really rise much the heavier they are usually, whats wrong with the yellow kobelcos? Komatsu are reliable enough I've heard but parts are fierce expensive arent they if anything goes wrong?

Ford4life

Kevhog1988 wrote: »

I drove an 8 tonne kobelco on a job I'n Scotland a few yrs ago when we were under pressure for site based lads and I had to leave the comfort of the office. Serious machine altogether for its size and was handy on juice. I think I put about 600m of duct in one day with it. Had the swivel boom aswell which is great for tight digging or getting rocks out etc.

Was that one of the green ones or yellow NH ones? Knuckle boom is a good job alright but reduces the reach a lot

Ford4life

AckwelFoley wrote: »

The problem with ex hire machines isn't lack of grease. The seen more grease than most machines. But in particularly the smaller ones you would have weekend warriors hiring them and using them for work they were not intended to do. They're only a tool. It's easy break a shovel or spade if you don't know how to use it.

5000 hours in an owner operated machine and its practically new. 5000 hours tool hire are absolutely wrecked.

Also, what happens is lads who can drive machines hire them to use rock breakers on them rather than wreck their own.

One guy hired a 13 tonne with a rock breaker for 2 weeks. Owner got a little suspicious paid a visit to him..here's the digger in practically a stone quarry hammering out tanks for a slatted shed out of practically all solid rock while his own machines lay there polished doing little.

"I'll need it for another week, so can you book it in for the next 2 weeks"

I will in my bollocks he says

Everyone can be guilty of using machines for stuff they werent designed for Rockbreakers are fierce hard on machines alright, what parts would the breaker weaken the most, what would you have to watch out for on a machine thats already piped for a breaker?

Ford4life

Stihl waters wrote: »

Take a bit of advice and pay a man with a digger to do what needs to be done when it needs to be done, you'll buy the digger and it'll get wavin for the first month or so until silage starts or cows start calving or milking starts up again and it'll be left where you started the last job half done and up to its tracks in mud like 80 percent of farmers diggers, coupled with the fact most lads aren't good enough to make a right job of what they start and finish up in a hurry because theres a test or slurry to spread
Leave it parked then for 6 weeks and wonder why are hoses bursting and slow to start and battery dead the day you want it because you didnt get a chance to finish that job because you didn't get time
You'll end up spending 2 grand on it to make it respectable for selling only to sell it on to the next lad who'll think he'll make 45 acres of rushes and freach into the golden vale because he opens up a hundred yards of drain, by all means buy a digger but like 80 percent of farmers diggers it'll probably end up like the batty pony bought in spancil hill for the young lads and you looking in over a gate at it telling yourself I must do something with that yoke after buying it
From experience all diggers on farms seem to do is make work for lads who have enough to do anyway, pay someone else to do it and do it right, and if it's for pushing in silage to cows you want, buy a jcb 2cx with bucket and forks and it'll do all you need it to do

Tis for the convenience of being able to use it for jobs as they need to be done, any fella around here doing digger work is always fierce busy
We arent milking, i would hope to milk cows in the future though
Silage only lasts a day, I'd have all our slurry out in one day then I'd have be idle until second cut in 3/4 months time besides my day job but thats just an odd day here and there usually
With the silage it would just be if the digger was in the yard and could use it to clean out the shed also, id usually use the pike
You are right though for sure about most farmers diggers

Kevhog1988

Ford4life wrote: »

Was that one of the green ones or yellow NH ones? Knuckle boom is a good job alright but reduces the reach a lot

Green one. How do you make out it reduces the reach?. If anything it lengthens it as the boom is further away from the cab.

Ford4life

K.G. wrote: »

In west cork 20 ton is the only job,for what the lads down this way do.smaller ones are fine for cleaning drains but for reclamation you need the 20 ton.if ye want to see the kind of thing that regularly goes on in west cork especially from around skibbereen west check out jb agri video s on you tube-"5 diggers one job"400 euro an hour id say for the 5 and this isnt the first job this crowd have done,could have 40 acres done this way

Wouldnt be a whole pile of reclaiming maybe an acre here and there, im from around that area and actually saw them doing that work, theyre the same crowd that had the 40ton get stuck right?

Ford4life

Crackedjim01 wrote: »

I hire an ex60-5 on steel tracks with a blade every now and again and I can get a lot of work done with it. It will load into a 14t dump trailer on level ground but the bucket will be close to full crowd and you can't go full chat when slewing. I have used it in and around the yard and under sheds where a 13t wouldn't be practical. Controls are nice and plenty of power for its size. Definitely not compatible to a 12/13t machine though.

12 ton would be nice for definite and wouldnt be much more expensive than a 6 ton tbh but we could move the 6t in our trailer we have already which would be handy, 6 ton would be a lot lighter on diesel aswell

Ford4life

orchard farm wrote: »

I used it for 15 years, i guess you get used to it but in the end had to move digger on as my shoulder couldnt hack sittin in that forward position any longer, once you sit in a more modern machine with controls on the armrests youd never go back apart from that id recommend the -1

Could you make any modifications to improve the comfort, diy armrest kind of thing? Long days would be tough so if youd have to be hunched over all day

Ford4life

Kevhog1988 wrote: »

Green one. How do you make out it reduces the reach?. If anything it lengthens it as the boom is further away from the cab.

do you mean it had the boom out infront like this one? https://www.donedeal.ie/plantmachinery-for-sale/sold-hitachi-zx48u-5/27071410
I thought it was one like this you meant the boom would be shorter with it
https://www.donedeal.ie/plantmachinery-for-sale/hitachi-ex60-5-for-sale/27047381

Kevhog1988

Ford4life wrote: »

do you mean it had the boom out infront like this one? https://www.donedeal.ie/plantmachinery-for-sale/sold-hitachi-zx48u-5/27071410
I thought it was one like this you meant the boom would be shorter with it
https://www.donedeal.ie/plantmachinery-for-sale/hitachi-ex60-5-for-sale/27047381

Yeah that's a knuckle boom

Iodine1

Ford4life wrote: »

Wouldnt be a whole pile of reclaiming maybe an acre here and there, im from around that area and actually saw them doing that work, theyre the same crowd that had the 40ton get stuck right?[/QUOTE

In this case you don't need a digger, it's only wishful thinking. On any farm there is bound to be other things you could spend money on. Your digger will be great for a fortnight then all the bits and pieces will be done and you'll be looking at a pile of metal lads will be offering to take off your hands at a mighty loss.

ballinadog

Ford4life wrote: »

Price doesnt really rise much the heavier they are usually, whats wrong with the yellow kobelcos? Komatsu are reliable enough I've heard but parts are fierce expensive arent they if anything goes wrong?

Re the expensive parts, we just found that anything with them tended to be a main dealer issue, an we are on Galway Mayo border so it was along way to McHales in Birdhill Tipp. Having said that we’d three of them, a mini digger and two rubber ducks (9tn and 11tn) and all three worked without much bother. Volvos are similar, anything goes wrong it tends to be off to Pat O Donnells, an they seem to give a bit more bother than the Komatsu’s. They have to “regenerate” every now and again and if ya put it off too many times it’s POD again. That’s the beauty of the Hitachis, over here in the West ya have McSharry in Roscommon, Gaynor in Frenchpark, MG in Swinford all as dealers and the likes of Eamon Longs in Galway all with parts readily available

Re the Kobelcos, I don’t know why, but we’d two identical 135’s, same years and everything, but the Green Kobelco would lose and find the New Holland for power and agileness. We reconditioned the NH’s hydraulic pump too but to no avail. Just felt dead

mythos110

We bought a 1993 JCB JS130 around 2001 for about £12k at the time. All electrics etc had stopped on it bar the lights. She dig fierce work around the farm from digging out tanks, clearing land and the sites for myself and my brothers houses. Defo paid for itself about 10 times over. About 4 years ago it was getting very shook and in danger of going up in flames so moved it on and got about 5k for it for export and replaced it with a 2002 JS130. Its a treat to have fuel and temp gauges etc working and to have a quick hitch. We wouldn't be without a machine on the farm now. While its not used every day, it can save some hardship when you need it. Recently picked up pallet forks and a man basket which makes trimming trees, accessing gutters etc a hell of a lot safer.
I do all my own mechanic work but even so, be prepared for the odd big repair bill. Recently the 2002 machine lost throttle. I managed to diagnose the throttle angle sensor which was something around €300 to replace. A final drive failure could north of €2,500 for a reconditioned second hand unit - which I had to replace on the old machine.
Like any machine, regular servicing and kind operators will make a machine go a hell of a long way.

Ford4life

Iodine1 wrote: »

Ford4life wrote: »

Wouldnt be a whole pile of reclaiming maybe an acre here and there, im from around that area and actually saw them doing that work, theyre the same crowd that had the 40ton get stuck right?[/QUOTE

In this case you don't need a digger, it's only wishful thinking. On any farm there is bound to be other things you could spend money on. Your digger will be great for a fortnight then all the bits and pieces will be done and you'll be looking at a pile of metal lads will be offering to take off your hands at a mighty loss.

Half thinking about digging out a tank and still havent heard back from the digger man, theres drainage to be done in some fields, drains to be cleaned out every year, bits and pieces of rocks id like to take out and bury
I'd have probably anywhere from 100-300 hundred hours of work with it anyway if not more

Ford4life

Kevhog1988 wrote: »

Yeah that's a knuckle boom

Is that the type of boom she had on her I meant

Kevhog1988

Ford4life wrote: »

Iodine1 wrote: »

Half thinking about digging out a tank and still havent heard back from the digger man, theres drainage to be done in some fields, drains to be cleaned out every year, bits and pieces of rocks id like to take out and bury
I'd have probably anywhere from 100-300 hundred hours of work with it anyway if not more

Your a busy man aswell as doing the leaving.

Ford4life

ballinadog wrote: »

Re the expensive parts, we just found that anything with them tended to be a main dealer issue, an we are on Galway Mayo border so it was along way to McHales in Birdhill Tipp. Having said that we’d three of them, a mini digger and two rubber ducks (9tn and 11tn) and all three worked without much bother. Volvos are similar, anything goes wrong it tends to be off to Pat O Donnells, an they seem to give a bit more bother than the Komatsu’s. They have to “regenerate” every now and again and if ya put it off too many times it’s POD again. That’s the beauty of the Hitachis, over here in the West ya have McSharry in Roscommon, Gaynor in Frenchpark, MG in Swinford all as dealers and the likes of Eamon Longs in Galway all with parts readily available

Re the Kobelcos, I don’t know why, but we’d two identical 135’s, same years and everything, but the Green Kobelco would lose and find the New Holland for power and agileness. We reconditioned the NH’s hydraulic pump too but to no avail. Just felt dead

Dont think I have ever heard someone describe a 9 ton as a minidigger
Emissions regulations are after ruining a lot of machines
Plenty of breakers around the place for hitachi, easy to get parts
Reliability is the main priority something you can sit into turn the key and work away
Was there some sort of limiter to the flow maybe?

Ford4life

Kevhog1988 wrote: »

Ford4life wrote: »

Your a busy man aswell as doing the leaving.

Predicted grades lad Dunno will I bother with any exams tbh

Ford4life

mythos110 wrote: »

We bought a 1993 JCB JS130 around 2001 for about £12k at the time. All electrics etc had stopped on it bar the lights. She dig fierce work around the farm from digging out tanks, clearing land and the sites for myself and my brothers houses. Defo paid for itself about 10 times over. About 4 years ago it was getting very shook and in danger of going up in flames so moved it on and got about 5k for it for export and replaced it with a 2002 JS130. Its a treat to have fuel and temp gauges etc working and to have a quick hitch. We wouldn't be without a machine on the farm now. While its not used every day, it can save some hardship when you need it. Recently picked up pallet forks and a man basket which makes trimming trees, accessing gutters etc a hell of a lot safer.
I do all my own mechanic work but even so, be prepared for the odd big repair bill. Recently the 2002 machine lost throttle. I managed to diagnose the throttle angle sensor which was something around €300 to replace. A final drive failure could north of €2,500 for a reconditioned second hand unit - which I had to replace on the old machine.
Like any machine, regular servicing and kind operators will make a machine go a hell of a long way.

Cheap and cheerful can work out very well or it can go horribly, checking through them thoroughly would avoid any big bills down the line
Nice to have gauges working for sure, father calls them a "luxury"
Very few machines would put up with the abuse theyd get from some operators Like you said regular oil checks, greasing etc goes a long way for any machine
Youd find a lot of jobs a digger would be useful for that you wouldnt think youd use them for at all

Green farmer

What even one you get, keep an eye on the oil seals on the tracks. Had the oil leak out before and the final drive chewed itself to bits. After that it was a 2-3k repair bill and that was only on a 3tonne machine.

Stihl waters

Green farmer wrote: »

What even one you get, keep an eye on the oil seals on the tracks. Had the oil leak out before and the final drive chewed itself to bits. After that it was a 2-3k repair bill and that was only on a 3tonne machine.

Is it not just a case of removing the final drive motor and replacing, seems like an easy enough job, or are the parts seriously expensive

Green farmer

Stihl waters wrote: »

Is it not just a case of removing the final drive motor and replacing, seems like an easy enough job, or are the parts seriously expensive

Like anything, if your very mechanically minded then you could try and repair it yourself. I only know we didnt have those skills, so had to pay a mechanic. We priced how much it was to get it reconditioned versus cost of a new unit. In the end we choose a new part as didnt want to repair it again a second time, if it failed down the road. The repair cogs etc weren't cheap either

Ford4life

Green farmer wrote: »

What even one you get, keep an eye on the oil seals on the tracks. Had the oil leak out before and the final drive chewed itself to bits. After that it was a 2-3k repair bill and that was only on a 3tonne machine.

That's certainly something you wouldn't think of to check when checking the engine oil and hydraulic
Is there a stud in them to check the oil level? Never took any notice of them before

Green farmer

Ford4life wrote: »

That's certainly something you wouldn't think of to check when checking the engine oil and hydraulic
Is there a stud in them to check the oil level? Never took any notice of them before

It's about 10 years back and we no longer have the machine, so I cannt remember fully. But afaik two things can happen, one is if the seal goes, the oil leaks out or water can get in driving through wet pubbles and damages it . Other thing that can happen is bits break off from wear and tear and damages the rest of it. When you open it up all the bits run out in a soupy mixture. So, afterwards we always looked before getting in, as dont want to damage something further, by not spotting anything that leaked. Sometimes replacing a cheap seal can avoid a bigger job.

lakill Farm

Green farmer wrote: »

What even one you get, keep an eye on the oil seals on the tracks. Had the oil leak out before and the final drive chewed itself to bits. After that it was a 2-3k repair bill and that was only on a 3tonne machine.

snap, 1800e plus vat for a final drive on a 2.7t Kubota .

lab man

Ford4life wrote: »

Kevhog1988 wrote: »

Predicted grades lad Dunno will I bother with any exams tbh

Your some fool then if you dont study and try your best in your leaving this is coming from a guy that's 48 left school at 15 no group cert no intercert and no leaving try getting a job without one you'll be told fair quick about it

Green farmer

Always found a 12 tonne machine was a lovely machine for doing all the big jobs major jobs around a farm. Whereas a 3 tonne is lovely for the smaller jobs like cleaning out sheds. Can get into places the bigger one cannt. Had a ex120 years ago and she would turn a farm inside out. However can remember throwing a drum of oil into it and the needle would barely move. In comparison to that, throw a drum of diesal into a 3 tonne and she'd keep going all day.

Albert Johnson

Green farmer wrote: »

Always found a 12 tonne machine was a lovely machine for doing all the big jobs major jobs around a farm. Whereas a 3 tonne is lovely for the smaller jobs like cleaning out sheds. Can get into places the bigger one cannt. Had a ex120 years ago and she would turn a farm inside out. However can remember throwing a drum of oil into it and the needle would barely move. In comparison to that, throw a drum of diesal into a 3 tonne and she'd keep going all day.

The auld fella used tell me about being in the pub one night when discussion turned to winning the lotto. One man suggested that he'd use his winnings to buy 100 rushy acres and a digger. His plan was to spend his time tipping about draining the ground and making a farm of it.

Another local character who was well versed in bad land and hardship happened to be listening to the first man outlining his grand plans. He informed the would be lottery winner that if he ever realised his dream that he'd sell him 80 acres of scrub and that for a small commission he'd source another 20 acres and a digger before retiring to some sunny beach like any normal person.

148multi

Green farmer wrote: »

Like anything, if your very mechanically minded then you could try and repair it yourself. I only know we didnt have those skills, so had to pay a mechanic. We priced how much it was to get it reconditioned versus cost of a new unit. In the end we choose a new part as didnt want to repair it again a second time, if it failed down the road. The repair cogs etc weren't cheap either

The final drive oil level is the most important thing to check and the least often checked.
Some drives are easy enough to fix, others like a hy- dash drive are more complex.
On a 12 ton the back to back seals are 120-150,
With 50% of the drives good would cost about 1000-1500 for parts. The likes of high tensil or barbed wire caught in the tracks will make easy work of your seals, the gear bearings are light so if oil leaks they can breakup easily then chew the gears up and crack the planetary carriers €€€€€€

Ford4life

Green farmer wrote: »

It's about 10 years back and we no longer have the machine, so I cannt remember fully. But afaik two things can happen, one is if the seal goes, the oil leaks out or water can get in driving through wet pubbles and damages it . Other thing that can happen is bits break off from wear and tear and damages the rest of it. When you open it up all the bits run out in a soupy mixture. So, afterwards we always looked before getting in, as dont want to damage something further, by not spotting anything that leaked. Sometimes replacing a cheap seal can avoid a bigger job.

Isn't it mad that one seal worth a couple euro can save thousands, not much can be done about usual wear and tear except keep an eye on it

Ford4life

Green farmer wrote: »

Always found a 12 tonne machine was a lovely machine for doing all the big jobs major jobs around a farm. Whereas a 3 tonne is lovely for the smaller jobs like cleaning out sheds. Can get into places the bigger one cannt. Had a ex120 years ago and she would turn a farm inside out. However can remember throwing a drum of oil into it and the needle would barely move. In comparison to that, throw a drum of diesal into a 3 tonne and she'd keep going all day.

6 ton and below would run on the fumes of diesel, 12 tons wouldnt be long burning a tank of diesel but you do have a lot more power. Fella i work for is thinking of selling his digger its a hitachi EX30, asking 10000 for it which isnt too bad I dont think. I have heard the engines in these arent brilliant though what do ye reckon

TooOldBoots

Ford4life wrote: »

6 ton and below would run on the fumes of diesel, 12 tons wouldnt be long burning a tank of diesel but you do have a lot more power. Fella i work for is thinking of selling his digger its a hitachi EX30, asking 10000 for it which isnt too bad I dont think. I have heard the engines in these arent brilliant though what do ye reckon

Have to disagree, a 6 ton under pressure will guzzle twice as much diesel. So as long as you are only doing a bit of hen pecking the 6 ton is a grand machine, but as soon as you need to do the heavy work it's lost