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HOME › BLOG › 6 DIFFERENT EXCAVATOR TYPES & THEIR USES ON THE CONSTRUCTION SITE

Date: March 19, 2019 by: Lior Zitzman

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When you need to lift heavy amounts of soil, an
Construction
excavator is a must on your job site. Excavators are
Tycoons
popular earthmoving vehicles that feature a bucket,
Augmented
arm, rotating cab, and movable tracks. These
Reality in
components provide superior digging power and
Construction: 6
mobility, allowing this heavy equipment to perform a
variety of functions, from digging trenches and Applications in
breaking holes to lifting away waste and excavating 2019
mines. The Construction
Risk Management
What are excavators used for? Excavators are Guide for 2019
How to Design

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building construction, and demolitions.
Source Rental
There are many types of excavators — smaller Platform A
machines handle digging and drilling functions, Blessing For
Event Planners
while larger excavators have different tools for
And Marketing
heavy-duty projects. When renting your
Teams
excavator, you’ll want to consider its size and BigRentz Appoints
speed as well as the working conditions, such Jennifer Leuer To
Board Of
as the amount of space and the soil types.
Directors
Construction
The most common excavator types are
Industry Trends
crawlers, dragline excavators, suction You Must Know
excavators, skid steer, and long reach For 2019
excavators. We’ll go over what each type of 6 Different
Excavator Types
excavator type is and what work each one is
& Their Uses on
best used for. the Construction
Site

Unlike other large excavators that run on

wheels, crawlers run on large two endless
tracks, crawlers are often used in mining and
heavy-duty construction jobs. Also known as
compact excavators, these excavators use
hydraulic power mechanisms to lift heavy

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down and scale hills with less risk, making

them suitable for grading hilly areas and
landscaping uneven terrain. While slower than
other excavators, crawlers provide overall
greater balance, flexibility, and stability.

The dragline excavator is a larger excavator

that operates with a different process. The
equipment utilizes a hoist rope system that
attaches to a bucket via a hoist coupler. The
other side of the bucket is affixed to a dragline
that runs from the bucket to the cab.

The hoist rope raises and lowers the bucket,

while the dragline pulls the bucket toward the
driver.

Due to their weight, draglines are often

assembled on site. The unique system of this
type of excavator is commonly used in large
scale civil engineering projects like canal
dreading.

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Also known as vacuum excavators, these

excavators feature a suction pipe capable of
letting air providing up to 400 horsepower. The
excavator first releases a water jet to loosen
the ground.

The pipe, which contains sharp teeth at the

edge, then creates a vacuum that carries away
soil and debris up to 200 miles per hour. A
suction excavator is ideal for delicate
underground applications, as it can reduce the
chance of damage by more than 50 percent.

Unlike standard excavators, skid steers have

booms and buckets that face away from a
driver. This orientation allows the attachments
to reach over the cab instead of around it,

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They are often used for digging pools, site

cleaning, residential work, and debris removal,
where space is more limited and objects are
spread out apart.

As its name suggests, a long reach excavator

features a lengthier arm and boom sections.
The design allows for better operation in hard-
to-reach locations. The excavator’s extendable
arm can reach over 100 feet horizontally.

These excavators are best used for demolition

projects like structural crumpling and breaking
down walls and applications that are over a
body of water. Different attachments can be
affixed to the arm to perform additional jobs
such as shearing, crushing, and cutting.

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An excavator’s design allows the construction

equipment to be used for many versatile
purposes. Hydraulic cylinders, booms, arms,
and attachments provide digging and holding
functionalities, while a house-like cab provides
the driver with controls to direct the excavator.
A rotating platform and wheels provide the
necessary mobility to lift and remove debris
from the work site.

Excavators use a variety of hydraulic

attachments that serve different purposes. In
addition to a bucket, other common
attachments include an auger, breaker,
grapple, auger, lamp, and quick coupler.

Buckets are the most common attachments

seen on excavators. These steel attachments

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different varieties. The most common are
ditching buckets — which is designed for
grading stones — and trenching buckets,
which are used to dig trenches.

Attaching an auger allows you to bore into the

ground. Powered by hydraulic circuits, these
helical attachment have the ability to reach
over objects and drill deep holes. Augers come
in different specifications and sizes for various
digging conditions and terrains — they range
from 4 inches to 50 inches in length and can
dig up to 32 feet.

Breakers are similar to jackhammers but are

much larger in size. With the ability to provide
up to 1000 pounds of impact energy, these
attachments are used to break into tougher
surfaces like stone and concrete.

Clamps allow excavator operators to pick up

large materials such as tree stumps and
concrete that are too oversized for a bucket.
The attachments can be used with buckets or

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Couplers allow you to quickly switch between

tools and attachments without a crew. This is
handy when you are moving between different
tasks and processes on a job site.

Backhoes, also known as diggers, are a

common fixture on construction sites but are
often confused with excavators. While they
share similar digging and lifting capabilities,
the two equipment differ in size, weight, and
functionality.

Excavators are generally large equipment

weighing up to 200,000 pounds. Their bucket
and boom design allow them to rotate a full
360 degrees.

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appearance with a tractor. The design means a
backhoe can only rotate 200 degrees side to
side. Its front and back buckets design can
excavate materials, load waste, and drag
debris toward the vehicle. Renting a backhoe
is best for light or medium duty jobs with
versatile applications.

In recent years, more contractors are using a

mini excavator, a smaller and lighter pint-sized
version of the standard excavator capable of
minimizing ground damage and fitting through
crowded, narrow sites like parking lots and
indoor spaces. Also known as compact
excavators, mini excavators typically
incorporate reduced tail-swing or zero-tail-
swing to provide tighter turns and avoid
contact with any obstacles.

While there are many different types of

excavators, their core functionalities are
similar. The lifting and digging abilities make

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most cost effective way for the majority of
companies.

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