Selecting the right excavator bucket
Consider the application your excavator will be operating in when considering a bucket. Photo courtesy of Two Rivers Marketing.
Several factors can help excavator operators improve their productivity during everyday tasks, but the single biggest contributing factor typically circles back to choosing the proper excavator bucket for the application.
There can be a tendency for some excavator operators to gravitate toward standard buckets in all applications, but this approach may negatively impact the operator’s productivity. For example, pairing a standard bucket, rather than a trenching bucket, with a crawler excavator in trenching or deep-digging applications may result in decreased efficiency.
According to Aaron Kleingartner, marketing manager at Doosan Infracore North America, it’s important for operators to consider the application the bucket will be used in, the density of the material, the accessories that can be used and the coupling systems for easy attachment changes before selecting a bucket.
Operators should also routinely inspect the excavator bucket’s wear items and replace them when necessary. In addition, check that the selected bucket does not exceed the machine’s operating capacity.
Keep soil conditions in mind
Pairing a trenching bucket with a crawler excavator in trenching or deep-digging applications should result in increased efficiency. Photo courtesy of Two Rivers Marketing.
According to Kleingartner, there are two primary bucket types for contractors to choose from: heavy-duty buckets and severe-duty buckets.
Heavy-duty buckets are the most common because they work well in a variety of soil conditions such as sand, gravel, clay, silt and shale. The buckets are manufactured with high-quality, abrasion-resistant material, durable side cutters for extra strength and protection, and bottom wear pads.
Severe-duty buckets are best-suited for excavator operators who are handling abrasive materials in heavy or severe digging and truck-loading applications. The buckets are manufactured with abrasion-resistant material for added protection and strength when digging in pit and quarry operations. The buckets’ side cutters, shell bottoms, side wear plates and weld-on wear shrouds all consist of abrasion-resistant material.
Select a bucket to suit your digging needs
There are three primary bucket types for use with excavators, according to Kleingartner: trenching, ditching and angle-tilt buckets.
Trenching buckets dig narrow, deep trenches while maintaining breakout force and contributing to fast cycle times for the excavator. Buckets are built with abrasion-resistant material for reduced weight and offer high-strength side wear plates and bottom wear straps for added durability.
Ditching buckets have a similar profile to standard digging buckets but have a wider, deeper profile for smooth operation in sand and clay. In addition, the buckets provide versatility when loading material, grading, backfilling, working on slopes and cleaning ditches for improved drainage. Standard features of ditching buckets include a lift eye for lifting applications, weld-on side cutters and a reversible bolt-on cutting edge that leaves the work area smooth when the job is completed.
Angle-tilt buckets are versatile and cost-effective when used in finishing, grading and land-clearing applications. The buckets can be rotated 45 degrees either direction of center and are equipped with an adjustable tilting speed with auxiliary flow control valves. Angle-tilt buckets also feature heavy-duty components for greater strength and power; uptime protection from spill guard and cylinder guards; and universal hydraulic connections to easily attach or detach hydraulic lines.
Accessories for customization
Angle tilt buckets offer operators the ability to easily grade or level an area without having to reposition the excavator as frequently. Photo courtesy of Two Rivers Marketing.
Using a bucket’s lift eye, excavators may be operated to lift, carry and place pipe. This is common among utility contractors who are working on wet or dry utility projects and placing pipe in an open trench. An operator should always refer to the excavator’s load chart to understand the machine’s capability for over-end and over-side lifting needs.
Some manufacturers offer a power tilting coupler that can eliminate the need for multiple attachments, coupled with manual labor, on a jobsite. Depending on the excavator model and applications, a power tilting coupler can be angled 90 degrees left or right for up to 180 degrees of flexibility.
Another key to maximizing productivity is investing in a quality attachment connection system, which is optional on most machines. These systems, such as a quick coupler, can expand your attachment versatility and produce higher utilization rates, Kleingartner says.
“Depending on the ground conditions and density of the material, a utility contractor may need a ditching bucket at one location, a trenching bucket at another or an angle-tilt bucket at the next,” he says. “Quick couplers make it that much easier and faster to change buckets and other attachments while on the jobsite.”
Inspect and replace
Maintaining excavator buckets is just as important as following regular maintenance schedules on the excavator and should not be overlooked.
According to Kleingartner, a daily inspection should include the bucket teeth, the cutting edges and the heel of the bucket for obvious wear or breakage. Bucket teeth should be replaced before they wear down and the bucket adapter is exposed, and wear shrouds should be inspected and replaced if needed.
Allison Grettenberg is a technical writer at Two Rivers Marketing.
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