Backhoes and excavators are very important machines at construction sites. Although they both do the same work, each have unique differences and those differences make them suitable for distinctive jobs.
What is an excavator?
Excavators are power machines that dig, they have a boom, stick and bucket. Apart from digging, they are also used for demolition, mining, pile driving, dredging and breaking. They are classified according to their weight like mini (less than 13,000 pounds), midi (13,000 and 22,000 pounds), standard (22,000 and 90,000 pounds) and large (more than 90,000 pounds). The cab at the arm of the excavator can rotate at 360 degrees to easily dig and dump gravel/dirt. The bucket on an excavator can be switched for another attachment like grapple, rake, auger or breaker.
What is a backhoe?
Backhoes are smaller than evacuators and are more flexible in maneuvering. Like an excavator, they feature a boom, stick and bucket. In the front they have a large loader which is also the reason they are called backhoe loaders. The backhoe at an average can dig up to 12 to 16 feet though some special models can dig as deep as 19 feet. But unlike excavators the rotation range of a backhoe is around 200 degrees. The different types of attachments that can be attached to a backhoe include brooms, rakes, hammers, drills, forks, plow blades, drum compactors, etc.
How to choose between a backhoe vs excavator?
Size of the job site is one of the factors to be considered when choosing between a backhoe and excavator. Excavators are larger and heavier and are more suited for bigger job sites while a backhoe is comparatively smaller and used in most medium sized workspaces. If the place to be worked on is much smaller that you can’t use a backhoe, then a mini excavator will do the trick. The next point to consider is the scale of the job, if the job requires more power, then an excavator is the best choice for all the heavy works. If your work needs more mobility than you best go for a backhoe. Depending on the task at hand the equipment we need also differs, so it’s always best to choose the best machine after considering all the work it is required to do.
