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A mini digger, otherwise known as a mini excavator, can be a super useful tool for small landscaping jobs with tricky access points. Learning how to operate a mini excavator is incredibly important for your safety and the safety of others. In saying that, once you learn have taken all the necessary safety precautions, crafted a solid plan of attack and learnt the basics - operating a mini digger is rather straightforward. At Hirepool, we have a wide selection of diggers for hire near you. Simply head to your local Hirepool branch to suss out your mini excavator hire.
What a mini digger is used for
Why you need to know how to use a mini digger properly
How to choose the right excavator for your job
Safety gear for using a mini digger
Dial Before You Dig service explained
How to operate a kamatsu 1.8 tonne mini excavator
The range of mini diggers available at Hirepool
As the name suggests, a mini digger is primarily used for digging. However, these diggers can also be used with various attachments for different tasks, such as post-hole boring or concrete breaking. Due to its small size, this mini digger can be used for a variety of jobs where access is difficult. Some popular uses include:
These are only a few of the jobs that you can do smarter with a hire digger. If you are unsure which mini digger or excavator is right for your project, make sure to talk to your local Hirepool branch.
As with all heavy machinery, using a mini digger comes with its fair share of risks. By knowing how to use a mini digger properly, you can make your work more precise, reduce over-correction and, most importantly, improve your safety. Make sure to educate yourself on how to operate construction machinery safely before jumping in the driver's seat and putting yourself and others at risk.
Some of the potential risks of using a mini excavator incorrectly include rollovers, cave-ins, electrocution from contacting power lines, collisions with other machinery and striking people on the ground. Thankfully, these problems can be avoided. It pays to thoroughly read the operator manual and talk to the staff at Hirepool. Upon request, the Hirepool team can give you a tutorial on how to use a mini excavator correctly.
When choosing an excavator, you’ll need to take your project requirements into account. Here are some of the key factors to look out for when choosing the best excavator to hire:
All the above information is available under the specifications tab when you are browsing mini excavators online. If you are unsure which excavator is right for your project, it pays to speak to the team at your local Hirepool branch or read our blog called “What Excavator Do You Need For Your Job” for extra guidance.
We at Hirepool are not the experts in excavator usage and regulations. However, we always make sure to follow the safety regulations provided to us by the manufacturer's specific manuals.
Before you begin using an excavator, we recommend you have a read of the ‘instructions for use’ sheet. This can be located with your contract or found digitally via scanning the QR code on your machine. For more information about staying safe while using this piece of machinery, read our advanced gear guide on excavators.
One of our top tips for excavator safety on the job site is to make sure you have all the correct safety gear. At Hirepool, we have all of the necessary gear available to hire so you can stay safe on the building or construction site. This safety gear includes:
A few days before you begin your digging project, make sure to dial beforeUdig on 0800 248 344. This number is free to call and will provide you with information on the location of cables, pipes and other utility assets in and around any proposed dig site.
Whether you are a homeowner or a contractor, beforeUdig can offer you a safe starting point for your project. Not only will this help to protect yourself, but it also protects any valuable assets around you. There are many benefits to using this service, including:
Whether you are a homeowner building a new fence, installing a swimming pool or installing a carport - beforeUdig can help. It is also extremely useful for contractors who are building a new fibre optic network, restoring roads or responding to emergency works.
The Komatsu 1.8 tonne mini excavator is perfect for small to medium projects like landscaping or digging trenches for cables and pipes.
When hopping into your mini excavator, make sure you have three points of contact. Place one hand on the safety rail to your left upon entering, and one hand on the safety rail to your right upon entering. The final point of contact is your foot as you step up onto the excavator platform. The same applies when exiting the excavator.
Once seated, adjust the seat to your comfort and then buckle the seatbelt. If your excavator is fitted with a door, close it now.
Switch on the machine and let it warm up for a few minutes. After it’s warmed up, increase the revs to full using the throttle control and push down the lock lever.
Before you dive straight into your project, it is a good idea to test out the controls first to make sure you have a handle on them. Test in a large flat area and try out all the controls and learn how the excavator responds.
Remember, while operating your excavator, if your cab is facing the opposite side of the excavator blade, your travel controls will work in the opposite direction. So take care to pay attention to your excavator's direction and environment before moving forward or backward.
Once you are confident with these basic movements, you can start to use your excavator for the project at hand.
Once you are familiar with the controls, you should become familiar with the two-speed functions called turtle speed and rabbit speed. Use the lever to your right to navigate between the speeds. You’ll find small turtle and rabbit icons that make it simple to understand.
The lever located to your right beside the joystick operates the excavator blade, which can be used for levelling a surface. It can also be lowered to give you more stability when digging. On the Komatsu, you have a switch on your left to change between track mode and blade mode.
Firstly, in blade mode, swing the excavator arm 180 degrees, then lower the arm and the blade to raise the machine and its tracks off the ground. Switch to track mode and use the blade control on the right-hand side to widen or narrow the tracks. Lastly, switch back to blade mode to lower the excavator. For other models of excavators, make sure to refer to the manual.
Once you are confident with these basic movements, you can start to use your excavator for the project at hand.
At Hirepool, we have a wide range of mini diggers available for hire. These include:
If you are unsure which excavator is best for you, make sure to get in touch with us. Our Hirepool team are more than happy to help.
A mini-excavator is an extremely useful tool for small jobs with difficult access points. Despite their small size, mini excavators are still very powerful. As a result, you must know how to use this digger safely. With the correct safety gear and a solid understanding of how to handle an excavator, operating an excavator is rather simple. Before you begin, you should always make sure that you are aware of your surroundings before digging. Get information and pipes, cables and other utility assets in your area by contacting beforeUdig.
Now that you have a solid grasp of how to safely operate a mini digger, it is time to hire one. Hire all the equipment you need from Hirepool to get the job done well. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to the team at Hirepool for advice.