Hydraulic Excavator VS Excavator
Whether you're planning on renting or purchasing an excavator, it's important that you go into the shopping process with an understanding of the various types of excavators, their capabilities and their shortcomings.
Excavators are earthmoving machines that have an arm, bucket, rotating cab, and adjustable tracks. The most significant difference between the models is their size, which is generally related to range of mobility, lift and dig capability. Caterpillar's smallest mini-excavator, for example, weighs just 2,070 pounds and has 13 horsepower, while the CAT 6090, which weighs a record-breaking 2,160,501 pounds and has 4,500 horsepower, is the company's largest.
Depending on the working environment and project needs, you'll need a different sort of excavator. Will you have to dig in the sand or in the water? Your best option might be a dragline excavator or a long reach excavator. Will you be working in a mountainous area? Then a crawler might be the ideal option for you.
Wheeled Excavator
Use for: Jobs on flat/hard surfaces.
Pros: It's fast and easy to move on concrete.
Cons: It won't work well in muddy or hilly terrain.
The wheeled excavator is like the crawler (standard) excavator, but, like the name suggests, it has wheels instead of tracks. Because the wheeled excavator has less traction than the standard, it's best used on asphalt or concrete.
While the wheeled excavator is not suited for sites with soft soil or hills and slopes, it's faster than a crawler when operated on a smooth, hard surface. It's also easier to maneuver.
Hydraulic Excavator
Use for: Mining and heavy digging projects.
Pros: It has a powerful engine and large bucket capacity.
Cons: It's larger than necessary for many jobs.
Also called power shovels, the hydraulic shovel is the most powerful type of excavator. While it's most commonly used for mining projects, the hydraulic shovel is suited to handle any job that requires heavy lifting and hauling of large rocks, minerals and other heavy objects or materials.
