Go Bottombucket size and reach
 | jimbopa
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 54 PA 
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2002-01-20 34775
starting a small landscaping buiness. What would be the best size backhoe to use 47 or 48. Reach is 7.5 or 8.5 feet. What would be the best size bucet 9.5, 12,13,16"?
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| TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 5406 Upper Ottawa Valley 
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2002-01-21 34816
I think of reach and depth as about the same thing in a backhoe. I think the main question is how deep the hoe has to dig. There are codes for footings, water and electrical line etc. trench depths. Some hoes won't dig deep enough and others may be marginal. A marginal hoe is something like digging a 6' trench with a 6' hoe. Depth specs usually are for 2' bottoms. So, trenching with a marginal hoe means having to move the tractor every 2' of trench. You'd spend most of the day moving the tractor.
Generally, I'd say that hoes are a bit rough on tractors and that smaller is better--provided smaller does the work of course. You'd think that more reach would be better since it might get even shallow work done faster if fewer tractor moves were required. However, bigger hoes either have less power or they have bigger hydraulic cylinders. A tractor's fairly small hydraulic pump may just move a bigger hoe slower and end up being harder on the tractor and not saving much time.
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 | dsg
Join Date: Jun 1999 Posts: 528 Franklin, Maine 
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2002-01-21 34822
Jim,
Depending on what size tractor you have, should be a factor. I have a 4700 and the 48 BH with an 18" bucket. The 48 is a very strong hoe for it's size and can move the tractor around pretty easily. So for the 45,46, and 4700 platform the 48 hoe is a good match, anything smaller should have the 47 hoe. As far as bucket size the 18" is perfect for most of my wifes plantings, 1 or 1 1/2 swipes for plants and 2- for small trees. That was a good justification for the purchase of the hoe :)
David ....
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| Big Eddy
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2002-01-24 34901
I have a 13" bucket on my #7 hoe (855) It seems about the right size. Not too small that work takes forever, but not so big that the load is too great for the hydraulics. Sometimes with a large load of "mud" (really grass and sod and clay and mud) hanging off the bucket, it strains the hoe, but otherwise a full bucket can be managed. No use having a bucket that can't be filled. Longer is better - always!
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| TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 5406 Upper Ottawa Valley
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2002-01-25 34912
I've got a 12" bucket. Sometimes I need to go into a trench and level a bottom by hand (Getting level trench floors is one of the last hoe skills most people develop, if ever). I can climb into a 12" inch trench and do what ever my crude hoe skills leave me (of course, I don't climb into trenches deeper than 3'). A 12" bucket also is a good choice, because the soil is sandy here. It's usual for some of the trench walls to slide into the trench and start filling up the bottom. A narrower trench would sometimes have to be partially re-dug.
However, a full 12" bucket does take awhile to lift out of the hole. the weight and geometry requires high pressures to lift it. High pressures reduce flow from the pump, and it lifts slower than I'd like. A wider bucket would be even slower, and 12-inches is a good compromise for me. I don’t think I’d like to try and develop technique for just getting partially filled buckets when I want more lifting speed, especially if I’m interested in level trench floors.
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| John C.
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2002-01-29 35076
We've got a 4300 with a 47 hoe and 13" bucket and it has done everything we've asked of it and then some. Dug lots of utility trenches in fairly rocky soil, removed stumps that weighed about half or more of what the tractor does and never had any problems with lift or speed. Only maintenance other than grease was one hydraulic hose. If all you are going to be using the hoe for is landscaping the 47 with a 13 or 18 inch bucket should be sufficient. ....
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