Bucket Options for Compact Excavators

Many consider the bucket to be the vanilla in the 31 flavors of compact excavator attachments. In actuality, this seemingly simple attachment has incredible depth and variety — not only in size, but in style and functionality as well. Take a standard bucket for instance…

Standard Excavator Buckets

Standard excavator buckets come in a variety of sizes. Size limits depend on the capacity of the excavator, but often, they are available in widths from 8 to 42 in. Generally, standard buckets have three to nine teeth for easy ground penetration. These buckets are used for general excavation work in sandy soil, clay or soil lightly mixed with rock. Prices can range from $250 to $2,500, depending on size, capacity and overall strength (i.e. heavy-duty standards).

Ditching Buckets

Ditching buckets have a smooth front edge (as opposed to the teeth on a standard bucket) and are generally used for ditch cleanout. These buckets are not designed for tough digging applications; rather they are useful in ditch maintenance and construction, grading and slope work. A quality ditching bucket will have a rigid top section for stability on the wider sides. A bolt-on cutting edge is often an option on these buckets to reduce wear to the main edge. Sizes range from 24 to 72 in., with prices in the range of $500 to $3,000.

Tilting Buckets

Tilting buckets are often used in grading applications. Usually, this type of bucket can be tilted up to 45 degrees in either direction. This allows the operator to maintain a level trench even when the machine is at an angle. Tilting buckets use the auxiliary hydraulic circuit to operate the cylinder(s) to tilt the bucket. Due to the size and hydraulic cylinder requirements of these buckets, they are usually only available for medium to larger compact excavators. Prices range from $3,500 to $6,000 and sizes usually range from 48 to 72 in.

Cemetery Buckets

Cemetery buckets are used specifically for digging graves. These buckets generally have a lower capacity than a standard bucket. Extra bucket rotation incorporated into the bucket will enable an operator to dig straight walls as well as flat bottoms for this application. A 36-in. width is common with the cemetery bucket, but the range is from 12 to 42 in. wide for compact excavators. An operator could expect to pay from $500 to $3,000 for a cemetery bucket.

Pavement Removal Buckets

While many of the previous buckets are not designed for prying, the pavement removal bucket is designed specifically for prying. Loading pre-cut slabs of pavement is exactly what this type of bucket is meant to do. These buckets are not designed for normal excavation, rather for demolition activities.  With the pavement removal bucket’s open, inclined sides, prying pavement free becomes an easy task.  Normally, sizes will range from 18 to 24 in. wide, and prices will range from $900 to $1,800 for this unique compact excavator attachment.

Keith Gribbins is managing editor of Compact Equipment, based in Brecksville, Ohio.