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Excavators are extremely versatile pieces of heavy equipment that can be used for a wide range of tasks in construction, agriculture, landscaping, material handling, mining, infrastructure maintenance, municipal works, and more. In this article, we give you an overview of the different types of excavators and what each can be used for.

Wheel Excavators

Wheel excavators range in operating weight from 3 tons to 90 tons and are powered by engines of anywhere from 25 to 570hp. These excavators have a wide variety of applications, including:

1. Digging and Excavation

Digging and excavation are the most common uses for excavators of all types. They are an essential tool in construction, landscaping, and many other applications when you need to dig a hole or trench or excavate a site for a foundation.

2. Material Handling

Excavators are the perfect machines for moving large amounts of earth, gravel, sand, and other materials from one spot to another or onto a truck for relocation.

3. Demolition

Excavators can be equipped with many attachments, including breakers and grapples, which can be used to break apart structures, roads, sidewalks, and rocks.

Crawler Excavators

Crawler excavators are standard excavators that are equipped with tracks instead of wheels, which facilitate movement over uneven terrains and make surfaces such as mud and gravel easier to navigate. Crawlers can handle the same jobs as wheel excavators but have advantages for these applications:

1. Mining and Quarrying

In mining and quarrying operations, crawler excavators can be used to remove waste materials and extract ores, minerals, and other materials from the mine or quarry.

2. Road and Construction and Maintenance

In road and highway construction and repair, crawler excavators can be used to grade and level surfaces and place concrete barriers where needed.

3. Forestry

Crawler excavators are used to navigate challenging forest terrains, harvest trees that have been felled, clear stumps and other forestry debris, create roads and trails, and perform many other tasks.

There are numerous forestry-related attachments for excavators, including grapples, thumbs, brush cutters, stump grinders, and more.

4. Pipeline Construction and Utility Installation

Excavators are routinely used to dig trenches for pipelines and utilities such as water, sewer, and gas. An excavator can also be used to move sections of pipe for pipeline installation.

5. Agriculture

Agricultural uses for excavators are numerous and include moving feed, silage, and compost, digging ditches, clearing land, and demolition and construction jobs. With an auger attachment, they can also be used to dig fence posts.

Mini Excavators

Mini excavators are smaller, more compact machines that can fit in small spaces, including interiors of warehouses and factories. They can be used for:

• Landscaping, including digging water features, constructing berms and swales, building raised flowerbeds and retaining walls, and installing drainage and irrigation systems.
• Small-scale excavation
• Utility installation
• Interior demolition
• Agriculture applications

These versatile excavators can be fitted with a wide range of attachments, including augers, grapples, thumbs, breakers, and trenches.

Log Loaders

Log loaders are exclusively designed for forestry and lumber mill applications. They are used to lift, move, and load logs onto trucks, trailers, or rail cars. They can also stack logs in organized piles, sort them according to size or quality, and help to clear debris at logging sites.

Built to be both durable and precise, log loaders can withstand harsh weather conditions like the ones we experience in Canada.

Dragline Excavators

Dragline excavators are among the largest pieces of mobile equipment used for mining and construction operations for large-scale excavations, canal dredging, harbour construction, strip mining, and similar operations that require moving extremely large, heavy loads.

Material Handlers

Material handlers are specialized excavators designed for handling, sorting, and loading various materials. Rather than digging or earthmoving, material handlers are optimized for lifting and moving large volumes of materials, with a wide undercarriage to provide added stability and 360-degree rotation for effective and efficient movement and placing of heavy loads.

Material handlers are used in industries such as:

• Recycling, for sorting and moving recyclable materials such as scrap metal, paper, plastics, and other waste products.
• Waste management, for handling and compacting waste at transfer stations and landfills.
• Port Operations, for loading and unloading materials from ships, barges, and trucks.
• Factories and manufacturing operations for moving raw materials and finished products.

Attachments for Excavators

The versatility of excavators is augmented by the wide assortment of attachments available for them, which include:

• Buckets, for general excavation and loading, grading and levelling, and trenching, depending on the type of bucket.
• Breakers, or hammers, for breaking concrete, rock, and other hard materials.
• Grapples, for picking up materials, similar to a large claw.
• Thumbs, used in conjunction with buckets to grasp and handle materials and to hold them in the bucket more securely.
• Augers, for drilling holes for posts, poles, or foundation piers.
• Compactors, for compacting soil, gravel, and other materials.
• Mulchers, for grinding trees, brush, and vegetation into mulch.

Quick couplers, which allow for rapid switching between different attachments, increasing the versatility and productivity of the excavator.

Elvaan Equipment Solutions: For All Your Excavator Needs

Need help choosing an excavator? Come to Elvaan Equipment Solutions, where we can guide you through the selection process and show you the features of our excavators and attachments.

Want to learn more about how a wheel loader can improve your productivity and profitability? Contact Elvaan Equipment Solutions! We know heavy equipment, and we can recommend the right machines for your job.

With over three decades in the business, we have earned a reputation as the go-to construction equipment supplier in Canada. Here is what makes us stand apart from the rest:

• New equipment from top brands
• Certified used equipment (check with us to find out what we have in stock)!
• Flexible financing solutions
• Equipment rental services
• Service and support

 
You can contact us via our online form, by email at [email protected], or call us at +1 (905)-634-0669.