Excavator bucket size

[Muckpusher]

Hi, looking for cheap advise. I purchased an older Hitachi uh181. (41 ton machine). It currently has a 5 ft wide home made bucket on it. Is it too big and heavy for such an old machine? I have a smaller 32" bucket I could put on, but may need a little work to make it fit. I will be cleaning out a couple of half acre size dams and need the long reach. But am worried the 5 ft bucket when full of dirt will put a lot of stress on the machine. What are your thoughts? Leave the large bucket on or switch to the smaller one? Thank you in advance!

 

[uffex]

Good day MP
Attached one of the informations regarding buckets from the web site there is much more if you like to be informed, you often hear the term "General purpose" in reality there is no such thing, a bucket can get the best from a machine in given circumstances the rest will be a compromise. Be aware of stability - fill and dump angles . Buckets are a subject worthy of much consideration.
Kind regards
Uffex

 

[Delmer]

My only ditching and pond cleaning experience is using a 30" general purpose bucket and a 42" ditching bucket on a backhoe. I wouldn't want any smaller cleaning ponds in South Dakota.

Maybe keep an eye out for a heavier duty narrow one, or make yours fit if you plan to rip out stumps or rocks. Otherwise just try to load the bucket easy and evenly, it will be fine. Take shallow long bites to fill the bucket in hard soil, don't dig with only one side in the ground, etc.

 

[uffex]

Opps missed attachment