JD 290D excavator?

[Rodney R]

Are they any good? I'm looking for something to do some light work - not going to be a production machine at all - I need to move some dirt and load it on my truck, maybe a hundred loads. I might get into some rocks, and would like hammer ability, the one that I was looking at does NOT have a hammer, or the hydraulics for it - can they be added? I was looking at a '93 model, only 4000 hours, municipal machine. Everything seems OK. I did notice that the joysticks are well away from where they should be - do they move, or does the seat move - I don't want to lean front all the time to operate the sticks. Any idea what it might be worth? I know that depends a lot between machines. Thoughts or comments?

Rodney

 

[WC&T]

Never operated or seen a JD 290 work, not really a JD fan myself. The seat should slide foward to get you closer to the joysticks. You can add the spool and plumbing to run attachments but for the money it will cost on an older machine like that its best to find one that is already plumbed. I don't know what kind of money you are thinking of spending but around here you can get a 490 excavator w/ thumb and 5-8k hrs for about 20k. A 490 (120 sized machine) will do a whole lot more work than a 290 will.

On a side note, if the machine is plumbed, make sure has 1 way hyd. not 2way if you plan on running a hammer.

 

[crosswind]

jd290d

I have a 290 that I use around the farm.I am by no means an expert. I have had it for a couple of years and put a couple hundred hours on it digging out trees and dug a couple of ponds.It has beem a good machine so far.I am currently having an issue with my final drive but it looks to be minor. It has a four cyl diesel that give it enough power to do whatever that size machine needs.I have dug down to about 18 ft in the clay with no problems.I have dug out cottonwoods that are 3 to 4 ft in diameter with it. Takes a while but it gets the job done.

 

[Rodney R]

I was leaning more towards the 490 size, but many that I've seen had a bunch of hours, or were higher priced than I wanted. Is there any issue with renting a hammer for one like this - is it hard to find a hammer for a mchine this small? I'm sure I'd only need it a few hours (hence the renting), but I want to make sure that I get a machine that I can do anything with. Sorta sounds like a 490 size might be better for me. The 120 size was mantioned..... I noticed that many machines across manufacturers were sorta numbered about the same..... Does the number on newer machines correspond to the size? The size is referred to in weight in lbs, right?

Thanks,

Rodney

 

[sultan]

I was leaning more towards the 490 size, but many that I've seen had a bunch of hours, or were higher priced than I wanted. Is there any issue with renting a hammer for one like this - is it hard to find a hammer for a mchine this small? I'm sure I'd only need it a few hours (hence the renting), but I want to make sure that I get a machine that I can do anything with. Sorta sounds like a 490 size might be better for me. The 120 size was mantioned..... I noticed that many machines across manufacturers were sorta numbered about the same..... Does the number on newer machines correspond to the size? The size is referred to in weight in lbs, right?

Thanks,

Rodney

A 490 or another 13 tonner would be a more capable machine than a little 9.5 tonne 290. For modern cat excavators, the first digit is always 3, and the next 2 digits are approximately the weight in metric tonnes. Eg. 312 = 13-14 metric tonnes, 345 = 44-48 metric tonnes. For most other makes modern models, the model number divided by 10 is the approximate weight in metric tonnes. Eg. a 120 is around 12(+) tonnes, a 450 is around 45 tonnes. Many manufacturers add a prefix to the model name to identify the manufacturer (eg. EX###-# and ZX### -#for Hitachi, PC###-# for Komatsu, SK### for Kobelco etc. The suffix of the model number is either a letter or number, and it identifies the generation of the machine. Eg. CAT B series are from 1996-2001, and CAT D series are current. Or with Hitachi, EX###-5 machines are from 1996-1996 and ZX###-3 are the current. There are a bunch of patterns and exceptions, but this should let you decipher most modern excavator model numbers.

Old to new john deere model number conversion:
290D = ~ todays 8.5 tonners (but 290 weighs 9.5 tonnes)
490 = 120 = ~13 tonnes
590 = 160 = ~16 tonnes
690 = 200 = ~21 tonnes
790 = 240 = ~24 tonnes
792 = 270 = ~27 tonnes
892 = 330 and 350 = ~31 to 36 tonnes
992 = 450 = ~45 tonnes

 

[Rodney R]

Sultan,
That is the info on numbering that is going to help!

Rodney