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How to choose a mini digger
- Weight. Operating weight comes first. 650 to 900 kg (micro digger): the smallholder's machine, goes on a trailer behind the car, fits through a garden gate and digs for pipes, drainage, planting, walls and small footings. 1 to 1.3 tonnes: the best-selling class, for farms, vineyards, orchards and light building work, with the power for wide buckets, a breaker and an auger. 1.8 to 3.8 tonnes: the professional class for contractors, with cab, on request.
- Engine. Petrol on the 650 kg: light and easy to start. Koop diesel on the 900 kg and 1.1 tonne: the cheapest way into a diesel. Three-cylinder Kubota from 1 tonne up: longevity, low fuel use and parts everywhere. Electric at 1.1 and 1.2 tonnes with a 4 kW motor: no fumes and little noise, for indoors, cellars, livestock sheds, polytunnels and built-up areas.
- Zero tail swing. The upper structure turns within the width of the tracks: dig flush to walls, along fences and in trenches without watching the tail. Available from 1 tonne.
- Expanding undercarriage, blade and boom swing. The expanding undercarriage, on the 1 to 1.8 tonne models and the electrics, narrows to pass through doorways and gates and widens for stability when digging; the dozer blade grades, pushes and acts as a stabiliser; the boom swing offsets the arm sideways to dig along walls without repositioning the machine.
- Canopy or cab. Up to 1.8 tonnes a canopy with protective structure; at 2.8 and 3.8 tonnes a closed cab, with air conditioning on the largest.
- Attachments and quick hitch. The standard bucket is included. Digging and grading buckets, ripper tooth, land rake, grab, hydraulic breaker, auger, flail head, tree shear and cutter bar mount on the bucket pins or on the quick hitch, which swaps attachments in a minute. To know whether an attachment fits your machine you need three measurements: pin diameter, pin centres and dipper width, the inside width between the two ears where the dipper arm sits. On DELEKS® machines from 900 kg to 1.3 tonnes they are 25 mm pins, 85 mm centres and 92 mm dipper width (0.98 in, 3.35 in, 3.62 in); on the 1 and 1.2 tonne zero tail swing models the dipper width is 102 mm (4.02 in); on the 1.8 tonne class 30, 90 and 96 mm; on the 2.8 tonne 35, 153 and 124 mm; on the 3.8 tonne 40, 190 and 135 mm.
- Transport. Up to 1,000 kg the mini digger goes on a plant trailer behind the car and the carrier unloads it with a tail lift; above that you need ramps and a suitable vehicle.
Technical file and pre-delivery inspection in Italy
DELEKS® is the manufacturer of these mini excavators for the European market under the Machinery Directive: for every model it has independent engineers compile the complete technical file, with risk assessment and conformity checks against the EN 474 standards, roll-over and falling-object tests on the TOPS and FOPS protective structure, noise measurement to Directive 2000/14/EC with a notified body, EC declaration of conformity and DELEKS® CE plate. Every machine is inspected and tested before delivery; the customer can attend the inspection and signs the acceptance report.
Mini digger, micro digger or mini excavator?
A micro digger is the machine up to one tonne that fits through a gate and travels on a trailer; a mini digger, or mini excavator, runs from one to six tonnes; above that you are into midi excavators. Mini digger is the everyday British word, mini excavator the trade term, and they mean the same machine. All DELEKS® machines are tracked, on rubber tracks that do not mark tarmac or paving.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a new mini digger cost?
Prices are on each product page, VAT included; delivery costs and options are shown for your country.
What size do I need?
For the garden, allotment and jobs around the house, 650 to 900 kg is plenty; for the farm and light building work 1 to 1.3 tonnes; for site work 1.8 tonnes and up. Torn between two sizes, where it has to fit matters more than how much it has to dig.
Are these Chinese mini diggers?
The mechanics are built in Asia to DELEKS specifications, as for most brands in the sector, with some Italian and Japanese components such as the hydraulic valve block, joysticks, hydraulic pump and engine. The difference is what happens next: DELEKS assembles and tests every machine in Italy and compiles its technical file, with roll-over and falling-object tests on TOPS and FOPS, noise verification and DELEKS CE plate, and delivers it with a signed acceptance report.
Do I need a licence?
On your own land, generally not. For professional use on a farm or a building site, operator training or certification applies according to the rules of your country. A mini digger is not road registered: it is transported.
Can I tow it behind my car?
Up to 1,000 kg yes, on a plant trailer, within the towing limits of your driving licence and your car; above that you need a larger towing entitlement or delivery by carrier.
Diesel or electric?
Diesel for the field and the open-air site; electric wherever fumes and noise are not acceptable: indoors, cellars, polytunnels, livestock sheds, work in town.
New or used?
A used machine is worth considering, but its condition depends on who used it and how: the hour meter shows the hours, not the knocks. A used digger often hides repairs that only show up afterwards. A new mini digger carries a two-year warranty: there are no hidden problems.
Buy or hire?
Hire makes sense for a job of a few days. If you dig several times a year, a year of hire costs as much as a small machine, which instead stays with you and holds its resale value.
Will other makes' buckets and attachments fit, or yours on my digger?
Yes, if the three measurements match: pin diameter, pin centres and dipper width. If the pin diameter and centres match and the attachment's inside width is equal to or wider than the dipper arm, it fits: at most you add shims. The measurements are on every attachment page.
What warranty and support?
Two-year warranty; spare parts are in stock and ship quickly; technical support is DELEKS®.
How is it delivered?
Delivery costs and options are shown on each product page for your country; machines up to 1,000 kg are unloaded with a tail lift, heavier ones need unloading equipment on site.