Digging and ditching

Earthmoving bucket

Yellow mini-excavator at the edge of an excavation, the bucket full of soil in the foreground, the operator in the cab; white buildings and pick-ups behind. — Mini-excavator earthmoving, full bucket raised above the excavation.
The width of the bucket sets the width of the trench.
Photo:
Justin Norton (US Air Force), public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, resized, face blurred.

The most common attachment, and the one whose choice is most often made by default.
It needs no hydraulics:
the only question is that of the interface and the width.

Other names for this tool: backacter bucket, digging bucket, standard bucket, toothed bucket, site bucket.

The essentials

Family: Digging and ditching
Classes (t): All
Coupler: All, by plate
Power source: None — passive tool

Identify your coupler →

01 Use

What it is for

Vertical close-up of a mud-covered excavator bucket, teeth pointing down, above blocks of stone; the excavator cab in the background. — The bucket comes up out of the excavation, teeth pointing down.
The teeth open up the ground, the bucket loads it.
Photo:
Nadtochiy Photography, Pexels licence, via Pexels.

On the left, bucket at the right width, trench kept as tight as possible and little backfill. On the right, bucket too wide, trench widened and more backfill to bring back. Computer-generated image. — **Left:** bucket at the right width, trench kept as tight as possible and little backfill.
**Right:** bucket too wide, trench widened and more backfill to bring back.
What sets it apart:
its width governs two things at once — the section of the trench, and the volume per cycle.
Computer-generated image.

**Left:** bucket at the right width, trench kept as tight as possible and little backfill.
**Right:** bucket too wide, trench widened and more backfill to bring back.
What sets it apart:
its width governs two things at once — the section of the trench, and the volume per cycle.
Computer-generated image.

Excavation, trench, loading, picking up from a heap:
it is the basic tool of earthmoving.
The bolt-on teeth attack the ground and are replaced as they wear, without touching the bucket itself.

Its width determines both the section of the trench and the volume per cycle.
A wide bucket loads faster but digs a trench that is too generous — so more backfill to bring back.
A narrow bucket does the opposite.

It is the tool around which the fleet is built up. A job rarely calls for a single width.
Three well-chosen buckets cover more work than one all-purpose bucket — provided the coupler allows them to be changed quickly. See the hitching technologies.

02 Key technical data

On which machine?

They exist for machines from 0,8 to 75 t.
For example, on a 10 to 20 t excavator, the weight is generally from 157 to 1 067 kg.
It fits all couplers, via a mounting plate, and the Morin coupler, modules 0 to 3.
Some models accept a tiltrotator or a tilting coupler, to be checked with you.

What the tool does

It is used for digging and ditching.
For example, for a width of 500 mm: capacity from 42 to 405 l, number of teeth from 3 to 4.
Some models have reinforcements and wear strips, to be checked with you.
It also comes in a reinforced version: see the Reinforced bucket page.

What is needed on the hydraulic side

No power source is needed: it is a passive tool.

Figures taken from 340 models on the market.
Your study sets the exact value for your machine.

All the measurements found for this equipment →

How to read these values →

03 Your study

Have your machine checked.

Give us your excavator model, the type of ground and the trench section aimed at.
If you are adding to a fleet, say so:
the interface must stay the same.

What we need to answer you

Your machine Its make and its tonnage.
The auxiliary circuit Its flow in l/min, its pressure in bar, single- or double-acting.
The coupler in place Its system and its class.
The work The use, and the material.

Without these details, the study still begins: we will ask you for them.

Send my photos

or describe your need

Book an appointment with the specialist

Or call 01 84 16 55 49 · our lines are open 7 days a week, from 7h to 22h.

Written study within 3 working days, once the file is complete.

Mounts on

Mounts on, in the manufacturer example: Morin

04 Choice

What determines the choice

01 — The width, chosen on the work A trench section to be respected, or a volume to be loaded:
the two logics are opposed.
It is the dominant work that settles it.
02 — The ground Topsoil, fill, stony or compact ground do not call for the same bucket profile, nor for the same type of teeth.
03 — The weight in relation to the reach A bucket too heavy for the machine reduces the useful reach and the stability, bucket full and arm extended.
04 — The wear parts Teeth, adapters, side blades, bottom protection.
They get consumed:
their availability counts as much as the price of the bucket.

05 Check

What is checked before ordering

The interface With a quick coupler, the designation is enough.
With direct mounting, you have to read off the pin diameter, the pin centres and the width between plates, to the millimetre.
Consistency with the existing fleet If you already have buckets, the new one must carry the same interface — otherwise a mounting plate is added, which is not a problem.
The weight and the machine's load chart In the worst case:
bucket full, at the end of the arm.
The compatibility of the teeth with your stock Keeping two different tooth systems in the fleet doubles the references to stock.

In the same family

If the ground is hard

Converting your fleet

To go further

Family: Digging and ditching
Trade: Special foundations
Trade: Hire companies
Compatibility: The seven criteria in detail →