Excavator Buckets for Sale: What You Should Consider

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Purchasing the right excavator bucket is crucial to maximizing the efficiency of your construction or excavation projects. With various types of buckets available, each designed for specific applications, selecting the right one requires a careful understanding of your needs and the bucket's features. Below, we&#;ll discuss the key factors to consider when buying excavator buckets, helping you make an informed decision.

1. Type of Excavator Bucket

There are several types of excavator buckets, each designed for different types of work. Before purchasing, consider the specific job the bucket will be used for.

- General Purpose Bucket (GP Bucket): Ideal for digging, loading, and moving materials like soil, sand, or gravel. These buckets are commonly used in light to medium-duty construction projects.

- Heavy Duty Bucket (HD Bucket): Built for tougher materials like rocks, clay, and compacted soil. HD buckets are more reinforced than GP buckets, making them suitable for heavy-duty operations like mining or demolition.

- Trenching Bucket: Narrower than standard buckets, these are used for digging trenches, especially when installing utilities like pipelines or cables.

- Rock Bucket: Specifically designed for working with hard, abrasive materials. These buckets often have reinforced teeth and edges to withstand harsh conditions.

- Tilting Bucket: Equipped with hydraulic mechanisms that allow the bucket to tilt in different directions, perfect for grading, sloping, and finishing work.

- Skeleton Bucket: Features a design that allows smaller materials like soil or gravel to fall through, while larger rocks and debris are retained. These are ideal for sorting or sifting materials.

By understanding the application, you can choose a bucket that is optimized for the task, ensuring better efficiency and longer-lasting performance.

Clean-up Bucket

2. Bucket Size and Capacity

The size of the bucket, usually measured in cubic yards or cubic meters, determines how much material it can hold. Matching the bucket size to your excavator&#;s capacity is critical to ensure safe and efficient operation. If the bucket is too large for the excavator, it can cause excessive wear on the machine and lower productivity.

Similarly, consider the nature of the material you&#;ll be handling:

- Light materials like sand or soil can be managed with larger buckets.

- Heavier materials like rock or clay require smaller buckets to avoid overloading and potential damage.

Always consult the excavator&#;s specifications to choose a bucket size that&#;s compatible with its lifting and digging capacity.

3. Material Quality and Durability

Excavator buckets are exposed to extreme wear and tear, so the material quality is critical to ensure durability. Buckets made from high-strength steel or wear-resistant materials, such as Hardox or AR (abrasion-resistant) steel, are designed to handle tough conditions and last longer. Pay attention to the following features:

- Reinforced edges: Buckets with reinforced cutting edges last longer, especially in tough environments like rock or demolition work.

- Teeth material: Bucket teeth take the brunt of wear, so choosing a bucket with replaceable, high-quality teeth is important. Teeth made from hardened steel last longer and can be easily replaced when worn down.

A durable, high-quality bucket might cost more upfront but will save money in the long run by reducing the need for frequent repairs or replacements.

Heavy-Duty Rock Bucket

4. Bucket Design

The design of an excavator bucket can vary based on the intended use. Some important design aspects to consider include:

- Teeth or Edge: If the bucket will be used for heavy digging in tough conditions, look for one with durable teeth that can break through hard ground. Smooth edge buckets are better for grading or finishing work.

- Wear Plates: Many buckets come with replaceable wear plates that protect the bucket&#;s structure from damage. Buckets with replaceable wear components extend their life and lower maintenance costs.

- Shape: The bucket&#;s shape can impact its efficiency. For example, a bucket with a sharper V-shaped cutting edge can penetrate materials more easily, while a more rounded bucket might offer better loading capacity for softer materials.

5. Attachment Compatibility

Before purchasing, ensure the bucket is compatible with your excavator&#;s coupler or quick-attach system. Some buckets are designed for specific brands of excavators, while others are more universal. Additionally, quick-coupler systems allow for faster attachment and detachment of buckets, improving overall efficiency on the job site.

It&#;s important to check whether the bucket can be easily attached to your machine and if any additional adapters are needed. This helps avoid downtime and ensures seamless transitions between tasks.

6. Brand and Manufacturer Reputation

When investing in an excavator bucket, the reputation of the manufacturer matters. Well-known brands with a history of producing high-quality buckets are more likely to offer durable, reliable products. Look for manufacturers that offer warranties and good customer service, as these indicate confidence in the product&#;s quality.

Want more information on excavator clam shell bucket? Feel free to contact us.

Some of the leading brands in excavator buckets include:

- Caterpillar (CAT)

- Komatsu

- Volvo

- JCB

- Bobcat

Choosing a reputable brand ensures that you get a product backed by years of expertise, along with access to spare parts and repair services.

Skeleton Loader Bucket

7. New vs. Used Excavator Buckets

When looking at excavator buckets for sale, you may come across both new and used options. Each comes with its own pros and cons.

- New Buckets: Purchasing a new bucket ensures that it is free from any wear and tear, and it usually comes with a warranty. However, new buckets are more expensive.

- Used Buckets: These are a more affordable option, but they may come with hidden wear or damage. It&#;s important to inspect used buckets carefully, checking for cracks, worn teeth, and structural integrity. Used buckets may be suitable for light-duty tasks, but for heavy-duty work, new buckets are often the safer bet.

8. Budget Considerations

Finally, your budget plays a significant role in the bucket selection process. While it&#;s important to avoid overspending, you should also not compromise on quality. Cheap buckets may cost less initially, but they are likely to wear out faster, leading to more frequent replacements and higher long-term costs.

It&#;s a good idea to evaluate the cost per hour of use when comparing buckets, factoring in both the initial purchase price and the expected lifespan.

Conclusion

When shopping for excavator buckets, it&#;s important to consider the type of work, material quality, bucket size, design, and compatibility with your machine. By focusing on these key factors and investing in a high-quality bucket, you&#;ll improve the efficiency of your operations, reduce downtime, and ensure long-term durability. Whether buying new or used, selecting the right bucket can greatly impact the productivity and success of your excavation projects.

Browse GLIKR excavator buckets for sale. We carry top makes and models at the best price. Our inventory changes daily, so check back often!

Excavator Buckets & Attachments - Second Hand Vs Buying New

When it comes to buying buckets and attachments for your excavator, you have 2 options: 1) Buy Second Hand or 2) Buy Brand New. Both options have their own set of advantages and disadvantages, so you're probably wondering which option is best suited to you, your machine and your jobs. We're going to explore the pros and cons of buying second hand digger buckets and attachments vs buying new ones so that you can make an informed decision. Continue reading to find out more.

Should I buy Second Hand Buckets?

Advantages

of Buying Second Hand

Disadvantages

of Buying Second Hand

Cheaper Shorter Lifespan Better for the Environment Incorrect Fitment Slow Delivery / Collection Required

Advantages of Buying Second Hand

Cheaper -

The most obvious reason to purchase your buckets and attachments second hand is that they will be cheaper. This is a great option if you're on a tighter budget or if you only need the attachment for one particular job so can't justify the price of purchasing the attachment brand new. Second Hand Buckets are also regularly purchased to be used for replacement parts on current buckets or attachments. For example a new lip plate or adding the hangers to another shell.

Better for the Environment - 

Another advantage is that using a second hand bucket or attachment is better for the environment than buying a brand new bucket. If you purchase second hand it means you are giving another life to a bucket that somebody else might throw away once they're finished with it. This means there is less material needed to create new buckets and your second hand bucket isn't sitting in a scrap pile.

Disadvantages of Buying Second Hand

Shorter Lifespan - 

The main disadvantage, and the point you should consider the most, is that a second hand bucket will have had a proportion of it's lifespan used up. Just like buying a second hand car, the reason they are cheaper than a brand new one is because they have already been used, and have succumb to wear and tear. You don't know the history of the bucket and how it has been used by previous owners - there could be hidden damage that you're not aware of or that isn't visible to the naked eye. This could cause you to have to spend more time and money to fix the damage in the near future. It also means that it will be harder to get the same result from the attachment due to the wear and tear. For example, it would be considerably harder to try and finish off using a Grading Bucket if it had a worn and wonky lip plate. You wouldn't have this issue if you purchased the bucket new.

Incorrect Fitment - 

Another disadvantage of buying a second hand bucket is that the hanger dimensions may not match up with the measurements of your machine. It is common for people to modify their buckets and attachments which can change the geometry of the pick up. Or the attachment may have been listed to fit the incorrect machine make and model. Both of these problems means that you will struggle to get the attachment to fit you machine and you may even need to make some alterations tot he geometry yourself.

Slow Delivery / Collection Required - 

The final disadvantage is that receiving your item can be expensive. Most of the time when you're purchasing off of an online storefront like eBay or Facebook Marketplace, you will have to collect the item yourself or arrange an alternative delivery method. This can be very time consuming for you if you're having to go and collect the item, but it can also be very expensive if sent via courier as the items are heavy and bulky. They may sometimes need a truck with a tail-lift due to the weight of the product.

Should I buy New Buckets?

Advantages

of Buying New

Disadvantages

of Buying New

Product in Perfect Condition More Expensive New & Improved Products Potential Manufacturing Time Customisable Expertise of Sales Member Quick Delivery

Advantages of Buying New

Product in Perfect Condition -

The most obvious reason to buy a new bucket or attachment for your digger / excavator is that the product with be in perfect condition. Your product will be unused so will have no damage. This means that the lifetime of the bucket is instantly longer than that of a second hand bucket. If you're purchasing directly from the manufacturer or reseller, they will likely have warranty policies in place that mean if something went wrong with your product due to no fault of your own they will try to help you out. For example, here at Rhinox we offer a Lifetime Guarantee on all the welds. This means that if a weld fails due to poor quality workmanship we will arrange for it to be repaired or replaced. 

New & Improved Products -

Another advantage of buying new is that you will get the newest and most improved version of the attachment. Manufacturers will regularly make changes and updates to their products to continually improve the product based off of customer feedback and market research. So, if you're purchasing your bucket or attachment from new you will likely receive the newest version of that product, which usually includes new designs and features.

Customisable -

Alongside getting the most up-to-date version of a product, if you're purchasing the product new you are likely to be able to customise it with the manufacturer - which is obviously not an option when bought second hand. This usually includes, adding additional wear protection to the product including wear straps or a bolt on blade, customising the colour so they're easy to identify or adding an additional identification badge for better bucket management. These features can all add a benefit to the specific job that you're doing or to the way you like to look after your equipment.

Expertise of Sales Member -

Another advantage of buying brand new is that you can receive assistance from the sales teams who know the products inside and out. If you have any concerns or queries about the product, you are able to contact them to get your questions answered. This is a lot more difficult to do with a second hand bucket as the sales team are unaware of any damage or alterations that could have occurred to the bucket or attachment prior to your purchase.

Quick Delivery -

The final benefit of buying new, rather than second hand, is the delivery options available! Purchasing from an online store like Rhinox is considerably easier as the delivery services are already set up. For example, if you're based on the UK Mainland and your products are in stock, you would receive your order Next Working Day, if ordered before 3pm. They can also be delivered to a location of your choice. These delivery options are usually very reasonably priced compared to if you had to arrange it with a courier yourself.

Disadvantages of Buying New

More Expensive -

The most obvious disadvantage is that the price of buying new buckets and attachments is likely to be higher than buying second hand, because you're getting a product that has not be used so has no wear, tear or damage. The cost of your products will differ dramatically depending on the manufacturer that you're purchasing from. As a general rule of thumb, the more expensive the product the better the quality. But we have seen it where the price of a brand new bucket including delivery is no more than $50 more expensive than a second hand product. If you want to see this example, watch the video at the top of the page.

Potential Manufacturing Time -

The other disadvantage that can occur is that you may have to wait for your product to be manufactured depending on where you purchase from. If your product is out of stock or made to order the manufacture may let you know that the product will be on a lead time. This lead time can vary from company to company but is generally between 2-4 weeks. Depending on how urgent you are for the product this could be a big determining factor as to whether you purchase new or used.

What should you do?

So there you have it, the main advantages and disadvantages of buying second hand or brand new buckets and attachments. Ultimately, the decision is down to you and your circumstances. If you're on a tight budget, only need the attachment for a one off job or are not bothered about the quality then a second hand bucket might be for you. But if you want a quality bucket that lasts, with the ability to get it quickly then buying new is the better choice.