Trail building and rock breaking.

[npaden]

Okay. I think I’m am about to pull the trigger on a hydraulic breaker for my excavator. It started out as a 12” bucket and then to meet the minimum order I think is going to end up with a ripper and a hydraulic breaker.

I am struggling to decide between a 68mm and a 75mm one. The safe choice for sure is the 68mm one. Well within the specifications for my TB 250-2. That’s what is pretty much recommended across the board for my machine.

But the TB 250-2 has really good hydraulic flow which is one of the reasons I bought it and actually enough to run the next size up breaker near the top of its range. But it weighs almost 1,000 pounds so having it out on the end of the stick is going to take discipline.

I’m planning on using it to try to hook up 2 trails that the previous owner built on the property. I think he was using a 15 or maybe even an 18 ton excavator but didn’t have a breaker and not sure he even had a ripper. He made good progress into this limestone shelf but at some point decided enough was enough and quit.




You can see the tooth marks all over that rock where he tried to grab it out of there with the bucket. Eli is a little over 6 feet tall for comparison.

This dead end is about 1/4 mile from the bottom. You can see some of the giant rocks the bigger excavator was successful in pulling off. Don’t think my 5 ton excavator could move those more than a few inches.

You can see the Rzr parked up above it at the end of the trail coming from the top in the drone pictures. The trail from there to the top is already finished. It’s about 1/2 mile to connect up with the ridge road up on top. I just need to go about 150 yards and around 75 feet of elevation to get the trails connected. I’m thinking a steady up then a switchback to get up on that bench the Rzr is parked on.




So anyone with experience running a hydraulic breaker? Is the 68mm one going to be up to the task? I understand I will need to be patient with it and attack the seams and cracks and edges and not just go right at the middle of it.

Is the 75mm just too much for the TB 250-2 especially on the side of a mountain? Would the 75mm breaker make that much of a difference if I was super careful with it? Watching videos there seems to be a big step up from the 50mm breakers and the 68mm breakers. Like almost 50% more power. The step up to the 75mm breakers seems to be another 25-30% depending on brand.

Am I crazy to be thinking about tackling the last 150 yards of this trail on the side of the mountain with a 5 ton excavator? I wouldn’t want to attempt to do the whole thing but trying to make the connection sure is tempting.

I might but a post hole cup to use on it as well to drive oil field pipe for fence posts.

So anyone with experience running breakers or building mountain roads that has any input or advice?

Thanks, Nathan

 

[npaden]

Got some maintenance to do on the other side of that ridge. The guy who built the road didn’t plan very well for water and it decided the middle of the trail was the best place to go.



Almost works to straddle it but it is about to get impassible.




I think a ripper and a 12” bucket digging a narrow ditch on the hill side of the trail with some water bars rocked in good should solve that stretch of washed out trail pretty well.

Have a few other spots I need to encourage the water to go to the side of the trail instead of right down the middle but those aren't quite this bad… yet.

 

[npaden]

About to pull the trigger on the order for the hydraulic breaker. After a LOT of research I think I'm going to go ahead with the 68mm version. It really is the correct size hammer for my machine and I probably could get away with the 75mm one but for the 36% price increase the 25%-30% power increase I don't think is going to be a game changer. And it is going to be a good amount of additional weight out on the end of the stick in some pretty tricky terrain.

There is a HUGE difference in the 50-53mm chisels to the 68mm - like more than double. I watched a bunch of YouTube videos and it is obvious that the 68mm versions are men compared to the smaller 50-53mm chisels most people are running on the 3.5 ton machines. I would be able to easily run the 68mm version at it's maximum rated pressure with my machine.

From google - When comparing the impact energy of hydraulic breakers, manufacturers measure output in both Foot-Pounds (ft-lbs) and Joules (J). The tool diameter directly correlates to the energy class and the size of the mini excavator it requires. Energy Comparison Overview:

Breaker Tool Diameter	Impact Energy Class (ft-lbs)	Impact Energy Class (Joules)	Typical Carrier Size (Excavator Weight)
50mm (approx. 2.0 in)	150 – 250 ft-lbs	200 – 340 J	1.0 – 2.5 Tons
68mm (approx. 2.7 in)	450 – 620 ft-lbs	600 – 840 J	4.0 – 7.0 Tons
75mm (approx. 2.95 in)	650 – 800 ft-lbs	880 – 1,100 J	6.0 – 9.0 Tons

So if I am running the 68mm full out on my TB 250 that's going to be almost as good as running the 75mm version at lower pressure.

Going to order a couple extra chisels and some spare teeth for the bucket and ripper while I'm at it. Also a couple seal kits and replacement bushings for the breaker. And a post driver bit.

 

[Dan-06]

I like your idea. Might be worth looking into those seirra blasters. Maybe a 5 or 7 power head string. That would help break down the bigger stuff so your smaller tractor and breaker would work.

 

[Wild Bill]

Dexpan should do a good number on some of those larger rocks that your ex can't handle. I've never used it personally, but have heard from others it works well.

 

[Steiny77]

I've owned a couple breakers on both skid loaders and backhoes and won't again. I do not recommend owning one. They will literally beat the h#ll out of themselves as well as whatever machine they are attached to. Wears out all the pins and bushings on the machine and makes it sloppy, plus the breakers themselves are prone to downtime and problems.

Rent a big track hoe machine with a big breaker and get your work done fast, then let the rental outfit worry about the wear and tear.