Trench/Ditch Cleaning Bucket

At the end of the stick a broad, large capability of mud taking bucket along with a direct
cutting edge is used where the material to be dug is soft and teeth are not required is the
trench / ditch cleaning bucket. This bucket is ideal for cleaning out ditches, drainage
canals, mucking ponds and lakes and other roadside maintenance. They can also be used
to move loose surfaces and carve gradients into landscapes. They normally have a
straight front edge which makes them ideal for clearing away the surface rather than
cutting through it. Due to the flat front it makes this kind of bucket unsuitable for heavy
digging. They are normally fitted with standard drainage holes which reduce the weight
and make them easier to work with in areas where water may have collected.

Instead of cleaning ditches with a standard bucket, productivity is increased by using the
ditch cleaning bucket. It is designed for general clean up operations such as channel
cleaning, ditch maintenance and site clearance. It is also suitable for other light duties
such as grading and slope work and can be used to load loose light weight material that
has already been excavated or broken loose.

It has a wide face, round profile and stiffener gussets for excavating muck and soft
material. This wide, shallow shape evenly removes ditch sediment quickly and efficiently
along length of the entire ditch and the design allows wet sticky soils, unevenly
distributed to easily slide out when dumping.

In constructing this bucket high strength steel is utilized in all high wear components
such as the bucket base. The bucket formed from a single-radius shell. This provides for
better loading and dumping. No teeth are installed to allow the bucket to leave a smooth
cutting edge on the bottom surface.

The sides are tapered such that it allows the cutting edge to do all the work and keep the
sides and bottom away from hard contact to reduce drag and unnecessary use of
horsepower.

The bottom of the bucket slopes up and away from the dig direction to facilitate ‘boiling’,
the circulation of handled material that prevents sticking and allows for faster loading.
This sloped bottom also reduces heel wear.

A rigid tubular top for extra strength allows for very little flex (bending) and assures
structural stability. This means that full transfer of force from the stick to the cutting edge
and therefore longer bucket life. The bottom is abrasion-resistant with thick wear straps
which also provides extra reinforcing

A bolted on cutting edge or can be setup with smooth weld in base edge assembly is
optional. This can be a reversible wear-edge, it protects the built-in base edge. It comes
with two sides so when one eventually wears down a new edge can be quickly applied by
simply reversing the plate.
Standard holes or drainage perforations are optional but provide fast escape routes for
unwanted liquid in the payload.

Ditch Cleaning Buckets are designed around each machine and can be setup to work with
most quick coupler systems or pinned directly to the excavator stick.

For in the design for our mini excavator approximately between 11000 – 14000 pounds a
the Ditch Cleaning Bucket width range of 36 – 54 inches at a rated capacity between
8.00 – 14.10 tons

Options:

• WEAR SHROUDS - Wear Shrouds is optional and serve to protect the corner bit of
the bucket from wear, preventing expensive maintenance and down time.

Applications that involve moving abrasive materials such as rock, stone, crushed
concrete, broken slag and granite would benefit from Wear Shrouds being installed.

When the Wear Shrouds have worn they can be easily removed and replaced. Various
wear shroud manufacturers have specific hole patterns related to their shrouds. The ACS
wear shroud uses a common 3 bolt-hole configuration.
Note: Wear Shrouds DO NOT add significantly to the cut width of a bucket.

• SIDE CUTTERS - The Installation of Side Cutters serves three purposes:

1. Protection. Prevents wear on the corner bit saving on down time & maintenance.
2. Additional Cut Width. Side Cutters flare out 1.5” on each corner of the bucket,
providing an additional 3” to the cut width. This benefits trenching applications by
allowing the bucket to cut wider than the bucket sides.
3. Side Drag Reduction. Side Cutters keep the sides of the bucket from dragging against
the edge of the trench, which increases productivity and decreases overall wear.