Mini Digger Sizes Explained

Digger "size" is really three numbers pulling in different directions: operating weight, machine width, and maximum dig depth. Pick for one and ignore the others and you either can't get the machine on site or it can't reach the bottom of your trench. Here's how the classes break down and where each one earns its keep.

Micro diggers (under 1.2 tonne, 700–900mm wide)

The tight-access specialist. A micro digger folds its dozer blade and, on the narrowest models, retracts its tracks to squeeze through a standard 760mm doorway or a side passage between a house and a boundary wall. You give up dig depth (typically to around 1.8m) and bucket power, but for back gardens, patios and small utility trenches where nothing else fits, it's the only sensible choice.

Mini diggers (1.5–3 tonne, ~990–1550mm wide)

This is the workhorse class and the machine most Cork domestic and light-commercial jobs actually want. A 1.5-tonne mini clears a 1.2m gateway; a 3-tonne needs closer to 1.5m but rewards you with real dig depth (up to around 3m), a heavier bucket and the stability to lift and place. Foundations for an extension, standard drainage runs, driveway digs and garden reshaping all sit comfortably here.

Beyond 3 tonne — into excavator territory

Once a job needs to move serious spoil, dig past 3m, or run breakers and tilt buckets all day, you're looking at a 5–13 tonne tracked excavator rather than a mini. The trade is access: these need open site entry and generate spoil volumes that usually call for a dumper working alongside.

How to actually choose

Measure your narrowest access point first — that single number rules machines in or out before anything else. Then check your deepest dig against the machine's reach. Only then think about weight and bucket size. If you're unsure, our machine size guide walks you through it in three questions, or send us the job details and we'll confirm the right class.