Carter CT16-9B mini excavator 2021 Review

Although I had heard of the name before, I never had the opportunity to get behind the controls of a Carter mini excavator. With the brand being relatively new to the Australian market (around six-years-old), the distributor of the machines is looking to make an impact in the local market.

Wanting to know more about what could soon be coming to a town near you, I did a bit of digging (pun intended) on the brand and its machines in preparation for a test review.

Shandong Carter Heavy Industry Machinery came into existence in 2004 under the umbrella of parent company, Huasheng Zhongtian Group, which was established almost 70 years ago specialising in manufacturing and engineering industrial products such as engines and power equipment.

Shandong Carter produces excavators from 0.7 tonnes up to 50 tonnes, and I was offered the chance to hop on the 1.7-tonne model - the CT16-9B, for a spin.

Adam White from local distributor, Machinery Direct, was kind enough to lend us a machine to test for a day at a small farm below Tambourine Mountain in Guanaba in the Gold Coast.

The farm is used for grazing and equestrian activities, so digging holes in the paddock was out of the question. We eventually settled on throwing some dirt around in a small dried up creek bed that needed some tidying up.

Adam gave me a quick ‘tour’ of the CT16-9B, firstly pointing out the three well-constructed buckets that come with the machine. A ripper is also part of the purchase package but was left at the yard on that particular day. A quick hitch and auxiliary piping for attachments, along with a manual thumb and adjustable track width (970mm-1320mm) make up the standard package for this piece of gear.  

The blade easily folds out via two pins on each side to make it wider. The lift arms, although not box construction, are made of thick gauge steel that is firmly secured to the undercarriage of the digger. A good-sized ram is housed safely under a strong steel protection cover.

Eaton from the USA provides power to the rubber tracks and swing motors, while the main hydraulic pump was sourced from Nachi-Fujikoshi of Japan. A Yanmar 3TNV70-Series engine completes the impressive machine power package and is neatly tucked away under the operator’s seat with access gained through the back compartment door.

The confined spaces in this type of machine makes some serviceable items a bit trickier to access but daily checkable components are still easy to get to. 

The boom looks strong with the lift ram situated on the topside and hydraulic lines running through the inside. This thoughtful setup minimises the chances of damage caused by flying debris or a sizeable item like a pipe that is being handled coming into contact with the machine arm.

The boom and pivot mounts look well-constructed and sturdy with the stick arm (dipper) providing good reach. Grease nipples are easily accessed throughout.

Climbing on board a machine of this size wasn’t the easiest for my big six-foot frame but once I got into the seat, I was able to feel quite comfortable.

Even though the left-hand joystick console tilted slightly back with the safety lever engaged, the seat was wide enough for me to sit comfortably in, and the adjustable forearm rests made for a comfortable work environment.

Legroom was a little tight as expected, and it was tricky trying to access the travel lever foot pedals with my size 10 feet. However, this is an issue that I encounter on almost all machines of this size, so it didn’t faze me too much.

I was able to position my feet comfortably on the auxiliary foot pedal covers and utilise the drive levers to control the machine instead.

A small dash positioned below the operator’s right arm displays fuel level, RPM and coolant temperature. Five switches next to the dash are used for lights, hitch, machine tracking speed and other functions as the operator sees fit.

The good old-fashioned cable throttle lever is situated next to the switches while the blade control lever is located just outside the right-hand joystick.

The TOPS canopy is simple and features two work lights that work with the light on the boom to make night work easier and safer for operators.

I kicked the machine into life and made my way to our dig area for the day. The engine didn’t feel too loud at full revs and Adam and I were still able to converse while I walked the machine towards the work area. With the flick of a switch, I was in 'rabbit' mode and traveling at a good speed.

On reaching the small creek bed, I knocked it back down to 'turtle' mode for the descent into the hole. In fact, I conducted the majority of my review in this mode as it was more ideal for the work space.

I opted to do the test using the mud/cleaning bucket as there was a fair amount of dirt to dig and throw around in order to make a level pad, along with some vegetation clearing and batter work to be done.

I started with the bulk work first and was immediately impressed with the response and speed of the little machine. The dirt was clay silt mixed with river stone, so I was able to get some good heavy buckets to throw around.

The machine felt stable with the adjustable tracks set at maximum width. Even with a full bucket and arm stretched all the way to the side of the machine, both tracks managed to stay on the ground.

While the smoothness of the hydraulics make for a pleasant operating experience and the machine is fairly stable, you can still throw yourself around in the seat if you are not careful.

As we dug deeper and the dirt became denser, I didn’t notice much change in digging performance. The bucket was still able to cut into the ground albeit at smaller depths but still extracting full buckets with ease. 

Once I placed the piles of dirt where I needed, I set about the task of blading them around. We had folded out the blade extensions to match the width of the tracks, so pushing full blades of dirt around seemed effortless.

Visibility from the seat to the blade is good but I did feel that I had to reach my arm over a long way in order to operate the blade control lever. This fairly long handle, positioned on the outside of the right-hand console, felt comfortable when lifting but had me stretching a little when engaging the blade to the ground due to its length and position.

The blade control lever, in my opinion, could be placed in a more upright position to make it easier for operators to reach and control. However, it was still easy enough to operate so I quickly levelled off the work area and turned my attention to cleaning up.

Final trim work is not my best skill anymore, but this machine definitely made the job a lot easier.

I was impressed with how easy it was to get a good straight cut as I cleared vegetation and trimmed the creek wall batters. The response to the small movements on the control levers wasn't too touchy and felt as good as some high-end excavators I have had the opportunity to operate over the years.

I presume the hydraulic responsiveness might have something to with the Italian Hydro Control main control valves, but the reaction to the operator’s touch was certainly quite impressive. Control of the diggers arm and bucket was effortless, which is a huge bonus for a machine that relies on operator ability and prowess to get a job done.

I gave the area a quick track roll which made levelling off simple, while managing to achieve good, consistent cuts each time. Satisfied with my days’ work, I climbed out of the creek bed and headed back to where Adam was waiting to load the mini excavator on to a waiting trailer.

The first thing about the machine that grabbed me was the simplicity.

For $30k, you’ll get what you pay for – a simple excavator that will dig and dig well. There are no bells and whistles, but you still get a nice range of extras such as auxiliary piping, extendable tracks, thumb, quick-hitch, ripper and three buckets thrown in for good measure.

When you try out a machine with only a couple of hours on the clock, expectations are usually pretty high and I found the overall functionality of the machine to be up there with a lot of machines in a higher price bracket.

These Chinese built machines have some 70 years of engineering experience backing them, not to mention the Japanese, USA and Italian running gear that speak volumes to how much the company values performance and reliability.

According to Adam, in the last six years or so that Machinery Direct has been selling these machines in Australia, only a couple have cropped up with very minor issues that were easily rectified and quickly sent back to work.

I certainly enjoyed my time in the seat and was pleased with the overall performance of the little digger. Stability, speed, and smoothness are vital when operating a machine like this, all of which help make the work day much more enjoyable.

If someone is looking to buy or upgrade to a new machine with some niceties but not all the bells and whistles, I would urge them to consider the Carter CT16-9B. I think it provides pretty good bang for your buck.

However, don’t take my word for it. Go try one out for yourself and make up your own mind.

Look up Carter excavators for sale

 Max. digging reach: 3950mm

 Max. digging depth: 2110mm

 Max dump height: 2360mm

 Extendable track width: 970mm – 1320mm

Operating weight: (Canopy model) 1700kg

Bucket breakout force: 12.7kN

Dipper breakout force: 10.9kN

ENGINE:

Power output: 15.5kW/20.8hp@3600rpm

Displacement: 0.854L