Working with a $4000 mini-excavator (AGT H12R)

[@PacificNorthwestHillbilly]

No I haven't abandoned the big excavator rebuild, more videos of it soon! Just have to get through all my summer chores...

[@southern207hobbies]

Got to do what you got to do to get crap done

[@kahivavillierme1611]

CANt wait to see more💪🏽

[@JoeAroner-SIWAYTV]

I would have lent you my tractor with backhoe…

[@lucar6132]

cant wait to see more of the big excavator vids!!!

[@raincoast9010]

The little one is the trainer... ha ha.

[@NeutronSplitter]

Former Hydraulic Tech here. Check your valve block spools for the controls. A good spool will have a small relief cut into it before it gets to the "main part" of the spool to prevent from going from 0 to 100% right away. It'll allow a small amount of hydraulic fluid to pass which will give you better control.

[@zhzhhhzhzhzzzz]

Neighbour: "My favourite goat has died" You: "YES! I can test my new mini digger, I mean, I'm so sorry to hear about that".

[@keithlincoln1309]

Videos of you doing summer chores is still better then 99%of YT content. As always, great video.

[@mikeaustin9810]

I think Charlie wants to be in control of the little excavator

[@stevea9604]

You on the thing makes it seem it seem even more mini than it is…Heck your dog makes it look mini 👍🏻🤪😆🐕

[@garywagner5831]

nice to see your kids getting in on the action.

[@boellis241]

Take all the time you can with the kids while they’re little. That phase is quick and then they’re gone. Take time to enjoy it and just be silly with them, even if you’re late on a video. If I could go back, I’d work less and laugh more with my little ones. Great job as always. Thanks for the videos.

[@kevinsharpe8335]

I totally agree!! trust me before you know it they have grown up and left the nest!!

[@gregorythomas333]

Damn...I hate that your neighbor lost one of her goats...especially if she considers them more as pets. It was nice of you to help her with the burial.

[@davidnoyes3373]

Nice to see the kids enjoying it. The ducks are anxious to enjoy the pond.

[@rjay1674]

I can certainly understand your need for the mini-excavator just with those 3 tasks you needed to complete. Nice to see the little Mattlings out there giving you a hand. I definitely see a D8 in that little guys future. Good video Matt.

[@terryrogers1025]

Nice little excavator, what I see is a nice little crane for helping lift some heavier parts as you rebuild equipment down the line. It’s a nice little quick help for a small project in small areas. Thanks for the update, enjoyed watching.

[@stevea9604]

This is good practice for when you get your big one fixed 👍🏻😁

[@JennyRosalie]

Such a vibe, great atmosphere here!

[@bruceadler-9410]

+27:40 the bulkhead compression rings are reverse threaded so that if bulkhead fitting is already installed when you connect an outlet pipe to it, tightening the outlet pipe into the bulkhead fitting will tighten the compression rings rather than loosen them.

[@MichelClavette]

Great video! On your thumb cylinder...rotate it 180deg around it's axis so that the hyd fitting point towards the arm...that way the aux hyd lines will have a nice bend.

[@pookatim]

For certain jobs a mini excavator is the perfect choice.

[@stefanczechorskidds8435]

Good to see Charlie! That sure is a beautiful area! What a back yard.

[@ronaldheit196]

Nice little episode of Matt testing out how well his cheapo mini excavator does burying a dead goat and improving the quack quack pond. I've no problem with these off topic episodes. I enjoy watching all his channel episodes. This one was special with us getting to watch Matt bonding with his little ones. His sin should grow helping dad learning how to operate his equipment.

[@marcosmota1094]

Hey Matt, you can use a horse hitch to pull on something heave (or to make a rope tight. Basically, tied the front and back legs separately, then loop the long end of the rope, through and over once. You get one pulley's worth of extra strength and then just keep pulling until the load is suspended from the extended boom. First boom joint might be awkward, so try the second boom joint.

[@greggb1416]

There’s just no “feathering” of those controls.., it’s either on or off. Wonder if there are any adjustment(s) hydraulic with flow, at the control valve(s)…? You are a good man there “Matt”.., helping out the neighbor lady. I have a few farm animals (cats, dogs, horses, calves) buried on my property.., not always a pleasant task. You put “junior” or “juniorette” on that machine, and you won’t ever have to get on it, they will have it mastered in about 5-10mins., hahaha..! P.S., you can get a pretty hefty pond liner at one of the local commercial nursery supply companies in your area. The liner is a very heavy duty (20mil thick) rubber.., not cheap by any means, but will probably be very resistant to the ducks bill.

[@jerald307]

I have a Chery KV12 mini X that is very similar to your machine. I put in a cushion valve to help protect the swivel motor and it made a big difference. I also installed flow control valves on each of the cylinders and once I got them properly adjusted all the functions operate much smoother with less bucking and hopping. Hope this helps. Have a great day.!!

[@bobm2331]

Another quality video and cool to see the kidos and tree house. Well done Sir.

[@stevering5293]

I’m a full time digger driver on a building site for past 8yrs+, anything less than a 5 tonne just ruins my back. Damn rocking horses lol

[@TechGorilla1987]

What a cute little hydraulic tea spoon. It probably need a larger transfer case and some rubber mounts, but like you said, it sure beats a shovel! I also love the supervising ducks. Making sure everything is just so for their habitat.

[@58royboy]

Mike, you always do your best work in the dark.

[@silasmarner7586]

Oh my gosh Matt those kids are ADORABLE!!!

[@oldmantaiter]

Never thought I'd watch someone bury a goat with a mini-excavator for 12 minutes, but here we are.

[@tomd864]

Good video, I also have an H12 and bought longer bolts for the thumb from mcmaster carr. Also if you spin the thumb cylinder around backwards your hydraulic lines will set better and a little more protected.

[@nickrogersgoldcoastmasters4762]

Be very very very careful I rolled a kubota 008 which is about the same size on two different occasions I could have been killed On the second rollover came home fixed it up and sold it🙌 be careful man🙏👍

[@joedowling5452]

We’ve had a couple of smaller plastic ponds for our ducks. Unless you can compact it level you’ll get some settling over time. We did ours by hand and at a certain point, close enough is good enough

[@kerrygleeson4409]

Great demonstration of that machine Matt did quite a good job 🦘

[@ericpaul4575]

Can you get some inline flow restrictors for the problem circuits. That should smooth it out.

[@gordonagent7037]

Nice change up from the excavator work Matt, gets to show you are a multi skilled person and those jobs need addressing to keep Mum happy…..especially when you want to buy toys, that’s what I found anyway. Great content Matt, enjoyed it

[@lloydprunier4415]

That's the most useful work I've ever seen anybody do with one of those! Most demos have just been moving compost or sand.

[@mdouglaswray]

When you warned Charlie away I could almost HEAR him thinking "BUT DAD!? You're always telling ME NOT TO DIG!" LOL What a wonderful dog he is.

[@magilla9792]

Great to see another video. Please post more, I know you are not a full time you tuber, but we love the content.

[@jackdawg4579]

Got to admit i was waiting for the kids to fall in the manky duck pond, the earful you would have got from she who must be obeyed would have been epic! 🤗

[@shk2564]

I know that these Chinese machines are not that great but for the money they are worth it to save the old back! You are a good neighbor and I know that you are appreciated for helping out in a time like that! ❤

[@flowerstone]

Those little cylinders sometimes use O-rings on the piston that can leak by. Could also be the valve. That little machine would be good for building trail on my place. 😊

[@SedraKotova-wb9ib]

Can't believe how good this turned out!

[@Isthatyoudermot]

Great video. Kids grow fast. I have 6. 4 girls and 2 boys. Range from 22 to 10 yrs. The years have flown by. Enjoy.

[@leestokes6761]

I’m jealous of your rock-free soil. Pre-historic Lake Bonneville covered a good portion of Utah-including where I live about a mile from the Northeast of Utah Lake. The sandy clay of the old lake bottom is like concrete. It’s mixed with rocks of varying sizes for a truly backbreaking experience even just to plant a rose bush or hedge. Tree planting takes half a day per fruit tree. My wife and I use raised garden beds everywhere we can.

[@leestokes6761]

Oh, I enjoyed your extra “helpers” Charlie was a hoot trying to fetch the excavator bucket.

[@jessbush1017]

could be the first burying a goat video on you tube!

[@thereissomecoolstuff]

He certainly dug the biggest hole for one goat.

[@Isthatyoudermot]

First one I've watched 😂

[@jessbush1017]

@@Isthatyoudermot I just hope that the You Tube algorithm doesn't push a lot of other "burying" videos to me. LOL.

[@IdeasBox]

We've got one of these and it's real handy around our small farm. To be honest its main drawback is its weight, at only 980 kilos ( less than a ton) it will lift itself rather than dig. Great video Matt, hi from Australia

[@charleswelch249]

I've watched several people running those Chinese excavators. Several people have put flow control values in line with the main control valve to smooth the operation. Another thing people are doing is flipping the teeth. It seems they have been installed backward to work properly. The little machine does pretty decent for the money, and a few changes like swapping the controls and the thumb update makes it much better to operate. I liked the video, and having your kids helping was just about perfect for the pond job.

[@canadianpopeye8066]

Finally let's get it on

[@bulfin21]

Great to see a child climb a tree 🎄

[@TheMarathonMike]

Awesome! I have the same machine, but it has a cab. I wasn't looking for a cab, but it was the machine available and the same price. It also keeps it dry in any weather. Here are some of my early tips. All the fasteners should be checked for tightness. All hydraulic lines should be checked for tightness I added a return side, 10 micron spin on filter. I will be adding an oil cooler into the return line as well. I'm going to do the cushion valve too. The engine needing the choke to start, even when warm, is a function of the emissions requirements. I feel if you go up one jet size (maybe 2) on the main jet it will likely help with the starting. My choke only had the control wire bent on the engine side, so I added a proper cable end. Now it functions much better. The counter weight is cast, it's too light, and brittle. I gently touched the back wall of the trailer when loading it and cracked the tabs off. I can still mount easily it the same way. The digging and slewing worked great when I got it, but the track drive was really weak and stalled forward motion with next to no load on the blade. I check the hydraulic system pressure, and it was set way too low! It was at 1600 psi. I adjusted it to 2500 psi and it is much better. I agree it is an effort to be smooth. Like you I find it plenty powerful even at lower RPM and it is much smoother to operate. Keep the great videos coming!

[@johnsweet8410]

I am impressed with that headlamp!

[@LeonisLupusRex]

When Matt got the Hitachi i was looking for an Excavator as well last year in December i got a 2004 B-15-3 EX Ammann Yanmar 1.75 ton mini and that thing was worth the money. Digging, clearing, putting culvert pipes in and moving stuff around and not having to bust my back is fantastic just need to put a thumb on it and the machine is gona be worth its weight in gold for me. The mini excavators may not look like it but when you get the hang of em they can do some serious work and cause they are so small you can easily put them under a roof and keep them clean and in good shape.

[@stephenpoe2037]

Great video ! The new pond is a huge plus . Thanks for sharing !

[@laughton57]

Good purchase for your work. If you don't somehow destroy it then it'll be worth more than you paid for it next year. Love your videos - was 35F here Tuesday morning. Will look forward to the Hitachi videos this winter!

[@jlucasound]

This is good you have this little excavator. I started motorcycling with a Yamaha 60. My next motorcycle was a Yamaha 250. (@14 Years old and about 90 lbs.) I now ride a ZX14 @62 Years old and 190 lbs.. You will LOVE and appreciate the power of the Hitachi. You are awesome, Matt. Your Subs will grow. At some point you should see the "snowball". Low-Buck Garage just passed 100K (125K now) and he started before KZbin was coming of age, so to speak. He is now being recognized for his content. I get just as thrilled seeing a new video by you as I do him. Also Tony (I guess it is family time for him, totally understandable.) I think you are doing everything right. Stay safe so we can watch you reach the level of Subs you deserve. 🤩Matt!!

[@robertgendreau780]

Lmao bought the same one and first thing I did was swap some hoses for the controls.

[@kenutton992]

I appreciate a neighbor helping a neighbor. When you get your escalator finished you will enable you burry all the goat that need to be burred. I sure enjoy your channel and you have cute kids.

[@ramzanali5530]

Tha😢Matt for another video. Love your work

[@morgansword]

I tried to operate one, that same jerky motions. I wound up putting pressure on the blade control all of the time to release some of the pump pressure on all other controls. It did help, still a piece of err. Like said, I wouldn't and of course can't use a hand shovel for moving snow around my porch here in alaska. I don't remember any place in washington that did not have a ton of rocks. Oddly toss a seed on the ground and it will grow about anything in that short season called summer. Your quite fortunate to have a dog like Charlie as he would take arms and legs off of anyone who tried to harm anyone in the family. Not sure about illegal immigrants in your area but these are a troubling times, price of gold by 2030 will be close or even more than nine thousand dollars. My son works in the largest gold mines in alaska as a superintendent. That said, his job is day to day with a lot of men getting fired for little things, a excuse for their letting men/women go. It looks like war is going to happen for the first time right here on american soil. Failed government and those two in charge.

[@arlodewald5378]

I love how your dog thinks it a chew toy , and what's to play with it .

[@nitrodad15]

Charlie eats an excavator. Now that would be KZbin gold.

[@trevorvanbremen4718]

I suspect Charlie is still waiting for Matt to 'throw' the mini so that Charlie can go 'fetch' it.

[@tombeck2792]

sounds like a lawn tractor. The ducks seem happy

[@51sicboy]

I guess something so small could come in handy but I'm here for the Hitachi. LOL

[@LunkerFishing]

Great video. That little machine is not a strong as the excavator will be but it is better than digging a hole by hand.

[@Walcstac123]

You could put in reducer valves to make it less sensitive on the sticks

[@phillipdean9879]

Hi Matt! It took me a minute to realise the difference! It was daylight! Used to seeing you at night.. good to see you playing dad too. How many blokes have a baby monitor on thier excavator? Your geese will love you.. 🇦🇺🍺🍺

[@sandie062985]

I would put more work lights on it. And when you want to dig have the blade in front of you it will stop the unit from tipping forward. God bless and be safe

[@jlucasound]

BTW you have such awesome, knowledgeable expert professionals that really know the machines you have. Very impressive following. I myself have been impressed with your knowledge, too. Oh, that engine you got. That was so perfect. That will run forever. As soon as it started, I knew. Brand new.

[@mdouglaswray]

Ducks are like "DUDE! WE ARE GONNA EAT LIKE KINGS!!"

[@ScottWM54]

Nosey neighbor...."I sware he's burying a body Floyd".....😂😂

[@flowerstone]

Most excavators have a way to switch the controls. Usually a mechanical valve or on the touch screen of fancier machines. Not sure about these. 😊

[@dustygable5006]

looking at the valve block. it looks more like a knuckle buster set up

[@firstlast-ty4di]

I would have loved one of these when I was a little boy.

[@TheInevitableMan]

Put one of those flat rocks over the drain to keep out twigs and pebbles (and potentially curious ducks' heads lol)

[@Supertech-86]

Charlie has want to dig that spot since a pup.

[@mattthescrapwhisperer]

Thanks for sharing this Matt. I have been looking at these for projects on my 5 acres and was wondering if they were worth it. Looks like your youngster likes it.

[@johnnypicnic]

You may find setting the throttle at 1/2 to 3/4 will help smooth out the controls.

[@johnnypicnic]

I have a FF12 which I would think is pretty similar. I can hear the relief valve or something letting off pressure when I swing around and stop. But I have heard about the swing gear breaking so something to keep an eye on.

[@ianwille5780]

I’m glad to see my shepherds aren’t the only ones who think they need to “herd” heavy equipment

[@chadriddle4357]

As soon as you jumped into that hole I immediately thought of Ray Steven’s sitting up with the dead.

[@brianelliot2719]

Thanks Matt.

[@stevea9604]

Your son will be able to say at 15 he has 10 years experience on excavators 🤩😎👍🏻😁

[@bluestreak3864]

Hey Matt Winter Sure Went Fast It's Spring Already ha ha *I Like Your Supervisor Charlie*

[@jlucasound]

😂 That excavator makes Charlene look like Dogzilla! 😂

[@dave4803]

Handy little tool.

[@jlucasound]

@3:50 All I can think of is Frank Bowman, from "2001: A Space Odyssey" disabling the "HAL 9000" Computer because "he" cut off life sustaining functions that his crew members needed while in hibernation. 😃 "Can You dig a hole in the driveway, AGT H12R?" "I'm Sorry, Matt. I don't think I can do that". "Matt? What are you doing? Please don't take off my claw. I feel sleepy. Old MacDonald Had a Farmm..eiei....oh, no.😔"

[@Beefbus]

R.I.P. Goat Boy.

[@andrewbrenneman9592]

It's good to learn both ISO (Cat) & SAE (JD) control patterns. It will take a little bit to get both control patterns straight. My dad operated a machine that had NW control pattern with right hand swing. But I don't know the rest of the pattern. Thankfully NW control pattern is no longer used.

[@JoeAroner-SIWAYTV]

Most newer machines have a simple switch to change between the two.

[@aserta]

4:19 since you have it, you should reshape the shoulder to the shop (right of the selected time frame). Seems a bit unruly at the moment. 7:12 well, yeah. It's made from parts. The only things you see on this, that are not shelf components, are the specific tiny excavator parts, like the banana and the thumb. The rest (bucket included) are all shelf bits from other production lines, some even from completely different machine types.

[@cwbean3087]

I built a boom for with a hydraulic cylinder which was fast acting on 3/8" hose and I bought a nipple which has a very small hole in it that restricted the hydraulic flow. Maybe you could put it on the main hose to stop the jerking.

[@harkbelial]

Cheaper than a hernia operation💪💪💪💪

[@kirk467]

I like the little excavator Matt, seems like you were getting used to it! Cool duck pond and yeah we had ducks and there’s no way you can keep the water clear! They’re just a dirty bird! lol 🤣😂🤣 Thanks for sharing Matt, I like your place there! It’s a good thing you’re still young, I remember when I could do those kind of things! Tree house is pretty cool too! Yall take care my friend! 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👌🏻👍🏻👍🏻🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🙋🏼✌🏻✌🏻💯💯💯

[@jlucasound]

Rest in Peace, Fuzzy Farm Friend. So Sad. My condolences to the family who owned it.

[@lawrenceveinotte]

I'm a cat man myself, if you can get a quick change for the bucket and build yourself a cleanout bucket you will use it by far the most. If you load this little machine onto a trailer be careful, it will go over backwards in the blink of an eye.

[@aserta]

17:52 opportunity lost for creepy music. :))

[@Lee-At-Green-Pheonix-Rc]

I love my control SAE boom and slew in left dipper and bucket on right have it set up on my Rc excavator

[@paulrichards7587]

I think you need a bigger bucket and a wider one if I can get it for the excavator but good job is always good videos seems like it’s been a month since you’ve been back on KZbin I’ll take it been very busy

[@tiredagain6722]

Matt's goat mortuary.😮

[@ferky123]

Looks like it could get a light bar for the cab.

[@stephenknutson1343]

Charley is not impressed, but it looks like a fun machine.

[@andrewmarkland9411]

Wow. Didn’t see the goat video coming Matt!

[@jerryw5225]

By next summer, your son should be able to drive it and help with small chores. Thanks