Chinese digger recommendations

[Mej13579]

Got mine delivered a couple of days ago

 

[LittleBill21]

im excited to see these in use, this was the model i was looking at, glad to see there are a couple people buying them now, do they have hydro filters?

 

[Carl_NH]

Yes they have a 80 micron filter in the tank and oil cooling radiator - half the raditor is engine cooling and the other half is oil cooling.

The kubota engine runs smooth and quiet, pilot controls work well and everything is tight - but the doors/hinges and little things need adjustment but no big deal.

I thought I would need to add a restrictor valve to the thumb/tilting bucket as it was too fast/too high flow (made feathering difficult) but when I adjusted the directional valve on the dipper stick (closed it halfway, this slowed the flow enough now to feather the bucket.

I will be changing out the foot pedal for the thumb/ tilting bucket as its too high - an aluminum folding pedal that bolts on is arriving today and will take pics once installed.

 

[LittleBill21]

will it fit in a 7ft garage?

 

[Carl_NH]

No - its 89" to the top of the canopy - you can remove the canopy and that might just make it (4 bolts) and its a molded / extruded plastic top about 5" thickness so not too heavy, I can measure mine later tonight.

Or there are 4 steel posts 1 1/2" as the ROPS and you could cut those down by 5-6" and reweld - it has enough headroom around 8" for me and I am 6'3

 

[LittleBill21]

No - its 89" to the top of the canopy - you can remove the canopy and that might just make it (4 bolts) and its a molded / extruded plastic top about 5" thickness so not too heavy, I can measure mine later tonight.

Or there are 4 steel posts 1 1/2" as the ROPS and you could cut those down by 5-6" and reweld - it has enough headroom around 8" for me and I am 6'3

Thanks for measuring!

 

[Carl_NH]

Thanks for measuring!

I measured to the top of the ROPS under the canopy and its 85 1/2" so too tall for 84" door height - lowering by 5-6" would not impact sitting in the seat much but would lower the height to get in/out.

 

[LittleBill21]

I measured to the top of the ROPS under the canopy and its 85 1/2" so too tall for 84" door height - lowering by 5-6" would not impact sitting in the seat much but would lower the height to get in/out.

appreciate you taking the time to measure this, I now need to consider my options, is this machine tippy like the smaller 1 tons?

 

[Carl_NH]

No - its stable 44" wide tracks x 55" long on the ground and there is a new version of this one made by VOTE Machinery and you can likely get this for around $11,500 and ask to include a quick connect and like a ditch bucket for $400. FREE SHIPPING NEW 1.8 Ton New Mini Excavator, KUBOTA D902 Diesel Engine 16 hp | eBay

These have 230MM tracks, vs 180 MM and a Kubota 902 engine vs 722, and a bit higher flow rate. The fit and finish is better IMO with little things like heavier bucket, flanges around the grease zerks, and pedals to control the swing and thumb.

 

[Carl_NH]

Still a work in progress here - waiting for the correct fittings to connect the Tilting grading bucket with the 14MM Hyd QDs I bought based on the Typhon suggestion (should have bought 16MM not 14)

Then have the drive motor protection from Central Digger supply on the way - not that this machine needs it - as the drive motor mounts and weldments are very robust - but I want to add the hitch plate.

Then the mod to the thumb/Bucket pedal was too sensitive and very hard to control. So I added a 2x3 plate and extended the pedal 3" out so I could easily control it with my foot. (the Aluminum ones were too low to activate the valve). Then by throttling back the control valve on the dipper stick was able to feather the tilting grading bucket with no issue.

More updates next weekend once I get the other stuff here. Then the mystery grease fitting on the dipper stick actually feeds the fitting in the stick (above the bucket pin).

 

[Carl_NH]

Finally got all the bits and pieces to finish the mods this week.
- Added the motor brace and hitch plate - welded on - the drive motor mounts are very robust on this machine - I dont think it was needed but its done now. Was going to add plate over the lines but decided to see how this works
- Added stiffener plates to thumb - 2 3" x 3/8" thick plates between the tines - the round bar just wasn't enough with the rocks I deal with - also made sure it didn't hit the boom or bucket
- Mounted the tool box behind the seat on the rops bolt and padded with adhesive foam
- Got the hydraulic Tilting bucket QD done finally - went to a local hyd house - needed two DIN14 seal gaskets and 2 14MM BSP to 14MM DIN connectors so finally have this solved.
- added 3/8" cutting edge to screening bucket - the stock sides are very thin so this was needed
- Got an 8" rock / trenching bucket - $180 - much better built than the stock buckets and the tines on the thumb mesh perfectly with the bucket.
- The fuel/oil tank cover rattled so added the black edging material around it and some rubber bumpers underneath and now its tight.

it's now going to get worked out this weekend and next week clearing a patch of ledge and rocks.

 

[Mej13579]

I really like the quick connects on the auxiliary. I got an auger with mine and would like to set it up for quick connect couplers. Thanks for the info on the size.

 

[LittleBill21]

any big issues pop up yet?

 

[Carl_NH]

No issues at all with the machine - its the operator!

I spent yesterday morning "learning the controls" turning over my compost pile - as I am used to my Kubota BH for 20 years - I didnt think it would be hard but it's definitely a challenge.

So after getting frustrated I wanted to see if there was a valve somewhere to switch the controls - no luck - so it will be moving hoses around it appears to change it.

I removed all the side covers and the access point on the floor - the access to the valve bank is limited and full of hoses - will need to remove the entire ROPS to get access if I decide to change the controls. I will write the factory and see what they advise.

But I did find another grease zerk for the swing arm too under the right side cover,

I will say the machine is very robust and welds smooth and steel plate are heavy duty - the base is 2 3/4" steel plates welded and machined and all the internal edges are smooth - no sharp parts to cut you when checking things for tightness. All the bolts are tight and most have locknuts.

 

[LittleBill21]

what controls are reversed?

 

[Carl_NH]

what controls are reversed?

The two pilot control "sticks" all have 4-5 small hoses each that connect to proportioning valve blocks on the main valve assembly - it will be easier to change them at the "sticks" rather than on the main valve body as its very tittle line clearance to move them around.

I need to figure out if this is possible then which ones to change. There are discussions in this over in DFKrug post on Importing Mini excavators.

 

[dfkrug]

The two pilot control "sticks" all have 4-5 small hoses each that connect to proportioning valve blocks on the main valve assembly - it will be easier to change them at the "sticks" rather than on the main valve body as its very tittle line clearance to move them around.

I need to figure out if this is possible then which ones to change. There are discussions in this over in DFKrug post on Importing Mini excavators.

Everyone needs to take off all the panels on their new machine to see what they have, and how to maintain it. Info from the makers is anemic at best.

That said, changing the control pattern to Backhoe style from Excavator style was very easy on my machine, switching 4 hoses on the main stack valve. You can also do it at the pilot valves, but the small diameter hoses have to go to the other side, if you know what I am saying. It may not be easier doing it at the pilot valve.

You probably need to adjust your main system RV, too, Carl.

I see you still have your B21. Since my ancient posts on that fine tractor, I have had a B20, and now have an awesome L47 here, fixing for a friend.

 

[Carl_NH]

Yes DF - I remember when you got the B20 basket case and restored it - that was decades ago! Yes I still have my B21 760 hours now in 23 years and still doing great.

Wanted a mini ex as a supporting cast to load rocks and clear some stuff out. But on to the Mini and hoses. I took off the left side pilot cover and they numbered the lines - same on right side - but haven't taken that side off yet.

As I was digging into this I noticed all the lines are numbered as follows:

- Lines 3 & 6 are for the Boom
- Lines 4 & 5 are for the dipper
- Lines 2 & 7 are for the bucket curl
- Line 8 is for the thumb circuit

The manual they send has a section in Mandarin but I found a Hightop HT 10 diagram which I think is close.

The question is since it seems the only difference in BH to Excavator controls is the Boom and Dipper action can I just swap out the #3-6 Boom and # 4-5 Dipper lines?

 

[Carl_NH]

Success!!

Swapped lines 3&6 on boom to 4 & 5 on stick

and now it runs in backhoe mode - that was easy!

 

[dfkrug]

and now it runs in backhoe mode - that was easy!

....and you don't need the fancy switching valve that comes on the Branded minis. Best to stay consistent with the pattern on all the machines you own.