What a difference a little time makes. I just picked up this same model, same manufacturer and all for our small farm at a Ritchie Brothers auction for $3200 bid and around $4k after fees. As long as it keeps me from wearing out all those shovels it will be worth it. So far it has done what I wanted with it.

Hey it’s beats a shovel, you have to understand what your buying just like you said, it’s not a Cat, it’s for a homeowner or occasional user

20 some years ago bought a Case 580 for $4k as a maintenance tool for our tiny rural desert town community of 50 elderly people including myself being one of the youngest in town at 70., it ran well, had newish tires, needed all new hoses & new hydro pump, new Hydro seals on outriggers & all around, fresh fluids & some zerk fittings replaced, Now 23 years later it still works nearly everyday helping someone do something in town It came with a couple extra buckets a thin trencher, a 2' & 3 buckets & a clam & claw setup plus a set of pallet stabs, A good buy for the price plus some basic R&R maintenance. An indispensable tool for saving old worn out backs doing different chores around the town. That top heavy little China digger looks like it could use a pair of improvised outriggers for stability during stationary work or any work on even a slight a grade, take that flimsy sun shade top off and get an old school farm tractor umbrella for those hot sunny summer days & your good to go. For small engine longevity like the B&S or any small gas engine that work in sand & dirt under a constant load should have oil changed at regular but shorter based hourly intervals.Especially the affordable Chinese engines without an oil filter. Chinese equipment & powered products are improving rather quickly, much like the Japanese did between the 1960's to the 1980's when Japanese Junk's antiquated technology evolved & turned into a market mainstay. 15 years ago I bought a used 1988 Honda Civic with about 250k on the clock, that gave another 250k service with the engine never needing any work, aside from CV joints and a brake job, gave a consistant 45+ mpg Sold it 5 years ago and it still runs like a top today.

I bought something very similar 4 years ago. Watching your video was like total Deja-Vu. My model is diesel however. It’s very funny to see what hasn’t changed about their design. Been a decent little machine for me.

I have the ht10b. Its like the one you bought. Paid a little more. I took off the back cover. Make it easy to check oil. It can get warm in the engine compartment. If you leave the cut off switch on. The power meter will add hours. The hoses and fitting are metric

I’m really excited about this video. When I get moved, I am going to be planting a ton of different fruit and nut trees so this will save me a lot of work since I’m almost 60 years old. I think trying to do it all with a shovel would be the death of me.

It does swivel... I just watched your other video Testing the Cheapest Chinese Mini Excavator...great to see that it does swivel ! I need one !

When I did poured walls, we had 2 different minis, we called em the sack savers. In bullshit ground they were awesome for digging footers versus shoveling.

I have one of these, just a different name and color. I probably use it more so than my 5 ton. Perfect for sump pump lines, septic lines, buried down spouts, and French drains or breaking concrete. I’ve even set this in a foundation to dig footers. I just wish it would have the controls set like the bigger units.

Funny, I added a fan same as you did. Sure makes the engine compartment stay cooler. The manufacturer should take heed!

Thank you for making this video. I just bought one .lol. very helpful 😂

I do agree that it is a bit too small to use for anything really useful, but for the right homeowner that uses it occasionally to do landscaping or light duty work such as that it would be very useful. I work for an excavating company and would not mind having this thing around to use at home.

My 7,6,and 4 year old grandchildren will love it in the sand box! Lol😂

I have the same mini digger. No problems so far. Digs the same as a name brand of the same size. Controls are super touchy being direct control. I bought the breaker hammer (works great) and 40” bucket for use for loose dirt/sand /gravel. Hydraulics run hot, I put a fan on the left side blowing on the hydro pump. Not sure if it helps or not. Looking into an oil cooler. I modified the auxiliary hoses with flat face quick connects and the thumb with 1” pins instead of the bolts making it easier/faster to use the thumb. Mine has a Chinese engine. It pops, bangs, backfires, sounds terrible sometimes but I think it’s a Honda clone just like the Harbor Freight engines so should be an easy swap if need be. Definitely better than a shovel!

You may want to READ the instructions before starting any and all machinery, regardless of the experience you have or don't have. You should never spray ether around an engine when trying to start it. Spray it into the carb BEFORE turning the key. This will prevent possible problems, eg. fires or explosions.

All of mine are too big to deal with residential work, highly considering one of these!

Too cute. This would be fun for the kids in daycare. Never to soon to teach them some dirt work skills.

Just posted a video of my using one of these pairs up with the TMK 150 tree sheer. mind blown with how fast I was able to clear land with one of these.

I would fit a plexi glass panel on top,back and sides to make door for weather protection and add fan for the summer.

The cat / deere control hit home. ;-) when my k008-3 got delivered, the door got opened, and I swapped the rods as fast as I could read the instructions on the plate.

Yeah its a pain to transfer the wheels over and yes take it off the hitch first. I have a few mods on mine and one is a hoop welded on and I can rest my arms on it while using the controls. I also welded a receiver on the front and made another hitch setup which works awesome. A word of advise dont just let the controls go it can pop out of the small control ball. Lots of fun though eh.

Mate you're a boss on that skid steer! 👌 jeez, the impulsive want to crush that helium tank like a grape is strong😆

cute,kids will love it

You can get a funnel for that gas can, and they are cheap. It works REALLY well.

I've been really considering one for our farm for fixing broken tile, occasionally digging up septic tank lids, things of that sorts.

Decent no frills machine. Good enough for light use,actually anything hydraulics beats a dam #2 back breaker. Looks like most stuff is off the shelf enough to fix it.

@Abrams Excavating i would pay money to see you renting it out and making a few durability/reliability updates over time

I Painted mine Purple so no one would steal it. Great Video .

Kody.. I need these on my rental fleet.. the heck with the big Volvo’s!!

Awww. Cute lil guy

omg its so cute i want one just to play with like a kid in a sand box!

I would actually love to have this thing 🤩

Tighten ALL THE BOLTS ! I have been selling china equipment for 30 years

i saw a couple of these in the LLoyd Meekins auction they went for about $7000

You could enclose the canopy with plexy so when the weather's bad

I don't have a need for it but I want one. I could dig up the back yard, fill it in and repeat.

One of my gripes is lack of tie down points. I ran a chain across the blade but there isn’t anything to grab at the rear of the carriage. I bought some hooks to weld on above the drive motors.

That would be perfect for me. Only small work around my property.

I just bought same machine and recently swapped 4 hoses to convert to JD backhoe or SAE controls / I guess all Chinese units are sent over with ISO or Cat controls ??

Your gonna have to feed that thing a lot to get it to grow. It’s prolly the runt of the litter. 🤣

You start small engines at full throttle. It says it in the manual. There’s no oil pump, so the oil needs to start circulating as fast as possible.

Did you buy this from the Woglemuth auction? I noticed they had two of them there at a previous auction. I like their yearly antique equipment auction. I bought my ageicat from a guy who purchased it there.

Will be interesting to see how this works…I heard they were……..improvable…..Good luck!

I'm 70 and retired. I have 1 mission for a unit like that I've been waiting years, decades to do! LOL And about 12 sub-missions that need doing! I could putt around with that a whole summer and not be done! LOL Anything else I've looked at was way too expensive! I also have a guy with a small welding shop just up the road, just in case, and an equipment dealer, make that 2 equipment dealers

The bucket teeth are on backwards 👍

It’s a tough choice between a brand new cheap thing like this and a worn old decent machine both have advantages and disadvantages this looks like when it starts going wrong everything will break where on old decent machine one part at a time and loads more use before the next thing but cost of replacement parts might be another consideration i expect there will be a load of these on second hand market before long. I’d still use it over a shovel any day just without a seatbelt or rops

That C E on the side is that China Express?

For a homeowner machine that would do just need access to spare parts when needed

Looking to get one…how much did the unit run?

What site and manufacturer did you purchase from and how long did it take to ship?

They’ve gotten cheaper as of late. I’ve seen them around 5k-6k consistently. A great price.

It's so cute! The first time you need to replace one of those long hydraulic hoses, buy a medium and a short hose so the next time, you can just replace the short hose.

I think I’ll build mine and put a good engine and hydraulics on it. You can always fit an engine anywhere. The controls I can get them from another machine, a salvaged one preferably. I’m not paying close to 50 thou for a brand name.

does anyone know where to get parts for these here in the states?

I do small retaining walls and outdoor ponds this would be a perfect machine. Low cost and low impact on the yard. Basically wouldn't use it for anything more than I would do the shovel but just make it a lot easier on the back and save a lot of time

Depending on the durability it would be perfect for my little 5 acre piece of property.

Set fire to the new machine yea baby yea 😂

I have the same issue you had with starting but the farthest I got was for it to run a few seconds when I sprayed carburetor fluid into the carburetor.

Yanmar would be a good machine to look at if you would be interested in selling they also has a small compact tractor line

Abrams: What's that in the bag ? Oh, grease! And a grease gun. Abrams starts the engine, finally, and goes about testing the machine without using ther grease... 😉

Id leave the canopy on just for that little extra counter weight.

Wow this video really blew up! Great to see!

You get what you paid for, there is no free lunch ... ths biggest problem, you don't want to get hurt by a bursting hose or some other part failing because of this amazing chinese engineering marvel 😂😂😂

Does anyone know where to find parts for them?

What’s them welds look like

I was curious how you determine the hydraulic fluid quantity. Do you just add enought to make it register fluid on the temperature sight glass on the side of the unit? Awesome review! I really appreciate the effort you put into checking it out...

I'd like to know some numbers like bucket break-out force and lifting abilities. I also like to see a schametic of the excavator's geomitry. To bad that info isn't provided.

Mine turned off and refused to turn back on after 8 lhrs of use. Have you had any issues like that?

Grease is for the grease fittings for the pivot points bucket and arm

All these mini excavators from auction seem to have water in the tool box?....is it salt water?.....is it anywhere else?

How'd you grease (that was the bag in the box) the slew gear? Manual says apply a pound on top.

Where can I purchase one like yours?

I have a Harbor freight towable backhoe and would love to have this. The hydraulics respond really nicely. I wonder about operating on any angles. Does look like it could tip over.

You may have to be setting in the seat before starting.

How much would something like this typically cost? Not to use for a business or anything, just to use on a small farm.

My only question is were did you order that machine from.i could use one in my wood yard .

17:10 WOAH! I reflexively jumped back there, although I have.....trust that you placed the camera correctly. FYI, if you're gonna bank your reputation importing these, I would definitely put a lot more hours onto it before you order from the manufacturer again. And maybe actually roll the thing.

I just bought this little excavator and I am having the same starting issues you have. I opened the oil cap and I guess this is oil...looks almost clear like water and it pushes out like water when I remove the oil cap. Is that normal. Can't get it to stay running. Any idea. Any help would be appreciated.

Looks like a good deal. Can you find parts if you need to repair the equipment?

For the money for a small plumber or light landscaping business you couldn't go wrong

What's the cost of shipping paperwork taxes etc. Very curious as I'm looking for to buy one

Man I'd love to have that thing! That's the size I need around the house. Could possibly change motor out some dayb for a desiel

How much weight can it lift?

It will take u an HR tops to simply swap 4 hoses and u will have pattern you noted u prefer.

I have the qh12. They def did some upgrades to the qh.

Where did YOU get it, ( I know you said an auction, but where ) and how do I get one? Thanks, and you just got a subscription!

how much was it to ship, including dock fees and any other fees?

What is a fair price for one of the chinese marvels..i need one to do work on my property,,local companies want 450 a day to rent so if they are under 10k im going to buy one

That fire 🔥 😂 lol

Let me know you would like to purchase more! I work directly in sales department for AGT. So I can get you good deals. thanks for doing a review of our product!

Safety switch under seat???

Hello sir, I saw this one constantly being sold on auctions for 3k - 6k. i dont know if i really want to have one on auction

Also this Briggs & stratton's that are on those excavators they're made by license yanmar engines

How deep can these mini excavators dig? What size do I need to go 8 feet?

It seems a shame that all these types have such vicious hydraulic controls - not smooth when starting to move. Otherwise for a lot of jobs these would be pretty handy. Thanks for the insight.

I bought this same machine a few months ago. Unfortunately I let it run out of gas working today and after filling it back up I can't get it started again. It's a frustrating little engine.

These are honestly really really worth the money lol.

fuel treatment favorite: lacquer thinner 1part to 10 parts gasoline

where would you get parts for repairing purposes?

Im not bashing, but keep this in mind, Briggs is made in china nowadays its a us company making motors in China. Like apple makes it computers and phones in China.