My Chinese Mini Excavator Broke in 15 Minutes

Chinese mini excavator review

Check out an update on the repair here:
The Mystery Machine Gets a Massive Upgrade

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[RockhillfarmYT]

Check out an update on the repair here:
The Mystery Machine Gets a Massive Upgrade

[stephenhinkle]

Thank you, Brock, for your honesty. You have a great outlook on things, and you just call things out as they are with total transparency.

I think it's a great opportunity for you, Brock, and for us as viewers to see these kinds of experiments with equipment.

Brock has a very clever idea with this, and i would love to see more stuff like this in the future!!

[proberts]

I applaud the manufacturer having folks like you do real-world QA testing after their initial rounds of engineering, building, and internal testing. And I appreciate folks like you putting this equipment through its paces in ways that the manufacturer couldn't or didn't anticipate. That's the crux of QA testing. . .find the limits. I can assure you that future buyers will certainly do that. And through this whole process, that's how the world-at-large ends up with robust, reliable, and effective equipment that can be counted on. Power on, brother! I look forward to future updates.

FWIW, I think your assessment that the pin is too soft or that the thumb's pressure relief needs to be reduced are spot-on possibilities. Allowing the bucket to press the thumb back while the thumb holds a lower maximum pressure seems perfectly reasonable. The only question I have is whether or not the pin is too small. The thumb's hinge pin appears well supported, but the hydraulic actuator's pin appears to be a "small" pin running through welded sleeves, which likely offers less support. It seems to me that the solution to that situation is to either remove the sleeves and use a bigger pin, increase the hardness of the "smaller" actuator pin, or reduce the thumb's pressure relief (which feeds back to your assessment).

EDIT: I'm a software QA Engineer and I break software all the time. "It failed. . .Just put in an issue ticket and send it back to the Software Engineers for adjustment(s)" is what I do all the time. In the end, we have software that can withstand use by users. 😉

[stump-bossBIll]

Now that’s how it ought to be done! Build demos, rigorously test the demos, fix all the problems and then roll it out to market

[Matt-qhlj]

That’s not an 8 ton mini ex. Absolutely no way that weighs 16, 000 pounds.

[Martymc]

I bought a mini Chinese excavator over 3 years ago for my landscaping business, best decision I made, it’s by no means a top quality machine, but it does some very heavy work for me and never give any real extreme issues,

Only issue I had was 2 key barrels, sitting with 500hrs now, for 1/3rd the price of a top brand I will happily buy another one when needed,

Mine paid for itself within 4months based off my average rental costs before I purchased

[NA-syfm]

The pressure on the thumb needs to be turned down. The thumb should yield to the power of the bucket to prevent this from happening.

[FabbedFun]

My normal job is with an industrial distribution company. I will say sometimes a good company with a good design quite simply gets a batch of parts that didn't get heat treated or an improper material was used from one of their suppliers. The pin might not have been hardened. Or, like you said, it might have been a design flaw where a pressure relief valve wasn't included in that hydraulic circuit. As frustrating as a failure can be, keeping that mindset that you're helping them make a better product can be a a huge help as you work through things. Good video, Brock!

[sentdex]

I am jealous of all that stone. I know you probably hate it lol. As someone who can't quite yet stomach the price of typical mini ex, I appreciate you being willing to put it through its paces and help this company potentially offer something much much much cheaper

[OldIronAcres]

Wasn't expecting an issue to come up THAT fast! Great attitude on what happened though Brock. Ignore the haters! Best, -- J. Andre. / Old Iron Acres

[daleplant]

This is very encouraging that this company is doing extensive real-world testing. Of course, what they do when shit happens is the key.

[raymondmcdonald]

I have always wondered why you call it "Rock Hill Farm", now I see why! Sheesh!

[StefanBacon]

I'm going to take a different approach to the geometry problem: the pin is way "too long." The solution is a custom rod-end bushing that covers the full internal width of the thumb, turning 2 bending moments on the pin into two shear forces near the ends.

[frankdrahos]

The haters are going to hate. As a scientist one of the first things you learn is that there is no such thing as a failed experiment. There is just data-information that isn’t what is expected-wanted. Adjust to the new situation and continue to learn. Thanks for sharing your experience.

[robertweston]

Looking at some of the past negative comments on this video, those people are usually losers who want what you have, but cannot afford it or live a life where they would have no benefit of even owning that type of equipment. So, they try to take down those whom have done well and/or have the things they don't!

For this video, thank you for sharing your experiences with that excavator. I've been looking for one about that size to help manage my property. I've seen good and bad things with all types of excavators... I'm still trying to make a decision. Keep up the good work!

[Fayettepropertysolutions]

Most of us that know would probably write that off as totally normal for Chinese stuff. Those that don’t know, think this is a one off situation… it’s simply not. There are very good reasons the name brand stuff costs what it does. Even Sany knows this and has learned over the years from it.

Most of the shocked comments you can tell are from folks that haven’t got the first clue 😅 and that’s ok. Keep educating people

[chessplayerelite]

I’m going to speculate and say that that pin got bent because you forced the thumb up with the bucket. The bucket has a lot more forced than the thumb can handle so if you keep curling the bucket against the thumb something has to give.

[TDirtyJackal]

Even the big brand name stuff will do this - this is operator error.

Bucket curl is and needs to be the strongest circuit for the machine to be effective at digging; it should always be able to overpower the thumb and push it backwards.

If the thumb doesn't yield to the bucket curl, parts bend or the weakest link in that hydraulic circuit fails catastrophically.

You state the thumb gets pushed back by the bucket means they did their do diligence and it relieves correctly.

You picked a rock by leaving the thumb static and curled the bucket into it.

The rock lodged and locked the two together; the thumb circuit wasn't able to relieve and you crushed it with the bucket.

Leave the stronger bucket circuit static and use the thumb circuit when you're going to pick something up and it won't damage the machine like that.

Alternatively, just buy a quality machine that you won't have to worry about the fragility of minimum spec components or parts availability.

Even better - get a compact farm utility tractor - I could clear that rock with my mahindra 3510 and a box blade in a weekend.

[Cowboy_Steve]

Howdy Brock! Well... this is why they field test. Interesting to hear from your rep if this is a one off or a common occurrence. Might be an engineering flaw, might be just one bad part. Who knows... You are true to your word - you said you would try to break it! Mission accomplished lol. Keep us updated and thanks for sharing 🤠

[bishopkinlyside]

Exactly I’m 100% with you if they’re not prepared to sell it, but they are happy for you to use it. That means they are a very good company in my eyes