Buying the cheapest Mini Excavator! Chinese AGROTK H12

I bought one of the super cheap China import excavators. here are my thoughts and a good first look!

I bought this machine at auction. with auction fees and tax it was $7500. this is a very affordable machine. quality may not be the same as the larger name brands but for the money I feel it is a very good price. hopefully ill have time in the future to do a few operating tests. Ill be sure to post any testing I do with it!

as always thanks for watching
-Kody @AbramsExcavating

[dalethornton]

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.

[westho]

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.

[jtsokiehobbyandadventures]

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

[blackknight]

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.

[paulmollise]

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

[margaretburnham]

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.

[ThisGuyWantsBeer]

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.

[mrtomatohead]

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.

[MrSleepProductionsInc]

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!

[kencooper]

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

[frankp]

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

[jetbikes]

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

[fredhicks]

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.

[dieseldummy]

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.

[scottfoster]

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.

[SebastianVind]

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

[terrya]

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

[RGC]

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.

[tomrunning]

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

[bobcat]

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