My children say I might be a little too much into "LetsDig18" as I got questioned about making a pond with my mashed potatoes and gravy at supper. Maybe the excavator noises I was making with my fork might have had something to do with it.
Be careful about going out into the pond. I remember seeing an excavator a day or so ago up to the doors in the mud. Best I remember, it took an expert and his uncle to get it out.
It's so funny how this lady hired Chris. I'll bet she didn't even know how great of a job he would do. She just trusted him. That's what makes is so bad when people trust guys that rip them off. It's great when people like you, Dirtperfect and several others. Come through for these people. God bless
Watching you dig out this pond is so satisfying don’t ask me why but it’s relaxing. I’m proud to say that you are building a bigger and better pond for your neighbor love this😊🥰. You do such an awesome job!!!
I do enjoy your pond building/restoration videos Chris you have done a fine job on this one so far it will make a nice wildlife pond now your digging it deeper hopefully you will keep us all updated as nature takes it over when you have finished
Why is it so fun watching him move dirt, been watching since the big lake dredging and still find it entertaining. And how can the neighbor to you not have the best pond ever?
This is such a cool series, I’m hooked on watching you finish this little pond for some reason. As a fellow heavy equipment operator, you sir, are very proficient!
I am waiting for the final outcome. looks like a fun job for a person that likes to organize dirt. I hate using a shovel but I think I would realy enjoy doing your job.
Chris. You are one smooth machina operator and you have a great eye and brain get the most out of your machina. It is great to ride along with you to your job sights. Please Take Care of your self Plus Be Very Careful around all big equipment it can put a big hurt on you.
Sir, Your personality, calmness, word choices that lead to a giggle, remind me of the owner of Midwestern Towing. Both of you are kind folks, as well as sound alike.
Did they give you the contract to finish the pond from yesterdays video? These videos bring back a flood of memories of when I was a kid 50 years ago. In school breaks and weekends, I used to go to work with my father who was a heavy plant diesel fitter. Quite often he would get a phone call asking for help with a bit of stuck machinery. He was a dab-hand at operating the heavy plant as well as repairing them. Me, my small Lurcher and my Jack Russel terrier would sit for hours watching him work from his Land Rover. Most of the drivers would let me sit with them and show me their machines often letting me have a go. If they were too busy or I was a hindrance they would tell me to go catch some rabbits with my dogs so I was happy either way.😀
Awesome job, can't wait to see the colverts put in. When you first walked around it telling what the plan was it was hard to picture because of the trees and over growth. Heck, I couldn't really see the pond. But now it all makes sense. Funny how they say you can't see the forest for the trees. I couldn't see the pond for the trees. Awesome job so far.
Singing, "Sunshine on a forest looks so lovely. Sunshine on the mudhole not so much. Sunshine on the burnpile means its burnin'. Sunshine on the Volvo makes Chris smile "
And he looks after the turtles 🐢 🐢🐢🐢🐢 all 5 of them. Q: Chris if you happen to dig up a turtle in with the mud (& not notice 😔) then deposit the mud/turtle onto the bank, would it able to dig it's self out from the mud/dirt/clay? Or would the shear volume be too much for it to do so?
That may be a small pond, but the amount of work you get done in a day always impresses me. This is the first time I've actually seen the turtles when you mention them.
It is bentonite clay . My friend has a farm and they lease it out to a mining company .They got holes every where . Some the size of a car but 100 foot deep no shore line , just a sheer drop . The biggest hole is 5 acres and 50 foot deep the deepest is 300 foot deep
Well Chris it's looking a whole lot better already you're really doing a fine job with this it may not hold fish but it will be a good place for all the nature to come and get a drink while it holds water thanks for the great video enjoy watching very relaxing beside that I love heavy equipment
@@claydog6422 Surface scum is usually too much nitrogen in the water. Try floating out a couple of bales of barley straw in mid to late spring, then remove them when the weather really gets hot.
@@GARDENER42 Does that work...2 years ago they got this plastic ball full of chemicals and floated it ....Killed the scum...But $100 is not something they want to do a lot of
What you could use is a coffer dam - shop made - that can be put in one at a time and interlocked - and dig behind - then run a cable though holes in each and loop back. Once the back is dug out - pull the cable and all of the dam out and the pond grows. Work around the pond that way. Give it a thought it might help on ponds and streams.
The dirt looks like caliche rock, a soft stone we use for road material in Texas. Don't worry about it getting wet, when it dries, it turns back into rock.
I just discovered your channel today. Of course it's been a binge watching session. I enjoy your first person view much more than watching you dig from afar. It's funny how I can see your mindset in how you run your machine by watching you work. Btw you have another subscriber. Keep up the good work.
My family had a pond just like that with the same "sand" bottom that held water all year round. It was used to wash of dozer tracks back in the days when a TD25C was a new machine. My Grandfather and I tried to pump it out once pretty much to see how our fish were growing, but we couldn't keep up with the ground water flowing in.and that was with a big sludge pump designed to empty ponds.
Just started enjoying your videos , thanks for the effort . There is a dead lake near me that is about 55 acres with a creek running into and out of it . For over 30 years I thought how nice it would be to be able to buy it and clear it out and give it some depth . My first thought was going to an auction and buying a drag line to clear the swamp out . Due to wetlands protections I do not think the county and state would let a person . The amount of masquitoes that come out must just drive the people that live near the edges crazy most of the year .
When you get a project like that doing a little extra turns into a little more extra then more so you might as well go ahead and give it a good ol letsdig18 makeover...
If you put a fan on your burn piles, they would burn quickly, with little to no smoke. I have cleared many properties, piled the stumps and brush, and burned that same day/night, with a fan. The next morning was just ashes. It keeps the neighbors happier also.
bentonite clay . neat stuff . It will barely grow grass , rather difficult to incorporate manure and compost into it . They mine the stuff on my friends farm . Pits every were . One is the size of a car and 100 foot deep . No shore line just a 2 foot drop and no bottom . The biggest is 5 acres and 100 foot deep . the deepest hole is 300 foot deep . There has to be at least fifty holes filled with water
@@bigassfordsd I am sure that is what it is . But after watching it again it is natural bentonite clay . that pond could be dug 50 foot deep . My friend has clay pits all over his 500 acre farm . They mine the stuff . One pond on his property is about the size of a pickup . But it is 300 feet deep . Crystal clear . most of them are about the size of a normal house .The biggest pit is 5 acres and 200 foot deep and fantastic fishing
Hey Chris, I’ve come to realise watching you in the machine that’s it’s never completely still. You’ve found the very best & most efficient use of it. Still = dead time. Keep up the great work mate. 🍻🇦🇺👍🏻🏝👍🏻
That grey sand with a touch of clay is just about eighty percent of the way to becoming sandstone from the looks of it. It is so compressed and hard that another thousand years would finish the job I would think. Good thing you are digging that bowl out before the blasters are needed. Has to be nice knowing that it is the limit you will sink in it though.
Duck weed is an interesting thing. We have ducks, geese, and chickens. Mom couldn't get duck weed growing no matter how much she tried. The birds kept eating it. Lol
I know it's just a fact of the job, but I couldn't help but feel bad for the turtle at 17:03 . That quick burst of red on the bottom right of the claw.
When my pond was dug they ran into that same material they called it selma chalk.I was told it made a great base and 12 years later my pond still stays full.
I also meant to add I like it better when the camera is in the cab with you it gives you a better view and better satisfaction of the video in my opinion. Either way I love watching you😊
Not sure if you’re aware but to release the pressure on your auxiliary piping turn machine off, key onto accessory with the safety lever up & toggle the tilt bucket switch - it will send pressure back to tank. If your thumb runs off same circuit turn the cut off valves first as they’ll be pressurised by the weight of the thumb
I rented my first backhoe a few days ago. I figured i have watched enough of Chris’s videos that I was qualified. Lol the machine would not dig into the ground. All I could do was paw at it and scrape the surface. I could not figure it out! I finally called the rental company and they sent a repairman. The issue was they had just replaced a bypass valve and never set the pressure. So when the bucket encountered resistance the hydraulic pressure was just getting bypassed back to the tank. He turned the pressure up to where it would actually work and I was home free. Talk about making someone feel stupid!
People here in Jacksonville, Florida when they dig a pond they sell the dirt and they almost get enough money to pay for their house it's amazing some people would dig two ponds on their property
I like the way you talk, just like we're in the cab with you. Thanks for taking us along.
Hey,I think you need to buy an old excavator and sink it in the mud every couple weeks and recover it. Yesterday’s video was a hit!!
100% My first excavation vid. Soooooo satisfying! This guy knows what he's doing!
It's not ready for seeding yet
My children say I might be a little too much into "LetsDig18" as I got questioned about making a pond with my mashed potatoes and gravy at supper. Maybe the excavator noises I was making with my fork might have had something to do with it.
Haha! Making a pond with mashed potatoes, I think we've all done that too.
That is hilarious!
🤣🤣🤣🤣
As long as you don't burn the main dish on the side of your plate you should be ok.
Close encounter of the dig 18 kind! Ha ha!
Be careful about going out into the pond. I remember seeing an excavator a day or so ago up to the doors in the mud. Best I remember, it took an expert and his uncle to get it out.
Did you see that slide...
The expert to get the excavator out was Chris.
@@wendymorrison5803 There's got to be some pucker factor involved when the excavator does that.
😂🤣😂🤣
And how much did this expert get paid for saving a machine that cost??????
I'm betting not enough
Central California Watching
Nice little frog pond... it will be singing so sweetly in the spring... ❤
As you showed the other day, it is better to be digging out the pond than to be getting dug out of the pond.
It's so funny how this lady hired Chris. I'll bet she didn't even know how great of a job he would do. She just trusted him. That's what makes is so bad when people trust guys that rip them off. It's great when people like you, Dirtperfect and several others. Come through for these people. God bless
It might look like a disaster now but by the time you're done it will look like a shiny gem. You're work always does. 😎👍
Watching you dig out this pond is so satisfying don’t ask me why but it’s relaxing. I’m proud to say that you are building a bigger and better pond for your neighbor love this😊🥰. You do such an awesome job!!!
Don't know how on earth I ended up here, but loving the videos.
I do enjoy your pond building/restoration videos Chris you have done a fine job on this one so far it will make a nice wildlife pond now your digging it deeper hopefully you will keep us all updated as nature takes it over when you have finished
This is the most relaxing content I’ve watched in a long time.
This video came across my recommendations page earlier. I'm glad I clicked! Really helps lower the blood pressure.
How much does it cost the first day clearing around
Muddy ? Not as bad as yesterday, I had mud up to my joy sticks, enjoyed the video so much, I watched it again today, awesome recovery Chris.
Wife: What cha watching Hon? Me: a guy dig a hole Wife: How long you been watching? Me: oh about 35 minutes......
NICE!!!!
Not including the other 5 videos you watched before this one.
@@17931793248650 Yup!
Lolol sound like my conversation wit my wife
Join the hole digging club lol
Why is it so fun watching him move dirt, been watching since the big lake dredging and still find it entertaining. And how can the neighbor to you not have the best pond ever?
This is such a cool series, I’m hooked on watching you finish this little pond for some reason. As a fellow heavy equipment operator, you sir, are very proficient!
"I gotta take those three trees down"
*Points at 17 trees*
Oh he took all 17 down. Lol
After breaking my back for 50 years with pick axes shovels and wheel barrows, I find this !😳
You didn't break your back you made it super powerful.
You just have tecks and abs on your back you just can't see them.
I am waiting for the final outcome. looks like a fun job for a person that likes to organize dirt. I hate using a shovel but I think I would realy enjoy doing your job.
I love watching you burn stuff. You make really great videos and you explain everything so everyone can understand what you doing.
Great job done and you made a good watering hole for wildlife and I’m sure they will appreciate it. Thanks 😊
Chris.
You are one smooth machina operator and you have a great eye and brain get the most out of your machina. It is great to ride along with you to your job sights. Please Take Care of your self Plus Be Very Careful around all big equipment it can put a big hurt on you.
On behalf of turtles everywhere we say
THANK YOU
You wash it off because you have pride! Just like the boys wash and shine their trucks before going mudding. You got to show it off.
Sir,
Your personality, calmness, word choices that lead to a giggle, remind me of the owner of Midwestern Towing. Both of you are kind folks, as well as sound alike.
Man that bottom is SOLID!! I would not have a problem bringing the Dozer in an pushing the banks out... Nice nice digging
Did they give you the contract to finish the pond from yesterdays video? These videos bring back a flood of memories of when I was a kid 50 years ago. In school breaks and weekends, I used to go to work with my father who was a heavy plant diesel fitter. Quite often he would get a phone call asking for help with a bit of stuck machinery. He was a dab-hand at operating the heavy plant as well as repairing them. Me, my small Lurcher and my Jack Russel terrier would sit for hours watching him work from his Land Rover. Most of the drivers would let me sit with them and show me their machines often letting me have a go. If they were too busy or I was a hindrance they would tell me to go catch some rabbits with my dogs so I was happy either way.😀
So relaxing to watch this.
I liked in the past you used a log or a mat to squeegee the mud to make it real purdy before it flooded. Another fun video Thanks and take care
I now know why you have so many pond jobs. It never stops raining.
Awesome job, can't wait to see the colverts put in. When you first walked around it telling what the plan was it was hard to picture because of the trees and over growth. Heck, I couldn't really see the pond. But now it all makes sense. Funny how they say you can't see the forest for the trees. I couldn't see the pond for the trees. Awesome job so far.
That's it!!! I am hooked to 'letsdig18', why can't I stop watching??? I'm about to dig outside the door of my apartment. LMAO
Well Chris from my advantage point the under side of the 220 looks pretty clean. Thanks for sharing
This is so therapeutic, thanks.
Singing,
"Sunshine on a forest looks so lovely. Sunshine on the mudhole not so much.
Sunshine on the burnpile means its burnin'.
Sunshine on the Volvo makes Chris smile "
Man, I wanted to see you "jump" the ditch. I envisioned the Dukes of Hazard and you yelling "woooo whoooooo!" 🤣
😂😂😂
Lol 😂
I thought they always yelled "Yee Haw!"
Never seen anyone playing in the mud like you!
And he looks after the turtles 🐢 🐢🐢🐢🐢 all 5 of them.
Q: Chris if you happen to dig up a turtle in with the mud (& not notice 😔) then deposit the mud/turtle onto the bank, would it able to dig it's self out from the mud/dirt/clay? Or would the shear volume be too much for it to do so?
Oh, I do enjoy that pond digging. Thanks, Letsdig18
I love to watch you run the excavator, so smooth and presice
That may be a small pond, but the amount of work you get done in a day always impresses me. This is the first time I've actually seen the turtles when you mention them.
Well this is incredibly satisfying and relaxing...
Is that lime stone under there? South Texas might call that a “turtle relocation” job, just to keep the folks in Austin happy....
Looks like clay to me . . . . Curious too.
It is bentonite clay . My friend has a farm and they lease it out to a mining company .They got holes every where . Some the size of a car but 100 foot deep no shore line , just a sheer drop . The biggest hole is 5 acres and 50 foot deep the deepest is 300 foot deep
A joy to watch you do your work..If I can't work myself I'll watch someone else 😂 hello from Ireland in Full lock down 😷
Well Chris it's looking a whole lot better already you're really doing a fine job with this it may not hold fish but it will be a good place for all the nature to come and get a drink while it holds water thanks for the great video enjoy watching very relaxing beside that I love heavy equipment
Your talent just always gets me. Nice job. Stay safe
Washing isn’t a waste it makes your machine look good and your self it shows pride in your work
It’s good to have a job that you can sit back and make it into art work when finished and done...Art in the making,,
It's like being a grown up kid! This seems like a fun job.
Why am I enjoying this so much? I don’t have a pond and I don’t know anything about the equipment.
Just got off my tractor
Digging a farm pond the hard way.
It almost looks like the original pond had lime or gunite put in the bottom to make sure it did not leak.
I was thinking he was digging up bentonite.
Four feet of depth is the "golden number" for keeping weed growth in ponds to a minimum. Six feet guarantees it.
My mom’s pond is shallow and gets mad 😡 scum. My Sister’s boyfriend has an excavator but is to busy
@@claydog6422 Surface scum is usually too much nitrogen in the water. Try floating out a couple of bales of barley straw in mid to late spring, then remove them when the weather really gets hot.
4ft not good at all for fish,.4ft is just a mosquitos hole
@@GARDENER42 Does that work...2 years ago they got this plastic ball full of chemicals and floated it ....Killed the scum...But $100 is not something they want to do a lot of
@@claydog6422 We put eight out in a 1 acre pond & it seemed to do the trick as there was no algae that year.
That looks like a nice place for a pair of wood ducks to make a pit stop. Need to put up a nest box. They love little water holes like that.
What you could use is a coffer dam - shop made - that can be put in one at a time and interlocked - and dig behind - then run a cable though holes in each and loop back. Once the back is dug out - pull the cable and all of the dam out and the pond grows. Work around the pond that way. Give it a thought it might help on ponds and streams.
With digging it deeper and making it easier for the groundwater to get in from the bottom, it might help dry out the immediate surrounding areas.
Another great job as usual keep it up bud ..you show it .I learn it and now I'm watch more and learn more .godbless
I've been waiting all week for this!
My thoughts exactly! 😁
Meeee toooo
Same lol funny cause I do the same work then come home and watch let's dig dig pond
Looks as if it’s a weekend work job, it is right next door to home.
Pretty sure you get the "Best Neighbor Ever" award.
The dirt looks like caliche rock, a soft stone we use for road material in Texas. Don't worry about it getting wet, when it dries, it turns back into rock.
Turtles are trying to Agree on which one of them gets to try High Dive first. Mr. Snapper Wins!👍
Making a nice home for the turtles Chris good job!!
I just discovered your channel today. Of course it's been a binge watching session. I enjoy your first person view much more than watching you dig from afar. It's funny how I can see your mindset in how you run your machine by watching you work. Btw you have another subscriber. Keep up the good work.
My family had a pond just like that with the same "sand" bottom that held water all year round. It was used to wash of dozer tracks back in the days when a TD25C was a new machine. My Grandfather and I tried to pump it out once pretty much to see how our fish were growing, but we couldn't keep up with the ground water flowing in.and that was with a big sludge pump designed to empty ponds.
I missed this video!!! How did I miss this video! Must be a senior moment!!
Just started enjoying your videos , thanks for the effort . There is a dead lake near me that is about 55 acres with a creek running into and out of it . For over 30 years I thought how nice it would be to be able to buy it and clear it out and give it some depth . My first thought was going to an auction and buying a drag line to clear the swamp out . Due to wetlands protections I do not think the county and state would let a person . The amount of masquitoes that come out must just drive the people that live near the edges crazy most of the year .
When you get a project like that doing a little extra turns into a little more extra then more so you might as well go ahead and give it a good ol letsdig18 makeover...
Smooth and quick operator brother! 👍🏻👍🏻
Looking forward to the before and after aerial shots!
Hey love the video from Ireland
I came for the basket weaving class and ....here I am.. 40 minutes into it. Love your show bud. !!
Good work chris👍🏽
Coming on nice . A bit safer to dig this pond out 👍👍
If you put a fan on your burn piles, they would burn quickly, with little to no smoke. I have cleared many properties, piled the stumps and brush, and burned that same day/night, with a fan. The next morning was just ashes. It keeps the neighbors happier also.
Another masterpiece in the works, keep plugging along Chris, watching you work is therapy!!
Yes, we have that duckweed even here in Florida, covering the whole of a pond, what a Pain.!! 17:20 🕠. Good idea 😎👍✅
Always mesmerized by heavy equipment being operated!
bentonite clay . neat stuff . It will barely grow grass , rather difficult to incorporate manure and compost into it . They mine the stuff on my friends farm . Pits every were . One is the size of a car and 100 foot deep . No shore line just a 2 foot drop and no bottom . The biggest is 5 acres and 100 foot deep . the deepest hole is 300 foot deep . There has to be at least fifty holes filled with water
i was pretty curious about what it is myself.
@@bigassfordsd I am sure that is what it is . But after watching it again it is natural bentonite clay . that pond could be dug 50 foot deep . My friend has clay pits all over his 500 acre farm . They mine the stuff . One pond on his property is about the size of a pickup . But it is 300 feet deep . Crystal clear . most of them are about the size of a normal house .The biggest pit is 5 acres and 200 foot deep and fantastic fishing
Bentonite or maybe kaolinite clay. Hard to tell.
@@slkwonk bentonite clay ,used in kitty litter makeup and dyno mite is some weird shit to drive on but makes for 1 hell of a fishing hole
Hey Chris, I’ve come to realise watching you in the machine that’s it’s never completely still. You’ve found the very best & most efficient use of it. Still = dead time. Keep up the great work mate. 🍻🇦🇺👍🏻🏝👍🏻
That grey sand with a touch of clay is just about eighty percent of the way to becoming sandstone from the looks of it. It is so compressed and hard that another thousand years would finish the job I would think. Good thing you are digging that bowl out before the blasters are needed. Has to be nice knowing that it is the limit you will sink in it though.
I do this everyday and here I am watching it 😩well sir you do a good job we could work a job and not haft to talk
This is the highlight of the weekend.
LD18 burns bushes.
Volvo ftw! Running a l180 wheel loader at work. Also got a V70 -13 and Xc70 -16. Cheers from SWEEEDEN!
Love watching your expertise with the digger great work
Duck weed is an interesting thing. We have ducks, geese, and chickens. Mom couldn't get duck weed growing no matter how much she tried. The birds kept eating it. Lol
I know it's just a fact of the job, but I couldn't help but feel bad for the turtle at 17:03 . That quick burst of red on the bottom right of the claw.
Hey Chris, The stuff you're digging up looks like crushed limestone. Have a good one!!
I think they call that Plinthite. (Nope they don't, it isn't red from the iron). I'm no soil engineer, maybe an actual one can comment?
Your ability to manage water impresses me the most, I think.
this is like hypnotizing to just watch this.
i know it was last week but it felt like an eternity. been waitin for this vid !
That was last week? Felt like it was yesterday to me.
When my pond was dug they ran into that same material they called it selma chalk.I was told it made a great base and 12 years later my pond still stays full.
Nice view of you operating with the door open.
I also meant to add I like it better when the camera is in the cab with you it gives you a better view and better satisfaction of the video in my opinion. Either way I love watching you😊
Look at that shiny volvo in the background!❤
What a satisfying video I wish I had something like this to work on
Yes another amazing episode of letsdig18,
I’ve have always wanted to operate one of those since I was a kid!
In a couple more million years that pond bottom might become like the animal hospital sight .
Not sure if you’re aware but to release the pressure on your auxiliary piping turn machine off, key onto accessory with the safety lever up & toggle the tilt bucket switch - it will send pressure back to tank.
If your thumb runs off same circuit turn the cut off valves first as they’ll be pressurised by the weight of the thumb
I rented my first backhoe a few days ago. I figured i have watched enough of Chris’s videos that I was qualified. Lol the machine would not dig into the ground. All I could do was paw at it and scrape the surface. I could not figure it out! I finally called the rental company and they sent a repairman. The issue was they had just replaced a bypass valve and never set the pressure. So when the bucket encountered resistance the hydraulic pressure was just getting bypassed back to the tank. He turned the pressure up to where it would actually work and I was home free. Talk about making someone feel stupid!
People here in Jacksonville, Florida when they dig a pond they sell the dirt and they almost get enough money to pay for their house it's amazing some people would dig two ponds on their property