Boy you have put a lot of time in your yard and pond over the years it’s finally getting where you want. I’ve been watching your videos for years also. I hope you’re be getting back to farm work video.
A suggestion: How about a solar water fountain in the pond? I think a tasteful laminar flow install would make an epic video and would be a great reason for a big excavator to be 'rented' 😊
Tim, your pond project is looking fantastic. It sure has been a lot of work but I can see that it’s definitely paying off. Thanks for another great video.
Reminded me of an old army song: “You’re in the army now, you’re not behind a plow, you’ll never get rich digging a ditch, you’re in the army now!” But they didn’t have machines, or a nice pond. Nice work folks. Blessings.
Very interesting episode. At this point, if I had a need for an item like you used, I don't believe I would purchase that one. The way Dirt Perfect uses a laser for installing tile seems much easier and way less complicated. Laser set to the slope and a receiver on the implement indicating high, low, or on grade. Probably a much cheaper setup also.
Controlling the depth of a tile plow is easier because there is one movement to control, with an excavator you have three places on the boom pivoting that have to be factored in. A tile plow is not very practical for a short run like Tim put in.
This is pretty cool. I think it’ll be great if you were digging on hard ground trying to dig for a concrete pad or something and you didn’t want to disturb the ground that was already packed. I can just see it now, tractor time with Tim 2034, Tim’s sitting in his living room on the lazy boy and picks up his phone and tells his AI construction crew to go build a new pond or dig an irrigation trench then return all the equipment to the barn clean it and do maintenance😂
More likely: "Tim is on the phone with customer service asking how this stinkin AI construction thingy is supposed to work...cause it ran right through my house!"
That looks like a pretty cool system. I assume when working properly it can always tell you, in real time, the height of the bucket teeth relative to the laser. I bought a common excavator laser receiver (with a 360°, +/-5" vertical range of laser detection) that effectively turns the bucket into a static depth measuring tool. I set the slope using my laser and then, without getting off my 1025R, can measure the depth of what I've been digging. The receiver includes a cab mounted remote, but to be honest I've never used the remote, other than to test it. It isn't capable of measuring at all times like Tim's system. I can only measure the depth when the backhoe's dipper stick is vertical (or whatever orientation I chose to calibrate at) and the bucket is at a specific angle (eg open or closed as far as it will go). I don't know what Tim's system cost, but I picked up the receiver, mechanical mount, magnetic mount, and remote receiver for slightly under $600 USD on sale. I use the magnetic mount and it can also be attached to the front end loader if I want to level or slope a parking area, etc.
I wonder if an initial trench with the ventract trenching attachmnet to establish max depth (as a guide), then using the excavator to enlarge the trench, might be quyicker and simpler. Though I don't recall what you showed as depth guide / setting on the ventrac.
Are you going to leave the overflow way out from shore? Any reason for that? Keep weeds out. Will you paint it later? Worry about hitting it with you boat? Maybe it was closer to.shore than it looked.
Always enjoy your videos Tim. I use a laser level on the 260B backhoe. Bought an extra receiver for the Bosch laser system so I’ve got a receiver on a stick, and one clamped on the slow moving sign bracket. Takes a little more effort to set the correct height on the tripod laser stand, but works great for residential tile lines and sump drains.
If you are trying to save the grass... What if you rented a sod cutter, cut 2 or 3 inches of sod and rolled it up in chunks. Then dig and refill your trench, pack it down and then roll out the sod. It would be a lot of work, but would also save you some work later.
Nice video, I think several of your viewers would be interested in the laser system, if it works! I know your ground is pretty much flat. Where in the world does that pipe drain to, and how long is it?
Interesting video, with two people or more there I'm not sure I would not go with a transit and grade sticks, the laser seemed like a lot of "extra" work, and that may improve with time and familiarity, looking forward to the next test😉, BUT, like every project you take on, the finished product looks great, and I'm with you on taking care of the grass👍🙏
Learning always takes more time…and in this case, we are demonstrating the laser at the same time. So, yes, it slowed us down, but over time, with practice, I’m certain it would help the quality of the result, and not cost much if any time.
Looking at the diagram you showed they had the sensor on the boom where as you have it on a pivoting bucket link, this would be a ratio input to bucket teeth distance would it not?
The check valves are a useful tool - they're used in food manufacture drainage systems to ensure you don't get backwash of water from low risk (uncooked) areas into high risk (cooked) areas in case of flooding/blockage in the low risk areas. In that application they're called non-return valves (NRV's). All water must drain from high risk to low risk to avoid cross contamination. The key is to ensure you've got access to them to unblock the drain in the event of overflow/blockage issues. Great to see how it's being used in your application! As for the laser system, it does seem a bit complex - are you taking the laser calibration with the laser being held in the same place along the entire length of the dig, or are you moving it along with the Kubota? And can the hydraulics easily get into the range required to read the calibration? It certainly seems that it'd be something that would get easier with use, for sure.
The one I saw 20 yrs ago was set in a storm structure. You put one piece of pipe in and set your pitch. Aim laser level down set pipe. Laser sets a target point on soil your digging. Pretty cool.
The picture on the computer showed the teeth pointing down on the bucket when capturing the laser. You had your teeth laying parallel to the ground. Would that make a difference? It would think your teeth were at a different level than the computer thought they were. Just a thought.
I think sensor placement and/or your angle of the bucket when you're recapturing the laser is different than when you're actually digging, throwing off the actual height (location) of the teeth.
The machine knows all of those angles. The laser capture is simply telling the system the one missing point. …there must be some external point to allow the calibration. The laser transmitter provides that.
Tim, love your channel, but if you are concerned with backflowing water into the pond when the yard floods due to that drainage pipe backing up, what good is having the pond overflow drain connected to that system? Won't the pond overflow fail if you have a large enough rainfall event that would cause the pond to fill up that much (ie: yard is saturated and pond overfills)?
I don't understand your question/concern. Pond rim is high enough to avoid flooding. Yard should never flood that high. Surface runoff should occur 'downstream' before then. The pond overflow is routed into the county drain tile (as you saw in this video). The county drain does occasionally get full, and backs up. For those times, the check-valve we have in place should prevent backflow. As long as the floodwater level stays below the pond water level, the pond should not over fill the rim. Even if the yard is flooded, as long as these flood levels are below the pond level, the pond should drain into them. In summary, I don't see a scenario where the pond overfills. Of course, I could easily be proven wrong. If so, I'll show it. ...I don't mind admitting I'm wrong :-)
@@TractorTimewithTim Thanks for your reasoned explanation. Sorry, I forgot about the open basin. I see now that if a major rainfall event were to occur, where the drainage pipe backed-up (as you mentioned this was a problem) and the pond overflow was being used by the pond, the pond would just flood the lawn through the catch basin that you installed. Good work on the pond. It looks great.
laziness. ...and didn't think necessary since it is not pressure line. I found out later that the elbow connection to the pipe did indeed leak. We used some tape to reduce that leakage, as we kinda wanted to ability to remove that elbow. ..flexibility for a future change of plans if necessary.
Tim, recently you had a set of Heavy Hitch forks on your tractor, they appear very similar to Artillian. Have you any opinion on them? I am in the order phase of adding a loader to my 2025R and would love to hear a real world comparison between the two.
HH is a bit less expensive. Artillian is lighter and a bit more elegant, and holds the load a couple inches closer to the tractor. Artillian is best. HH is a good value, especially if combining with other Hh products in one Fastenal shipment.
going from pond to where you wanted to go is already down hill and i feel the tech does not understand the terrain is not flat its drawing a slope based on flat perfect ground im sure if it had a setting to have you go all the way down the line setting what grade is from A - Z then im sure it would understand better and my one question is if its stuck to the side arm that tilts your bucket and not the stick how does it know true level of where the stick is if it changes every time the bucket curls ?
There are sensors on the boom, arm, bucket, and on the body (house). knowing the angles of each of these variables, combined with the initial calibration (shown in the earlier video months ago), the system can accurately know the height of the bucket teeth however it is positioned. The math would be fairly complex, but the computer can do it easily. Then, the laser beam transmitted from the tripod helps it to find its way on variable terrain. Pretty fancy.
It's too bad you can't work something out with the farmer to be able to tie the drain into one of his drainage tiles because I'm almost sure there might be one not to far out into that field. Then the water could easily drain away and not make any part of your yard soggy. I hope one day that we can see it actually working.
@TTWM Hey Cristy, is Buddy R. still around? Ask him if he remembers shooting me in the knee cap with a BB gun back in November of ‘69 at Dorothy’s place in AR? I’m pretty sure we might be related if you know whom I’m referring. Even still we are likely distant cousins considering my family tree goes back eight generations there in NC.
I see the problem. You need to be 18 yrs old with a computer and doing the bucket. Or a professional crew that uses it every day. And foreman about $100k
you should curl the bucket toward you when digging rough. but you should do another pass with the bucket being flat and curling backward when pulling the boom toward you. never use the track to do the final pass, thats beginner error... you have a machine that is very easy to control and should do everything with the joysticks. i think you need way more practice doing trenches and grading... practice practice practice.
That picture of the clouds reflecting in the pond is amazing!
Yea! I didn’t see it until just before publication. Christy held out on me!
@@TractorTimewithTim She can be sneaky like that 🤣
Great job on the overflow system, the laser is pretty handy for the excavator.
I miss the days of good old string. 😂
You did good!! It takes more than a day to get used to the systems. Don't sweat it.
Boy you have put a lot of time in your yard and pond over the years it’s finally getting where you want. I’ve been watching your videos for years also. I hope you’re be getting back to farm work video.
A suggestion: How about a solar water fountain in the pond? I think a tasteful laminar flow install would make an epic video and would be a great reason for a big excavator to be 'rented' 😊
Tim, your pond project is looking fantastic. It sure has been a lot of work but I can see that it’s definitely paying off. Thanks for another great video.
Another great video. It’s always nice spending a little of my Sunday with you guys. I hope you are doing well. Much love
Very kind. Thank you!
Reminded me of an old army song: “You’re in the army now, you’re not behind a plow, you’ll never get rich digging a ditch, you’re in the army now!” But they didn’t have machines, or a nice pond. Nice work folks. Blessings.
Great job guys!!!😊
Showing your screen was eye opening. Thanks Christi
Tell Dave I bought a straw hat just because of him.
Talk with The Stoney Ridge Farmer/Josh Draper. He had a leaky pond and used something I think he said it was called "Dam Tight". It stopped his leaks.
Welcome to our channel.
Tractor time with dave
Very interesting episode. At this point, if I had a need for an item like you used, I don't believe I would purchase that one. The way Dirt Perfect uses a laser for installing tile seems much easier and way less complicated. Laser set to the slope and a receiver on the implement indicating high, low, or on grade. Probably a much cheaper setup also.
Controlling the depth of a tile plow is easier because there is one movement to control, with an excavator you have three places on the boom pivoting that have to be factored in. A tile plow is not very practical for a short run like Tim put in.
Nice example of computer and laser to dig slope and the issues to fix. Can you get the GPS version to compare?
Great video, as always I enjoyed it. I am working on a similar project with my pond as well.
This is pretty cool. I think it’ll be great if you were digging on hard ground trying to dig for a concrete pad or something and you didn’t want to disturb the ground that was already packed.
I can just see it now, tractor time with Tim 2034, Tim’s sitting in his living room on the lazy boy and picks up his phone and tells his AI construction crew to go build a new pond or dig an irrigation trench then return all the equipment to the barn clean it and do maintenance😂
More likely: "Tim is on the phone with customer service asking how this stinkin AI construction thingy is supposed to work...cause it ran right through my house!"
@@TractorTimewithTim 😂😂
I want to go water skiing in that pond, it's so calm...😂
Ha!
That looks like a pretty cool system. I assume when working properly it can always tell you, in real time, the height of the bucket teeth relative to the laser.
I bought a common excavator laser receiver (with a 360°, +/-5" vertical range of laser detection) that effectively turns the bucket into a static depth measuring tool.
I set the slope using my laser and then, without getting off my 1025R, can measure the depth of what I've been digging. The receiver includes a cab mounted remote, but to be honest I've never used the remote, other than to test it.
It isn't capable of measuring at all times like Tim's system. I can only measure the depth when the backhoe's dipper stick is vertical (or whatever orientation I chose to calibrate at) and the bucket is at a specific angle (eg open or closed as far as it will go).
I don't know what Tim's system cost, but I picked up the receiver, mechanical mount, magnetic mount, and remote receiver for slightly under $600 USD on sale.
I use the magnetic mount and it can also be attached to the front end loader if I want to level or slope a parking area, etc.
I have shown that approach in prior episodes.
You should put a check valve at the outlet end to keep critters out of the pipe.
Not even sure where the ‘outlet’ is. Likely several miles away.
Very cool stuff!
And that's why you should only be using topcon.
Works everywhere every time.
No problem.
I wonder if an initial trench with the ventract trenching attachmnet to establish max depth (as a guide), then using the excavator to enlarge the trench, might be quyicker and simpler.
Though I don't recall what you showed as depth guide / setting on the ventrac.
Is Dave just there to break things? ;) 😂
Hey, Dave breaks less stuff than me! ...and the good news...he is pretty good at FIXING things!
Great video!
I don’t care if you know if this was helpful… LoL loved the video and your non biased opinions… think it holds true even this long. Thank you.
Are you going to leave the overflow way out from shore? Any reason for that? Keep weeds out. Will you paint it later? Worry about hitting it with you boat? Maybe it was closer to.shore than it looked.
Always enjoy your videos Tim. I use a laser level on the 260B backhoe. Bought an extra receiver for the Bosch laser system so I’ve got a receiver on a stick, and one clamped on the slow moving sign bracket. Takes a little more effort to set the correct height on the tripod laser stand, but works great for residential tile lines and sump drains.
If you are trying to save the grass... What if you rented a sod cutter, cut 2 or 3 inches of sod and rolled it up in chunks. Then dig and refill your trench, pack it down and then roll out the sod. It would be a lot of work, but would also save you some work later.
I actually OWN a sod cutter. Just don't find it worth the effort.
@@TractorTimewithTim But now you have Big Dave. He could wrestle that sod. 😅 I love the videos. I watch them all.
Nice video, I think several of your viewers would be interested in the laser system, if it works! I know your ground is pretty much flat. Where in the world does that pipe drain to, and how long is it?
I would have used a shop vac in the beginning
GREAT video, nice to know Video...
Grass seed your getting tight in your old age Tim lol
I cannot believe the overflow is adequate for flood conditions.
Interesting video, with two people or more there I'm not sure I would not go with a transit and grade sticks, the laser seemed like a lot of "extra" work, and that may improve with time and familiarity, looking forward to the next test😉, BUT, like every project you take on, the finished product looks great, and I'm with you on taking care of the grass👍🙏
Learning always takes more time…and in this case, we are demonstrating the laser at the same time. So, yes, it slowed us down, but over time, with practice, I’m certain it would help the quality of the result, and not cost much if any time.
I'm dumb I just use the stick Tim when I dig!
Your remind me of Mike Morgan,is there any machine you can't operate?
Looking at the diagram you showed they had the sensor on the boom where as you have it on a pivoting bucket link, this would be a ratio input to bucket teeth distance would it not?
No, they have sensor on the arm, as we do.
Good ole Indiana clay dirt!
I wonder how well this system would compare to the Idig system.
That cat...just pet me!
The check valves are a useful tool - they're used in food manufacture drainage systems to ensure you don't get backwash of water from low risk (uncooked) areas into high risk (cooked) areas in case of flooding/blockage in the low risk areas. In that application they're called non-return valves (NRV's). All water must drain from high risk to low risk to avoid cross contamination. The key is to ensure you've got access to them to unblock the drain in the event of overflow/blockage issues. Great to see how it's being used in your application! As for the laser system, it does seem a bit complex - are you taking the laser calibration with the laser being held in the same place along the entire length of the dig, or are you moving it along with the Kubota? And can the hydraulics easily get into the range required to read the calibration? It certainly seems that it'd be something that would get easier with use, for sure.
I think would get easier, yes.
A pipe Lazer is the answer to digging a trench with a slope. That's what storm/sanitary sewerage crews use to install pipe in a production setting
What is a pipe laser?
The one I saw 20 yrs ago was set in a storm structure. You put one piece of pipe in and set your pitch. Aim laser level down set pipe. Laser sets a target point on soil your digging. Pretty cool.
Really simple if you can see it in the cab. You would need someone outside giving directions otherwise. @BigbearSM-IL
Yep, needed a ground person to guide digger. We usually had 3-4 workers on site.
Without 3d GPS I didn't see how you could accurately use .01% slope since the software doesn't know where the machine is relative to where you started
Tim the calibration screen was showing that the teeth of the bucket had to touch the ground for benchmark not flat bottom of the bucket
The picture on the computer showed the teeth pointing down on the bucket when capturing the laser. You had your teeth laying parallel to the ground. Would that make a difference? It would think your teeth were at a different level than the computer thought they were. Just a thought.
No. The laser receiver is on the arm. Yellow piece.
I think sensor placement and/or your angle of the bucket when you're recapturing the laser is different than when you're actually digging, throwing off the actual height (location) of the teeth.
The machine knows all of those angles. The laser capture is simply telling the system the one missing point. …there must be some external point to allow the calibration. The laser transmitter provides that.
Tim, love your channel, but if you are concerned with backflowing water into the pond when the yard floods due to that drainage pipe backing up, what good is having the pond overflow drain connected to that system? Won't the pond overflow fail if you have a large enough rainfall event that would cause the pond to fill up that much (ie: yard is saturated and pond overfills)?
I don't understand your question/concern.
Pond rim is high enough to avoid flooding. Yard should never flood that high. Surface runoff should occur 'downstream' before then.
The pond overflow is routed into the county drain tile (as you saw in this video). The county drain does occasionally get full, and backs up. For those times, the check-valve we have in place should prevent backflow.
As long as the floodwater level stays below the pond water level, the pond should not over fill the rim. Even if the yard is flooded, as long as these flood levels are below the pond level, the pond should drain into them.
In summary, I don't see a scenario where the pond overfills. Of course, I could easily be proven wrong. If so, I'll show it. ...I don't mind admitting I'm wrong :-)
@@TractorTimewithTim Thanks for your reasoned explanation. Sorry, I forgot about the open basin. I see now that if a major rainfall event were to occur, where the drainage pipe backed-up (as you mentioned this was a problem) and the pond overflow was being used by the pond, the pond would just flood the lawn through the catch basin that you installed. Good work on the pond. It looks great.
Is that Dave with a new hat?
He won’t wear a new one around me anymore. We only get the old worn out hats!
What was the reasoning behind not gluing the pipe?
laziness. ...and didn't think necessary since it is not pressure line. I found out later that the elbow connection to the pipe did indeed leak. We used some tape to reduce that leakage, as we kinda wanted to ability to remove that elbow. ..flexibility for a future change of plans if necessary.
Tim, recently you had a set of Heavy Hitch forks on your tractor, they appear very similar to Artillian. Have you any opinion on them? I am in the order phase of adding a loader to my 2025R and would love to hear a real world comparison between the two.
HH is a bit less expensive. Artillian is lighter and a bit more elegant, and holds the load a couple inches closer to the tractor. Artillian is best. HH is a good value, especially if combining with other Hh products in one Fastenal shipment.
@@TractorTimewithTim Very helpful, thanks!
going from pond to where you wanted to go is already down hill and i feel the tech does not understand the terrain is not flat its drawing a slope based on flat perfect ground im sure if it had a setting to have you go all the way down the line setting what grade is from A - Z then im sure it would understand better and my one question is if its stuck to the side arm that tilts your bucket and not the stick how does it know true level of where the stick is if it changes every time the bucket curls ?
There are sensors on the boom, arm, bucket, and on the body (house). knowing the angles of each of these variables, combined with the initial calibration (shown in the earlier video months ago), the system can accurately know the height of the bucket teeth however it is positioned. The math would be fairly complex, but the computer can do it easily.
Then, the laser beam transmitted from the tripod helps it to find its way on variable terrain.
Pretty fancy.
Would your trenching attachment make this job easier?
my trencher not wide enough for 6 inch pipe
@@TractorTimewithTim that explains it. It looked like you 3 still did a good job.
Easier to just use a survey/auto level.
👍👍
Dave, could you hit it?
Sure, when?
When I nod my head, you hit it.
(Nods head)
Why in the world is grass seed so expensive?
Wow, you've over complicated that little project!
Did you really put the date 1924 on that drain concrete?
7-19-24 Good grief.
@@TractorTimewithTim I am showing my age.
Does that excavator have zero tail-swing? What’s the model name and horsepower?
U48-5 40hp. Zero tail swing.
Did Dave lose his hat
Wow , you still have the electric tractor😮. I figured that the bankruptcy of the company would sent people out to pick up the demo tractors.
No one left to pick it up!
@@TractorTimewithTim I figure the court would order an administrative trustee to round up what was left to pay creditors.
@@jimmcknight3021I don’t think they have declared bankruptcy yet.
It's too bad you can't work something out with the farmer to be able to tie the drain into one of his drainage tiles because I'm almost sure there might be one not to far out into that field. Then the water could easily drain away and not make any part of your yard soggy. I hope one day that we can see it actually working.
uh, this IS a county drain.
Wouldn't it be easier to start from the catch basin and dig to the pond?
Why? And how? Back off into the pond?
@TTWM Hey Cristy, is Buddy R. still around? Ask him if he remembers shooting me in the knee cap with a BB gun back in November of ‘69 at Dorothy’s place in AR? I’m pretty sure we might be related if you know whom I’m referring. Even still we are likely distant cousins considering my family tree goes back eight generations there in NC.
Christy’s doesn’t know what you are saying
I see the problem. You need to be 18 yrs old with a computer and doing the bucket. Or a professional crew that uses it every day. And foreman about $100k
👍🏻😎🇺🇸
you should curl the bucket toward you when digging rough. but you should do another pass with the bucket being flat and curling backward when pulling the boom toward you. never use the track to do the final pass, thats beginner error... you have a machine that is very easy to control and should do everything with the joysticks. i think you need way more practice doing trenches and grading... practice practice practice.
everyone is a critic. oh well.
@@TractorTimewithTim same goes in real life, ive finish a Deck and all friends have their take at how they would have done it... its just how it is ;p
1924 ????
7-19-24
There's gotta be better technology than this.