If he did start swearing, as good as he is, I would be outta here. I just have to have a restful place to watch a hardworking young man. He amazes me with his expertise, varied equipment, and of course, the cute dogs. He's a hardworking man doing the best job out there on YT.
@@JiLomlKoKLoLEver I agree to some extent.. Andrew is incredible when it comes to perserverence, calmness and professionalism - I get really excited every time he puts a new video out.. but me personally, I swear like hell when stuff comes up which was not accounted for hehe.. I think thats rather normal among most guys working with different things that are demanding physically/mentally. Maybe Im wrong but.. not many are as quiet and peaceful as this guy.
I honestly think the reason why Andrew's videos are so great and amazing to watch is because of his character. Like even when a new machine breaks he doesn't loose his cool. I personally strive to be like him, calm and friendly demeanor with a very hard work ethic. Keep up the great work. Cheers.
You nailed it. Andrew always stays calm and determined. He rarely gets down about the crap that happens. Event the septic system inspector didn't get him down on camera.
Imagine if the safety shield had an adjustment to easily expand and drop the wedged rocks, making it an option to even attempt crushing them, and maybe some chains to help knock mud and debris off the sides of the blade back down to the ground.
Andrew-here in most of Georgia, your new ditch witch would have gone thru our clay or sand like pudding! Glad you have all the equipment to get the job done while entertaining your subscribers!!
I think it’s pretty clear that the belt is meant to slip when there’s a total stoppage. This protects the chains, the proverbial “weakest link“. There was way too much rock on this job for that machine, I’m afraid. Edit: I should have said too much of the wrong kind of rock. Clearly, it’s about the only thing that will cut a narrow ditch through solid rock but the midsize stones give it a lot of trouble.
@@AndrewCamarata Yeah I'd really love to see a long maintenance and upgrade video on the ditch cutter, very much appreciated, salute from the other side of the world :)
A ditch witch just isn't the right machine for that soil AT ALL. Especially that old lightweight model designed for loose or clay soils, not dirt n rocks..
Dakota Williams this area is basically an enormous shale vein that runs from Northern Europe, acrossthe Atlantic Ocean, thru New England and continues down the Appalachians to Northern Alabama. I had to use an auger powered by the tractor to dig the planting holes for my orchard and vineyard in East TN. Never seen anything like it!
I would have thought the belt weaker fail point would have been reached WAY before the chains even if tightened, very odd way for it to break the opposite I'd say.
You need to bend that guard in. It has widened up over time and made itself into a funnel to pull all of the material in that then necks down into a smaller area that it doesnt have room for.. the guard should be the same entry size as the remaining radius so anything larger than the channel is broken down into a smaller bit or diverted. Simple fix
@Deplorable Centrist He dug through solid bedrock at his shop. I think it was having a hard time here was because maybe the shale kept getting brought up into the wheel and jamming it, maybe some guards would help fo prevent that
Amen I have large mini berms of soil all around my concrete slab my slacker contractor poured last June! A skid steer and 1 hour could fix it all but no when he got done destroying my yard he was done!!!
That Guy he would probably be super chill about it to. Which is the best part. Like ya we hit some rock. So just gunna drop 50 lbs of c4. That should work
I’ve never been impressed with ditch-witch equipment. It all seems like just barely ‘homeowner rental grade’ stuff. Gotta step up to a Vermeer for ‘weapons grade’ trenching.
Ditch Witch gear costs a lot of money for rental companies as well, I used to work for an equipment rental place and thats about the time they started investing in the super narrow buckets for the mini excavators :D
g pat ditch witch always gave me trouble when they machinists got older ! My company had a 3’ deep digger that did ok ! But when it got old it cost a small fortune to get it fixed!
belts meant to slip so that the chains don't take all the stress from the jam. I don't think this is meant for dirt. Wheel momentum is key for this machine. It's the spinning momentum that does the work, don't put too much stress on the chains. My advice is that it's more important to keep the wheel spinning as fast as possible, and move forward as slow as it needs to keep the wheel turning at maximum. the momentum is your friend here, there isn't hydraulics to give it strength like an excavator has. Love watching you work that excavator. You make it look so easy
I seen in other Andrew videos that he cut through solid bed rock. It’s the river rock that binds up and gets stuck in the drive train that he is having problems with.😔
Machine is made to trench in stone why bother in 20% of the country if not. Andrew learns as all inventive and resourceful people do the tips on the drum in this scenario were worn. He changes them and in a later video trenches (after adjustments and a learning curve) about 16" deep in exposed stone in another video with this very machine.
Yeah, probably would have been best to 'sneak' up on the adjustment.. Small, incremental amounts of tightening until you reached a balance between power and belt slippage..
Yes the belt is meant to slip, however it may have been slipping a little too easily. That machine did appear to be pretty gutless though as it was, so you have to find that balance between safety and actually doing the job.
I just dug in 800 feet of 3 inch electrical conduit on our property. The electrical Co-Op mad me dig it 48 inches deep, I was going to use a trencher but decided to use a Kubota KX-057, it was great using the excavator, thought the trencher would be better but it was not. In my case, there was some muddy clay areas, only some rock. It was a great learning experience for my wife and I and saved us about $15K. Love your videos Andrew!
Got to say, thank heavens it’s shale Not granite. I like Andrews’ work ethic. And his music. Reminds me of ppl I worked with in the 60’s and 70’s, they taught me what a job meant.
Ditch the witch. Maybe hire an experience operator for a day to learn the nuances of it. You have shown me when I get my homesteaded that I'll definitely get an excavator for my 1st piece of equipment. Seems to do such a universal job for so many things.
@@blackbear313 yeah....it was meant as funny. Maybe you can reach out to mgmt and see if someone can contact Andrew and give him some pointers on operating the machine or set up or even offer to sponsor some refurbishment repairs!
I must say, with the stay at home time that we are experiencing, it brought out a bunch of shade tree advisors on this video, it would be nice if they posted some of their videos so we could watch and learn together. I sure am glad that Andrew is not thin skinned. Have a great day.
Hey, I work with a couple of those myself. They spend all day on Facebook telling everyone how great of a operator they are but I say they'd get more done and better if they got off those f-ing phones.
I'm no expert Andrew but I think it's just marvelous the way you have so much patience with this machine and just don't seem to give up It's an incredibly hard job in many ways but your perseverance is something to be proud of It's amazing sometimes how machines can be expected to dig through solid rock it's a pleasure to watch you work with this machine and get the best out of it its so good to see how you just keep going no matter the problem and you remain so calm and collected a good job well done Andrew you need to be congratulated
That belt was supposed to slip when a rock jammed the wheel so the chain would not .try making shallower cuts when in rocky soils it may push the stones out of the way instead of picking them up
Looks like that machine was designed for dirt. Wrong part of the country for that. Andrew has not made many mistakes, that we know of, but this is one.
NO DOUBT in my unmilitary mind that after THIS, your first run with the DITCH WICH, you WILL find the problem, the cause, repair it, add modifications (as you do), it will function well - AND NO PAYMENT BOOK! Very well done, Andrew Camarata!!! Sonny (CT)
Andrew is so hard on his gear! just goes in guns blazing without seeing if the ground is suitable for the machine if it can do it or not, just full revs and like a bull in a china sop.
When you bought this thing I was oh no because I did the same thing few yrs back. But the one I bought was a track unit. I tried trenching for about one hour and loaded on trailer hauled it home and put it up for sale. Even when it trenched Dutch was not clean and couldn’t get shovel in narrow trench to clean.
Trencher has to work fairly well...he bought it with the carbide tips worn down. Maybe it can't handle type of rocks in area or he is riding it too hard?
I did 8 years with a chain trencher driven by a Antonio Carraro 65hp. Worked well but a new chain every 3 months was $ 1000. Could trench straight down the middle of a tar sealed road no swet.
It is too rocky in your area for that trencher. Sell it and move on...Hopefully you can make a small profit on the sale. Your tenacity always makes you win.
i think the same way. I mean there were jobs the excavator could not dig trough those rocks. In this area, there are defenetly way to muchs rocks in the soil.
The first time I ever watched Andrew was when he did this driveway and it was posted on reddit. Since then I've been able to see Andrew grow in subscribers and talent and I love every video he makes!
In Finland electric companies are mandated to dig all the old lines to undergroud so there would be less poweroutages by snow stroms and such. Massive job.
@Andrew Camarata I would recommend welding on some slides that ride the sides of the wheel and prevent rocks from sticking into the weird open catch areas....
Wow, The making of this driveway video is actually the first video of you i watched that somehow made it through to my recommendation at that time. And I've been a fan since. Love all the work and keep it up!
It’s been my experience that post-hole diggers and ditch diggers don’t fair well in the Northeast ...... too many rocks. I’ve used both in the desert areas of the country where they work exactly as intended ... it’s a beautiful thing!
The trencher is supposed to have deflectors, but they are either not installed or misadjusted. The correct solution would have been to leave the slip tension where it was, but to fix the position of the deflectors instead.. As it is, by overtightening the slip, he snapped the chains instead..
Who didnt see that breakage coming when he found the belt tightener! 😂 😂 😂 No Andrew, those chains didnt "magically" break. The first half dozen rocks were a warning to take it easy. This is why we cant have nice stuff. 😊😂
I wish you, my friend, after this tiredness and digging, to find a treasure and a box of gold and jewelry buried from an ancient time because you deserve this gift because you are diligent in your work😊
@@AndrewCamarata Don't worry I was without a single girl to age around 26 everyone around me has or had a girl or girls, I was like I would never have one, I met one and now I love her, and I would never change her, she's the love of my life nad I would never give up on her. I think that for everyone someone waits, even for you, just wait. :) Thank you for your content as always keep up the great work. Wish you the best Andrew !
Your earth saw ditch witch is mostly used for solid rock, concrete, pavement, very hard solid. Those larger trenchers ditch had were called modularmatic machines. Four tappered bosses on the rear frame to mount different attachments. I ran one in pa that was like a small ditch which but just large with dual carbides on the chain. That thing could chew through rocky soil and shale like a boss. Also had a full sized backhoe on the front to deal,with really rocky spots. The gear drive trencher ditch made could run all day full throttle and never stop - hydro ones get really hot. Put 10s of thousands of feet with it. Huge learning curve running one. We had a earth saw but it was a hydro unit - modified it to fit a large skid steer. Worked really well on that. Give it time and patients - running a trencher is more about finesse and feel.
Nice job and great videography as usual for you Andrew! When that Ditch Witch broke down and you had to use the excavator I was thinking there goes his profit on this job. Thanks for showing the good with the bad. As observers we'll never learn anything if all is edited down to perfection as some Tubers do.
it is better for a belt to slip than for something to break. Good thing, you have equipment for a plan B and probably even a plan C and D. Loved the video!
