@@amosbackstrom5366 you are on a farm, clearing trees. Wood you know a limb from a tree. Put wood on the ramp. Look around they are every where. You are loading a trailer, throw the wood on the trailer then you can unload. Really easy don’t need chain, old tire, snowmobile belt. Just what nature gives you. Oh 1 more thing you need a brain 🧠
I have the same dozer. That screen is constantly getting junk in it. I put an automotive inline fuel filter in that rubber part of the hose. No more trouble
Push your brush piles in second gear. The extra speed helps keep the pile in a ball and sliding across the ground. When you go slow it catches on everything.
Watching this again a year later knowing the problems you have with the dozer losing power on this job and knowing how much rusty crud you get out of that tank. I don't know if you'll ever read this but if you do "Hi Jon" I found your videos back when I bought my first chainsaw 2 years ago and watched your how to use a chainsaw videos. Then the algorithm started giving me more of of your videos and I got hooked. I get a little bummed when you skip a week but I understand and figure that you're working on something good. I know it's a lot of work putting these videos together and I want to thank you for all the work you put into this channel. I don't fault you at all for skipping a week or 2 now and again your content is awesome and it's worth the wait. One day when my wallet is a flush I'd love to get some merch.
John when I couldn’t think you where living my dream any more you go and build a pond. The farm, heavy machinery, woodworking, metal casting, mechanical work, family life, giving back to the community, forestry work and livestock husbandry. Please never stop, an inspiration to us all.
I've been watching one over the last year. bamabass, it's degenerated into a nature watching show now though. Looking forward to see what Jon comes up with here
You could always buy a couple sticks of 3/8” x 1” flatbar and weld it to the grousers. Simple cheap fix for worn out grouser pads. I would use 7018 or dual shield fluxcore to weld them on though. Stay safe and Keep up the good work John.
Put some old tires under your tracks keeps you from sliding on steel and protects your deck and concrete pad those growsers raise havoc with those surfaces 😁😁👍👍
Jon, you said you think you are being overly cautious about the dozer when you are clearing out the brush, rest assured you are not. The young man you setup with the car a few months back, Christopher, his Grandfather he never met, died September (9th I think) 2001 after a loading accident with a dozer, very close to where you are working. Keep doing the right thing and stay safe! Great content as always!
No sir…, you are not being “overly cautious”.., I think you are being “properly” cautious… You “just know, what you don’t know”, on that property. Looking forward to the videos on this project. Thank you sir. P.S., I think I see a video in your future regarding a shop fabricated “root rake” for the dozer…
A much easier and enjoyable video to watch, than an hour of Let's dig 18 doing the same thing in real time over and over and over and over and over.. 😎
Great video! Helpful Hint: Be careful using those ratcheting box wrenches in tight spaces, you can back a bolt out to the point where you can't get the wrench off and can't turn the bolt back in with your fingers (BTDT!). Dumb question: why not dozer a fire break around the area and burn it off first? Then you can see the ground you're working with.
Don't know if anyone has mentioned it, but Caterpillar / Mitsubishi Dozers with the Mitsubishi Engines install a Brass screen in that banjo bolt on their transfer pumps. Isuzu Engines offer the same fitting in Plastic which is much easier to remove and much cheaper. Contact a local LinkBelt or Hitachi dealer. FYI the Hand Primer on the transfer pump should be screwed down tight, they can suck air if not.
You could weld a vertical plate to every third segment of your track to give yourself more traction. Nothing too massive but just enough to give you that little bit of extra you are needing.
Sorry I had surgery and I’m a week behind on watching videos but you said your grousers are wore out, you can buy aftermarket extensions that you weld on yourself to make them taller. With your mad skills you should buy some steel and build yourself a pin on brush rake for your dozer, that would be right down your alley and would be awful helpful and handy for you.
34:57 the neat part about making a compost pit is you get the clay soil to build up the dam with. And it wont have decomposed materials in it just clay you can compact tightly you also need some big bolders to put under the clay soil
Just for future reference seek assistance from the local NRS office or one of their engineering technical advisors to do a pond design layout for you. If you do that you will thank them for making the construction much easier with elevations, bench marks etc.
Hey John if you want to make your ramp safer find a couple old truck tire cut the side walls off then cut the tread into strips and mount on the ramps. you will have traction going up or down, hey we all need to recycle our old rubber on the farm any way you can.
You might try cleaning the fuel tank and then adding a filter in the fuel line that comes out of the tank. If you clean & flush the fuel tank that will take care of 99% of your problems. You will still have dirty fuel from the supplier, but not as bad. I had a few older machines and didn't solve the problem until I did the flush.
I know everyone is a critic and I can remember when I started with zero experience and no one to teach me 🤦♂️. I would definitely push the undergrowth with the blade and re-stack it with mini leaving the dirt behind. I think it’s faster, it also allows me to just get it above water line or back of dam and focus on my core. I also avoid pushing uphill as much as possible and would have pushed the topsoil towards the dam essentially skirting the banks or running parallel to them towards the dam, it allows you to run faster using less fuel. At this point it’s ready to use for back slope and finish grade. You will learn to use every advantage and gravity is a big one lol.
29:22 I think you should think about draining the fuel tank and power washing it to remove as much rust as possible, then spray coating the inside with a fuel-resistant plastic to keep the tank from further deterioration and/or dropping more rust into the fuel... Either that, or, if feasible, just outright replacing the tank with a polymer one that is immune to corrosion...
All I can do is stare at that old fireplace and chimney in the background and wonder what stories it would tell if it could. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say it's probably pretty old. Anyhow, boy, that's a lot of work. Very neat though.
Check The fuel return line that goes back to the tank, if it's clogged then it will spit and sputter like it's running out of fuel, but in fact it's actually flooding. Also blow air through the main fuel line back to the tank to blow any debris out of the line. I have a 1985 D3B that was doing that and when I found the return line by following the lines all the way back and blew air through it I could feel the line dislodge debris and now the dozer runs great. I also installed an inline filter to catch any debris prior to the injector pump.
Mr John, hey man, I been missing you, needed a video of yours to watch and you came through. One thing I noticed with the dozer, when you go to push, always go in straight lines. Try to line up with the ground that is as level as can be that way you aren't having to tilt the blade side to side. You may already know these things, just trying to help you anyway I can.
I thought I posted a day or so ago, but don't see it. Keep at it, get all the topsoil off. Did you do any test holes first. I have dug many ponds in the past, and it is important to dig test holes down at least two feet deeper than the estimated bottom depth of pond. Want to make sure no bed rock, gravel, sand pockets. A core trench should be dug also in the center of the future dam that you are going to be filling. Terrible problem if you find a tile, sand pocket, running under dam after you built the dam, I know. You have a plan for building this pond, you always do in all your projects, and know many will comment in this project. If you are planning on doing all the work with your mini and a dozer, you may want to consider renting a sheepsfoot roller to compact the dirt. Nothing worse ending up with a poorly compacted dike and have it slowly leak, get saturated with water. I know, we have fixed many dozer ponds, dozers simple do not pack dirt, they are made for high flotation, wide track ones for sure. Two ways to get compaction in your project, one, rent a self propelled, vibrating sheepsfoot roller, or rent a pull behind roller. They are somewhat obsolete for big boy contractors, so you can find them at a cheaper rent per month. Pull behind rollers most of the time are used behind your size of dozer, works good. level with blade going forward, and back up, pack again, repeat all day long. Rollers can be used with a big farm tractor, we have done it , use dozer to push dirt for dike and level so tractor can get over dirt easier. Usually on a tractor just keep going in circles, backing is not a good idea on a dike. Last option would be to rent a bigger dozer for the digging, level and pack with your machine with a roller. And another thing that would work is to load trucks in pond with you mini, drive up on fill area, dump a bunch of loads, level dirt with dozer about 6 inch deep, drive over dirt with loaded trucks, fill other end of dike, back and forth for days. Also if you want to really have fun, rent a BIG excavator to dig, throw dirt up on dike, level with your dozer on top pulling roller. Unhook roller, go to bottom, push dirt to big excavator, cut slopes, grade bottom. Add you neighbor as dozer operator, the fun goes on. If you ever run a big hoe, hard to go back to the mini, I know. Once you get any depth on you pond, with the side slope of 3 to 1 , it is faster to haul the dirt than pushing it with your size of dozer. Have fun, watch all the videos on building ponds, soil conservation agencies have information. They can survey, help you size your pond, estimated yardage too. Be looking forward to your progress.
Good advice but I also think if the clay has some moisture and he keeps lifts small he can get adequate compaction for a shallow pond 8-10’ deep and this is hard for a lot of people but I think he is very capable. We always use an old 955L to shape and compact from the core out and it seems to work for us.
@@merlinsmith2431 will reply, not sure how this you tube form works, haven't posted much. My problem is we as viewers do not know what location, area this project is happening, unless I missed it. Digging ponds is not as easy as it might appear to be, I think you realize this. More than just moving dirt. I assume John has researched this project. Over the years of digging ponds for farm use, subdivisions, water retention ponds for city flood controls, you learn what to expect. So many home owners, farmers, will include all the do it yourself people, seem to think this pond building business it a simple task. We have seen so many projects, building sites, pond sites that someone just rented, borrowed equipment, and without the proper knowledge, has totally messed it up, never to be corrected or can't be corrected, really sad,. Biggest mistake on pond, building sites is incorrect elevations, pond to high, too low, building site lower than pond, unable to drain. Once house , building set, too late to correct. Will be watching this video, want to see how it goes. This will be a project, he always gets in done. Will take longer than he thinks to do it, unless he has more equipment. Keeping the moisture in the clay will be a problem in the summer. We done a pond once where it was so dried out, nothing we could do. Tried watering it down with junk water truck, never can get enough water. Water does not soak in clay, takes time, dries out before soaking in. Have to work it in with disc, sheepsfoot roller. We were digging with Deere pans, can move lots of dirt, still lift, dam area was drying out faster than we could add water. Next morning, tried stripping dry off, then add more dirt from inside pond, dam area was too dry. Unable to do anything else, we finished pond late summer, fill area, dike seemed solid, looked good, graded out fine. Added topsoil to dike, cut groove for rocking pond edge with hoe. We pulled equipment to build the pond out, HAD to go to factory building site, will rock later in fall, can always finish rock in winter. That never happened, to much snow, never froze enough to get trucks around dike. No problem, will do it in spring. Late May, fields dry, dike dry on top, moved in excavator to touch up groove we cut in last fall. Pond was about half full, just starting to get water up to grade where the fill was added for the dike. The dike was really soft with just the 15 ton excavator. No way was a loaded truck going to get around that dike, will try a track loader. Did some, just messed everything up. Will have to let it dry out some, keep water down with pump. Mid summer, got excavator back, seemed better, we able to drive around with Deere pan, repacked with more dirt on top, really went down. Week or two later, were able to drive around again with a borrowed roller to firm it up, got rock dumped with track loader into the groove, shaped up rock with small mini, done, bunch of time, work. Of course we were worried if the six foot of dike would hold water once it filled. It did, pond still there to this day. If we would have finished the total project in the summer when we dug it, rocked it, I don't think it would have held. We were lucky in a way, we had the room to correct it, fix the problem. Sometimes you can't, we have seen where dikes will fail later in the ponds life, a danger.
7/21/23; mighty fine video 2day Jon, beautiful day, except for a brief Hail Storm! Excellent awareness for we viewers re: speed of video while filming your dozer back-&-forth.; your voice over & FF was much appreciated. Continuing to watch, as we loyal viewers do- no matter the forgotten fuel filter checks- I watch thru all surface scrapping, new brush excavating till final words..."more to come" on this project! Yea! Stay safe & carry on!👍👍👏👏🍺🤗
My retirement dream is to buy some land and a D4, then push dirt piles around all day like a kid in a sand box. Now that something like that is cost prohibitive, I bought an IPad and watch RUclips videos of guys doing it! Thank you!
As I shared with Hometown Acres, think "French Drain(s)". Your several hills lend themselves to that kind of system. Mine filled a 2500 cistern (after a rain) and ran 4" gushing of water out for days. Research it well. There are lesser types of "French Drains"! Easy to make, no maintenance - efficient, low cost!
This is the 2nd pond building video series I've seen in recent months, and I love seeing it done! Doing good so far, and always love your explanations on things. :)
17:29 insted of burning off the plant materials dig a big deep pit, then layer in the plant materials then som dirt poop more plat materials dirt poop in layers and keep adding as it drops down, youll get super soil not just top soil. The dirt will be so rich it will turn a red clay soil into black gold. Just keep adding to it.
Run some biobar JF with your next fuel fill up, it is the best biocide on the market. That brown slime is typically the fungus that grows in old fuel systems.
Fuel filters yes. Use to go to a farm with 3 friends. We built a hut there & owner had sheep. Spent day in local shearing shed. Always remember the quite country sounds. Also a dam was built using the natural topography. One bulldozer moves a truck load. Was the mechanical brain trust on farm back then. Put things in jars so you don't loose them. Really good job with equipment. No sharp turns with tracks😂.
When you said that you thought you might be being a little too careful, all I could think of was that there is no such thing as being too careful on machinery. Every one of those pieces of equipment can take your life in a flash if you aren't paying attention.
Hey John its really good to see the dozer in operation, all your hard work is paying off. Looking forward to the next installment of the pond build. Great video thumbs up.
Had the same issues on my dads '79 f250 crew cab back in the day, sat for over 10 years, and we had to take off the filter at the mechanical fuel pump every two or three miles and blow it out with carb cleaner for about a week or two and then all of the loose rust had finally been filtered out.
It's a start !! When you get into this farther along, you will amazed how much you are accomplishing over time. Then you can breathe easier as the pond takes shape ! Good job John !
Why not burn the gully plants in-place? Mow a perimeter, then use a weed torch to burn from the outside inward. It is likely it would be easier to then just doze everything afterwards. In FLA, the weather will change that much at 1x speed.
Keep a pump sprayer and a bucket of sand handly for getting the dozer on and off the trailer. Spray it down and throw the sand on the baremetal to get some grip.
use a in line water filter you may have to install backwards where the filters from the bulb to inside so you can take the bulb off and dump the trash out the one i have use filter from the inside to the outside - you may need to use bentonite clay if the pond leaks there several ways of using when we have problem you use after the pond is filled you use less clay you get a seed spreader and spread it like seeds where you think where the leak is
"Once you're up on the wood, you should be fine". Now that would be a great T Shirt
😂😂😂
More better. Once your up with a wood, you should be fine.
You can hook a chain to the top of each ramp and drive on them, it's not a perfect solution but it does add traction
@@amosbackstrom5366 you are on a farm, clearing trees. Wood you know a limb from a tree. Put wood on the ramp. Look around they are every where. You are loading a trailer, throw the wood on the trailer then you can unload. Really easy don’t need chain, old tire, snowmobile belt. Just what nature gives you. Oh 1 more thing you need a brain 🧠
❤
I have the same dozer. That screen is constantly getting junk in it. I put an automotive inline fuel filter in that rubber part of the hose. No more trouble
Weather went from not bad to hugh winds in 5 minutes wow Jon @FarmCraft101
Push your brush piles in second gear. The extra speed helps keep the pile in a ball and sliding across the ground. When you go slow it catches on everything.
Not if you’re charging by the hour!😂
Good advice sir 👍
@@nayBobb 🤔😂😂😂
Oh yeah, we need more farm craft videos. Stay safe and do not get hurt. Please.
I'm new to this farming techniques, there are really trying there best its really help full
I'd love to know more about you that's only if you don't mind leaving me a reply.
Nothing like the algorithm keeping me away from your channel JUST long enough so I can binge watch your pond series!😅 1:35
Watching this again a year later knowing the problems you have with the dozer losing power on this job and knowing how much rusty crud you get out of that tank.
I don't know if you'll ever read this but if you do "Hi Jon"
I found your videos back when I bought my first chainsaw 2 years ago and watched your how to use a chainsaw videos. Then the algorithm started giving me more of of your videos and I got hooked. I get a little bummed when you skip a week but I understand and figure that you're working on something good. I know it's a lot of work putting these videos together and I want to thank you for all the work you put into this channel. I don't fault you at all for skipping a week or 2 now and again your content is awesome and it's worth the wait. One day when my wallet is a flush I'd love to get some merch.
Nobody ever said regular work like Using equipment and clearing land was Fun to watch But i say it is Fun and entertaining 15:33 Jon @FarmCraft101
33:46 No idea why, but this dozer push is just so satisfying to watch!
That was satisfying to do. The excavator couldn’t begin to push that whole pile. The dozer barely flinched!
Trailer held up like a champ on that dozer nice Jon @FarmCraft101
John when I couldn’t think you where living my dream any more you go and build a pond. The farm, heavy machinery, woodworking, metal casting, mechanical work, family life, giving back to the community, forestry work and livestock husbandry. Please never stop, an inspiration to us all.
What a coincidence, I have been watching pond building videos for the past week or so for some reason and now you are building one too. :)
I've been watching one over the last year. bamabass, it's degenerated into a nature watching show now though. Looking forward to see what Jon comes up with here
@@RULERofSTARS I have been watching that one as well, that is a really nice pond and like you said, a zoo at this point lol
Letsdig18 does it all the time good videos
@@RULERofSTARSsame here. I’ve pretty much quit watching bamabass now too
You could always buy a couple sticks of 3/8” x 1” flatbar and weld it to the grousers. Simple cheap fix for worn out grouser pads. I would use 7018 or dual shield fluxcore to weld them on though. Stay safe and Keep up the good work John.
Put some old tires under your tracks keeps you from sliding on steel and protects your deck and concrete pad those growsers raise havoc with those surfaces 😁😁👍👍
Farm craft is building a pond, how exciting 👏
yeah - I see you Irony: This episode was brutal!
Jon, you said you think you are being overly cautious about the dozer when you are clearing out the brush, rest assured you are not. The young man you setup with the car a few months back, Christopher, his Grandfather he never met, died September (9th I think) 2001 after a loading accident with a dozer, very close to where you are working.
Keep doing the right thing and stay safe! Great content as always!
How's the car doing?
How's the dozer doing?
Glad to see you back, Jon! This looks like the start of a good series.
Jhon dig a couple test holes try to make sides smoother get to see wats in there
No sir…, you are not being “overly cautious”.., I think you are being “properly” cautious… You “just know, what you don’t know”, on that property.
Looking forward to the videos on this project.
Thank you sir.
P.S., I think I see a video in your future regarding a shop fabricated “root rake” for the dozer…
NOT FIRST (but still very happy to be here!) FarmCraft101 has become a part of the rhythm of my life. 😊☺️
I use old snowmobile tracks. Lay em down and drive my dozer up em. Prior to that, I just used old tires thrown on the ramps.
A much easier and enjoyable video to watch, than an hour of Let's dig 18 doing the same thing in real time over and over and over and over and over.. 😎
You have enough dozer skills to know to NOT drive through unknown terrain. Some of the best skills you can have I’d say. Self preservation is king!
7 hours To move all the trees and Brush and get the top soil Moved That is actually excellent Time Jon Good work as always @FarmCraft101
Love the videos. The dry and well seasoned jokes are the best. Thank you.
You can add bentonite to your clay layer to waterproof it, this is often done to improve dams and artificial lakes
Nobody I’ve seen Farmcraft but you are documenting the the amount of time it takes to do a job start to finish. I like it👍
You could stick a ring of small cheap magnets on the fuel tank around the outlet. it may catch a lot of the loose rust
I think it’s time you invest in a skid steer with a grappling attachment. It will become your best friend. And it has lots of seals lol😂
Dont 'bull' your dozer. smaller bites and work your edges less stress on the machine and less scalloping on your base.Good luck with your pond!!
Great video! Helpful Hint: Be careful using those ratcheting box wrenches in tight spaces, you can back a bolt out to the point where you can't get the wrench off and can't turn the bolt back in with your fingers (BTDT!). Dumb question: why not dozer a fire break around the area and burn it off first? Then you can see the ground you're working with.
Don't know if anyone has mentioned it, but Caterpillar / Mitsubishi Dozers with the Mitsubishi Engines install a Brass screen in that banjo bolt on their transfer pumps.
Isuzu Engines offer the same fitting in Plastic which is much easier to remove and much cheaper.
Contact a local LinkBelt or Hitachi dealer.
FYI the Hand Primer on the transfer pump should be screwed down tight, they can suck air if not.
What's the abandoned structure? That would be fun to check out...
We will... ;-)
You mean the one seen on the left at 1:55 ?
@@Randomviewer_44 Yeah, I was wondering about that one too. He tends to leave little clues about future projects in his videos...
You could weld a vertical plate to every third segment of your track to give yourself more traction.
Nothing too massive but just enough to give you that little bit of extra you are needing.
Sorry I had surgery and I’m a week behind on watching videos but you said your grousers are wore out, you can buy aftermarket extensions that you weld on yourself to make them taller. With your mad skills you should buy some steel and build yourself a pin on brush rake for your dozer, that would be right down your alley and would be awful helpful and handy for you.
34:57 the neat part about making a compost pit is you get the clay soil to build up the dam with. And it wont have decomposed materials in it just clay you can compact tightly you also need some big bolders to put under the clay soil
Just for future reference seek assistance from the local NRS office or one of their engineering technical advisors to do a pond design layout for you. If you do that you will thank them for making the construction much easier with elevations, bench marks etc.
Happy to be able to help ;)
Hey John if you want to make your ramp safer find a couple old truck tire cut the side walls off then cut the tread into strips and mount on the ramps. you will have traction going up or down, hey we all need to recycle our old rubber on the farm any way you can.
Your next purchase articulating 555 JD loader with root rake. much easier for cleaning up vegetation for burn.
All the topsoil "washed down in the wash" it's mother nature. And bring your portable welder with you and weld on some new growlers at the site.
You might try cleaning the fuel tank and then adding a filter in the fuel line that comes out of the tank. If you clean & flush the fuel tank that will take care of 99% of your problems. You will still have dirty fuel from the supplier, but not as bad. I had a few older machines and didn't solve the problem until I did the flush.
Keep a few old tires & place them on the ramps
I know everyone is a critic and I can remember when I started with zero experience and no one to teach me 🤦♂️. I would definitely push the undergrowth with the blade and re-stack it with mini leaving the dirt behind. I think it’s faster, it also allows me to just get it above water line or back of dam and focus on my core. I also avoid pushing uphill as much as possible and would have pushed the topsoil towards the dam essentially skirting the banks or running parallel to them towards the dam, it allows you to run faster using less fuel. At this point it’s ready to use for back slope and finish grade. You will learn to use every advantage and gravity is a big one lol.
I see grease gins and fueling, lots of fueling. That looks like so much fun.
"Warp Speed" is a good thing sometimes! Otherwise it gets kinds like watching Golf. Which can be a good thing too if your ready for your nap!
Or soccer...
John, I feel sorry for those little machines. That seems like too much of a job for them to tackle. Good luck though. 👍🔧🇬🇧
29:22 I think you should think about draining the fuel tank and power washing it to remove as much rust as possible, then spray coating the inside with a fuel-resistant plastic to keep the tank from further deterioration and/or dropping more rust into the fuel...
Either that, or, if feasible, just outright replacing the tank with a polymer one that is immune to corrosion...
Looks like you are off to a good start good luck 👍👋🇨🇦
All I can do is stare at that old fireplace and chimney in the background and wonder what stories it would tell if it could. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say it's probably pretty old. Anyhow, boy, that's a lot of work. Very neat though.
Check The fuel return line that goes back to the tank, if it's clogged then it will spit and sputter like it's running out of fuel, but in fact it's actually flooding. Also blow air through the main fuel line back to the tank to blow any debris out of the line. I have a 1985 D3B that was doing that and when I found the return line by following the lines all the way back and blew air through it I could feel the line dislodge debris and now the dozer runs great. I also installed an inline filter to catch any debris prior to the injector pump.
Jon, i feel cheated with only a 35 minute video. Lol, can’t wait for the rest of them to come.
Mr John, hey man, I been missing you, needed a video of yours to watch and you came through. One thing I noticed with the dozer, when you go to push, always go in straight lines. Try to line up with the ground that is as level as can be that way you aren't having to tilt the blade side to side. You may already know these things, just trying to help you anyway I can.
Would love to see a restore video on that screwdriver. Your tool resto videos are great!
Maybe find a rake for the blade to help. I'm sure there's a used rake out there and it will be a cleaner bush pile. Good video!
Lay some old tires or a piece of stall mat on the ramps
I thought I posted a day or so ago, but don't see it. Keep at it, get all the topsoil off. Did you do any test holes first. I have dug many ponds in the past, and it is important to dig test holes down at least two feet deeper than the estimated bottom depth of pond. Want to make sure no bed rock, gravel, sand pockets. A core trench should be dug also in the center of the future dam that you are going to be filling. Terrible problem if you find a tile, sand pocket, running under dam after you built the dam, I know.
You have a plan for building this pond, you always do in all your projects, and know many will comment in this project. If you are planning on doing all the work with your mini and a dozer, you may want to consider renting a sheepsfoot roller to compact the dirt. Nothing worse ending up with a poorly compacted dike and have it slowly leak, get saturated with water. I know, we have fixed many dozer ponds, dozers simple do not pack dirt, they are made for high flotation, wide track ones for sure.
Two ways to get compaction in your project, one, rent a self propelled, vibrating sheepsfoot roller, or rent a pull behind roller. They are somewhat obsolete for big boy contractors, so you can find them at a cheaper rent per month. Pull behind rollers most of the time are used behind your size of dozer, works good. level with blade going forward, and back up, pack again, repeat all day long. Rollers can be used with a big farm tractor, we have done it , use dozer to push dirt for dike and level so tractor can get over dirt easier. Usually on a tractor just keep going in circles, backing is not a good idea on a dike.
Last option would be to rent a bigger dozer for the digging, level and pack with your machine with a roller. And another thing that would work is to load trucks in pond with you mini, drive up on fill area, dump a bunch of loads, level dirt with dozer about 6 inch deep, drive over dirt with loaded trucks, fill other end of dike, back and forth for days. Also if you want to really have fun, rent a BIG excavator to dig, throw dirt up on dike, level with your dozer on top pulling roller. Unhook roller, go to bottom, push dirt to big excavator, cut slopes, grade bottom. Add you neighbor as dozer operator, the fun goes on. If you ever run a big hoe, hard to go back to the mini, I know.
Once you get any depth on you pond, with the side slope of 3 to 1 , it is faster to haul the dirt than pushing it with your size of dozer.
Have fun, watch all the videos on building ponds, soil conservation agencies have information. They can survey, help you size your pond, estimated yardage too. Be looking forward to your progress.
Good advice but I also think if the clay has some moisture and he keeps lifts small he can get adequate compaction for a shallow pond 8-10’ deep and this is hard for a lot of people but I think he is very capable. We always use an old 955L to shape and compact from the core out and it seems to work for us.
@@merlinsmith2431 will reply, not sure how this you tube form works, haven't posted much. My problem is we as viewers do not know what location, area this project is happening, unless I missed it.
Digging ponds is not as easy as it might appear to be, I think you realize this. More than just moving dirt. I assume John has researched this project.
Over the years of digging ponds for farm use, subdivisions, water retention ponds for city flood controls, you learn what to expect. So many home owners, farmers, will include all the do it yourself people, seem to think this pond building business it a simple task. We have seen so many projects, building sites, pond sites that someone just rented, borrowed equipment, and without the proper knowledge, has totally messed it up, never to be corrected or can't be corrected, really sad,. Biggest mistake on pond, building sites is incorrect elevations, pond to high, too low, building site lower than pond, unable to drain. Once house , building set, too late to correct.
Will be watching this video, want to see how it goes. This will be a project, he always gets in done. Will take longer than he thinks to do it, unless he has more equipment. Keeping the moisture in the clay will be a problem in the summer. We done a pond once where it was so dried out, nothing we could do. Tried watering it down with junk water truck, never can get enough water. Water does not soak in clay, takes time, dries out before soaking in. Have to work it in with disc, sheepsfoot roller. We were digging with Deere pans, can move lots of dirt, still lift, dam area was drying out faster than we could add water. Next morning, tried stripping dry off, then add more dirt from inside pond, dam area was too dry. Unable to do anything else, we finished pond late summer, fill area, dike seemed solid, looked good, graded out fine. Added topsoil to dike, cut groove for rocking pond edge with hoe. We pulled equipment to build the pond out, HAD to go to factory building site, will rock later in fall, can always finish rock in winter. That never happened, to much snow, never froze enough to get trucks around dike. No problem, will do it in spring.
Late May, fields dry, dike dry on top, moved in excavator to touch up groove we cut in last fall. Pond was about half full, just starting to get water up to grade where the fill was added for the dike. The dike was really soft with just the 15 ton excavator. No way was a loaded truck going to get around that dike, will try a track loader. Did some, just messed everything up. Will have to let it dry out some, keep water down with pump.
Mid summer, got excavator back, seemed better, we able to drive around with Deere pan, repacked with more dirt on top, really went down. Week or two later, were able to drive around again with a borrowed roller to firm it up, got rock dumped with track loader into the groove, shaped up rock with small mini, done, bunch of time, work.
Of course we were worried if the six foot of dike would hold water once it filled. It did, pond still there to this day. If we would have finished the total project in the summer when we dug it, rocked it, I don't think it would have held. We were lucky in a way, we had the room to correct it, fix the problem. Sometimes you can't, we have seen where dikes will fail later in the ponds life, a danger.
Progress! Very cool to see you from purchase, repair to productivity to profit...the American way! Johnson!
John we were beginning to get worried! Can’t wait to see more on this series!
I wasnt expecting a video today. Thanks alot!
Time to do a video on adding steel to the track pads. I’ve gotta do mine right off too
7/21/23; mighty fine video 2day Jon, beautiful day, except for a brief Hail Storm! Excellent awareness for we viewers re: speed of video while filming your dozer back-&-forth.; your voice over & FF was much appreciated. Continuing to watch, as we loyal viewers do- no matter the forgotten fuel filter checks- I watch thru all surface scrapping, new brush excavating till final words..."more to come" on this project! Yea! Stay safe & carry on!👍👍👏👏🍺🤗
My retirement dream is to buy some land and a D4, then push dirt piles around all day like a kid in a sand box. Now that something like that is cost prohibitive, I bought an IPad and watch RUclips videos of guys doing it!
Thank you!
As I shared with Hometown Acres, think "French Drain(s)". Your several hills lend themselves to that kind of system. Mine filled a 2500 cistern (after a rain) and ran 4" gushing of water out for days. Research it well. There are lesser types of "French Drains"! Easy to make, no maintenance - efficient, low cost!
This is the 2nd pond building video series I've seen in recent months, and I love seeing it done! Doing good so far, and always love your explanations on things. :)
Consider simply welding some angle iron onto the track for traction
What a totally awesome way to relax on a Sunday morning.
Getting it done!💪🏼
Throw some old car tyres on the loading ramps when you're taking steel tracked machines up them, it helps traction and avoids side slip John 😉
Wow, that was one clogged filter. Nice work on the pond prep. I look forward to part 2 of ?
17:29 insted of burning off the plant materials dig a big deep pit, then layer in the plant materials then som dirt poop more plat materials dirt poop in layers and keep adding as it drops down, youll get super soil not just top soil. The dirt will be so rich it will turn a red clay soil into black gold. Just keep adding to it.
Definitely time to consider a flail for the excavator, would have sped the clearing up greatly?
I do like a good pond build video, plus it seems like it would be a great way to get to know those machines capabilities.
I haven't been getting notified, so now I've got 4 videos to catch up 👍
This job definitely proves why rental companies rent big equipment! Good luck
Run some biobar JF with your next fuel fill up, it is the best biocide on the market. That brown slime is typically the fungus that grows in old fuel systems.
Big project Jon Thanks .
Be sure to dig a keyway in the bottom of your dam. Otherwise, it will always leak.
Looks like it's time to start looking for a track loader project.... :)
Fuel filters yes. Use to go to a farm with 3 friends. We built a hut there & owner had sheep. Spent day in local shearing shed. Always remember the quite country sounds. Also a dam was built using the natural topography. One bulldozer moves a truck load. Was the mechanical brain trust on farm back then. Put things in jars so you don't loose them. Really good job with equipment. No sharp turns with tracks😂.
You may or may not have dozer skills, but you are pretty darn good with that excavator.
When you said that you thought you might be being a little too careful, all I could think of was that there is no such thing as being too careful on machinery. Every one of those pieces of equipment can take your life in a flash if you aren't paying attention.
For real i checked ur acoount every 2 last weeks i hope u are well now👍
thanks for bringing sanity back in my life murphy does hit you too lol what would we do without good ole murph. great photos I get depth and grade.
John, Luv your videos, always look forward to them. keep up the great content and thanks
All that driving on uneven ground is sloshing your fuel tank around keeping a lot of the gunk in suspension allowing it to go into the pickup.
Hey John its really good to see the dozer in operation, all your hard work is paying off. Looking forward to the next installment of the pond build. Great video thumbs up.
Good Afternoon John, so pleased to watch another Farmcraft film.
Keep them coming I so enjoy you talk through what you do. 👍👍👍
Throw some planks on the ramps for bite.
Had the same issues on my dads '79 f250 crew cab back in the day, sat for over 10 years, and we had to take off the filter at the mechanical fuel pump every two or three miles and blow it out with carb cleaner for about a week or two and then all of the loose rust had finally been filtered out.
It's a start !! When you get into this farther along, you will amazed how much you are accomplishing over time. Then you can breathe easier as the pond takes shape ! Good job John !
Thanks for the very good video. Especially the 'warp speed' bits. Look forward to more.
Thanks Jon!
God, i’ve been waiting for another Farmcraft vid for way too long.
Pucker factor 10+ loading and unloading the Cat?
Use thick rubber mats on trailer ramp
It could be pices of tire
Why not burn the gully plants in-place? Mow a perimeter, then use a weed torch to burn from the outside inward. It is likely it would be easier to then just doze everything afterwards.
In FLA, the weather will change that much at 1x speed.
Good luck John with the remainder of this project. I enjoy your videos so please keep them coming.
Cheers mate from Mollymook Beach Australia.
Keep a pump sprayer and a bucket of sand handly for getting the dozer on and off the trailer. Spray it down and throw the sand on the baremetal to get some grip.
use a in line water filter you may have to install backwards where the filters from the bulb to inside so you can take the bulb off and dump the trash out the one i have use filter from the inside to the outside - you may need to use bentonite clay if the pond leaks there several ways of using when we have problem you use after the pond is filled you use less clay you get a seed spreader and spread it like seeds where you think where the leak is
your back !! 👍👍