Charles Machinery/Ditch Witch V30 trencher operation

[lens12]

I have a V30 that I bought from an insurance company. It had been flooded in 10" of water for a short period. There wasn't water in the gas or oil. It runs , moves, hydraulics work. Four of five hydraulic controls at center operate --steer, blade up, blade angle, boom up. Far right is crowd. It doesn't do anything. It has another control valve on the right is slow /fast . It doesn't do anything either. On the left is control valve for the front boom It doesn't do anything either Anyone know if I missing something or are they bad valves

 

[hes37763]

I have a V30 that I bought from an insurance company. It had been flooded in 10" of water for a short period. There wasn't water in the gas or oil. It runs , moves, hydraulics work. Four of five hydraulic controls at center operate --steer, blade up, blade angle, boom up. Far right is crowd. It doesn't do anything. It has another control valve on the right is slow /fast . It doesn't do anything either. On the left is control valve for the front boom It doesn't do anything either Anyone know if I missing something or are they bad valves

lens12,

The control valve on the right (slow/fast) controls the speed of the drive wheels while trenching. It only works when the digging chain is moving. You should have another lever on the floor (right side in front of your seat). This lever sides forward to drive the wheels normally for transport. Slide the lever to the rear to drive the wheels slowly during trenching. It actually disengages the mechanical drive train and engages a hydraulic pump that propels the vehicle. The digger engagement handle behind your seat must also be moved to the left to engage the digging chain. The transmission must be in gear and the clutch released (2nd gear is normally used during trenching) before the digging chain and the hydraulic propulsion will operate. Once the chain is rotating, the fast/slow control on the right will control the direction and speed of the wheels. On some units, the 5th center hydraulic handle controls direction of wheel rotation (forward/reverse) and the fast/slow lever controls the speed.

Harvey Sitzlar
harvey@odometer-repair.com
www.fordodometerrepair.com
Ford Intermittent Odometer Repair
Heater Core Replacement Procedures

 

[lens12]

Thanks for the response. After I posted. I went out & fidddled with it. It works as you said. To get the front boom valve to work the crowd valve has to be engaged. It has a 3' digging stick. Can it be lengthened or a longer one installed?

 

[Bob Rooks]

It has a 3' digging stick. Can it be lengthened or a longer one installed?

Of course you realize that lengthening the stick changes the geometry, and thus decreases the digging force with the amount of hydraulic power available.

 

[hes37763]

Thanks for the response. After I posted. I went out & fidddled with it. It works as you said. To get the front boom valve to work the crowd valve has to be engaged. It has a 3' digging stick. Can it be lengthened or a longer one installed?

Mine has a 5 or 6 ft digging boom. It has more than ample power to dig to the full depth. You just need to slow the vehicle motion to allow more time to dig and extract the extra dirt. I have on occasion stopped the chain by accidentally wedging big rocks in the sprockets. Don't know if the booms are actually still available for purchase, but they were still listed in the 2010 Ditch Witch catalog. You can download a copy of the catalog here: http://www.ballantineinc.com/sites/default/files/doc/Ditch-Witch-Catalog-10-08.pdf See pages 23 and 24 in the catalog.

 

[Bob Rooks]

Of course you realize that lengthening the stick changes the geometry, and thus decreases the digging force with the amount of hydraulic power available.

My apologies. When you said "digging stick", my head went to thinking backhoe.

 

[texasjetman]

lens12,

The control valve on the right (slow/fast) controls the speed of the drive wheels while trenching. It only works when the digging chain is moving. You should have another lever on the floor (right side in front of your seat). This lever sides forward to drive the wheels normally for transport. Slide the lever to the rear to drive the wheels slowly during trenching. It actually disengages the mechanical drive train and engages a hydraulic pump that propels the vehicle. The digger engagement handle behind your seat must also be moved to the left to engage the digging chain. The transmission must be in gear and the clutch released (2nd gear is normally used during trenching) before the digging chain and the hydraulic propulsion will operate. Once the chain is rotating, the fast/slow control on the right will control the direction and speed of the wheels. On some units, the 5th center hydraulic handle controls direction of wheel rotation (forward/reverse) and the fast/slow lever controls the speed.

Harvey Sitzlar
harvey@odometer-repair.com
www.fordodometerrepair.com
Ford Intermittent Odometer Repair
Heater Core Replacement Procedures

Thank you for the detailed explanation of the V30 Ditch Witch ground operation, I just bought one, do not know the year or exact model, other than it has the Wisconsin air cooled motor, a 6 foot bar, good chain, very weak poor tilt front blade, no back hoe, the data plate says 327772 then Model V30 11-41, on what is left of a very beat up over the years hood. I was able to get it started, and moving, has good near new rubber, the belts that operate the differ bar engaged properly, it will move in road gear but I was not successful in making it move when I was had a trench going, it just dug deeper and deeper and did not seem like it wanted to engage or move forward, I need to read carefully what you wrote above and see if the levers you made reference too are on my machine. I am not even sure what year it is or how to figure out so I can try to locate some kind of parts manual, I am sure it needs at least one seal that is an output shaft seal right below the main gearbox shifter, rear center drive shaft that comes out and goes to the rear, that seal is leaking fluid nearly as fast as I can count the drips are falling out. Worst case scenario I can always pull the seal and pray there is a part number on it, check with a caliper for size and start hunting, but sure would like to have an operators manual or parts manual even. Thank you for your time Harvey Sitzlar, this post is almost 10 years old, so I am hoping you are still up and moving around.

 

[texasjetman]

Mine has a 5 or 6 ft digging boom. It has more than ample power to dig to the full depth. You just need to slow the vehicle motion to allow more time to dig and extract the extra dirt. I have on occasion stopped the chain by accidentally wedging big rocks in the sprockets. Don't know if the booms are actually still available for purchase, but they were still listed in the 2010 Ditch Witch catalog. You can download a copy of the catalog here: http://www.ballantineinc.com/sites/default/files/doc/Ditch-Witch-Catalog-10-08.pdf See pages 23 and 24 in the catalog.

thank you for sharing the catalog for the bar and chain, do you happen to know of a download for parts manual or operators manual? thank you in advance for your time sir.