What did you do with your Chinese baby digger today?

[oldrustysteel]

I chose the L12 in part because of the large Lockable hood on the rear that opens up to give easy access to some of the most important things on the machine. I will be doing all the work on it, so thats important to me. also the L12 has most of the hydraulic lines running inside the boom, more protection. It has a better looking ROPS.. It has a hydraulic cooler and fan. it has hydraulicly adjusted tracks... It seemed to have more leg room,, cant prove that one.. some of the later models may have all the features mine does. you can narrow it down quite a bit by looking closely at pics. AGT has a model above mine now that has several more important features. It seems to me that anyone who waits a few months may get a better machine for less money I gave 6500 delivery and tax included and I would absolutely buy it again today. I will try to look at the H12 later and give you my opinion

 

[oldrustysteel]

I looked at the qh12 and it does not have the features I need in a miniX. It may work for you and its less expensive than any other Ive seen. I like the access my machine has. I would wait as long as you can before buying one.

 

[oldrustysteel]

There's a dealer nearby who has the Agrotk L12 or the QH12 for slightly under $6,000 and the Agrotk H12 for $6,650. The specs at first glance look very similar. Any idea if the H12 is worth the extra money?

It would be awesome if there was a way to add a brush cutting head.

AGT in Chicago has the H12 for 5000 delivered. In my opinion, the L12 is superior. You should know that the L12 had a defect in the hydraulic system. It should be corrected now.

 

[2manyrocks]

What should I look for to avoid the hydraulic defect?

 

[oldrustysteel]

What should I look for to avoid the hydraulic defect?

The L12 hydraulic tank needed an extension tube for the pump inlet line. It was discovered that the pump may cavitate when on an incline. The factory has sent one to a member here who has an L12. I have not received one yet.

 

[2manyrocks]

Thanks for that.

Does the L12 operator manual or the manual for the Briggs engine state a maximum slope for operation? Some small gas engine manuals say 15 degrees is the maximum slope, for example.

 

[oldrustysteel]

I did not get any manuals with my machine. I saw something on the website about 30 percent slope. I am looking for the pic of the fix for the hydraulic issue.

 

[dfkrug]

Does the L12 operator manual or the manual for the Briggs engine state a maximum slope for operation? Some small gas engine manuals say 15 degrees is the maximum slope, for example.

The stock Briggs engine, if the oil shutdown switch is connected, will likely kill the engine on slopes of way under 15-degrees (27% slope). Fortunately, the cutoff switch is usually disconnected from the factory. My DuraMax 420 engine quit at less than 25%. Since the engines are splash-lubed, I am not too concerned about going up slopes as steep as I can.

That said, I have measured my max practical slope at about 40% (22-degrees), and that is in ideal conditions: damp soil, with no loose stones, gravel, or plant matter, and boom low-uphill. In other words, "clean dirt". I use a level and grade stick to measure slopes,

 

[dfkrug]

I cant say if it hurts the small ones or not, but it was standard practice on the big machines. I never had an issue with it or heard of issues from it.

I use the "jump-turn", tho I did not know it was called that.

It is easier on bigger machines with multiple pumps. I can feather my swing joystick and wheel motor lever to do this with my single pump. I do it to minimize tearing up what I am driving on, and to avoid derailing the track.

Once you have derailed a track inward, you will be extra careful. I have not had to remount a track in years now.

 

[oldrustysteel]

What should I look for to avoid the hydraulic defect?

This is the fix for the L12. I would hope that any machines bought from AGT in Chicago have the fix already installed, but no guarantees there. If I was going to order the L12, I would have them send the extension tube with the machine. Hopefully you dont need it, but if you do you have it ready to install. This is a good time to tell you this, if you dont enjoy repairing and improving things, these imports may not be a good fit for you. Also, there is a good chance that the longer you wait, the better the deals will get. I hope this helps..