Interesting project, I always wondered what kept the dirt in man made ponds. Please continue with the videos on this project. Thanks for always posting the videos.

I hope you video this one to its conclusion. So far, this promises to be your most interesting project. Constructing new ponds and creeks is one thing but troubleshooting and repairing an existing one is a whole new and more interesting (challenging) ball of wax.

Those skidsters are very good at what they, good job Chris!!!

That's the issue with water. You never know where it starts because it will take the path of least resistance. But my first option would have been straight across also. I can't wait to see the place where it starts Nice Video.

"we didnt have a whole lot of room to work" hahahaha that was a good joke chris

One thing that might cause this is the pressure from the water forcing itself to permeate into the bottom of the pond. With enough water being pushed through, it starts piping through the soil and then can pop up on the other side like a spring. I'm not an expert but it might need a clay liner.

@zMaGiiCz1

7 жыл бұрын

Nate Ruel agreed

tree roots die ... great path for water, never trees on a dam .....NEVER

@RealLife73

7 жыл бұрын

That makes plenty of sense.

@wvpioneermike8194

7 жыл бұрын

OSHA requires trenches 5' or deeper to have a protective system such a shoring.

@chrispotts2808

7 жыл бұрын

TRD4x4 Mike I'm pretty sure it is 3 feet or more it needs to be benched, or use of a trench box in place.

@wvpioneermike8194

7 жыл бұрын

Chris Potts - OSHA requires employers to provide ladders, steps, ramps, or other safe means of egress for workers working in trench excavations 4 feet (1.22 meters) or deeper. The means of egress must be located so as not to require workers to travel more than 25 feet (7.62 meters) laterally within the trench.

@wvpioneermike8194

7 жыл бұрын

Chris Potts - you are correct in that contractor should have used a benching or shoring protective methods to protect "in trench" employees.

I'm a Reservoir Keeper and we keep trees 15-20m away from the toe of our dams for this exact reason. Trees and dam walls don't mix very well, they either die and rot out, fall over leaving tear outs or their roots promote piping.

12 inch lift at a time. Packing it in with a skid steer. Lololollol

What are the ponds used for? Supplying water for the houses?

Well shit, that sucks! Would love to see the rest of the story, if it's at all possible. Thanks a million for the videos, and good luck finding that pesky leak.

@letsdig18

7 жыл бұрын

gonna start digging again tomorrow lol

My guess is you found that leak in a way different area to where you thought, I bet it's followed the path of least resistance and cut through further away to come out there. We have had problems here with the hog barn water pipes doing that, and our buddy runs the town water plant. He's had the same with that and water coming up in streets a fair way from the original leaks. Thanks for sharing, and looking forward to what happened.

Fisher xlt-17 or something similar. we use an older unit to find utility leaks before digging. cheaper in the long run than pecking around like a blind chicken.

How you determine how you charge by the hour or by the cubic yard when doing ponds? I'm about to redo a 3 acre pond and redo the entire levee, I'm more of a road guy, but it seems that lake and pond building is the going thing also.

Leaking dams are sometimes very hard to repair, after you find the area of the leak(s). Good luck. ....13

either way digging up the whole dam or digging up the tree line and chasein the leak its a lot of diggin ...and probably going to cost the owner a lot of wallet diggin. everyones goina be diggin

could you use some type of dye in the pond to see where it is leaking at? My friends pond started leaking when the overflow started rotting out, it leaked around the outside of the pipe; perhaps yours is doing the same but hit an obstacle and took the path of least resistance to where it comes out.

make sure you post the video once you find the problem, very curious.

You had a partially good idea, but unless you get the trees off and keep them off this is just going to happen again before long.

Try flex seal

thanks for a great dam video

Man alive there's a bunch of armchair engineers and foreman's in these comment sections LMBO you would think that this professional contractor who does this work for his livelihood is very knowledgeable about his craft but not according to all of these self proclaimed experts LOL keep it rolling letsdig18 your doing a great job

As the water level goes down there must be a leak, I hope you can find the problem Chris 😊

i have seen a pond leak plugged by a drilling rig that pumped in a slurry of Portland cement and water. When the guy was done you could see the cement on the back of the dam where it had oozed out and hardened. Worked great.

@letsdig18

7 жыл бұрын

thats interesting

Could you do a video of how you transport your equipment

Could you get a 185 CFM tow behind air compressor and run an air line down to the hole and shove the hose in the hole and then dump dirt on top of the hole and seal it up. then turn on the air and see where the bubbles are?

Hi there Chris how have you been buddy hope you and yours are doing well, you continue to be an inspiration to me and the guys who also watch,so does my 3yr old nephew actully,....any way ive been meaning to ask you how that pond is doing that you lined with 10 ton of granulated bentonite ,I still haven't lined my pond but plan to use bentonite to do it....wonder if I need granulated? again thank you for letting us in I really appreciate you !!

Is that the same pound were you guys got the dozer stuck?That is a huge hole you can hide that skid steer differently!!!! Great Video

Could u pump air into the holes and see if u see bubbles?

You could have a plumber come and slide in his camera to trace the hole above ground at least as far as can be pushed in ,,, would save some of the trees for you maybe . Just a thought . Regards J

is this considered a warranty repair?

OSHA would not approve of your trench and skid steer operation and great video

@letsdig18

7 жыл бұрын

i cut benches in the bank for safety, it wont going anywhere

where may i find part 2?

Damn that’s crazy. 99.9% of the time water takes The path of least resistance.

The mystery continues!

To bad we didn't see the digging of the trench, that would have been great to watch you dig that huge deep hole

I'm sure yall got it fixed but now obviously, but at that point I'd be thinking hydrostatic pressure, which the water could be coming from the middle and the pressure pushing it our the side, I'm going to see if you have a follow up video and see what yall found it out to be

You know they have sonar thing for that stuff. Shit I've chased leaks on water lines. Hundreds of feet from the leak. That sonar is awesome and if will go that deep. And affordable also.

we use a kind of smoke grenade when we search for holes in sewerlines.. maybe it could be a helpfull tip

i fixed a pond leak some what like this... the pond was about a 3/4 acre... 110 foot levy on one end... there was a leak the pond would drop but only so far... took a mini kabota excavator... started about half way across the levy dug under the water level maybe 5 6 ft.. i dug about 10 ft and then the walls of the trench were real wet in one spot.. dug throught that unitl i go to the corner of the levy.. when i stopped i was scratching in really hard dirt there was no way it was leaking were i stopped but the wall of the trench fell in were it was really wet up were i started... we asum that was the bad spot... we just turned around and put the dirt back in... after we were done we thought that we should have put bentonite clay in the wet spot as we back filled it but we didnt... we just put the dirt right back in it... basically we just re-dug the keyway.. it must have worked by disrupting the seep cause now the pond hold water up at the top

in you're opinion what is the beat skidsteer for the money for making jumps and clearing out trails??

@chrispotts2808

7 жыл бұрын

Alex Glass probably bobcat or john deere

You never know where water wants to travel it could be leaking straight down in a U shape and popping up on the other side. The material you dug out of the berm looks clay based you would have think any hole would seal itself up.

I fixed a customers sprinkler leak under the sidewalk and found the problem 20' from where it was broken. It traveled through the sand and found an exit in a crack of the concrete instead of going 10" up and saving me hours of hand digging and cursing.

In Quebec a machine or worker would never be allowed in a hole like that, especially next to water. 30k fine with no trench box.

I can see where the next piece of equipment might be a double drum vibratory compactor, maybe a sheep's foot type would be best for your work , Chris.

@letsdig18

7 жыл бұрын

i wanted the roller in there to pack it back but id have to drag it out with the excavator every time lol

@regsparkes6507

7 жыл бұрын

Naw, you wouldn't ; If I were there I'd rent you one,...wait a minute, I'm retired now,.so I'll go along with your excuse . Hahaha!

@rectecexcavation6896

7 жыл бұрын

.

Put large net bag of non toxic food coloring tablets in pond see if color comes out hole. Move net bag of color around edge of pond to pin down area. We did that at power plant cooling tower leak found crack in concrete. שלום

@studinthemaking

5 жыл бұрын

motorhead I’ve done that. Try this one. Buy a big bottle of baking liquid dye. Just Pour it in. Works even better.

looked like a possible ground animal hole

How do you bid a project like this? Or does the customer just pay you per activity you do for them and if it doesn't solve the problem do they just continue to pay you until you do fix it?

@brianallam5545

7 жыл бұрын

L

Damn groundhogs lol

Is there any clay in the dam fill..? From what I understand, here in Texas, dams for ponds and cattle tanks required to have a certain content mix of clay packed in a dam structure along with packed crushed stone in the core if I understand correctly.. Due to sandy soil in my area, stock ponds and small dams usually lined with thick plastic or rubber type lining then clay fill and crushed stone over that... But then I'm no engineer, just recalling what a friend with a stock pond had to do a number of years ago..

@letsdig18

7 жыл бұрын

yeah a clay is required to get a good seal. but due to cost alot of old farm pond dams like theres are just built out of the dirt they can find onsite. most of the time theres really never a problem

@Northern_Farmer

7 жыл бұрын

letsdig18 if it was like the clay we have here you would never handle it with the skid steer...it comes out in big slabs here

You should have a 953 to move dirt

well Damn!

Wonder if its a leak caused by the trees growning on the dam?

@danielsestina6457

7 жыл бұрын

SlowRollin TexasStyle that's what I thought too.

Is this a pond you guys built some time ago? With the amount of trees on the back side of the hill its been there a few years, so it will be interesting to see what the leak ends up being..

@letsdig18

7 жыл бұрын

no I didnt build this one

This can't be one of your ponds, because we certainly know they don't leak!

you know you can push more dirt than a bucket full at a time

Hey Chris, have you ever used bentonite clay to seal a pond? It might be worth a try. You've got a real mystery here. I hate chasing leaks like this. Good luck.

@letsdig18

7 жыл бұрын

oh yeah, we put 10 tons of it in one pond before

@randallwescoat9224

7 жыл бұрын

We had several ponds in a stream bed running through one of the cemeteries I dig in, and we just eliminated the last two ponds. Logging upstream changed amount of water flow and between woodchucks and muskrats, it got to be too much upkeep. We'd get holes sealed up and couple months later we'd have new hole somewhere else. Hopefully you find the issue here. It's aggravating.

Is this guy the pond and lake doctor? seems to specialize in this sort of project .

Dry clay mixed with cement dropped back into the core? That would guarantee a seal wouldn't it?

4:50 anyone else notice the leak...?

Think the water would follow one of tree roots

To bad you don't have a sheepfoot compactor wheel for 220 0r 250 Excavator. It be perfect for that job.

Is this the only video on this project Chris?

@hotrodhog2170

5 жыл бұрын

kzread.info/dash/bejne/ZGxsmNiscc2XdsY.html

You should use a head cam so you don't have to hold the camera in one hand and use the controls with one hand

groundhog or muskrat

Are u sure the water is coming from the pond and not a spring ? I have no idea just asking

@letsdig18

7 жыл бұрын

yeah cause the water level in the pond was going down

@TheBoatman11

7 жыл бұрын

letsdig18 ok , would be nice if you would tell us how much some of the jobs Yall do cost , just Wonder what some people pay for the jobs YALL do , enjoy your videos

@super6954

7 жыл бұрын

My best guess after asking a few times and getting told once, that the new farm museum job was over 6 figures for an answer. Is that we are lucky Chris can film any of the jobs that aren't on his property, due to customer confidentiality, and he won't discuss the price for the same reasons. There are lots of guys now like copperhead marine and a few others being told turn the cameras off and no phones or pictures on site, so their tube channels are now dead or dying. we should maybe just all thank him for still showing us this stuff still, and the great video's and quit asking he's not telling ;).

Coast guard has bright orange dye for downed pilots to use in ocean...

don't close the hole pack down and make it part of the lake

any small animals digging

did the customer pay you guys to go back there to fix the leak?

@letsdig18

7 жыл бұрын

Of course, i didnt build the pond :)

@TurboBMRProjectLove

7 жыл бұрын

letsdig18 oh, i could of sworn i saw a video of you guys building that pond

Can I take some dam pictures?

Over two years and I can't find a follow up for this video. As someone else said, it is one of your more interesting projects, and I know a lot of folk would like to know how this worked out.

@hotrodhog2170

5 жыл бұрын

kzread.info/dash/bejne/ZGxsmNiscc2XdsY.html

IF , the leak is attributable too the damn you built.......then you can't charge the customer for your time ! Conversely , if the leak is from a source other than the damn , they you can charge the customer or your time .??

@letsdig18

7 жыл бұрын

i didnt build the pond so it doesnt matter

well " that stanks, of resting time of that, but their again it's safer to dabble check, but hope you well fine the problem.?

just try to use ultra sound .....

Lol tracks have low ground pressure they don't compact anything waste of fuel!

@letsdig18

7 жыл бұрын

better than just dumping loose dirt back in

i'd cut all those trees down along the back side of that dam. i would bet this dam didnt get a keyway and the leak is ducking down deep then coming back up on the weak side where the trees are.

DON'T LAUGH AT ME: Would ground -penetrating radar have helped to find the leak?

problem here is you just cost the customer a couple thousand dollars for nothing, with leaks they can be coming out in one sport but comes from hundreds of feet away from the other side, is why we have always worked the leak in backwards, its not often they come strait though, I have seen them were it comes from 30 feet out in the pond and go down 15 feet and S curve to the other side and come up 10 feet and out over 200 feet away, we tell the customer they will loss some trees but its the sure way of finding it with out losing days of work for nothing just to save a few trees,, not good thinking man,,

+letsdig18

This channel is so infuriating! You hop between projects and don't do a follow up or conclusions.