Posthole Digger Post Hole Digger

[Combustix]

Been thinking about a PHD but never opened the wallet. Still have about 800 feet of fence to run, so I may rent, have dug all the others by hand so at this point the rental looks good. Great info though

 

[crash325]

I have not read this whole thread. But speaking from experience with my Land Pride, 12" auger and down force kit.

Hooking it up is not a real problem, but if you want to you can make it a problem.

It looks and sounds so simple, just engage the PTO and push down. Same with a FEL or Back Hoe. If you do not take the time to use anyone of them within their limits and properly, you are not going to be happy.

Others have said how to drill properly and what to expect. If you follow their advice you should have no real problems.

Just don't expect a PHD to replace a Jack Hammer or Dynamite.

A few 100 holes and counting. Don't really use it very often. Mine is a little more trouble to put on as I have to remove the Back Hoe.

 

[F250DSLPWR]

I have a Beltec. The central Texas limestone and granite rock I dig in requires it. It will drill / grind its way thru almost anything. However, If I were looking for a standard post hole digger, I would get one you can add a hydraulic cylinder to it and have some down pressure. The one I have seen says SpeeCo on it. I searched Google, Land pride sells a hydraulic kit for post hole diggers.

To add to that Post hole diggers are dangerous, people end out using digging bars and pipe to try and leverage down pressure on the bit. The ability to add a hydraulic cylinder is a huge advantage and also helps with safer operation.

 

[mrsmucker]

Well, I guess I'm just lucky, I love my 3pt PTO auger. I don't have one single problem that has been talked about. I would prefer to see what I need to do 5 feet away with my 3pt PHD vs 15 feet away with a bucket mounted auger. If I were to have a hydraulic PHD, it would be a 3pt unit.

To start with I have the PHD on a stand that makes it very easy to hitch up the unit. Zero wrestling with it, usually takes about 5 minutes.

2nd, I bought a top of the line unit and bits. A Land Pride PD35. Now these cost some money, but I'm sure that it contributes to me not having so many of the problems so commonly talked about.

3rd, use some common sense, there is no need to have your tractor above an idle and while you are digging stop and lift the auger about every foot of depth dug. You should not dig a 3 or 4 foot deep hole and never have cleared the auger. Don't set the 3pt to just let it go. (lever all the way forward) Have it set so that it will only go down a short ways at a time. I have always wondered how people have their augers get caught on a root and just screw itself in. What, is it lifting the front of the tractor up in the air? That is what would have to happen if they would have set the hitch properly.

4th, to deal with very hard ground, a down pressure kit will almost always take care of any problems that you may have.

I have DG (decomposed granite) in a lot of areas at my place. Sometimes the ground is so hard that I could put 20 gallons of water in a partially dug hole and it would be there for days. Once I bought my down pressure kit, no more digging problems of any kind. Holes that use to take days to dig now take at most 2 minutes and that is NO exaggeration.

What is the additional hydraulic cylinder and hose for on your digger. I've never seen one quite like that.

By the way... I really like the simplicity of your stand you are using... I've tried everything from hanging them by a chain from a limb, to drilling a hole in the ground and just letting the thing stand there... I like your's, I assume the cross bar lifts out of those brackets once you are hooked up.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

What is the additional hydraulic cylinder and hose for on your digger. I've never seen one quite like that.

By the way... I really like the simplicity of your stand you are using... I've tried everything from hanging them by a chain from a limb, to drilling a hole in the ground and just letting the thing stand there... I like your's, I assume the cross bar lifts out of those brackets once you are hooked up.

The hydraulic is used to put down pressure on the auger. It is a factory Land Pride setup and has eliminated all drilling problems for me.

Yes the top cross beam just sets in the saddles. Once the PHD is hooked up and raised up, I just lift the beam out and drive away. Very simple, cheap & trouble free.