Posthole Digger Trouble with post hole digger

   / Trouble with post hole digger #1  

jester7891

New member
Joined
Jan 17, 2007
Messages
19
Location
NJ-PA border on the Deleware
Tractor
Kubota B7610
Not sure where I should be posting this but I have a Kubota B 7610 tractor - new owner. I bought some Christmas trees to plant. A friend lent me his Danuser post hole digger which I was able to connect without any problems. I replaced the sheer pin and I replaced the retention pin (connects the auger to the bottom of the gearbox). At first the digger worked well and I was able to get a hole approximately 1 foot deep. Then the auger stopped digging in and I was getting a hole approximately 2" deep. The land is pretty level and sometimes the digger will give me a deep hole. It gets somewhat frustrating as I am not sure what I am/am not doing. It seems the boom won't go down as far as it is supposed to. Any suggestions? Thanks.
 
   / Trouble with post hole digger #2  
It sounds like the cutting tip is Dull or broken or just didn't exist in the 1st place. The auger is a drill and should pull it self into the ground. Take a grinder and dress the teeth on it might help
 
   / Trouble with post hole digger #3  
How big are the trees? I planted a few hundred Christams trees that method a few years ago, I buried the auger as deep as it would dig so the roots went down. Unfortunately, I left some dirt on top when I planted them and as they settled they were 8"-10" deeper than they should have been. If I were to do it all over again, I would buy/borrow a tree transplanter or tobacco setter (if they are bare root trees), when i planted they were in 2 1/2 gallon containers.

What are you doing wrong? Post some pictures and maybe we can help. It sounds like the digger is getting into a bind with the 3pt or auger somehow.
 
   / Trouble with post hole digger #4  
When I use my PHD, I find myself wishing I had about two more hands. I have one hand holding the 3pt lift lever in the down position as it digs, one hand on the throttle, one hand on the lever to stop the PHD if there are problems, one hand on the...wait a minute...I had a beer here somewhere. You get the picture. You'll also get a sore neck from craning around to look at the auger.
I think you might try holding the 3pt lever in the down position as it digs in.
 
   / Trouble with post hole digger #5  
Could the point be on a rock? I put in about a hundred posts over the last two weekends with an old PHD with dull edges and a somewhat blunt tip. In the right spot it would still auger its way down quickly. In alot of spots rocks would slow or stop progress. I would lift up the auger and take my steel bar and loosen the soil and move the rocks a little bit, then drop the auger and away it would go. I also welded a small piece of square tube on the top arm and then I stick the 5' pry bar in there and apply some down pressure. All my digging was done just above idle.
 
   / Trouble with post hole digger #6  
Do you have it hooked up properly? Be sure to check to make sure the 3pt connection has full range of motion and it actually goes all the way down. You wouldn't be the first to hook up a post hole digger wrong and no realize it.

Look at your cutting edges and tips. Danuser is a top of the line brand. Expensive and good quality. I'd be very suprised if it didn't have replacable cutting teeth and tip. Clean off the end of the bit and take a close look. What does it look like?

If it went down to a certain depth and then stoped, it sounds like there's something in the way. I've had problems with small rocks, roots and layers of clay that are so hard packed that it's almost like rock.

You might be able to grind them sharp like Timber said, but when I did that before going with carbide teeth, it only lasted for a dozen holes before going dull on me again.

If you have a good edge, then the problem is something in the hole. Have you tried digging other holes?

Eddie
 
   / Trouble with post hole digger #7  
jester7891 said:
It seems the boom won't go down as far as it is supposed to. Any suggestions? Thanks.
To check that, disconnect the PTO, lift the auger up toward the beam. Hold the PTO shaft and the auger off of the ground. Have someone else lower the PHD slowly. That way you can tell if the three point is going down low enough.
 

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   / Trouble with post hole digger #8  
WE have really crappy horrible clay soil with rocks here.
Every time I get stuck with the PHD, I fill the half hole with water, wait about 5 minutes and boom, it pulls it right up
no muss, no fuss (although somewhat messy)
just get a hose and fill it up, will work like a charm.
 
 
 
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