grsthegreat
Super Star Member
you dont need a trailer. take the augers off and put the entire unit in back bed of pic up. there not that heavy.
Help me decide on post hole digger.
- Thread starter jejeosborne
- Start date
you dont need a trailer. take the augers off and put the entire unit in back bed of pic up. there not that heavy.
TTTTTT
Gold Member
You may find this interesting. Got one similar to the used one you are looking at. Check the shaft seal for leaking. If so, and it has the same type of seal I improvised a fix that was cheap and simple. I was also told the gear box was from an older rear end but it was very tight and very heavy duty. I filled it with diesel and let it soak for a few days and then filled with freash gear oil. After the seal fix all is good. Have done many holes and appears to be bullet proof.
Good luck Dave
Good luck Dave
Found an older but heavy duty 12" bit 3pt PHD earlier this year to do some immediate holes and for the future. When I got it, the gear box seemed very tight and other than a slight bend in the arm seemed good. Went to check/fill the gear box with gear oil and the shaft seal for the auger was leaking pretty good.
I did the 3 holes I needed for a cottage addition and other than breaking numerous shear pins and widening the already too wide hole for the shear pin, it worked well.
Before anything I filled it with diesel to clean up the inside gear box. I let it sit upside down for a few days to hopefully clean any sludge from everything
Finally got around to the repairs. After taking it apart, just the main arm from the gear box and the auger off (didn't take the gear box apart as it seemed good).
The shaft seal was an older type and new I wouldn't be able to find an original part...so how to adapt
Found a standard 1.5" trailer axle seal for about $7 and now how to adapt. The millwrights were busy at work, so i found a local machine shop to mill a 1.5" hole half way into an appropriate sized 1/2" piece of steel to the depth and OD of the seal.
The rest even with my welding skills was fairly easy...
Dry Fit
Welded
Although not in a real augering job, the new seal is good with no leakage. Easily replaceable, although I bought a few spares to have around.
The next repair was the auger bit itself where the years of wear had widened out the 3/8" holes for the shear pin. I cut 2 small pieces of 1/2" steal with 3/8" holes already drilled and carefully lined up the existing holes and welded them on.
Final Pics - Minus the touch up paint from marrs putting it back together
So far looks good other than the seal on the other shaft has a very slight drip although i may have slightly overfilled the gear box.I will drain some off and recheck.
Enjoy Dave
daBear
Gold Member
I don't even need or want a PH digger but I would jump on the old one.
Pete Judd
Veteran Member
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2010
- Messages
- 1,013
- Location
- The Thin Gravy Ranch in The wet PNW
- Tractor
- Yanmar 186d, JD 314
I have found that I can borrow one, It seems that once you drill your holes, it becomes a unused thing in the back yard.
Brad_Blazer
Veteran Member
The used, homemade digger has no guarding and an extra long shear bolt for good measure. You might think you'll never have a helper to keep the hole straight but the practice is common. The absence of guards in most used machines was a big part of why I bought mine new.
http://www.lni.wa.gov/Safety/Research/Files/71972010FaceAgriNarr.pdf
http://www.public-health.uiowa.edu/...75_FarmerTractorPostholeAugerEntanglement.pdf
http://www.lni.wa.gov/Safety/Research/Files/71972010FaceAgriNarr.pdf
http://www.public-health.uiowa.edu/...75_FarmerTractorPostholeAugerEntanglement.pdf
MMagis
Veteran Member
You didn't have an extra plastic pop bottle laying around? The reasons people come up with to spend extra money.
OP
jejeosborne
Veteran Member
I made a decision right or wrong. I went with the new one. MMagis your comments are dead on with the financial advice. The reasons I went with the new one are that I noticed oil stains around the seals and didn't want to try to find parts for something with no model numbers or try to correct as TTTTTT did. I wanted something common for replacement parts. A second reason is because I hopefully will be using this for many years in the future and not just in the short term. I saw no reason for the 9" auger when you have a 12" and the auger on the CL model had a screw stinger attachment and two sets of replacement cutters 180 degrees apart as opposed to just one set.
On a side note, I was very impressed with the quality of the packaging the County Line model came in. It was on a custom pallet with every item bagged in plastic.
Thank you all for your comments. Everyone had very valid information which helped me one way or another.
On a side note, I was very impressed with the quality of the packaging the County Line model came in. It was on a custom pallet with every item bagged in plastic.
Thank you all for your comments. Everyone had very valid information which helped me one way or another.
bigbull338
Elite Member
you very rarely tear a PH digger up.only break sheer pins.an you might twist a shaft if you dont know what your doing.we just bought a new PH digger a few months ago because we are planning on doing alot of fencing in the future.an wanted 1 that would digg holes that wasnt wore out.
grsthegreat
Super Star Member
congrats on the new post hole digger.
the 9" comes in handy for 4x4 posts, while the 12" is good for 6x6 posts. Also, in some soils its nearly impossible to dig with a 12" auger, but the 9" will work easier. We have alot of decomposed granite and rock here, and a 12" is nearly impossible to dig with. In sand you can use a 24" hehe