Quick hitch for a 3 point hole digger

[SSdoxie]

Brace as you describe will definitely strengthe it, but what about restricting access to hook up PTO? QH is hinderance itself without adding more to it. I was thinking flat stock drilled for the top pin then welded to the current pin clevis, running back to the last hole or farther and welded to the boom, then could put some cross braces on that at each end.
You won't down pressure just with the top link, the lift arms still pivot upwards on mine even with decent knob closed tight. It would require a second cylinder or fab a cylidner attaching point on the boom behind the arc then extend that up and forward so it can connect to the top link cylinder above the QH. You would have to remove the cylidner pin at the QH and connect it directly to the PHD boom so it pushes at a point behind the 3pt arms and lift arc.

 

[travlitt]

Brace as you describe will definitely strengthe it, but what about restricting access to hook up PTO? QH is hinderance itself without adding more to it. I was thinking flat stock drilled for the top pin then welded to the current pin clevis, running back to the last hole or farther and welded to the boom, then could put some cross braces on that at each end.
You won't down pressure just with the top link, the lift arms still pivot upwards on mine even with decent knob closed tight. It would require a second cylinder or fab a cylidner attaching point on the boom behind the arc then extend that up and forward so it can connect to the top link cylinder above the QH. You would have to remove the cylidner pin at the QH and connect it directly to the PHD boom so it pushes at a point behind the 3pt arms and lift arc.

I will take a look at your bracing method. Probably work better than my application.
You are correct in the fact that you are not able to have down pressure using the top link as the source. I tried it and like yours the draft arms pivot up even with the flow control valve closed. I have another idea that I will try today. Hopefully it will work. I will post the results if it works.

 

[SSdoxie]

Your brace idea will be stronger, especially for lateral movement. Hang the gear box back on it, then tape string line where you are planning the brace and see if it is going to hinder room to get PTO on & off.

 

[Fallon]

My current down pressure system is a 5 gallon bucket full of old scrap fence wire & concrete with a chain embedded in it. I attach the chain to a hook at the end over the gearbox.

Adding some hooks at the end will get you the option for attaching a couple hundred lbs of weight. Which is about all the hydraulic down pressure kits for normal PTO PHDs seem to do. Not as cool, but functional & less likely to break things.

If you beef up & brace up the boom, you should be able to add more weight. The further towards or even better past the gearbox, the more force it will develop on the augur. Past the gearbox will create clearance & maneuverability issues though.

 

[travlitt]

My current down pressure system is a 5 gallon bucket full of old scrap fence wire & concrete with a chain embedded in it. I attach the chain to a hook at the end over the gearbox.

Adding some hooks at the end will get you the option for attaching a couple hundred lbs of weight. Which is about all the hydraulic down pressure kits for normal PTO PHDs seem to do. Not as cool, but functional & less likely to break things.

If you beef up & brace up the boom, you should be able to add more weight. The further towards or even better past the gearbox, the more force it will develop on the augur. Past the gearbox will create clearance & maneuverability issues though.

I did not expect the draft arms to raise when I applied the down force with the top cylinder..Live and learn that is the reason I am trying this.

I hope with sharp digging teeth I can get by with out down force.. Weights will work fine for the most part..

 

[travlitt]

Run into some trouble with the drive line clearance. Have to work on that problem. All other problems have been corrected. Range of motion is accomplished with combination of the 3 point control and the hydraulic top link.

 

[Threepoint]

Run into some trouble with the drive line clearance. Have to work on that problem. All other problems have been corrected. Range of motion is accomplished with combination of the 3 point control and the hydraulic top link.

Travlit, good on you for keeping at this. If you get everything sorted out, I suspect a few TBN members will be inspired to do something similar. :thumbsup: I don't use my 3pt PHD much anymore, with no new fencing projects to do. But the last time I did, drilling one 4' deep hole to install a horse waterer, it was such a hassle dealing with the QH that it would have been faster to dig it by hand.

On the down-pressure, it would be nice to have, but without two hydraulic side links, I think you're going to have to do it with weight. And if you have hardpan in Amarillo like some I ran into in Maryland a few years back on a buddy's farm, you'll need a lot of it, probably 300 lbs. Probably the safest way, though. From what I understand, CUTs just aren't designed to deal with the forces a couple of hydraulic side links could generate.

 

[travlitt]

Travlit, good on you for keeping at this. If you get everything sorted out, I suspect a few TBN members will be inspired to do something similar. :thumbsup: I don't use my 3pt PHD much anymore, with no new fencing projects to do. But the last time I did, drilling one 4' deep hole to install a horse waterer, it was such a hassle dealing with the QH that it would have been faster to dig it by hand.

On the down-pressure, it would be nice to have, but without two hydraulic side links, I think you're going to have to do it with weight. And if you have hardpan in Amarillo like some I ran into in Maryland a few years back on a buddy's farm, you'll need a lot of it, probably 300 lbs. Probably the safest way, though. From what I understand, CUTs just aren't designed to deal with the forces a couple of hydraulic side links could generate.

You are correct on the CUTS not being designed for the stress and forces down pressure would generate. That would have been a secondary benefit.This project would work much better with a larger tractor. More ground clearance.
I have a bigger tractor and digger for the heavy work.
Talking about having a hard-pan..we sure do in most places. I was doing some sub-soil work last year for a customer and I could see the ground move 3 to 4 feet out from the shank.

 

[travlitt]

Definitely going to try this. Picked up a plasma cutter with my Christmas bonus for several projects already. I figure worst case my spare PHD gets turned into the lift boom for my chain harrow. Best case it works for the PHD too.

With this design if you lock your 3pt rate of descent knob you'll end up being able to use your toplink as down pressure too. Chance of breaking things that way I suppose, but if you can build it, you can fix it.

Closing the descent knob has no effect on keeping the draft links from raising up when you apply down force. I placed a block under the end of the boom...extended the top link to apply the simulated down force and the 3 point arms raised..so no down force.

 

[travlitt]

My project is successful. I have a 3 point hole digger that will hook up to a quick hitch.
In testing in the shop
1.Range of motion excellent.
2 Can lower the gear box to touch the floor
3.Raise gear box to 6 ft.
4.Drive line problems solved.
5. Will give it a dig test tomorrow.
6. Will try to get a video.

 

[Fallon]

What PTO clearance issues you end up with & how did you solve them? It looks like there is another attachment below the QH top hook. What is its purpose & can you post a better photo?

 

[travlitt]

What PTO clearance issues you end up with & how did you solve them? It looks like there is another attachment below the QH top hook. What is its purpose & can you post a better photo?

What I think you are referring to in the picture is the left side lower quick hitch attachment point. The drive line problems were solved by changing the top link travel. I also determined you can have down force pressure by raising the 3 point to max height and extending the top link. I can actually lift the rear tires of my tractor off the floor.

I did dig several holes to day and all went very well.

 

[Fallon]

How long is your boom from the QH to the gearbox pin?

I chopped up my PHD this morning. Tacked the boom on the first time & found I didn't have quite enough height. Ground off the tack & got the height setup nice with the bottom of the augur a foot off the ground & the gearbox hitting the floor when it's down.

Now I'm looking at my PTO shaft being significantly to short, maybe a foot and a half.

I cut off about 8" of the boom & there's normally about 2' or so of boom between the arch & the top link hole, so it's not really surprising. I'm either looking at a 18"' PTO extension or trimming about 18" more off the boom. I figure at the moment I have at least an extra foot of height range if not more, so shortening the boom isn't going to kill me there. I haven't sorted out the PTO angles & interference yet, but it looks like it might be close to hitting at max height, which is another reason to look at a PTO shaft extension, it would eliminate any potential problems there I expect.

Before I started... It always drug on the ground, but I didn't get it setup right when I hooked it up to bury a chicken so it's lower than usual.


How it's sitting now when I came in for lunch & to think about it. The arch actually rests perfectly in the toplink hook, I just had to cut off the ears that formerly attached to the boom & grind down some of the braces a bit.

 

[travlitt]

How long is your boom from the QH to the gearbox pin?

I chopped up my PHD this morning. Tacked the boom on the first time & found I didn't have quite enough height. Ground off the tack & got the height setup nice with the bottom of the augur a foot off the ground & the gearbox hitting the floor when it's down.

Now I'm looking at my PTO shaft being significantly to short, maybe a foot and a half.

I cut off about 8" of the boom & there's normally about 2' or so of boom between the arch & the top link hole, so it's not really surprising. I'm either looking at a 18"' PTO extension or trimming about 18" more off the boom. I figure at the moment I have at least an extra foot of height range if not more, so shortening the boom isn't going to kill me there. I haven't sorted out the PTO angles & interference yet, but it looks like it might be close to hitting at max height, which is another reason to look at a PTO shaft extension, it would eliminate any potential problems there I expect.

Before I started... It always drug on the ground, but I didn't get it setup right when I hooked it up to bury a chicken so it's lower than usual.
View attachment 403569

How it's sitting now when I came in for lunch & to think about it. The arch actually rests perfectly in the toplink hook, I just had to cut off the ears that formerly attached to the boom & grind down some of the braces a bit.
View attachment 403570
View attachment 403571
View attachment 403572

My boom is 4' from the gear box pin to the yoke where it is welded. Then there is an additional 8" from the weld to the front of the QH.

 

[travlitt]

How long is your boom from the QH to the gearbox pin?

I chopped up my PHD this morning. Tacked the boom on the first time & found I didn't have quite enough height. Ground off the tack & got the height setup nice with the bottom of the augur a foot off the ground & the gearbox hitting the floor when it's down.

Now I'm looking at my PTO shaft being significantly to short, maybe a foot and a half.




I cut off about 8" of the boom & there's normally about 2' or so of boom between the arch & the top link hole, so it's not really surprising. I'm either looking at a 18"' PTO extension or trimming about 18" more off the boom. I figure at the moment I have at least an extra foot of height range if not more, so shortening the boom isn't going to kill me there. I haven't sorted out the PTO angles & interference yet, but it looks like it might be close to hitting at max height, which is another reason to look at a PTO shaft extension, it would eliminate any potential problems there I expect.

Before I started... It always drug on the ground, but I didn't get it setup right when I hooked it up to bury a chicken so it's lower than usual.
View attachment 403569

How it's sitting now when I came in for lunch & to think about it. The arch actually rests perfectly in the toplink hook, I just had to cut off the ears that formerly attached to the boom & grind down some of the braces a bit.
View attachment 403570
View attachment 403571
View attachment 403572

My boom is 4' from the gear box mount to the yoke where it is welded. Then from that point to the front of the QH is an additional 8"
Your hook up is some different than mine but the principal is the same. Another thing you might need to consider doing, with the 3 point hitch raised all the way up and the top link extended approximately 4", change the angle of the boom where it is tacked to the yoke down to the point of the auger point is 3 to 4 " off the floor. This will help the drive line clearance.

 

[Fallon]

My boom is 4' from the gear box mount to the yoke where it is welded. Then from that point to the front of the QH is an additional 8"
Your hook up is some different than mine but the principal is the same. Another thing you might need to consider doing, with the 3 point hitch raised all the way up and the top link extended approximately 4", change the angle of the boom where it is tacked to the yoke down to the point of the auger point is 3 to 4 " off the floor. This will help the drive line clearance.

Thanks, will probably just trim another foot or 2 off the boom then, think mine was at least 6'. I was setting the angle before I tacked stuff by dropping the 3pt all the way the running the toplink most of the way back. Wasn't paying too much attention to PTO anything at that point, just getting clearance so my augur wouldn't be dragging finally. I was actually planning on welding on some extensions to the arch before I saw this thread.

Once I get this all sorted out, probably going to weld on some more hooks to hang some more weights over the augur.

 

[travlitt]

Here are some more tips for your set up. Some of this I had to learn the hard way.
1.After you have established your height... mark this position on the boom where it will be welded to the yoke.
2. Remove the gear box and lower the boom tip onto a flat table top
3.Make sure the the 3 point hitch is level to the tractor and the floor.
4.Place the boom end on a table, but the boom up to the yoke, and align the marks on the boom and the yoke.
5. Measure from the end of the boom to some point on the lower QH attachment point. This will square the boom to the tractor.
6. Look at the end of the boom that is setting on the table and be sure the end is setting flat on the table and IS NOT twisted. If this is not perfectly flat and level with the 3 point the auger will not hang plumb and your holes will not be straight down.

 

[Threepoint]

Very impressive modifications, guys. Based on your experience so far, do you think PHD manufacturers might eventually be able to offer QH-ready diggers? With all the variation in tractor sizes. seems like that might be impractical.

 

[travlitt]

Very impressive modifications, guys. Based on your experience so far, do you think PHD manufacturers might eventually be able to offer QH-ready diggers? With all the variation in tractor sizes. seems like that might be impractical.

The size of the tractor shouldn't be a problem as long as the digger is sized to the tractor.
I think the bigger the tractor is the easier this would be to modify.
I can see no reason it couldn't be done. It would be more so if a person could do it with out having to have a hydraulic top link. I believe that could be accomplished with some fine tuning.
In my project the drive line clearance was the biggest issue. This issue was corrected by changing the angle of the boom where it was welded to the yoke.

 

[Fallon]

Ya, the QH is a standard, so that should be fine. The issues will be the range of your toplink & PTO clearance. I suspect the PTO clearance issue will be the hardest one. Different 3pt geometries & lift arm lengths could vary & cause clearance issues.

Lack of toplink range could be remedied with a longer boom, but not sure if there is a magic bullet for PTO clearance.