No. I was suggesting that the OP rent the auger and run it with his tractor. That requires that his tractor have a loader, remotes, and SSQA. If not, that obviously changes things. Quite a lot of compact tractors have those things these days though so....... I asked him about it earlier in this thread but he hasn't answered.
3 pt. auger/post hole digger
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grsthegreat
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i dont like the idea of running hydraulic auger from the loader for one reason. your pumping hot hydraulic fluids thru the tractor. skid steers use 2 pumps. one for machine and one for implements. On my hydraulic snowblower, the tank and pump are additional to the tractor, and the hydraulic fluid and tank get real hot during use. id hate for this to go thru the tractors system. secondary tanks used in summer should have cooling systems installed to help cool the fluids.
M59
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Your point about hot fluid is model specific. My Kubota M59 has 3 hydraulic pumps so the flow through the FEL accessory circuit is part of the same flow the FEL would normally see and no heating is discernible when using the SSQA attached hydraulic auger. The SSQA mounted auger has 3 big advantages over the 3 pt hitch mounted augers
1 Hydraulic auger can be reversed out of hole if bound up in hole.
2 The SSQA auger is easy to see while facing forward which makes drilling holes at any angle, in relationship to ground's surface, a breeze.
3 The down force that can be applied to the auger is orders of magnitude greater than what can be delivered with 3 pt hitch which means deeper holes, faster drilling, and ability to power thru rocky and hard soils.
There is big difference between continuously running a hydraulic snow blower and the momentary use of a hydraulic auger. The M59 will drill a 3 foot deep 12 inch dia hole in soil with fist sized rocks in under 60 seconds. Then I travel to next hole location, set up and repeat.
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@M59 said it well. I'll just also point out that we're talking about enough holes for a "small" pole barn. I don't know exactly what that means, but I'm going to assume that it's perhaps 32x32 or so, at most. A 32x32 post frame with posts 8' OC has 16 posts, not including any extras for doors. We're talking about him using this machine for a few minutes at a time, for a total of perhaps an hour or two, at most. It's a whole different animal than running a snowblower.
varmint
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As a new tractor owner, (used tractor, though) I opted to get the seller's PHD as well for the extra $300 he wanted. 9" auger, and just a bit of a learning curve. I drilled 50-60 post holes, rocks and roots were part of the learning. Depending on how I positioned the tractor, I could get maybe 40" of hole depth. A clamshell hand digger is handy for cleaning up the hole, pulling up rocks and such. When our Morton Pole Building was put up, Morton had a dedicated truck with a positional hydraulic auger, complete with an operator's seat, on the back of the truck. The holes went in exactly where they wanted them, perfectly plumb, and plenty deep. The "posts" were treated 2x6's nailed with SS nails into 6x6's- they explained that the 2x6's were treated throughout, where a real 6x6 wasn't in its center area.
The auger gets very occasional use anymore, but I consider it an "investment" that more useful overall than its value in the bank.
The auger gets very occasional use anymore, but I consider it an "investment" that more useful overall than its value in the bank.
Guess I missed your question. Yes my loader is SSQA, not sure what you mean by remotes. There is a set of hydraulic couplers on the rear that I've never had occasion to use.
Nothing I'm going to be doing in the next few weeks...ground is very frozen and there's 10" of snow on it. Just trying to get opinions on best options for now.
M59
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To answer for Blueknife
Loader- you have that since you indicate you have SSQA.
SSQA- excellent. check that off list to run hydraulic auger off FEL
Remotes- You will need a set of hydraulic couplers at end of loader arm, typically flat faced coupler also known as skid steer couplers, to run the hydraulic auger.
The "remotes" on the loader arm have many uses. Control open/ close on a grapple, operate a hydraulic auger, swing a SSQA snow plow, a tree shear, anything that needs hydraulic flow when attached to the SSQA
M59
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I don't know much about Kioti so can't speak to what pressures the hydraulics are run at.
The M59 hydraulics run 2800-3000 psi ( if memory is correct ) and the KX 80 runs at 4000 and 4500 psi on different circuits. The higher pressures are why the KX 80 will out dig and out lift the M59 even though they are nearly the same hp.
The Mahindra Max 24 runs at 2500 psi ( if memory is correct ).
Skid steer pressures run form 3000 to 4000 depending on equipment size and make.
I run a SSQA hydraulic auger from McMillen model X1475. Here are the operating details at various pressures and hydraulic flows.
There are other hydraulic auger motor manufacturers discussed in TBN but this was one I chose.
Carl_NH
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For tractor, skid steer, or excavator its the hydraulic flow. more than PSI to run an implement and second is the PSI range. Most tractors operate 2500-2800 PSI - Skid steers 3500, and excavators 3500-4500 - the higher pressure will lift/dig more, the higher flow will run implements like snow blowers, PHD, stump grinders on skid steers, and mulchers etc on excavators.