3 pt. Post Hole Digger: Dangerous?

[grandad]

From one goober to another /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif...

You do it for a living and know the risks. Hopefully, you are also not working all alone - see msg. about man found dead by his PHD.

A 20-24" auger is one serious drill. Be safe!

 

[NIXON]

Grandad , Never ! In fact we always use the same drill operator and guys that have been around the bit to do this . No matter the weather I keep my sleeves up and don't wear gloves .
Uncomfortable at times to be sure . But it beats getting hung up on the machine ! To say I'm scared about it is an overstatement . But to say I'm at full alert and somewhat nervous when we do it would be an Understatement as well /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif John

 

[stevenf]

Freds, I've got a great cheap solution to having to get off the tractor to check plumbness go to wally world in their RV section they sell glue on bubble levels set your PHD on perfectly level ground attach one side to side and one back to front you may have to lean out a little to see the back to front one but you never have to leave the seat. It sure speeds up the auger project.
As for the guy who lost his head and arm I'm not sure having a buddy would have fixed this except the buddy would have lost his parts rather that the operator. The rule is no one gets anywhere near the auger when its operating is our family rule and if something flies off of the auger or out of the hole only the dirts there to see it.
Steve

 

[JMJ]

I had about 70 ten foot poles to put in 44 inches in sandy clay limestone (6ft high Emu pen) so I bought a generic PHD from the local Kubota dealer with a 12 inch Auger (more room to correctly place holes and I figure my wife will have me digging holes for 12 inch landscape pots. Well anyway I studied up on it, and having no experience with the implement dug them all easily in an afternoon. My only mishap was that I opened the rear window on the airconditioned cab to see the positioning better, and not thinking the boom came up and broke the $410 window. Ouch. It was useful to have laid out and marked each hole placement with that bright orange ground paint. Did have a couple of holes that stopped at about 40 inches due to the limestone cap.

 

[ksmmoto]

I drilled about sixteen holes for a deck this past June when I bought my post hole digger and I did get most of them crooked. I bought a stick on level at Home Depot and now it is easy to shift the tractor and get the hole straight. I use orange marking paint to mark the holes location. Also found it worth while to drill bigger holes and fill them in rather then have to dig more out by hand if I am off on location.

Speaking of safety, my dad built a pole barn in the late sixty's and had a hard time digging by hand. The ground was hard clay and he didn't like hand work much anyway, so he used half a stick of dynamite in each hole! I think using a ph is fun, but his way may have been more fun yet! Can't just by dynamite at the hardware anymore though.

ksmmoto

 

[MadDog]

I use my PHD in very rocky soil and if the auger hits a big enough rock it can toss the boom (and even the rear of the tractor) quite a bit. Anyone close to it may get knocked around too and that could include getting yanked towards the auger or drivetrain.

Whether for supplying additional weight or for any other reason, I wouldn't permit anyone anywhere near either the auger or any other part of the PHD when it's under power. I have a strict rule that I don't leave the tractor seat while the PTO is engaged and I don't touch the auger (for cleaning dirt out or otherwise, unless the tractor itself is shut down.

Most all my body parts (except my brain, I hope /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif )are way past their peak, but I've grown attached to them and I'd like to keep them attached to me. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

So long as the precautions that I use are followed, I don't think that using a PHD is dangerous at all.

 

[ramon49]

Was using my PHD the other day with my 3130 and it sunk the shaft so deep shiny yellow stuff started to spray around the hole??I had to be careful tamping the stuff back in the hole, nearly broke me friggin leg off!

Ramon