Another stuck PHD auger- modification of the standard pipe wrench methodology

[bdog]

I'm glad you were able to buy the cheapest hydraulic post hole digger in the US. How well do they work again?

What the heck is that supposed to mean? I think that is around what I paid for it. I bought it from the local kubota dealer it was a demo unit that had been used a little bit but was basically new. This is the one I have. Belltec NC150 Skidsteer Post Hole Digger 6 15GPM Complete w Frame Hoses CPLRS | eBay

Shows $2199 but I didn't pay that much five years ago. Like I said a three point will work if you just have random hole needs here and there but if you are undertaking a big fencing project like I was at the time you will cuss a 3 point.

 

[KenB2920]

What the heck is that supposed to mean? I think that is around what I paid for it. I bought it from the local kubota dealer it was a demo unit that had been used a little bit but was basically new. This is the one I have. Belltec NC150 Skidsteer Post Hole Digger 6 15GPM Complete w Frame Hoses CPLRS | eBay Shows $2199 but I didn't pay that much five years ago. Like I said a three point will work if you just have random hole needs here and there but if you are undertaking a big fencing project like I was at the time you will cuss a 3 point.

Sounds like you're trolling... Apples and oranges here....

You are comparing your 12,000lb machine with 100hp to much smaller machines and half or less the hp (OP, mine etc. heck, one guy here has a BX2360)..... You obviously drill holes as part of your job and not just milling around or doing little things here and there.

Your tipping load is 9500lbs and breakout force is 14,000lbs compared to people who have a fraction of that.

This would be like me taking my pickup truck and comparing it to some kids power wheel telling them "they suck".... High school kids all look tough around middle schoolers.... Apples and oranges for machines. I find my machine to be a fair size won't lift near my three point and my three point is no match for your John Deere 333e. Different class machine.

Now if I drilled thousands of holes as you do, I'd invest in the proper machine. I definitely believe in the right tool for the job and proper return on investment. However, you come in here just to stir things up when a guy simply talks about a rough day getting his auger stuck.


My PHD is pretty stout for what it is. Really well built and paid for itself over and again. With that, it's not as good as a hydro unit but that's not in my needs. Again, different people have different land and I can drtill a hole in around 15 seconds. When my auger was bent, it was at no fault of the machine or auger as it was roots that were large.

Needless to say, it appears to me you came to this thread to show off your monstrous machine to all the inferior 3pts.

 

[KenB2920]

 

[bcp]

My BX2360 would run a hydraulic PHD at about 1/2 RPM.

Bruce

 

[bdog]

Sounds like you're trolling... Apples and oranges here....

You are comparing your 12,000lb machine with 100hp to much smaller machines and half or less the hp (OP, mine etc. heck, one guy here has a BX2360)..... You obviously drill holes as part of your job and not just milling around or doing little things here and there.

Your tipping load is 9500lbs and breakout force is 14,000lbs compared to people who have a fraction of that.

This would be like me taking my pickup truck and comparing it to some kids power wheel telling them "they suck".... High school kids all look tough around middle schoolers.... Apples and oranges for machines. I find my machine to be a fair size won't lift near my three point and my three point is no match for your John Deere 333e. Different class machine.

Now if I drilled thousands of holes as you do, I'd invest in the proper machine. I definitely believe in the right tool for the job and proper return on investment. However, you come in here just to stir things up when a guy simply talks about a rough day getting his auger stuck.


My PHD is pretty stout for what it is. Really well built and paid for itself over and again. With that, it's not as good as a hydro unit but that's not in my needs. Again, different people have different land and I can drtill a hole in around 15 seconds. When my auger was bent, it was at no fault of the machine or auger as it was roots that were large.

Needless to say, it appears to me you came to this thread to show off your monstrous machine to all the inferior 3pts.

And you would be incorrect. I never said anything about the machine, I was just talking about the digger. I have never even hooked the auger to the 333E. I don't drill post holes as part of my job. The only post holes I have drilled for hire were over ten years ago and amounted to less than five hundred. I helped a relative drill a hundred or so for free a couple years ago. The bulk of the holes I have drilled have been on my own property when i built a fence around it. 90% of these were drilled with the hydraulic auger hooked to a 2WD tractor and the rest with it hooked to a 322 skid steer which is much smaller than the 333E.

The point of my post is to help people. I bought a 3 point post hole digger brand new many years ago. I was so excited about it as I just knew it was going to make life so much easier than digging by hand or renting hole digger. When I got it I was severely disappointed. Sure it beats a shovel or the the clamshells but they don't work good at all around here. At the time I was building a barbwire fence around my five acres. I had around 15 holes to dig for the corners, gate posts, cross fences, etc. It took two full days to drill those holes. The PHD has no down pressure. The only way to make it dig is to add weight or push down on it. It sure ain't safe to have someone push down on it but it helps. I ended up welding a large diameter pipe full of concrete to the top of it the PHD to give it some weight. It helped but wasn't perfect.

When I eventually sold that property and moved and needed to build more fence (a lot more fence) I did a lot of research as I knew there had to be a better way. It seems lots of people are unhappy with their 3pt digger performance. They even sell down pressure kits. After taking it all in I decided to sell my 3pt and buy the hydraulic. It works infinitely better than the 3pt. I was grinning from ear to ear when I started digging. You have down pressure, reversing, and it is just so much better. In my ground conditions one could dig more holes in an hour with a hydraulic auger than you could all day with a 3 point.

The point of my post was to share my experience with others. If you dig 4 holes a year it probably doesn't matter much either way but if you are undertaking a bunch of fencing or tree planting or whatever and will need a lot of holes you will be much happier with an hydraulic unit.

 

[KenB2920]

And you would be incorrect. I never said anything about the machine, I was just talking about the digger. I have never even hooked the auger to the 333E. I don't drill post holes as part of my job. The only post holes I have drilled for hire were over ten years ago and amounted to less than five hundred. I helped a relative drill a hundred or so for free a couple years ago. The bulk of the holes I have drilled have been on my own property when i built a fence around it. 90% of these were drilled with the hydraulic auger hooked to a 2WD tractor and the rest with it hooked to a 322 skid steer which is much smaller than the 333E. The point of my post is to help people. I bought a 3 point post hole digger brand new many years ago. I was so excited about it as I just knew it was going to make life so much easier than digging by hand or renting hole digger. When I got it I was severely disappointed. Sure it beats a shovel or the the clamshells but they don't work good at all around here. At the time I was building a barbwire fence around my five acres. I had around 15 holes to dig for the corners, gate posts, cross fences, etc. It took two full days to drill those holes. The PHD has no down pressure. The only way to make it dig is to add weight or push down on it. It sure ain't safe to have someone push down on it but it helps. I ended up welding a large diameter pipe full of concrete to the top of it the PHD to give it some weight. It helped but wasn't perfect. When I eventually sold that property and moved and needed to build more fence (a lot more fence) I did a lot of research as I knew there had to be a better way. It seems lots of people are unhappy with their 3pt digger performance. They even sell down pressure kits. After taking it all in I decided to sell my 3pt and buy the hydraulic. It works infinitely better than the 3pt. I was grinning from ear to ear when I started digging. You have down pressure, reversing, and it is just so much better. In my ground conditions one could dig more holes in an hour with a hydraulic auger than you could all day with a 3 point. The point of my post was to share my experience with others. If you dig 4 holes a year it probably doesn't matter much either way but if you are undertaking a bunch of fencing or tree planting or whatever and will need a lot of holes you will be much happier with an hydraulic unit.

Well color me humbled. I assumed you were coming in here talking how great something is that is either not practical or feasible for smaller machines.

Now as I agree not all PHD are built equal, neither are all soils. As stated before by others, it takes me longer to mark where I want my holes than to drill them. Drilling a hole seriously takes about 15 seconds... Maybe not even that long. Now this is with a 12" auger and I've not used larger.

 

[bdog]

The auger I have is their smallest one. It is only rated for 6-15 GPM. My 333E puts out 24 GPM I think. Might be too big for it I have not even tried it on there though. My auger is really designed for smaller tractors though and not skid steers as most all of them are 20GPM or more. It would certainly work fine on most compact tractors. I think my 2WD case I had it on was only around 10 GPM and it worked great with it. A kubota 3400 has 7 GPM.

 

[prichard]

Every single PHD thread on here becomes "You should never buy a PTO auger".

I'll probably never own a hydraulic auger. I use mostly T posts and the occasional wood post. It would make absolutely no sense for for my needs to invest in the hydraulic unit plus the rear remotes.

Thank you to the OP for posting this thread so I can learn about 3 point auger issues and solutions.

 

[buickanddeere]

I never liked steel T posts around a horse pasture. Too much like a spear if a rider falls on the fence.

 

[tommu56]

I've been mentally designing a small reversing gearbox made from car differential gears. Maybe mounted temporarily on the PTO shaft for fixing a stuck auger, or with a shifter and permanent mount.

Now that I've posted the idea, someone should build one.




Bruce

PS: just using this part

View attachment 468461

Why not just use a manual transmission 3 or 4 speeds and reverse in the pto line????