Auger Control

[Pa Pa Jack]

I bought a post hole digger from Everything Attachments. I love it. It has saved me so much work it is unreal. I have one question for those of you with a lot more experience. Is there a "control" leg that could be added that would stop the auger a a very controllable depth? Something like a depth stop. I have heard the term used but can find no reference to online.


Thanks,

Jack

 

[Rocky Hoffler]

On my Kubota I have an adjustable stop on lever to operate 3ph so if you raise mower can lower it to same position or height is this something you have on your machine I have also seen where the auger is painted different colors a different depths I know paint will wear off but last for a while

 

[Pa Pa Jack]

Thanks. I have an adjustment on my Mahindra also but it doesn't always work properly. If the auger grabs a rock or a larger root, it will suck the auger right to the max. I plant a lot of trees and shrubs. I want something I can set so that it will only go 12 or maybe 16 inches deep and I can just keep moving down the line. I have a lot of clay about 15 inches deep. If I hit that clay, it will almost suck the tractor into the hole.

 

[Rocky Hoffler]

I see your point an auger is just a big screw so if its turning and bites it going to screw itself in ground. I know on line trucks with auger it's controlled by lowering boom but you don't have this option where I live not a rock problem so I didn't even think about it but I'm sure some of these people have experienced this and will come up with solution.

 

[Ed of all trades]

I don't know of a stop but the only thing I have used to remove a stuck auger is a 4 ft pipe wrench.

 

[Pa Pa Jack]

I don't know of a stop but the only thing I have used to remove a stuck auger is a 4 ft pipe wrench.

I have had to do that twice. Both times the auger got stuck an a very large root.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

I see your point an auger is just a big screw so if its turning and bites it going to screw itself in ground. I know on line trucks with auger it's controlled by lowering boom but you don't have this option where I live not a rock problem so I didn't even think about it but I'm sure some of these people have experienced this and will come up with solution.

Why? Your 3pt hitch has position control, if you use it, it will stop the hitch from lowering. Don't just push the 3pt control lever all the way forward.

 

[jrdepew]

Why? Your 3pt hitch has position control, if you use it, it will stop the hitch from lowering. Don't just push the 3pt control lever all the way forward.

I agree with this...bump the lever forward so it digs a little, wait, bump, remove huge rock, repeat. The only time I got in trouble was when I got a little too confident and my bumps on the 3pt lever got bigger and bigger. Ended up having to remove the auger manually.

I also remove the auger totally about halfway down to pull all the stick clay out that sticks to the auger, seems to help a lot in not getting it stuck.

Also, I operate the PHD at idle or just above, going much faster makes the shaking and vibrating and digging speed too much

Joe

 

[MtnViewRanch]

I agree with this...bump the lever forward so it digs a little, wait, bump, remove huge rock, repeat. The only time I got in trouble was when I got a little too confident and my bumps on the 3pt lever got bigger and bigger. Ended up having to remove the auger manually.

I also remove the auger totally about halfway down to pull all the stick clay out that sticks to the auger, seems to help a lot in not getting it stuck.

Also, I operate the PHD at idle or just above, going much faster makes the shaking and vibrating and digging speed too much

Joe

Best to clear the auger every 12"-16". Doing this prevents problems from occurring. I go down 16", raise 12", down 16" raise 24", down 16" and am then done. Stop the auger and pull out loaded with dirt.

Idle seems to work best for me. I just don't see why people use it any other way, but they do. :confused3:

Just my :2cents:

 

[Pa Pa Jack]

Well, maybe your control works better than mine. Once the auger gets a bite, it will pull the bit right to the bottom unless I run the rpms very low. Then it will stall the tractor. I have a stop on my depth control. I set the stop and see how deep it will go. then I'll adjust the stop a little more. It makes no difference. when the rpms are high enough to dig well in this hard ground, if the bit gets a bite she's going to the max depth.

Now I realize and understand that I am new at this. I have never had a post hole digger before. I want to learn, but so far I have been unable to get control no matter what I have tried.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Well, maybe your control works better than mine. Once the auger gets a bite, it will pull the bit right to the bottom unless I run the rpms very low. Then it will stall the tractor. I have a stop on my depth control. I set the stop and see how deep it will go. then I'll adjust the stop a little more. It makes no difference. when the rpms are high enough to dig well in this hard ground, if the bit gets a bite she's going to the max depth.

Now I realize and understand that I am new at this. I have never had a post hole digger before. I want to learn, but so far I have been unable to get control no matter what I have tried.

So when it pulls the auger all the way in, your front tires are in the air???

 

[whistlepig]

Well, maybe your control works better than mine. Once the auger gets a bite, it will pull the bit right to the bottom unless I run the rpms very low. Then it will stall the tractor. I have a stop on my depth control. I set the stop and see how deep it will go. then I'll adjust the stop a little more. It makes no difference. when the rpms are high enough to dig well in this hard ground, if the bit gets a bite she's going to the max depth.

Now I realize and understand that I am new at this. I have never had a post hole digger before. I want to learn, but so far I have been unable to get control no matter what I have tried.

That's the way it works with my PHD. If it gets a good bite it will suck the auger down. As suggested I take small bites when digging a hole then lift the auger and let the dirt fling off. It takes some practice but after having an auger stuck a few times this is the best method for me.

 

[Pa Pa Jack]

So when it pulls the auger all the way in, your front tires are in the air???

It pulls the lift mechanism right to the bottom and almost flattens the rear tires which are liquid filled. I have an FEL on the front. I guess I could fill the bucket with concrete.

If the auger breaks loose, the whole front of the tractor bounces down. It is really lifting the front end.

 

[whistlepig]

Sometimes when digging a hole the auger will hit a hard spot. I'll lower the position control a little so all the weight of the PHD is on the auger. Then all of the sudden the auger will take a bite and "There she goes!"

 

[Pa Pa Jack]

Is there a way to adjust the position control flow? I bump mine and it doesn't move, I bump it again and it still doesn't move. Bump it again and it drops a bunch.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Is there a way to adjust the position control flow? I bump mine and it doesn't move, I bump it again and it still doesn't move. Bump it again and it drops a bunch.

Double check your air pressure, doesn't matter that your tires are filled, You can have up to 30psi for industrials and up to 18psi for AGs. They should not squat as much as it sounds like they do.

Does your position control lever move all the way front-back smoothly? If not you need to adjust the lever so that it does. Basically any movement of the lever should get a movement at the hitch. Sounds like something is sticking or simply out of adjustment to me.