best post hole digger for less than $1000

[yelbike]

And left and right. The Tractor is rated to 45 degrees and I am planting trees on slopes so the "gimbaled" head is nice. It does have extra holes where I can run a bolt through to lock it in place.

Nice! That's definitely worthy of pictures!

 

[J_J]

I made my own PHD for under 1K. I think I was at 850 or so with hoses. Steel was pre-cut and pre drilled, did my own welding (not much needed)

Is this the auger you built.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...d-loader-simultaneous-operation-hyd-auger.jpg

If it is, can you point me to that group of pictures?

One of the other TBN members wants to build similar and he was wondering about the torque.

Have you stalled it very often?

 

[woodlandfarms]

Hey JJ. I posted pix about 5 posts back on this thread. The picture you have is another pt members homemade digger that I got my idea from.

I have stalled once when I drilled through a double walled plastic culvert. Between the rocks and plastic it jammed up. I run this on my pto hydraulics which us 18 Gpm and 3000 psi. One if these days I will do a reverse switch but honestly this thing is a beast, it cuts through tree roots and pulls out rocks. We have clay soil and not many obstructions.

 

[IslandTractor]

As requested. Basically come C Channel (big) and a bunch of pre drilled holes. A wheel motor with a hub. 2 plates drilled to match the wheel hub and a pipe welded on one to hold the drill. Motor came from Surplus Center. Auger was the most expensive item ($300) but I didn't want to take a risk on a cheaper auger.

Very nice. What size motor did you use? How many cubic inches? What is the output of your hydraulic pump on the PowerTrac?

 

[woodlandfarms]

My PT is 18GPM and 3000PSI. Probably higher than most compact tractors but there are other motors available, and quite frankly I would not mind if this motor spun a bit slower. Its not crazy fast at all, but it isn't snakey slow either.

The machine I got the idea from is a PT 425 and I think the owner used a 12 CU wheel motor.

This all said, there are lots of these low RPM wheel motors to choose from. This one turned into a PITA as the fittings were Brittish and it took a special trip to the hydraulic shop to figure that out.

This is exactly what I got, it included the hub which I used to connect the motor to the bit. Two things, I want to maybe get one of those drill log splitters and put on this. Still working on the logistics. Second is that I had to put a spacer between the wheel hub and the connecting plate to the bit as the nut that holds the hub on extend past the hub.

28.3 cu in HYD WHEEL MOTOR W/5 BOLT HUB

 

[IslandTractor]

My PT is 18GPM and 3000PSI. Probably higher than most compact tractors but there are other motors available, and quite frankly I would not mind if this motor spun a bit slower. Its not crazy fast at all, but it isn't snakey slow either.

The machine I got the idea from is a PT 425 and I think the owner used a 12 CU wheel motor.

This all said, there are lots of these low RPM wheel motors to choose from. This one turned into a PITA as the fittings were Brittish and it took a special trip to the hydraulic shop to figure that out.

This is exactly what I got, it included the hub which I used to connect the motor to the bit. Two things, I want to maybe get one of those drill log splitters and put on this. Still working on the logistics. Second is that I had to put a spacer between the wheel hub and the connecting plate to the bit as the nut that holds the hub on extend past the hub.

28.3 cu in HYD WHEEL MOTOR W/5 BOLT HUB

I saw that one on surplus supply. I have 16gpm at ?2500 but don't mind if it spins slowly. In fact I cannot imagine wanting it to spin more than 30rpm for a PDH.

Did you need to drill out a full size spacer plate for the bolts? I wonder if a stack of washers on each bolt would work?

I think Surplus Supply sells the adaptors for BSPP to something like NPT or SAE.

 

[TomSeller]

I saw that one on surplus supply. I have 16gpm at ?2500 but don't mind if it spins slowly. In fact I cannot imagine wanting it to spin more than 30rpm for a PDH.

Did you need to drill out a full size spacer plate for the bolts? I wonder if a stack of washers on each bolt would work?

I think Surplus Supply sells the adaptors for BSPP to something like NPT or SAE.

The only problem you will have at those low, low RPMs is you can't spin the dirt off the auger. Typically that is how you dump the dirt. I raise up, move a few feet, spin the dirt off and move back to the hole. You don't need a lot, but I would not think 1/2 rev per sec would do that unless you have dry or rocky soil. I can spin clean at about 1 rev per sec. Beats cleaning it with a shovel.

 

[woodlandfarms]

I saw that one on surplus supply. I have 16gpm at ?2500 but don't mind if it spins slowly. In fact I cannot imagine wanting it to spin more than 30rpm for a PDH.

Did you need to drill out a full size spacer plate for the bolts? I wonder if a stack of washers on each bolt would work?

I think Surplus Supply sells the adaptors for BSPP to something like NPT or SAE.

I chose to drill out a full size spacer (so it was a flat plate, 5 holes for the bolt holes and one big hole in the center) due to my perception of the torque going on. I am no engineer, don't take my actions as the correct one. I just thought the load distributed across a flat plate would be better than a load across washers, even though it is a shear load and not a pressure load.

They did and do on the NPT stuff. But I am a guy, and I don't read instructions (or descriptions) it was quite clear on the web page but I chose instead to loose a full day chasing down this odd thread size. Only at a pro Hydraulic shop did they set me straight.

 

[IslandTractor]

Woodlandfarms, do you mind sharing the sizes of the C channel you used? And, how did you rig it so it can tilt? Do you need to slightly curl the loader as the auger digs to keep it vertical?

I have a blank SSQA adapter I have been waiting to find a use for and as I don't have a phd but could use one, this looks like a good winter welding project.

(Edit: I looked at the photos again and can now appreciate the bolts that allow free pivot from front to back on the motor mount. Is there also pivot side to side? And, is the loader on the Powertrac self leveling or do need to move the tractor at all during digging?)

 

[MtnViewRanch]

I saw that one on surplus supply. I have 16gpm at ?2500 but don't mind if it spins slowly. In fact I cannot imagine wanting it to spin more than 30rpm for a PDH.

Did you need to drill out a full size spacer plate for the bolts? I wonder if a stack of washers on each bolt would work?

I think Surplus Supply sells the adaptors for BSPP to something like NPT or SAE.

Island, just as a heads up reminder, I think that the 16.8 GPM that your tractor has is a combined pump rate. I don't think that is the flow that you would be getting to run an implement.