Cat I 3-Point Post Hole Auger

[B3200Guy]

I have a Kubota B3200 and I need to drill some holes for a new deck (12" diameter, > 48" deep). I don't have an auger for my tractor so I was looking to rent one. A local rental company has a John Deere PHD300 cat I auger available but I don't know if that will work on my tractor - does anyone know if that's compatible with my tractor? Alternatively any thoughts where I could rent one that's compatible?

Tom

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

If it has a cat 1 hitch... And you have a cat 1 hitch...

 

[Roadworthy]

Are you sure the holes need to be four feet deep? I only needed three foot holes for my pole building. I rented a Bobcat with auger for that. The rental auger may or may not do the job for you - it kind of depends on your soil conditions.

 

[jyoutz]

Are you sure the holes need to be four feet deep? I only needed three foot holes for my pole building. I rented a Bobcat with auger for that. The rental auger may or may not do the job for you - it kind of depends on your soil conditions.

Agree. But if you have time, you can work with hard soil if there aren’t significant rocks. A few years ago we had a real dry spell and I needed to auger 3’ holes for some fence posts. The clay ground was so hard that the three point auger would only drill about 12”. I filled the holes with water and the next day was able to get deeper. After I repeated and drilled one more time, my holes were 3.5’ deep.

 

[herm0016]

his location is Wisconsin, I would want at least 4 foot to get under the frost. my pole building posts in Colorado will be 6 feet deep, fence posts get as close to 4 as I can bear to dig them.

yes, that should work fine on your tractor. if your soil is very rocky or hard clay, you may be better off renting a machine with down pressure, like a dingo or a small skidsteer or track loader.

 

[dlctcg]

Ok, Just wondering....
I guess I'm surprised the rental company will rent the 3pt auger to use with your machine... How do they confirm the PTO shaft will work (i.e not to short or to long), is the correct spline, or is even compatible (say HP wise) for your machine?

The rental places directly around us only rent their PTO attachments with their machines...

Again, just wondering?? A PTO shaft the wrong length can do some damage...

 

[etpm]

It sounds like you don't have much experience with 3 point attachments. Anyway, if your tractor is a cat 1 then any cat 1 attachment should fit. If you do rent the post hole digger then you must do a few things before you start spinning the auger.
First of all you should know that it will take two people to hook up the post hole digger, aka PHD. Once you have the PHD connected you should raise it up carefully, without it spinning, to make sure the shaft does not bottom out when the auger is at its highest point. The shaft telescopes of course and if the two sections bottom out before the thing is at the highest position it could break the tractor PTO gearbox.
Once the auger has passed this test make sure the U-joints are not past the angle where they can safely operate when the auger is at the highest point. The rental place should be able to tell you the safe operating angle.
Be sure the plastic guard is in place over the shaft. There should be a chain at the end of the plastic guard. It should be attached to something stationary so that the guard cannot spin with the shaft.
Stay away from the shaft while the tractor is running. Stay away from the shaft while the tractor is running. Stay away from the shaft while the tractor is running. Stay away from the shaft while the tractor is running.
The post hole digger might come with a long rod that fits into a sleeve on the gearbox. This rod is for positioning the post hole digger. It keeps people away from the post hole digger.
You must, and everyone else must, stay away from the post hole digger when the tractor is running.
You must, and everyone else must, stay away from the post hole digger when the tractor is running.
You must, and everyone else must, stay away from the post hole digger r when the tractor is running.
I know, it seems like I am going overboard with the safety stuff about spinning stuff. A short google search will provide you with many articles about people who got caught in spinning PTO shafts and spinning augers.
All that said, I stay away from spinning shafts and I turn off my tractor when working on PTO stuff. I keep people away from the auger, spinning or not. But boy do I love my post hole digger. I can drill holes with my 9 inch auger 3 feet deep in about 1 1/2 minutes. It is great for planting trees and bushes. And posts too. So use the rental safely and you will save yourself a bunch of time. And you will have fun doing it.
Eric

 

[Vigo327]

^^^ Really solid covering all the points.

As far as the driveshaft, since augers have such long driveshafts to begin with, I assume that means they have a lot of range on their driveshaft, since there is probably over 1 foot of the smaller shaft tucked into the bigger shaft. That should cover just about all the possibilities of 3pt arm lengths. Let me know if im off here.

I actually have one... but ive never used it..