Hole digger won't dig- ?

[G McCall]

I was using an older HOWSE brand Post hole digger yesterday for the first time and could not dig over a 6" hole in the ground.
I have a 42hp PTO kubota (49HP) tractor with HOWSE Post Hole Digger with 9" auger.

Does the Hydraulic assit accessory help that much ?

 

[firemanpat2910]

what type of soil? was it frozen? how fast were you spinning the bit? what type of drill bit? we need more info

 

[blueberryman]

Welcome here, sit down kick your feet out and read and post.

I don't know your soil but is it frozen, rock in the hole. Maybe a bent or broken lead on the post hole digger.

You might check these items first

hope this helps
Rick

 

[G McCall]

Soil was not frozen and there was no rock or obstructions in the hole. I would call the soil a reddish clay soil that seems to be sandy when it is dry.
I even moved several feet over to see if it would be any easier to dig.

My country place where I was trying to dig is in the Hillsboro Texas area.

I could dig with a shovel very slowly. Just hard digging.

 

[bjr]

There seemed to be the opinion that good tips on the auger was the hot ticket. Do a search on post hole diggers and look for the style, brand and supplier of replaceable tips. bjr

 

[kossetx]

If you have clay and the ground is dry, it may not dig. Mine sometimes just polishes the clay and I'm not real fond of it. Mine has 4 teeth and they're sharp.

I just read your second post and your not too far from me. It probably won't dig. I have that same sandy on top red clay subsoil.

Last spring when it was wet you could dig a hole pronto.

 

[chetlenox]

McCall,

I'm right up the road from you in Venus, and I've had the same trouble with our clay-filled dirt when it's dry. It's like trying to drill into concrete. One trick I've found works pretty well is once the bit is in and set, gently nudge the tractor forward and aft while the bit is drilling. Maybe just an inch or so. It seems to cause the bit to dig in on one side then another, which works it in.

Maybe you've already done that, but I figured it out on hole #6 or 7 and it made things go much quicker for me.

Chet.

 

[2manyrocks]

I had the same problem once. It would sit and spin, but wouldn't dig. The digging tip or cutter on the spirals is probably bent, dull or missing.

 

[G McCall]

Thanks for the tips and info.

One thing I did not mention was that I tried PTO speed from idle to higher with no luck.

I will try all tips and look at my blade conditions.

Probably place a new digger with hydraulics on my "wish" list too.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Does the Hydraulic assist accessory help that much ?

First off, check out what everybody else has said, all those things could be hindering your hole drilling.
The hydraulic down pressure kits will exert between 4 & 5000lbs of down pressure. You tell me if that would help or not. Might not if your drilling through concrete, but it should go through about anything else.
Oh, not that I have drilled all that many holes, but I have not yet taken the tractor above an idle while drilling, don't see any reason to.

 

[Dmace]

Is there water accesible at the site? I wonder if flooding the hole with some water and letting it drain a little would loosen things up and make it easier to drill...

 

[oldhippy]

I have a small one man post hole digger. When doing holes I put a little water in the hole afler it starts and it inproves the digging quite a bit. I put in the water about like drilling a hole in a drill press. big dan

 

[bota7800]

I had good results with carbide teeth; cut through clay that the stock teeth would just polish.

I had one hole that I fought for a long time. It did not seem to have any rock in it. Finally gave up and dug by hand. Right square in the middle was a flat hard rock. The tip just spun on it.

 

[weldingisfun]

Your neighbor said he has the same problem you described when the soil is dry. Have you tried adding a little water? Try doing that before you open the wallet.

 

[G McCall]

I have another solution that I am going to try and that is to get a long drill and drill holes in the hole I am trying to drill. hm......

seems like it would work

 

[drtydeed]

Rent a Dingo! You'll have those holes done in less time than fooling around with a tractor phd.

 

[GinNB]

Have you tried putting a seat on top of the PHD frame? Load it with Smarties and tell the local fat kid where they are.

 

[drtydeed]

Have you tried putting a seat on top of the PHD frame? Load it with Smarties and tell the local fat kid where they are.

Well....I've seen it (almost). I have watched three guys wrestling with a 3pt phd to dig fence posts around a pool. One guy to run the tractor, one to put down pressure on the phd by hanging on it, and a third to keep the phd plum! I see this quite often and get a good laugh every time. This seems to be a common problem with my competitors. My suggestion is to simply rent the machine that was designed to do the job in the first place...takes only one person a fraction of the amount of time...

Anyway, I don't mean to rant...I think I'm developing a real bad case of cabin fever...

 

[two-socks]

Get a five-gallon bucket of water and/or water hose and soak all the areas you want to auger over night. Should work like a charm