Hydraulic auger recommendations for my FEL

[leonz]

My tractor has a ~18gpm flow rate (not sure on the PSI though). I'll be routing hydraulic lines from the (stock) rear remote up to the FEL to power the Auger, which should allow for continuous flow @ 18gpm.

I've been looking at the Danuser EP1530 which is rated for 15-30gpm. Looks like it can be had for $3K.
Also, any recommendations for a 24" auger bit for hard clay & frangible rock (sandstone in my case)?

Does anyone think I need to be worried about hydraulic loss routing from the rear remotes? I asked AI and it calculated the losses in the 1-2% range depending on the operating PSI of my tractors hydraulics.

Also, do I need a cross port relief valve? Some augers have this feature built in, but not the Danuser. Do I really need it?

Do not buy anything but a tree transplanting for your use.

The conical tree transplanting auger reduces the amount of resistance the auger as a whole will see and deal with as the
point of the auger with the bits will be able to dig and the auger flighting will carry the dirt and rocks away
with much less effort as the hole you are digging is wider as it drops and rises to the top at an angle which
creates less resistance to the material being carried to the top of the whole.

 

[Squirrel's242]

I would say the only caution would be most compact tractors don't have the GPM's to power the skid steer auger motors. But they do make motors that are rated down to 10gpm.

Here's a vid of a guy with the extreme example of a big auger motor on a little tractor. It got the job done, but man does that auger turn slow.

With a PTO auger, you have much more power available, but it kind of goes to waste because there's no down force.

I've got 6.7gpm flow on my Danuser EP615 and it is faster than that. Don't have a figure for you but next time it's hooked up I'll note it.

 

[Squirrel's242]

Except for the $$$$$, are there any downsides to a hydraulic FEL PHD?

The biggest downside I see right now is the view. I'm going to sort out how I can better see my point of dig over the front of the tractor so that I can make the small adjustments as I dig. Right now I get off the tractor and stand to the side while I dig so I can see progress or spot any adjustments then hop on. I do work with a spotter too. But I found the work more precise when I used the auger on the front of a Toolcat because the visibility was great.

On my attachment plate I do have the mounting point on the side so I can move the motor head from center mount to the edge but I don't want to use downforce on the loader on uneven arms. My concern is long term use that will end up tweaking the arms.

It does take some care to apply downforce at the right rate for how much the auger bit is breaking through the soil. If you apply too much too fast you lift the front of the tractor up and get the tires off the ground. The big deal is you might twist yourself sideways. Aside from the safety of that, you start making your hole crooked.

We've dig 23 holes at 5' deep in compacted red clay and sand stone, plus another 14 holes 2-3' deep in the past year and a half in 100*+ heat. You bet your buns I 100% prefer using the tractor over the one man auger, rock bar and clamshells.

 

[4570Man]

Compared to a pto auger, my hydraulic ssqa auger spins slow at around 100 rpm. It took a while to get used to the speed difference.
That video looked painfully slow, but it got the job done.

My hydraulic one spins fast enough that it will sling dirt away from the bit. It’s comparable to the speed I’ve seen from PTO ones.

 

[In.the.Piñons]

Do not buy anything but a tree transplanting for your use.

The conical tree transplanting auger reduces the amount of resistance the auger as a whole will see and deal with as the
point of the auger with the bits will be able to dig and the auger flighting will carry the dirt and rocks away
with much less effort as the hole you are digging is wider as it drops and rises to the top at an angle which
creates less resistance to the material being carried to the top of the whole.

I've already bought two auger bits; 24" & 9" HD bits for hard soil.

 

[In.the.Piñons]

I've got 6.7gpm flow on my Danuser EP615 and it is faster than that. Don't have a figure for you but next time it's hooked up I'll note it.

Your Dan is rated for 6-15gpm. Good to know that it works well on your 6.7gpm tractor.

The rating for my motor is 14-36gpm and my tractor is 18gpm, so we are both close to the minimum rating.

IIRC the motor in that video had a flow rate that was much higher than the tractor's rating.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

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My rear remote controls are positioned such that they are not readily accessible when I'm using the loader joystick.

The setup I'm getting from WR Long will still use one of their rear remotes (the kit I'm buying adds four to the existing two) to operate the grapple, but it's activated by a button on a replacement joystick. I went in this direction because they told me that their true 3rd function kit does not support continuous flow. While that doesn't matter for a grapple, it does matter for an auger. But still, their remotes don't flow at the same GPM as my tractors existing rear remotes (18 vs 12gpm), so I will still have to plug into a factory rear remote to operate/power the auger.

Are these diverters, or actual electric double acting valves?