Posthole Digger More Down Pressure on my Post Hole Digger?

tractorless · Feb 2, 2005

Correct. PHD attached to the 3 pt. Don't want to get into a high priced down pressure kit that requires additional valve.

Taylortractornut · Feb 2, 2005

I know you dont want to go hydraulic but a long time friend of mine bought a phd from a sale that the neck that attaches to the 3rd arm hole had been bent. We cut it out and made a sleeve that allowd a 2 inch diameter cylinder inside the tube. It acted like a hydraulic top link and provided down pressure enough to lift the tractor off the ground. On his little Ford without auxhilary hydraulics he has a rack and pinion trailer tounge jack in the same set up but it has an extended handle. Its slower than the hydraulic version but easier to use than letting it spin on the ground.

Freds · Feb 3, 2005

I've had good luck with mine, Bob. I bought the Speedco from TSC and started with a 6" auger, but realized I needed the 9". You never get the holes plumb enough to set a 4x4 post in a 6" rnd hole, let alone trying to keep equal spacing from one post to the next.
The bit is getting quite nasty looking, but it keeps on digging.

hobbyfarm · Feb 3, 2005

( Wet ground is easier to dig than dry ground, so maybe you can wet the ground where you're digging, I've read that this is what you do if you're digging in clay. )
 ( The other thing you need to do in clay is to have a ready hand on the PTO lever - in case the auger starts to "screw-in", if it goes too fast it will be a long time unscrewing the auger. )

That's a darn good argument for hydraulic driven augers.

rbargeron · Feb 5, 2005

The method I use is to put a short wood post between the auger boom and my ROPS, and use the FEL to raise the front of the tractor - feeding the auger into the job. Like anything else you need to be careful and not overdo it - but it works great for drilling hardpan with a 12" auger. There's some more back-and-forth about it here.

wroughtn_harv · Feb 6, 2005

It's been my experience that not digging with a PTO auger has a lot more to do with the design and condition of the teeth than it does with down pressure.

There's a thread in projects that went on forever. It's with centex and myself and digging in rock in the hill country. A simple search ought to find it.

Compare that retail for the kinds of augers I use start almost as much as you can get a complete PTO system. There has to be a reason for that. Most of that extra cost goes into the design and composition of augers that dig instead of augers that look like they dig.

I've had a TSC or such auger brought in that woudn't cut wet clay. Simply applying the same principles we use on drill bits and a little creative shaping the same bit has a problem cutting too much. Has to be kept up or it will screw itself down into the ground.

Looking for ways to apply down pressure for an auger in dirt is comparable putting new tires on a car when the transmission is obviously what's broken.

Look at the way your auger makes contact with the dirt. Is it cutting or is it skipping or sliding?

Look at your fish tail. I've changed fishtails that looked perfectly fine and wouldn't cut. Put in a new fish tail and hold because we're back in business.

If you have someone on a lever on your PTO auger and things go wrong as things can do you could be attending a funeral.

That's why they have all those warnings on those puppies. Stuff happens.

MF1455v · Feb 6, 2005

( That's why they have all those warnings on those puppies. Stuff happens. )

And happen so fast you won't believe it. Last fall while digging post holes I had an issue arise that put the fear in me.

Auger was down about 3 feet or so, just about to finish up a 3ft 6 inch hole when the auger caught. Before I could get her stopped I had counter sunk the gear box in the ground and the front end of tractor about 6 inchs off the ground. All that and never sheared the #2 grade bolt/pin.

I always run the tractor a idle or a little above and keep my hand on the PTO switch for fast shutoff. Sure glad I was doing it that day.

Turned out I had dug just to the edge of a 3 inch piece of gray electrical PVC pipe, with the pipe fill the space between the auger blades and the shaft. This was open pasture with the closest utility being a water line 12 feet away and running the opposite direction as the pipe I hit.

Syncro · Feb 8, 2005

Harve- Thanks for an interesting post, I never realized that the cutting design could make such a difference. For my occasional use, if the auger doesn't go down pretty easy then I call a fence co and have them punch the holes with a hydraulic auger. Since I don't do that much fence work, its sure easier on my equipement, and for about $8/hole a lot cheaper than a broken part or a personal injury.

Junkman · Feb 9, 2005

( ................Still, gotta be extra careful if you do that as it is a real pain getting a replacement wife /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif )

Any time you decide that you need another, I will be glad to ship mine to you........ Postage paid!!!!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

GeneD14 · Feb 9, 2005

I wouldn't have a helper hang on it. Just a few months ago one of my employees had to go to a friend's funeral from a post hole auger accident. He was using it on a tractor (3point style auger) and they aren't sure what happened but they found his head tore completely off and an arm. He was alone so there were no witnesses.
Please be safe.