Posthole Digger Need 3pt hitch post hole digger

[Beltman60]

look into having them pounded
I have a Shaver PH8 and pounded 300 posts (4-5" 8' long) in a long weekend (fri, sat, sun) and was done setting them
no need for concrete in the bottoms and fill and tamp, just pound smaller side into ground
works like a charm and you can put them in at an angle
we live on nothing but rock and blew up about 18-20 posts that rocks got the best of (that can put a load in the old shorts)

 

[Beltman60]

I did do my mud lot with a hydraulic post hole gigger front mounted on a skid steer my nieghbor let me barrow
but that was work setting all those posts
much easier pounding
and the ones that were pounded seem to stay better with the freeze that the tamped ones

 

[Woody65]

One followup question regarding post hole digger type. It seems to me that the bucket tractor attachment Danuser would allow for angled holes whereas the 3pt hitch type would not...is that correct? There are some situations(hillsides, vineyards, etc) that would require an angled approach.

Woody65 - Nice fenceline ! Those are pretty straight locust posts. Do you have a good commercial source for these?......Gary

Haoleguy,

Thanks for the compliments. I got the posts from a local guy who goes into the woods and cuts all his own stuff. Found him on Craigslist.

 

[Elkins45]

I have a Leinbach (sp?) that I bought off a guy on Craigslist. It's about 30% useful here in northern KY. Between the heavy clay and the limestone rocks I find that I can successfully finish about 1 out of 3 of the holes I start without having to get off the tractor and hammer away with a breaker bar. Something with downforce would definitely be better, but since I only have $200 in my used 3pt unit I guess i got what I paid for. The unit itself works just fine, it just isn't the right tool for the job.

 

[boblibido]

I sure would love a hydraulic model but I think the 3ph model will have to do. As well as a lot of back breaking work. Now I just have to decide between models.

 

[Oliver1655]

I understand the cost factor between 3pt vs hydraulic. However with the number of post holes you want to dig....

Advantages of hydraulic mounted to loader: 1 - Downward pressure, especially important in hard, dry ground. 2 - The ability to to reverse direction of rotation. Have you ever had one stuck on a root, rock, ... & had to manually turn it backwards with a 3' pipe wrench? Definitely not fun. 3 - Better control of the speed of your auger. Sure you can adjust the pto speed by the RPMs of the tractor, but think of having additional control while working at close to idle not to mention the lower noise level. 4 - Saves time & fuel thanks to the downward pressure ability. 5 - Your back! bringing able to face forward while digging vs twisting in your seat for that many holes is much, much nicer. In summary, with the number of post holes you plan to dig, a hydraulic digger is a very worthwhile investment!

If you do get a 3pt digger, strongly consider making sure it has a strong back welder on the top side of the long tube or add one yourself. It is amazing the number of diggers I see at farm sales that have a bent tube or have been repaired. When the auger gets stuck, rather than get off the tractor & try to unscrew the auger, some folks will just keep trying to lift with the 3pt & ...

Wish you the best!

John

I have a very self-sufficient attitude. "I can do it myself!" With this said, I have a 3pt digger for my tractor, but instead of fighting it in the sand stone for the above reasons, I have a local contractor come over with his loader mounted hydraulic digger for my post holes.