3-Point Hitch Newbie Question on 3 Point w/ post hole digger

[BoomerBaby]

Got a newbie question here and could use a little advice. Might just be a little ignorance on my part about my tractor.

I've had my TC 55 for awhile now but have never used the PTO. I've pretty much just used the hoe and FEL.

So today I come home with a new County Line auger from Tractor Supply. Got some fence posts to set. It all goes together quite well actually. Not a bad unit, especially for the price.

Go to try out some test holes and here comes the discovery...

Seems that it is only the weight of the auger that is pushing down. I sort of expected that I would be able to exert some downward force on it when I lower the 3 pt. It digs an okay hole, but not very deep. The auger's downward progress is easily stopped at only maybe half the auger depth. I suppose the soil is harder at the bottom of the hole and without much downward force (just the weight of the auger and it's gearbox, boom, etc.) tehe holes just don't go very deep. My 3 pt. is not exerting any downward force. So my holes are sinking not nearly as far as I thought they could -- maybe 18" or so.

Several decades ago I recall when I had hired a guy with a mid-sized tractor to drill some holes for me. We had hardpan. And I remember him pushing down so much on the auger that the rear wheels of the tractor both came off the ground. Lots of downward force and smoking auger cooled with water from a hose. Anyway, I am don't have hardpan where I am now, so I'm not looking to get the rear tires off the ground or anything like that. But I thought at least I should be able to exert some downward force with the 3 pt so that I'd have more than just the weight of the auger pushing down.

So I'm wondering if my 3 pt is somehow set to float and if there is a way to lock it somehow so it will actually push down and not just float. I've looked all over for some control or lever I may not have been aware of.

So... can I exert downward force with my 3 pt? Or is that just the way it is?

Thank you for any sage advice.

BB

 

[grsthegreat]

there is no downward pressure exerted on a 3 point hitch. NONE.

I had to add an hydraulic assist unit to my auger, and I'm about 3/4th of the way done with it. I have a speeco unit, and the company sells a hydraulic down force kit that exerts about 150# of down pressure on the unit. If you exert too much you can bend the unit.

If you have real hardpan materials, they make different style teeth for the augars, but there spendy. They also make add on weight kits for most units. You add cinder blocks to the units.

They also make front loader mounted post hole diggers, but they are way expensive.

 

[BoomerBaby]

Interesting. Well that's a little disappointing.

And thank you for helping with my tractor education.

BB

 

[k0ua]

If your ground is anything like here in Branson, Mo. the max I could dig is about 12 inches with anything. we hit limestone shelf all the time sometimes way less than 12 inches. In one of your 18 inch holes. get a digging bar and throw it in the hole, and listen/feel for the big old rock shelf you are sitting on. There may be sparks and smoke if you hit it hard enough:laughing: There were a few older tractors that had/have down pressure, and 1 Russian tractor I can think of that does, but 99 percent of modern tractors have no down pressure on the 3pt. I am just guessing what you have of course, but some quick investigation will reveal the problem. The good news is there is nothing wrong with your tractor.:thumbsup:

James K0UA

 

[grsthegreat]

the idea of the breaking bar reminds me that sometimes when my digger stops going down, i hauled it up, broke up the hole with the bar for a bit, then tried to re-dig with the machine. alot of times this worked to get the full depth hole.

 

[moored4]

Got a newbie question here and could use a little advice. Might just be a little ignorance on my part about my tractor.

BB

I am going to assume when you say Newbie that you are! So here is my :2cents: worth!

If you are having trouble digging holes, BY NO MEANS,:shocked: AND I MEAN BY NO MEANS have someone try to Ride the PHD down by adding their weight to the implement! That puts them in very close proximity to the drive shaft which could result into a very bad accident!:confused3:

If needed add a bracket to the beam and add blocks or barbell weights.

JUST KEEP SAFE My Friend!:thumbsup:

 

[BoomerBaby]

Ah yes... this is all making a lot more sense now. And yes, it's nice to know there is nothing wrong with the tractor!

I'm in the foothills of the Sierra. Topsoil is thin in spots but at least most of the rock I hit tends to break up into small chunks. Will try the breaking bar method on those holes.

Some other holes have rock shelves that are pretty solid and was expecting to have to mostly jackhammer those anyway.

Great forum guys and I appreciate your thoughtful replies.

BB

 

[BoomerBaby]

Appreciate the cautions!

Yeah, I could imagine something really sudden and bad happening if somebody was too close to the driveshaft or auger. And I bet it's happened way too many times.

Thank you,

BB

 

[SSdoxie]

It could be how the PHD or your lift points are set up, is your 3pt all the way down when auger is only 1/2 way in? Take the auger off the power head then lower 3pt down. If the power head won't come close to touching the ground you need to adjust position of the A frame on PHD farther back on the boom, or change lift link connections on 3pt arms to go lower.

 

[Brad_Blazer]

Just like a drill bit if the auger is spinning and not digging it will dull quickly. It may help to sharpen the cutters and run the auger slowly.

If you have an old barbell set you can cut the end off the bar and weld it to the phd and slide the weights on that. Might want to drive pretty slow with all of that weight wagging on the end of the implement.

My Belarus has downforce on the 3ph and it is great with the phd. The other thing to watch out for is when the ground is soft and the auger wants to screw in instead of digging. The only reverse on the PTO involves a pipe wrench and cheater bar.

 

[moored4]

. The other thing to watch out for is when the ground is soft and the auger wants to screw in instead of digging. The only reverse on the PTO involves a pipe wrench and cheater bar.

A real BIG cheater bar! :shocked: Don't ask!! and I have one fence post that the bottom 1/3 is the auger with pipe welded on top! :mur:

 

[BoomerBaby]

They say an "expert" is someone who has encountered every possible problem in a very narrow field.

Thanks experts!

BB

 

[MiserableOldFart]

I bought the Countyline at TSC a few weeks ago and though I've only dug a few holes so far, I have run into the "screw-in" problem a couple times. The little TC26 DA doesn't have the huge 3pt lift power of bigger tractors, so it's probably a bigger problem with the little tractor. I find that the way to prevent that from happening is to not let the drill work for more than a few seconds at a time without lifting it a few inches or more, and keep the rpms down. I've been impressed with the way the implement digs into the Catskill Mountain rock, but I can envision it being VERY easy to stick that sucker into the ground hard enough so that it will have to be screwed back out by hand, or maybe by a rented mule.. not my idea of a fun time. Might even be possible to screw it so far and fast as to lift the front end of the tractor off the ground..

 

[bullbreaker]

Not saying this is your problem but I hope you filled PHD with oil(80/90) because every one I've ever seen come out of a TSC store came shipped bone dry.

Boone
BTW:Comer gear boxes.

 

[idscarecrow]

When I was a kid, my dad welded a pipe on the top of the auger. When we needed the extra weight, we had a long steel bar to insert in the pipe, and I would hang off and bounce on the steel bar. Perhaps not the safest, though the bar got me a fair distance from the auger. It worked though. Usually.

 

[barbqranch]

My understanding is to always run the PHD at minimum rpm. At least on my TC29D, there is plenty of power. The usual problem for me is weight. Mine and the PHD. But, that is another story.

 

[MiserableOldFart]

The TSC Countyline brand is shipped dry, but there are warning labels and stuff all over the place. I don't think anyone is going to forget to put oil in 'em..

Low RPMs was something I read here on TBN. The instruction manual doesn't say much about this, but if you tried to go at 540, you'd likely either screw the thing into the ground tight or break the shear pin. BTW, on the Countyline units they are a standard grade 2 bolt, I think 3/8 x 3" but that's just off the top of my head, it might be smaller.

 

[bullbreaker]

The TSC Countyline brand is shipped dry, but there are warning labels and stuff all over the place. I don't think anyone is going to forget to put oil in 'em..

Came accross one person that did they found out about it after about digging about 200 holes(soft sand).
When they put oil in it,there was rubber like seals substance in it and when they ran it after that it would "clatter".

Boone

 

[MMagis]

Before adding weight and just assuming it’s the soil, follow SSdoxie’s advice and lower the PHD with the auger removed. If it doesn’t lower all the way, you need to fix something. First thing I would check is to make sure the PTO shaft isn’t too long. If it’s bottoming out, that will cause the exact problem you’re seeing.

 

[shona13]

G.Day Boomer Baby.

ss doxie,s suggestion would be my first check.
Make sure the auger does not get clogged up with soil ,if it does it will not allow the soil in the hole to get out and stop the digger from working.
Try going down till it wont go any farther and pull out of the hole then get your crowbar and see how hard it is ,if a crowbar dont work neither will the digger .
Depending on the setup of your machine you can buy a spiral point for the auger this will help break up the hard soil if it is at all BREAKABLE if that does not work may i suggest DYNAMITE.
good luck and happy days .
Hutch.