PHD tried to dig to China and take my tractor with it...

[wushaw]

I recently bought a PHD with a 9" auger, I only have dirt with no rocks to contend with, I have dug three holes with it so far with my little 15hp Mitsubishi.
I do as lots of others do is run at idle or just a hair above and clear the auger very frequently, I don't have a FEL on this tractor but there is 354lbs of ballast up there.

Don't fear the PHD....use lots of caution.

It still beats the manual version hands down.

 

[257NH]

Hey Keith,

Only three things I can think of that would help. Weight, HP, and a hydraulic PHD similar to the units used by skid-steers. If you can't pull the auger out with brute force, you can at least turn the auger in the opposite direction and screw it out!

After reading about this happening on occasion and not wanting to experience it myself I took the hydro route.
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r287/257nh/tc40pics018.jpg

 

[Ranger Rick]

Rather then disconnecting the auger you could turn the tractor off and use a big pipe wrench to unscrew the auger out of the ground. I take small bites with the auger when digging a hole. Rick

 

[gerard]

I've dug quite a few holes with a 9in auger and don't quite understand how the auger would screw itself into the ground unless you lowered the 3 point hitch lever all the way down? If you did that - don't! Lower the three point slowly and keep the rpms up. If the flighting catches something going faster is better, it will bounce around a lot and maybe shear the bolt but it won't screw itself into the ground. Next rule is ALWAYS, ALWAYS raise and clear while digging. I raise after the first 18 or so inches, then after that about every foot and keep the auger turning while raising, it will throw the dirt off the flighting when you bring it up and keep the friction to a minimum while raising the auger. I've dug many a hole, busted many a shear bolt but NEVER had to manually dig out the auger (yes, I'm knocking on wood as I type). Bottom line is you can't let it drill in like a screw, you have to use it more like a drill - pulverizing everything in it's path. By lowering it slowly, YOU control how quickly it goes down, not the auger.

 

[cisco]

If you haven't "augured in" using a post hole digger, you've been playing in sand. Sure, you can have a heavy tractor, front end loader filled and such, but if the auger passes by a large tree root (that's usually the issue) it can gain more downward traction than your tractor, the post hole digger, the 3 point hitch or whatever can generate - you can break things that way. Rocking the tractor forward and back a bit can usually disengage the PHD from the side of the root/rock/whatever sufficiently to pull it out. However, sometimes you've got to get a shovel and dig it out, or, alternatively, detach the auger from the body of the PHD and then put a rod through the bolt hole on the auger, or use a large wrench, and just turn the auger the opposite direction that it went it - it'll auger out just like it augered in.
Whatever, most of us pull the auger back to the soil surface every foot of depth (it takes, what, 5 seconds) just to make sure we've a clean hole and are not beginning to lock up on a root or similar. That's particularly important around trees, or in very heavy/dense soil.
One of the funniest things I've seen was when a friend called me to help him with his tractor - he'd buried the auger fully, pulling the front wheels of the tractor off the ground, and he had no clue how to get out of the situation.

 

[montelatici]

I just bought one of those JR PHDs. You guys are scaring me. I have always used the backhoe to dig post holes, sure it is messy, but I never risked being sucked to China with the backhoe!

 

[Charlesaf3]

yep, read about this a few times on TBN and dceided it was probably more fun to read about than to, so I bought the hydraulic.

I still lift it and clear it every foot or so. Nice to have a laborer helping with the process

 

[Barneyhunts]

I've drilled in really rocky areas and (so far) haven't had the auger screw itself in, but, I use the "drill a little and clear" procedure. Seems I've read about this problem earlier on this site.

 

[BotaBigot]

What Cisco said...

It was the root. Doesn't happen if root bisects hole...the auger (usually) cuts it. But, if it passes near the edge and the auger is making good progress...drywall-screw-time. Having said that, other's advice to "clear often," is the way to go...especially in soil with roots/rocks. With experience, you'll develop a feel for controlling the dig rate.

 

[AceDeuce]

KeithInSpace,

Sorry for taking so long to respond, but I just noticed this thread. I assume the PHD is the one I sold to you. I [almost] experienced the same thing you described. But... instead of trying to regulate it by choking down the 3PH valve, I manually actuated the 3PH in very small increments, lowering it only ~1-2" at a time by just tapping the lever and periodically lifting it all the way out to throw off all the loose soil. That technique seemed to work very well. I DEFINITELY noticed early on that, left to it's own devices, it wanted to core to the center of the earth.