Post Hole Auger

[jveretto]

I bought a ECO 004 Continental-Belton post hole digger to put on my 2800 Kabota. Works fine except I can only dig about 12-18 inched. I have two other holes for adjustment but if I use one of them I don't think I can get the unit off the ground. I am asking for suggestions. It the unit too large for my tractor?

 

[teg]

Is it hard clay or soft dirt. How dry is? Most Post hole diggers don't have any down pressure so it depends on lots of thing to have it dig well. Were are you located and can you tell us what the soil is like?

How far off the ground are the lower 3 point arms... if they are not very near the ground the PHD is just not digging in...

 

[jveretto]

Soil is very soft sand on top of clay. Clay is anywhere from 12'' to 18''. The lower arms drop about 8''-10'' when auger drops 12-16''. (I Know!) Lower arms are still 14-16'' from the ground. The reason I thought the auger would not going as far as should was because I saw no evidence of soil changing to clay in the soil thrown out. I've dug enough by hand to know what I should see.

 

[teg]

So after the auger stops... have you followed up with the manual post hole diggers to see what's down there... sand or clay. That about the depth of "hard Pack" or "Hard Pan" (compacted clay basically).

What does the bottom of the hole look like. I know not too many people are going to use a flash light to look into the bottom of a hole... if it's smooth your auger might need to be sharpen / bent to have a more aggressive bite. They do wear out some what...

 

[teg]

Others have talked about add extra weight on the end of the auger to help it dig better. Cheap option...

 

[jveretto]

I did not have the hand digger with me but I tried to feel the bottom of hole but sand is so powdered a good six inches fell immediately gack into the hole when I took the auger out. It didn't feel like clay at the botton but could be. Thanks for all your help. I may dig a hole by hand to see how deep clay is located beside the auge3r hole.

 

[teg]

My post hole digger has a pipe that come out that is mainly used to align the bit as you start to dig... it's been used to add extra down pressure at times

 

[Dr. Bob]

I have had similar issues with packed clay; rocks, too. I have used a "shale bar" to break up this layer in the hole and then continue with the auger.

As others have said, sharpen the cutters. That has also worked well for me.

As a last resort, I suggest a chain saw: Don't kill yourself or machine trying to drill the hole deeper; cut the post to the correct length for the hole you have.

All of the above have been successful in various situations.

 

[J_J]

jveretto,

Can you show us a picture of the auger mounted. A picture in the up position and the down position.

 

[BeezFun]

I thought the original question was about why the mechanical travel on the PHD was insufficient, not about why it won't dig in a particular type of soil. He says if he puts the pin in the other hole he doesn't have enough 3pt travel to lift it off the ground.

I second the idea of posting a picture of the hookup.

 

[jveretto]

Thanks all. I'll try to post pics tomrrow or the next day! You all are awsome!

 

[xtn]

I also assumed you were talking about running out of 3pt travel, not about inability to drill. So which is it?

 

[jveretto]

I did run out of 3 pt travel, not digging power.

 

[Tom_H]

Another not too expensive change you can make is to replace a blunt tip with a fish-tail tip. This can help begin the cut into hard material. I use up to 200 lb. of ballast but also use a Pengo auger which has a triple fishtail tip made of carbide and carbide cutters welded along the edges of the guide bit.

http://www.pengoattachments.com

 

[Chilly807]

How many holes did you try to drill? The reason I ask that is because every so often I happen to drill directly onto a flat rock.. It's hard to see the rock is there because the soil is still in the hole, but it just refuses to go any further down.

If the soil is very dry and compacted, it may not drill either. Holes drilled at this time of year take us about 3 times as long as usual.

Sean

 

[J_J]

I am thinking the top link is not set up correctly.

 

[teg]

I am thinking the top link is not set up correctly.

That's maybe because there isn't one with a PHD and changing which hole the PHD attaches to only changes the height. Since the tractor doesn't have any down pressure, once it hits resistance, it doesn't take much to stop it.

 

[xtn]

Okay, you have confirmed that your limitation is available travel. Assuming no really odd angles, or weird linkages that change the geometry, let's assume for now that your PHD moves up and down just like any regular boom would through an arc. So to get more travel at the end, or arc length, you need a longer boom.

Or, to make the best usage of the unit you already have, pivot the support arch around the lower link pins such that it mounts to the boom nearer the main boom mount (top link mount). This changes the lever arm such that you get more travel out at the end for each inch of travel by the lower links.

 

[J_J]

That's maybe because there isn't one with a PHD and changing which hole the PHD attaches to only changes the height. Since the tractor doesn't have any down pressure, once it hits resistance, it doesn't take much to stop it.

Should have said top linkage. There should be about 4 to maybe 6 holes.

 

[xtn]

That's maybe because there isn't one with a PHD and changing which hole the PHD attaches to only changes the height. Since the tractor doesn't have any down pressure, once it hits resistance, it doesn't take much to stop it.

It doesn't only change the height. It changes the lever arm length, resulting in more or less travel out at the end of the boom. At least if we're talking about which boom hole the support arch is mounted to. The OP said his problem is limited travel, not hard digging conditions,