Posthole Digger Post Hole Digger Warning

[Reg]

Of course my post was somewhat in jest.
However, while I am the sole operator of MY tractor and implements it is quite possible that it will outlive me and pass to the next generation.
I take some precautions to not create things that could tempt others to use them in dangerous ways - and Just BTW, if we think that warning signs and protective shields are restrictive NOW, just IMAGINE what will be considered too dangerous to use 20 or 25 years from now (-:

 

[6thgpSF]

I've drilled about 100 post holes this fall and twice that many to go and always work alone.I've learned alot reading the various forums and the #1 rule in my work ethic is safety.Whenever I need to get off the tractor I shut it down. I've been tempted to leave the tractor running when cleaning clay off the augar but some of these posts pop in my head and my hand migrates to the engine cutoff. russ

 

[brin]

I have had a PHD for years and when I first bought it I found it would not work very well in our clay soil in GA. so I took the end of the auger to a metal shop and they welded carbide cutting steel on the tips of the auger and it then cut like a hot knife through butter. I did talk to a professional fence installer one time as he was using a post hole driver on the back of his tractor to put in a fence and I commented on how dangerous it looked as the thing pounded down and told him I had a PHD and he said the PHD is much more dangerous that the driver...I know the biggest danger is when you raise it up out of the hole ..be sure always to reduce your pto speed and take it out slowly..If you ever have the speed up and accidentally pull it up out of the hole you are drilling you will see what I mean..it gets wild then.

 

[Steve C]

I have had a PHD for years and when I first bought it I found it would not work very well in our clay soil in GA. so I took the end of the auger to a metal shop and they welded carbide cutting steel on the tips of the auger and it then cut like a hot knife through butter. I did talk to a professional fence installer one time as he was using a post hole driver on the back of his tractor to put in a fence and I commented on how dangerous it looked as the thing pounded down and told him I had a PHD and he said the PHD is much more dangerous that the driver...I know the biggest danger is when you raise it up out of the hole ..be sure always to reduce your pto speed and take it out slowly..If you ever have the speed up and accidentally pull it up out of the hole you are drilling you will see what I mean..it gets wild then.

I never gave much thought to the use of PHD's when I worked on the farm, we just used them, but I was kid then, so there wasn't a lot of thinking going on.

My father in-law's neighbor was a retired school teacher. He had a ford 8N and a post hole digger. Somehow when using it alone in the back 40 he managed to get his arm wraped up in it while he was sitting on the seat of the tractor. He must have tried to push it or something, he didn't remember what happened. Luckily the tractor stalled. It didn't remove his arm but it broke it in 3 or 4 places and really screwed it up.

Of course it sucked him off the tractor seat and flung him up against the support pole and 3 point lift arms and knocked him silly. He managed to painfully extract himself from the PHD and stagger to the house to wait for the ambulance. Along with breaking his arm it beat the snot out of him when he was pulled out of the seat. He had knots and bruises everywhere. Those old 8N's were not designed to be dismounted in that fashion. There is all kinds of hard things to come in contact with.

I saw him a couple months later, they had determined that they could save his arm but he had to have many surgeries to get it to where it somewhat worked as designed.

This left a lasting impression with me. I am not afraid to use a PHD but I sure pay a lot more attention to the task at hand than I did when I was a kid.

 

[Dead Horse]

Echoing previous statements here: "torque".




Tractor don't even know you are there...... it will just as happily grind you up as the work you have it pointed at......

Up here, you let your tractor hurt you and is is a point of shame........ Pay attention and use yer noggin...... the big ole girl can kill ya if you don't.

 

[Tom_H]

My now deceased Father in Law used to ask people if they could cite the first rule of driving. After their incorrect guesses, his answer was, "Drive on the right side of the road."

In my younger years, being a wilderness guide and mountaineering instructor, I took my (then) new wife to the Sierra and set up a short rappel down a sheer cliff, making sure to set anchors for the belay and double stranded rappel ropes that an Ares rocket couldn't pull out. (Well, almost ) My wife enjoyed it greatly. When my FIL found out I'd taken her rappelling, he was livid.

I reassured him that I knew what I was doing and had set up an extremely conservative rappel, put a helmet on her, quadruple checked the harness, biners, rings, etc. and that it was very safe if the appropriate safety protocols were followed. He was not swayed.

I then said to him, "Tommie, you do something everyday that has far more potential to be deadly if just one single basic part of the rules is not followed."

"What on earth are you talking about?" he asked.

My answer, "As you so often imply Tommie, all you need to do is drive on the left side of the highway for a couple of seconds, and you'll be gone." To this, he could think of no reply.

(Note: this was in a time that was pre-air bags, pre-crumple zones, pre-telescoping steering columns, and in a place where seatbelt use was only a sometimes thing.)
_____________

We have created a world where much that we do is inherently dangerous. The danger has been mitigated for very many of those things through the establishment of safety protocols. Those who chose to ignore safety protocols, do so at their own peril. Those who adhere to those protocols usually go through life without incident.

Rhetorical question to any who doubt the need for safety protocols: Would YOU try standing up in the middle of modern roller coaster ride?

Use common sense; it's a valuable commodity!

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Use common sense; it's a valuable commodity![/[/b]quote]

Common sense, seems that it's not all that common these days.

 

[dcyrilc]

Here's a pic of my PHD. And NO, you DO NOT touch the auger while it's turning!!

Lifting everything except the front wheels off the ground isn't a problem. I have down pressure.

My old boss gave this to me as a going away present when I took my job at the city 5 years ago. I used to build traffic signals for a living. I've dug holes upto 4 ft around and down to 27 ft with this truck. Not to mention lifting a 4000# 3 axle trailer over the fence to get it out of my pasture and go pick up my new tractor a few weeks ago. It sure helped drilling the holes for the posts and hanging the new trusses in the barn we're rebuilding too.

 

[TheGoose]

I recently had the chance to use a skid-steer hydraulic PHD. I also have a standard PHD with my Ford 1910 I used to drill several post holes.

Major points:

The hydraulic is reversible. I found that on the regular PHD it ends up getting stuck a lot down here in our "gumbo" soil. I ended up breaking a lot of shearpins and having to hand-turn it out.

The hydraulic PHD can be turned a lot slower for the same effectiveness. Due to the downforce I did not have to spin it so fast. Major advantage.

Since the SkidSteer could place the auger about 1-ft in front of the tractor it allowed very precise placement of the holes. Driving a gear tractor while looking behind was a little more difficult to get the hole exact. Also, while using the skid steer you can edge the auger if it starts going crooked. With the 3-pt it is not as easy, especially on a gear tractor. The PHD ended up "walking" one way or the other unless you intentionally started it a little crooked. Remember, the 3-pt does not go straight down. It curves a little, which has an effect on the PHD.

The hydraulic unit allows for better control. Since your hand is on the hydraulic lever as soon as you let go the auger will stop. With the pto unit you had to get it spinning somewhat fast and then pop it out of the hole while dropping the throttle down, only to immediately put it back in the hole and throttle back up. Takes some practice getting used to.

All that being said I can now push 3-4" posts down with my new Kubota L3400. No tamping, no PHD to deal with, etc.

If I ever needed to drill very many post holes again I would definitely go with the hydraulic PHD.

 

[Bubbleboy78]

Post hole diggers... fun... if I recall correctly our old digger has been used a few times that I've seen... but I don't think it really requires more than one person unless you're lining up a hole by the exact inch, I'm fairly sure our Masseys have down pressure which allows us to be in the (relative) safety of our seat while the big screw makes its way into the ground.

However I'm still not sure which I feel is save over the post hole digger vs. the driver. Our driver gets the job done (this I have helped do numerous times). But I feel like as soon as somehting went wrong with the driver (if you were caught), as long as you let off the hydraulics handle hopefully not too much damage would occur. The auger on the other hand... if I'm next to an auger for whatever reason I want someone right next to the tractor kill switch.

Beware of busting hydraulic hoses on post hole drivers as well, those hurt real bad and could potentially cause some serious damage to a person (from what I've been told)