Posthole Digger Posthole Digger Preference

[MtnViewRanch]

Chuck, do you have, or are going to get a Top 'n' Tilt set up? If you are, then you can get away with either a 6" or 9" auger for fence posts. Depends on your ground and what size posts that you are going to use. You use the tilt to adjust the auger so that it is straight up and down. (plum) The top hydraulic is removed to install the PHD. As far as the 18" vs 24", I'm not sure, that is why I got both. If you get the 24" bit, don't get a tree bit. (tapered) Get the bit that will cut a flat bottom. Mine is tapered and it is no fun hand digging the bottom out square at 4' deep.

Be sure that for that price that you are getting good bits, Pengo or equivilant. You will not be happy with the cheap bits. Depending on how hard your ground is, you might give thought to a down pressure kit also, since your dealer is giving you such a good price. I just paid $540 for my kit, have'nt had a chance to install it yet.

Any other questions, just ask.

 

[Glowplug]

Chuck, do you have, or are going to get a Top 'n' Tilt set up? If you are, then you can get away with either a 6" or 9" auger for fence posts. Depends on your ground and what size posts that you are going to use. You use the tilt to adjust the auger so that it is straight up and down. (plum) The top hydraulic is removed to install the PHD. As far as the 18" vs 24", I'm not sure, that is why I got both. If you get the 24" bit, don't get a tree bit. (tapered) Get the bit that will cut a flat bottom. Mine is tapered and it is no fun hand digging the bottom out square at 4' deep.

Be sure that for that price that you are getting good bits, Pengo or equivilant. You will not be happy with the cheap bits. Depending on how hard your ground is, you might give thought to a down pressure kit also, since your dealer is giving you such a good price. I just paid $540 for my kit, have'nt had a chance to install it yet.

Any other questions, just ask.

That quote was for the Landpride bits. Are those good quality or do I need to order separate Pengo bits? I don't have a Top 'n' Tilt. I had planned to get a hydraulic toplink but I don't guess that would matter for a PHD. I could hook up a hydraulic lift arm I suppose. I wish there was a straightforward kit to get a TNT. It seems to me like they have to be custom configured and built. I imagine a TNT would come in very handy with a box blade so I may have to look into it. If I don't have a TNT are you saying I would be better off getting a 12" bit over a 9" bit for a margin of error?

 

[UpstateSC_Papi]

Chuck, do you have, or are going to get a Top 'n' Tilt set up?

Hi Brian!

New to the forum and to tractors... What is the "Top 'n' Tilt"? Did a quick search and came up empty. Description? Pics?

Thanks!!

Michael

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Yes, if you don't have a tilt cylinder, then it might be safer to get a larger bit. I highly recommend a Top"n"Tilt set up. I am going to the Tulare AG Show this week. I will look to see what is available for kits and let you know. When I bought my tractor, I had ordered T"n"T cylinders, what a joke, I had a fair amount of re-working to make them right.

I believe that the Land Pride bits are Pengo bits, double check before you buy. If I remember correctly, the Pengo name is on the teeth.

 

[Glowplug]

Hi Brian!

New to the forum and to tractors... What is the "Top 'n' Tilt"? Did a quick search and came up empty. Description? Pics?

Thanks!!

Michael

A top 'n' tilt is a hydraulic set-up so that the implement attached to the 3ph can be tilted side to side or angled forward or backward. It works by replacing the toplink with a hydraulic toplink and one of the lift arms for the side links with a hydraulically controlled one. These are then powered by the tractors rear hydraulic remotes. The hydraulic toplink tilts the implement forward and backward and helps in hooking up implements. The hydraulic side link tilts it side to side.

There are about a billion threads on the topic in the past. I'm not sure how would be the best way to do a search. Maybe somebody can put in a link and post some pictures.

Try this link to CCM Machinery.

 

[UpstateSC_Papi]

Thanks Chuck. That's pretty much what I thought it might be.

Can anyone recommend a supplier for one of these? How do I find out if it'll work on my L2800?

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Thanks Chuck. That's pretty much what I thought it might be.

Can anyone recommend a supplier for one of these? How do I find out if it'll work on my L2800?

Chuck ansewered the question about Top"n"Tilt. I am going to the Tulare Ag Show this week. While I'm there I am going to get as much info as I can about all of this kind of stuff so that it can be passed on when needed. I hope that these guys have info along with all the tractors & implements.

 

[Glowplug]

Thanks Chuck. That's pretty much what I thought it might be.

Can anyone recommend a supplier for one of these? How do I find out if it'll work on my L2800?

Yeah, check out my link. I edited my post and put in that link as you were responding so you probably didn't see it initially. Sorry. But CCM seems to be the one that many have used for TNT. Either that or custom build them. Hope that helps.

Let's not hijack the thread though.

 

[dmccarty]

I was wondering about hydraulic post pounders - has anyone had any experience with them? One guy was telling me that they are much better as you do not need to pack around the post afterwards.

How deep do you need to put the posts for the pole building? Do you need to get the pole through the ground frost - we often have up to 8 feet of frost?

Do you fill the hole with a sonic tube and cement or just use a wooden pole?

Garth,

I was talking to the fence guy that was pounding in fence posts for a neighbor. The pounder was mounted on the front of an old IH tractor. The ground he was putting posts into was full of rocks. Walking and NOT stepping on a rock would have been unusual. He said that most of the time the pounder works. Every once in awhile he would have to move the post over when he hit a big rock.

You need to get below frost line. The poles need to be deep to handle the load of the structure. I have a pretty good book about building pole barns/structures that covers load/design issues.

I was out measuring my barn site yesterday evening.

For our barn I want to put in concrete piers and put the columns on top. Plenty of structures are build with putting the poles in the ground I just will feel better not having to worry about rot if I put the wood into a connector buried in concrete.

Later,
Dan

 

[Glowplug]

I was out measuring my barn site yesterday evening.

For our barn I want to put in concrete piers and put the columns on top. Plenty of structures are build with putting the poles in the ground I just will feel better not having to worry about rot if I put the wood into a connector buried in concrete.

Have you ever seen a rotten telephone pole (utility pole)? I guess it could happen. But I don't think footers are necessary for pole barns. That's part of their appeal. Not necessary, couldn't hurt, may be overkill.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Have you ever seen a rotten telephone pole (utility pole)? I guess it could happen. But I don't think footers are necessary for pole barns. That's part of their appeal. Not necessary, couldn't hurt, may be overkill.

Actually, I think that if poles are set in concrete, they will rot out a lot faster.

 

[AllWaysBreakinSomething]

I've been working on our ten stall barn 36x84 and decided to go with treated 6x6 posts as I wanted a clean look and the stall fronts mount nice. Also those utility poles are really really heavy. It's easy for two men to set a 16 foot 6x6. They costed $40 each.

I would suggest buying the larger auger bit as well (18 inch). I agree with one of the previous posts that you will need wiggle room. We laid off the post sites using a transit and tape. They were accurate. But when digging the holes they moved somewhat. We had to use clam shells a bit which sucked.

One last thing. Our barn has a second story hay loft. It's top heavy when putting up the girders and floor so you need lots of 1st floor bracing and concrete around the posts. If you don't at least set these on concrete your barn will sink.

That top and tilt sounds cool. My land is rolling so backing up to dig fence posts is an issue. Especially if I'm alone. Get get the wife out in the pasture much..haha!!

 

[MtnViewRanch]

I've been working on our ten stall barn 36x84 and decided to go with treated 6x6 posts as I wanted a clean look and the stall fronts mount nice. Also those utility poles are really really heavy. It's easy for two men to set a 16 foot 6x6. They costed $40 each.

I would suggest buying the larger auger bit as well (18 inch). I agree with one of the previous posts that you will need wiggle room. We laid off the post sites using a transit and tape. They were accurate. But when digging the holes they moved somewhat. We had to use clam shells a bit which sucked.

One last thing. Our barn has a second story hay loft. It's top heavy when putting up the girders and floor so you need lots of 1st floor bracing and concrete around the posts. If you don't at least set these on concrete your barn will sink.

That top and tilt sounds cool. My land is rolling so backing up to dig fence posts is an issue. Especially if I'm alone. Get get the wife out in the pasture much..haha!!

I had a set of plans drawn and engineered last year for a 70'x70' pole barn, 26' tall at the peak, and you are correct, the poles are to set on top of concrete. The poles are 16" dia 6' deep setting on a concrete pad 6'x6'x2' thick.

 

[3RRL]

Here is an example of what you can do with a good top and tilt system. This one shows how you can move the boxblade all around. My boxblade also has hydraulic scarifiers on it, operated through my rear remotes.



I have a PHD like Eddie's, a Leinbach 7300 except I paid $450 for it which includes a 12" auger. I haven't used it very much yet but the holes I have done takes me about 1 minute going about 3' deep. That is in my decomposed granite type soil, so it is pretty tough. My shear bolts are also 3/8" and only one. I have busted a couple already, but they are easy to replace. If I had a bunch of holes to do I would look into a hydraulic one for sure. But for me, the occasional user, the cheapie one works great.

 

[Timber]

Well it looks like I am a little late on this thread, Seems everything got covered, I so hate missing a good topic. Love those clips there Rob

 

[wkpoor]

The one thing I haven't seen mentions on this thread is a power head with enough gear reduction to allow for decent engine RPM's and slow auger RPM's. My Leinbach is OK but over 18" its just too fast. I mainly use mine to plant trees and have a 25" Danuser that I adapted to fit the Leinbach. You gotta idle the tractor to use it right and there ain't much power available there. Seems there needs to be a unit with much more gear reduction. Probably is if you get a pricier quality HD one.

 

[BTDT]

Here is an example of what you can do with a good top and tilt system. This one shows how you can move the boxblade all around. My boxblade also has hydraulic scarifiers on it, operated through my rear remotes.



I have a PHD like Eddie's, a Leinbach 7300 except I paid $450 for it which includes a 12" auger. I haven't used it very much yet but the holes I have done takes me about 1 minute going about 3' deep. That is in my decomposed granite type soil, so it is pretty tough. My shear bolts are also 3/8" and only one. I have busted a couple already, but they are easy to replace. If I had a bunch of holes to do I would look into a hydraulic one for sure. But for me, the occasional user, the cheapie one works great.

Rob, with that hydraulic setup, I'll bet that tractor won't ever get stuck. Nice video.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

The one thing I haven't seen mentions on this thread is a power head with enough gear reduction to allow for decent engine RPM's and slow auger RPM's. My Leinbach is OK but over 18" its just too fast. I mainly use mine to plant trees and have a 25" Danuser that I adapted to fit the Leinbach. You gotta idle the tractor to use it right and there ain't much power available there. Seems there needs to be a unit with much more gear reduction. Probably is if you get a pricier quality HD one.

wkpoor, the heavy duty models do indeed have a lower gear ratio. I have a hd model and only drill at an idle. I can't imagine drilling any faster, it doesn't seem like it would be very safe to do so. As it is, very seldom does it take me much more than a minute to drill a hole 4 feet deep. How fast do you need to drill a hole anyway? I know that in certain circumstances, different than mine, it may take longer.

 

[wkpoor]

How fast I drill a hole is not the issue at all. Its that most augers I've run need to turn rather slowly and to do that with the engine at power you would need quite a gear reduction that becomes more critical with larger diameter augers. Another factor is soil type. From what I hear soil west of the missippi is quite sandy compared to ours. In fact our best is considered pure clay by most. Once on auger gets into that hard wet sticky clay it can be like turning into cement that is about to dry in 30secs. You can get an auger stuck real easy in that stuff. Thats where a alot of gear ratio would help also.

 

[Glowplug]

How fast I drill a hole is not the issue at all. Its that most augers I've run need to turn rather slowly and to do that with the engine at power you would need quite a gear reduction that becomes more critical with larger diameter augers. Another factor is soil type. From what I hear soil west of the missippi is quite sandy compared to ours. In fact our best is considered pure clay by most. Once on auger gets into that hard wet sticky clay it can be like turning into cement that is about to dry in 30secs. You can get an auger stuck real easy in that stuff. Thats where a alot of gear ratio would help also.

Are you saying that you'd like to run your engine speed at higher rpms to get a decent amount of torque or horsepower but have your auger still turn slowly? It sounds like higher torque is what you're looking for. Many tractors seem to have their peak torque curve at a low rpm, like 1500, whereas the horsepower would be higher, like 2200. You could probably drill at idle and then if you get stuck increase the rpms as necessary to get it moving. I don't know.