Quick hitch for a 3 point hole digger

[Fallon]

What PTO clearance issues you end up with & how did you solve them? It looks like there is another attachment below the QH top hook. What is its purpose & can you post a better photo?

 

[travlitt]

What PTO clearance issues you end up with & how did you solve them? It looks like there is another attachment below the QH top hook. What is its purpose & can you post a better photo?

What I think you are referring to in the picture is the left side lower quick hitch attachment point. The drive line problems were solved by changing the top link travel. I also determined you can have down force pressure by raising the 3 point to max height and extending the top link. I can actually lift the rear tires of my tractor off the floor.

I did dig several holes to day and all went very well.

 

[Fallon]

How long is your boom from the QH to the gearbox pin?

I chopped up my PHD this morning. Tacked the boom on the first time & found I didn't have quite enough height. Ground off the tack & got the height setup nice with the bottom of the augur a foot off the ground & the gearbox hitting the floor when it's down.

Now I'm looking at my PTO shaft being significantly to short, maybe a foot and a half.

I cut off about 8" of the boom & there's normally about 2' or so of boom between the arch & the top link hole, so it's not really surprising. I'm either looking at a 18"' PTO extension or trimming about 18" more off the boom. I figure at the moment I have at least an extra foot of height range if not more, so shortening the boom isn't going to kill me there. I haven't sorted out the PTO angles & interference yet, but it looks like it might be close to hitting at max height, which is another reason to look at a PTO shaft extension, it would eliminate any potential problems there I expect.

Before I started... It always drug on the ground, but I didn't get it setup right when I hooked it up to bury a chicken so it's lower than usual.


How it's sitting now when I came in for lunch & to think about it. The arch actually rests perfectly in the toplink hook, I just had to cut off the ears that formerly attached to the boom & grind down some of the braces a bit.

 

[travlitt]

How long is your boom from the QH to the gearbox pin?

I chopped up my PHD this morning. Tacked the boom on the first time & found I didn't have quite enough height. Ground off the tack & got the height setup nice with the bottom of the augur a foot off the ground & the gearbox hitting the floor when it's down.

Now I'm looking at my PTO shaft being significantly to short, maybe a foot and a half.

I cut off about 8" of the boom & there's normally about 2' or so of boom between the arch & the top link hole, so it's not really surprising. I'm either looking at a 18"' PTO extension or trimming about 18" more off the boom. I figure at the moment I have at least an extra foot of height range if not more, so shortening the boom isn't going to kill me there. I haven't sorted out the PTO angles & interference yet, but it looks like it might be close to hitting at max height, which is another reason to look at a PTO shaft extension, it would eliminate any potential problems there I expect.

Before I started... It always drug on the ground, but I didn't get it setup right when I hooked it up to bury a chicken so it's lower than usual.
View attachment 403569

How it's sitting now when I came in for lunch & to think about it. The arch actually rests perfectly in the toplink hook, I just had to cut off the ears that formerly attached to the boom & grind down some of the braces a bit.
View attachment 403570
View attachment 403571
View attachment 403572

My boom is 4' from the gear box pin to the yoke where it is welded. Then there is an additional 8" from the weld to the front of the QH.

 

[travlitt]

How long is your boom from the QH to the gearbox pin?

I chopped up my PHD this morning. Tacked the boom on the first time & found I didn't have quite enough height. Ground off the tack & got the height setup nice with the bottom of the augur a foot off the ground & the gearbox hitting the floor when it's down.

Now I'm looking at my PTO shaft being significantly to short, maybe a foot and a half.




I cut off about 8" of the boom & there's normally about 2' or so of boom between the arch & the top link hole, so it's not really surprising. I'm either looking at a 18"' PTO extension or trimming about 18" more off the boom. I figure at the moment I have at least an extra foot of height range if not more, so shortening the boom isn't going to kill me there. I haven't sorted out the PTO angles & interference yet, but it looks like it might be close to hitting at max height, which is another reason to look at a PTO shaft extension, it would eliminate any potential problems there I expect.

Before I started... It always drug on the ground, but I didn't get it setup right when I hooked it up to bury a chicken so it's lower than usual.
View attachment 403569

How it's sitting now when I came in for lunch & to think about it. The arch actually rests perfectly in the toplink hook, I just had to cut off the ears that formerly attached to the boom & grind down some of the braces a bit.
View attachment 403570
View attachment 403571
View attachment 403572

My boom is 4' from the gear box mount to the yoke where it is welded. Then from that point to the front of the QH is an additional 8"
Your hook up is some different than mine but the principal is the same. Another thing you might need to consider doing, with the 3 point hitch raised all the way up and the top link extended approximately 4", change the angle of the boom where it is tacked to the yoke down to the point of the auger point is 3 to 4 " off the floor. This will help the drive line clearance.

 

[Fallon]

My boom is 4' from the gear box mount to the yoke where it is welded. Then from that point to the front of the QH is an additional 8"
Your hook up is some different than mine but the principal is the same. Another thing you might need to consider doing, with the 3 point hitch raised all the way up and the top link extended approximately 4", change the angle of the boom where it is tacked to the yoke down to the point of the auger point is 3 to 4 " off the floor. This will help the drive line clearance.

Thanks, will probably just trim another foot or 2 off the boom then, think mine was at least 6'. I was setting the angle before I tacked stuff by dropping the 3pt all the way the running the toplink most of the way back. Wasn't paying too much attention to PTO anything at that point, just getting clearance so my augur wouldn't be dragging finally. I was actually planning on welding on some extensions to the arch before I saw this thread.

Once I get this all sorted out, probably going to weld on some more hooks to hang some more weights over the augur.

 

[travlitt]

Here are some more tips for your set up. Some of this I had to learn the hard way.
1.After you have established your height... mark this position on the boom where it will be welded to the yoke.
2. Remove the gear box and lower the boom tip onto a flat table top
3.Make sure the the 3 point hitch is level to the tractor and the floor.
4.Place the boom end on a table, but the boom up to the yoke, and align the marks on the boom and the yoke.
5. Measure from the end of the boom to some point on the lower QH attachment point. This will square the boom to the tractor.
6. Look at the end of the boom that is setting on the table and be sure the end is setting flat on the table and IS NOT twisted. If this is not perfectly flat and level with the 3 point the auger will not hang plumb and your holes will not be straight down.

 

[Threepoint]

Very impressive modifications, guys. Based on your experience so far, do you think PHD manufacturers might eventually be able to offer QH-ready diggers? With all the variation in tractor sizes. seems like that might be impractical.

 

[travlitt]

Very impressive modifications, guys. Based on your experience so far, do you think PHD manufacturers might eventually be able to offer QH-ready diggers? With all the variation in tractor sizes. seems like that might be impractical.

The size of the tractor shouldn't be a problem as long as the digger is sized to the tractor.
I think the bigger the tractor is the easier this would be to modify.
I can see no reason it couldn't be done. It would be more so if a person could do it with out having to have a hydraulic top link. I believe that could be accomplished with some fine tuning.
In my project the drive line clearance was the biggest issue. This issue was corrected by changing the angle of the boom where it was welded to the yoke.

 

[Fallon]

Ya, the QH is a standard, so that should be fine. The issues will be the range of your toplink & PTO clearance. I suspect the PTO clearance issue will be the hardest one. Different 3pt geometries & lift arm lengths could vary & cause clearance issues.

Lack of toplink range could be remedied with a longer boom, but not sure if there is a magic bullet for PTO clearance.