Suggestions for a post hole digger?

[Tinhack]

Never thought when I bought the tractor that I would want a PHD.

A grapple was the first to come to my mind. Or a hay bail clamp, two way bucket or angle plow. I'm sure there's more. I don't know what you do with your tractor.

 

[2manyrocks]

If you want to avoid buying a PHD with a chinese gearbox, you might look at an equipment auction to find an older unit made before production got moved to china. Bought my PHD at auction. Needed a gearbox seal, but found one after figuring out that the gearbox was actually made in Italy. I can't say with certainty, but I have a strong suspicion that many PHD and rotary cutter gearboxes have been made in Italy for the past 40 years before chinese manufacturing undercut them so much on price. So that's why I'm suggesting looking for older units. If you really want USA made, I don't know what to suggest.

As for front versus rear mount PHDs, I suspect you can see the digging tip more easily on a rear 3pt so you post holes line up with each other, and 3pts gear drives are more common. Hydraulic would be nice, but used 3pt PHD's go for $400-$500 around here.

PHDs are also dangerous, IMO. Be very careful.

 

[Aquabird]

Thanks for the comments. I guess that I should just get one mostly USA made.

 

[M59]

I found that Everything Attachments makes their frames here themselves. I have no idea where the gearbox is from. I wonder if anyone has any exoerience with this brand?

Aquabird,

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the financial train wreck Everything Attachments went thru a short time ago and the resulting non delivery of numerous paid for orders. Left a bad taste with many members here. I bought box blade years before trouble began but will not ever ever EVER buy from them again due to what looked, to me, to be extremely poor customer relations by the business owner.
Link to thread

Status of Everything Attachments

what's going on at this company. Employees laid off and Travis no longer there ! they once made good American made attachments, but something isn't right here

www.tractorbynet.com

3PH post hole digger has limitations when compared to FEL mounted hydraulic auger. 3PH rotate only one direction so unable to reverse and back auger out of hole like hydraulic can when binding up on clay, rocks, or roots.
FEL mounted auger can exert massive amounts of down pressure whereas the 3PH relies only on the screw tip to pull auger in.

There are lots of threads here where the FEL vs 3PH auger has been beat to death and you will find many of them include the problem with getting the 3PH stuck in hole and then having to detach the auger and then either twist it out with long pipe wrench or dig it out with shovel.

Safety while using FEL auger vs 3PH auger is another significant benefit. The sight path while lining up to drill and drilling with FEL is much better than 3PH.

I have been very happy with the following auger and run everything up to a 30" dia auger and 36" Tree planting auger using the M59 tractor.
Once you have the 3rd function on the FEL you will find it very useful for other SSQA attachments

 

[350c]

So I have some hole to dig soon. I called and found out that nobody locally rents a pto driven one for a tractor. I found a used one at my dealers, but it is rated for lower hp units. If I buy new, would like 1 made in the USA. What would you get for an mx5400 kubota?

Have you considered renting a skid-steer with an auger? One big advantage is the unobstructed visibility and control of the auger.

 

[EddieWalker]

So I have some hole to dig soon. I called and found out that nobody locally rents a pto driven one for a tractor. I found a used one at my dealers, but it is rated for lower hp units. If I buy new, would like 1 made in the USA. What would you get for an mx5400 kubota?

You have two options. PTO or Hydraulic. Hydraulic is night and day better. It's easier to operate, it has reverse and you can mount it to the loader for better control and accuracy. If you are a pro, or you are going to drill thousands of holes, Hydraulic is worth the huge price increase.

I have a 3-point post hole digger that's almost 25 years old. I bought it new when I bought my first tractor, which is 37hp. It's a Leinbach Line, which was pretty cheap at the time. I don't know if they exist anymore, it's not a well known company. The auger on it was horrible. I replaced it with a CountryLine auger from Tractor Supply that's been amazing.

If I was buying today, I would buy the CountryLine Post Hole Digger with a 12 inch auger from Tractor Supply. One of the biggest benefits to the CountryLine auger is the replaceable teeth and tip. You can get them at their stores or on Amazon. A good set of teeth will last for dozens of holes, but they do wear out and new ones cut so much easier then worn ones.

The negatives to the 3 point post hole digger is it's awkward to position and operate. It doesn't like to go straight down. It's very hard to get a lot of holes lined up perfectly straight for a fence, so you need a good clamshell digger too. You need that for cleaning out the hole after you dig it, so spend extra on the best you can find. Mine has metal handles and it's indestructible, it's heavy, but that helps with the digging and widening out the holes when I'm off drilling them.

I'm fencing the perimeter of my 68 acres, cross fencing, building dog runs and even planting trees with my auger. I've done hundreds of holes and still have a lot more to do. I just make sure there is oil in the case and that's all I've ever done for it except a little grease in the driveshaft. I've broken a few sheer pins, but that's rare and easy to fix.

With 37hp I had issues with burying it when it dug too fast. I build a wooden frame to stop that from happening that worked well, but now I have it on a 65hp tractor, and that's enough power to not have any issues with burying the auger. When you bury an auger, you have to unscrew it with a very large pipe wrench, or pull it out with something that has a lot of power. I use my backhoe. Both suck, so be careful to avoid it if you can.

 

[Aquabird]

I recently traded my bad boy diesel ztr in for a grasshopper diesel. Huge engine difference, but more comfort with the new one with uograded seat. The front deck makes it ride smoother too.

Have you considered renting a skid-steer with an auger? One big advantage is the unobstructed visibility and control of the auger.

Yes. $350/day.

 

[Aquabird]

Aquabird,

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the financial train wreck Everything Attachments went thru a short time ago and the resulting non delivery of numerous paid for orders. Left a bad taste with many members here. I bought box blade years before trouble began but will not ever ever EVER buy from them again due to what looked, to me, to be extremely poor customer relations by the business owner.
Link to thread

Status of Everything Attachments

what's going on at this company. Employees laid off and Travis no longer there ! they once made good American made attachments, but something isn't right here

www.tractorbynet.com

3PH post hole digger has limitations when compared to FEL mounted hydraulic auger. 3PH rotate only one direction so unable to reverse and back auger out of hole like hydraulic can when binding up on clay, rocks, or roots.
FEL mounted auger can exert massive amounts of down pressure whereas the 3PH relies only on the screw tip to pull auger in.

There are lots of threads here where the FEL vs 3PH auger has been beat to death and you will find many of them include the problem with getting the 3PH stuck in hole and then having to detach the auger and then either twist it out with long pipe wrench or dig it out with shovel.

Safety while using FEL auger vs 3PH auger is another significant benefit. The sight path while lining up to drill and drilling with FEL is much better than 3PH.

I have been very happy with the following auger and run everything up to a 30" dia auger and 36" Tree planting auger using the M59 tractor.
Once you have the 3rd function on the FEL you will find it very useful for other SSQA attachments

I had not seen that, thanks for bringing that up for me.

 

[Aquabird]

You have two options. PTO or Hydraulic. Hydraulic is night and day better. It's easier to operate, it has reverse and you can mount it to the loader for better control and accuracy. If you are a pro, or you are going to drill thousands of holes, Hydraulic is worth the huge price increase.

I have a 3-point post hole digger that's almost 25 years old. I bought it new when I bought my first tractor, which is 37hp. It's a Leinbach Line, which was pretty cheap at the time. I don't know if they exist anymore, it's not a well known company. The auger on it was horrible. I replaced it with a CountryLine auger from Tractor Supply that's been amazing.

If I was buying today, I would buy the CountryLine Post Hole Digger with a 12 inch auger from Tractor Supply. One of the biggest benefits to the CountryLine auger is the replaceable teeth and tip. You can get them at their stores or on Amazon. A good set of teeth will last for dozens of holes, but they do wear out and new ones cut so much easier then worn ones.

The negatives to the 3 point post hole digger is it's awkward to position and operate. It doesn't like to go straight down. It's very hard to get a lot of holes lined up perfectly straight for a fence, so you need a good clamshell digger too. You need that for cleaning out the hole after you dig it, so spend extra on the best you can find. Mine has metal handles and it's indestructible, it's heavy, but that helps with the digging and widening out the holes when I'm off drilling them.

I'm fencing the perimeter of my 68 acres, cross fencing, building dog runs and even planting trees with my auger. I've done hundreds of holes and still have a lot more to do. I just make sure there is oil in the case and that's all I've ever done for it except a little grease in the driveshaft. I've broken a few sheer pins, but that's rare and easy to fix.

With 37hp I had issues with burying it when it dug too fast. I build a wooden frame to stop that from happening that worked well, but now I have it on a 65hp tractor, and that's enough power to not have any issues with burying the auger. When you bury an auger, you have to unscrew it with a very large pipe wrench, or pull it out with something that has a lot of power. I use my backhoe. Both suck, so be careful to avoid it if you can.

Eddie, I fully considered the county line phd. I had watched a few youtube vids of people getting them. I think they are Chinese made. Having worked in a factory for over 31 yrs, I really wanted one mostly made here. About a week ago, I was close to ordering one, they had $100 off. I was also close to buying the LP pd15 used, but the TSC one was larger and cheaper too.

 

[2manyrocks]

I have a TSC countyline, but purchased at auction. I cant remember who actually makes it for TSC, but I suspect the gearbox on mine was made in Italy. The price at TSC when on sale would have been a better deal than what I paid at auction plus the time hunting the correct seal.

I dont know where the current versions are made.

If you have a bunch of rocks in your soil, be prepared for some exhausting work with a rock bar. I dont know if a hydraulic unit would be easier in rocks because I have never used one. Being able to reverse would be an advantage over a 3pt phd.