2305 and PHD's

[netwayne]

Wanted to get some feedback from my fellow JD 2305 owners who happen to have a post hole digger implement.


What brand of PHD are you using and how well did it fit the tractor? I am not wanting to go back to Deere and pay top dollar for this implement.

I think I have read where the 3pt hitch travel is limited on the 2305 as compared to the larger JD's and in some cases people have modified their PHD to make it work better.

I'd also would like to know where you had acquired the PHD and approx what you spent on it?

Thanks for your responses!

 

[KML]

netwayne,
I bought a hawkline made for the BX off Ebay from Lauderback farms in Ohio. Paid $400 with a 12" auger. My in-laws live near him so I picked it up on our way to visit so no shipping.

Comparing it to a "regular" PHD the frame is about 4" shorter but the boom and everything else appears to be the same.

I've only used it to do about a dozen holes and it's worked fine for me. Mine has 3 holes in the boom to put the attaching bolt to the frame, in the rear most position it clears the ground fine but won't put the auger in the ground the last foot or so. In the middle position with the 3pt in the fully raised position the auger is only a few inches off the ground but it will put the auger in to where it attaches to the gear box shaft. And in the furthest position it will bury the gear box but the auger wont clear the ground when fully raised.

Overall it works well and I just leave it in the middle position and call it good. I tie the auger to the boom to transport it. If I really needed to dig deeper I could stop when it gets to the bottom it's range and move the frame to the furthest hole and keep digging but I haven't seen the need for the holes I've dug. It's goes about 40" as is and I'm happy with that.

Hope this helps!

 

[netwayne]

KML,

Thanks for the good information. I definitely appreciate your time. I am currently looking at a Leimbach L7200JR which seems to be appropriate for this small tractor and also has multiple positions on the boom as you described in your post. Having never used one of these before and also having never done the fencing project we are looking to tackle, we are a little hesitant to purchase this and then find out the project is a real bear and we just dropped $500. We may rent one to start the project and if we feel we can manage the balance of the fencing, go ahead and purchase one.

Wayne

 

[meb9796]

Wayne,

I responded to your msg, but realized after reading your post, that I never mentioned the 3pt hitch. I had no problem attaching it, but did have a problem keeping it from swinging from side to side. After doing 80 3-4' deep holes, I realized that having it loose is not a bad thing, because it makes getting it into position that much easier. I attached the yoke to the boom on the 2nd hole from the rear (close to the tractor) and I could lower it past 3.5' and drive around with it fully elevated with no problem.

Not sure what type of fence you are putting up, but I put up a 4 board horse fence with post every 8' for over 600' and it took me and my brothers 3 weekends to do it. We did 10 the first day, 30 the 2nd day, 20 the 3rd day, and I did the remaining when I could. After painting and gate hardware, I'd say it took me a solid 5-7 (8 hr) work days.

I paid around 450 for mine in Frederick, MD and I'm more of a buy it instad of rent it guy, so I can work when I want to and not feel pressured to get it done in one day so I can return the rental equipment. Besides, I plan on using it next year to build a pole barn and eventually....I'll fence in the rest of the property.

OK OK, I uploaded a picture of the fence too. This is the corner closest to the road, and you can see the reason it has 4 horizontal boards.

 

[netwayne]

Mark,

Nice fence!

Well, I did pickup that PHD today from Leinbach. Turns out they were only about 90 mins away so we saved a little (paying for shipping vs paying for fuel to pick it up). They have all kinds of implements there so we might have to stop back at some point. Besides a good cart, the next thing will probably be a landscape rake.

Glad to hear you didn't have to modify the PTO shaft at all. Sounds like the 2nd hole from the back worked pretty good so I think I will start there. Was curious how you kept the holes dug to the same depth? Did you just eyeball them as the auger went down or marked the auger perhaps? I realize I am going to want to measure after but just wondered about the rough initial dig. We are going to do the 3 rail fence (creosote treatment) with the posts that have the holes in them and the rails slide through. No nailing. Did you say that you ran the PHD at just above idle speed? Also, we are not planning to concrete in the posts but probably will on the gate posts...what did you do?

Thanks again for your replies!

Wayne

 

[meb9796]

Wayne,

I just dug my first hole to the proper depth and looked where it was on the auger and used that as a gauge for the rest of the holes. One important thing I forgot to mention is that the auger does NOT get out all of the dirt, so you'll need a post hole digger (manual type ) or shovel at the least to clear out the loose dirt left in the bottom of the hole when you pull out the auger.
Yes, I ran the tractor at idle for digging the holes and only had to turn it up a 'little' bit when it would get stuck and kill the engine. I'd rev it up a little bit and lift and start the auger at the same time to get it out. I never had to hand pull the auger out by hand and it only got stuck bad one time when we were trying to go too fast and not pulling it up every foot.

I used 8' long 7 1/2" half rounds for my post and 6x6's for my gate post. I only poured a bag of quickcrete into the bottom of each gate post and they are solid as a rock. The rest of the post are fine too, but I did used a rock breaker as a tamper and tamped in each post real good.
Good luck and have fun!!

 

[Ichabod]

OK OK, I uploaded a picture of the fence too. This is the corner closest to the road, and you can see the reason it has 4 horizontal boards.

meb9796,

Nice dog! Beautiful trees!! Gorgeous property!!! I'm in lust!!!!

L8R

 

[JiminGa]

I don't have a phd but I thought I would throw out my experience on something mentioned in this thread. I have looked for rental implements for the 2305 and it is very hard to find implements sized for this tractor...looks like those of us with limited lift height tractors are stuck buying implements rather than renting.

 

[netwayne]

I don't have a phd but I thought I would throw out my experience on something mentioned in this thread. I have looked for rental implements for the 2305 and it is very hard to find implements sized for this tractor...looks like those of us with limited lift height tractors are stuck buying implements rather than renting.

In my case, the majority of the implements I will use I feel I will need enough to justify purchase. Recently, I rented a large 3ph broadcast spreader for starting pasture but I don't think I want to have it laying around as it's use is more limited and I will rent again on the rare times I need it. It did fit the 2305 just fine though.