Auger 3rd function hydraulic or PTO

[kTran]

Hi there,

I’m new to land ownership and equipment and would appreciate all pointer. I bought a Kubota L2501 last year, equipped with 3rd function hydraulic for grapple and an auger. While I really enjoy the grapple, the auger is way underpowered and even with 12 inch cannot dig a hole without me stopping it, clear soil off the blade, then try again a couple of inches at a time.

I’m thinking about getting a post hole digger running off of PTO. Maybe that would be a little stronger than the 3rd function hydraulic?

Appreciate your thoughts and advices.

 

[kTran]

My land is heavy clay, by the way.

 

[ptsg]

What hydraulic auger are you running? Are you using one meant for tractors or those meant for skidsteers with much higher flow and pressures? The later won't work very well and will stall easily when ran on a tractor.

As far as the PTO auger, it will have a lot more power since it's using most of the engine HP, however, it has a very big con in my opinion. Which is that you can't reverse the auger if it gets stuck. This is where the hydraulic one shines.

For comparison, you have about 5 GPM at 2200 psi at the 3rd function, which equates more or less to 7 hp. The PTO will delivery about 17 or 18 HP at max engine RPM.

 

[jfsawatzky]

Depending on the soil / rocks/ roots you have being able to reverse a hydraulic auger can make a huge difference compared to a pro driven one

 

[RjCorazza]

I think Messicks did a YouTube video of the Land pride hydraulic auger on a smaller tractor, maybe even an L2501 (?).
I think the hydraulic motor rating is important, and if memory serves, the lowest flow motor is 6gpm.
I run their low flow auger on my L4060, which has about 9gpm hydraulic flow available for implements. I'm not certain if the 3rd function can use that entire amount though.
After I got used to the auger spinning slower than a pto auger, it works fine. The down pressure and reversing are a big plus. I believe my hydraulic auger equates to 14 HP, whereas I have 32 HP available at the pto.

 

[zzvyb6]

I made my own hydraulic digger from a garage sale motor and my current pto auger drill. I used one of the plates from a JD loader QA to mount it one 1 of the loader arms. Nice to see forward to where the hole is needed, especially when its for post replacement in a current fence. The loader is there with enough capacity on the other arm to yank out the old post. Then there is downforce and reverse features. I only have 2 functions from loader control, but I can curl the plate forward & disconnect from curl and run the digger. Since it's gimbled, (truck cv joint) it always hangs vertical in all planes.

 

[zzvyb6]

you could run an external pump to drive higher flow rates, but id upgrade the motor in the digger to spin it better faster or with more torque first. BTW most of these hydraulic diggers are used on skid steers as mentioned above (good observation !) so trade it for a scut version.

 

[David in KY]

Your tractor is limited primarily by its low flow rate. A hydraulic auger will deliver less power to the cutter than a PTO auger will. So theoretically , pretty much every tractor would be more productive using a PTO driven auger.

However, larger tractors, with higher flow rates can produce satisfactory results using a hydraulic auger.

Also, the benefits of using a hydraulic auger on your FEL is the ability to maneuver into tighter positions, and the ability to apply downward pressure to the auger while drilling.

I have a 66HP tractor with an auxiliary flow rate of about 10 gpm. I have considered getting an auger, but have low expectations regarding my planned use. I have rocky clay ground, which I think makes for tough drilling. To qualify my position, I used to work for a geotechnical engineering company running a trailer-mounted drill. I've drilled in various conditions and know torque and pressure requirements. For the small tractor that you have, I would recommend renting a skid steer and auger to complete your project.

Good luck in your endeavors.

 

[EastTexCowboy]

I have one of the skid steer style augers with an 18", 12" and 9" augers that I've ran on both my MF 4707 (75hp) and my MF 1835M (36hp). We have heavy clay here and it works great even on the small tractor. The reason it does, as pointed out here, is the flow rate and the type of motor. The hydraulic flow rate on the 1835 is 12.6 gpm and the 4707 has a flow rate of 17.6. I borrowed a 24" auger and did some 5 ft deep holes when we added a wing onto the shop a few years ago and for that I had to use the bigger tractor but it handled it easily. But one of several reasons I went with MF tractors was the hydraulics being so strong, relatively speaking. Then when I bought the auger I made sure the specs on the motor were compatible with my tractors.

As far as PTO augers, I've had a few over the years and still have one that a friend borrowed and I've never bothered to get it back. I hate them. Not only can you not reverse it but in this heavy clay it just sits on top of the ground and spins.

With your flow rate I think you're going to have a problem ever getting it to work correctly. I agree with a couple of the suggestions above - either add an auxiliary pump or rent a skid steer to do your job. I suppose you could try a smaller auger like a 9" but that may not work for what you're doing. I usually use utility poles for fence posts so they run from 8" to 12" in diameter and the 18" auger works well for those sized. But that's just me.

 

[texas42]

For holes up to 12 inch diameter, check out the Land Pride SA10. Expensive for what it is, but works great on a compact tractor.