Danuser G20/40 rant

[michael.white]

I bought a new G20/40 at the end of January and have used it for one test hole (waiting for trees to arrive). A couple weeks ago I noticed a small fluid puddle under the auger - gear oil was leaking around the input shaft seal. Given my unpleasant experience with the dealer I bought it from, I thought the dealer may have used 80w90 rather than the required 140 weight oil. I called Danuser support (sorry - I forgot the name), and he said the wrong oil might cause leaking but sent me a new input shaft seal just in case.

I drained the oil - too heavy for 80w90 - looked to be 140 weight.

Looking at the input shaft seal, it was covered in factory paint - even the rubber part. I pried the seal out and saw paint where the seal rides. There was also a small amount of surface corrosion. It makes me wonder a few things:

1) How long did this unit sit in a warehouse?
2) Why wasn't the input shaft coated in grease?
3) What's up with the paint? I'd gladly pay an extra 25 cents on a $1300 PHD for masking tape rather than have to tear it apart after the first hole.

I cleaned up the input shaft with emery cloth, greased the input shaft and back side of the seal (the old one had lots of grease on the back side), replaced the seal, and filled the PHD with oil. Hopefully no more leaks.

Thanks to the support at Danuser for sending me the seal, I do appreciate that. But for something that's supposed to be the best, this seems a bit careless.

 

[Herkypilot]

Why would any company for that matter, not go the extra mile to ensure implements don't get returned for preventable stuff like this. Who knows...there's little pride in work out there now.

 

[gdanuser]

Mr. White, I understand your frustration and I hope I can clear up a few items. The G20/40 Digger is packaged in a special order cardboard box with its special made wooden pallet. The box is nailed to the pallet.

It sounds like the dealer either used the wrong oil or overfilled the gearbox. To correctly fill the gearbox, you set the gearbox on the output shaft and lean the box over until the input shaft touches (that is approximately 45°). Then add the 85 140 or 90 140 weight until the oil comes out the check plug on the lid of the digger.

When we paint the gearboxes we have a special rubber sleeve that we slide over the input shaft to protect from paint. This sleeve stays on the gearbox until it reaches the customer. Having paint on the outside of the seal will not hurt anything and will not hinder the performance of the digger. As for the corrosion I don't know how the digger was stored prior to delivery to your dealer. We sell to distributors that store the equipment and send it out to dealers when they need the units. The digger would have sat in my warehouse for no more than 3 weeks under roof and protected from the elements.

When you received your digger you should have removed the rubber sleeve on the input shaft and threw it away. Then slide on pinion guard, then the PTO. We have never put grease on our input shafts because the rubber sleeve protects the input gear.

I hope you have your digger up and running. If you need any further help, contact Danuser and ask for Glenn Danuser.
Thank you.

 

[greasemonkeyok]

Wow. That response is impressive in this day and age.

 

[texasjohn]

gdanuser, welcome to TBN:welcome:

I'm impressed by your prompt and detailed response:thumbsup:

I have a Danuser PHD, bought used 30 years ago. It has done many jobs for me, never any problems, never any TLC spent on it either. It just works when I need it to. Superb quality IMHO:2cents:

 

[michael.white]

Glenn,

Thanks for the reply. A few clarifications.

Mr. White, I understand your frustration and I hope I can clear up a few items. The G20/40 Digger is packaged in a special order cardboard box with its special made wooden pallet. The box is nailed to the pallet.

It sounds like the dealer either used the wrong oil or overfilled the gearbox. To correctly fill the gearbox, you set the gearbox on the output shaft and lean the box over until the input shaft touches (that is approximately 45ｰ). Then add the 85 140 or 90 140 weight until the oil comes out the check plug on the lid of the digger.

I checked the oil the first time I attached the digger. The oil was spot on level-wise. Likewise when I drained the oil the oil was not 80 or 90 weight. I poured some onto a tilted board and compared it with 80w90 and 85w140. The oil in the case was too heavy for 80w90 but very close to 85w140.

When we paint the gearboxes we have a special rubber sleeve that we slide over the input shaft to protect from paint. This sleeve stays on the gearbox until it reaches the customer. Having paint on the outside of the seal will not hurt anything and will not hinder the performance of the digger. As for the corrosion I don't know how the digger was stored prior to delivery to your dealer. We sell to distributors that store the equipment and send it out to dealers when they need the units. The digger would have sat in my warehouse for no more than 3 weeks under roof and protected from the elements.

When you received your digger you should have removed the rubber sleeve on the input shaft and threw it away. Then slide on pinion guard, then the PTO. We have never put grease on our input shafts because the rubber sleeve protects the input gear.

Unfortunately, I did not put it together. I made the mistake of ordering it through a local dealer rather than shipping to my house directly, and I cannot say anything about the rubber sleeve. All I noticed was there was a small line of yellow paint on the input shaft near where the seal rides, not a large amount - perhaps the rubber sleeve wasn't seated properly.

Is the input shaft seal greased before installation? Running that seal while dry will also cause damage to the seal. And I would think a bit of grease on the input shaft would help prevent corrosion if the unit sets for a while.

I hope you have your digger up and running. If you need any further help, contact Danuser and ask for Glenn Danuser.
Thank you.

I'll find out this weekend. It's sat full of oil without leaking but I've yet to dig a hole with the new seal.

 

[gdanuser]

texasjohn, thanks for the welcome!

I love hearing from customrs like you. We still believe in quality and customer service. I think it is evident with the American Made Quality Gearbox! Do you have an Operator's Manual for your machine? If not, please provide model and serial number with name and address I we will send you one free of charge.

Just got back from Texas attending a show in Houston. Everyone was so friendly and had a great time. If our company was not located in the orginal 103 year location, I would vote to move to Texas!! Dig on my friend!

 

[gdanuser]

Mr. White,

The reason for grease on the backside of the seal is it touches the bearing that we packed full of grease before we boxed it up. You do not have to use any grease as there is still grease from the bearing and you will be fine. The oil in the gearbox will help to protect the seal. If you would feel better with some grease on the input shaft, that will be fine also.

Please respond back after the weekend and let us know how it performed! Let me know if you have any further questions, comments, or issues.

 

[Missouri Pioneer]

Great manufacturer response. I guess there's a reason Danuser is considered the best. I have another brand bought used that has served me well in its limited use so far.

 

[ljohnson778]

Danuser certainly has my respect...

 

[TomSeller]

I have a Danuser 1025H hydraulic post hole digger with an offset SSQA mounting for my FEL. I am nothing but impressed with the unit. Part of the reason I bought Danuser is because it has a strong family owned reputation. Good ol' USA. We don't see enough of that anymore in the day of global manufacturing. Danuser is a great company. I had zero problems but I am confident that if I did I would been taken care of. Consider this a shout out for Danuser.

 

[murphy1244]

Now that is Service.:thumbsup:

 

[michael.white]

Quick update. I dug five holes this weekend with the 24" auger: 2 at 2+ feet deep and three at about a foot deep. I sheared the shear bolt on the last hole - it doesn't take a lot to shear it with that large of an auger I guess, and I was digging in an area where it doesn't exactly surprise me. I haven't replaced the shear bolt yet, but after sitting inside all day Sunday there doesn't appear to be any leaks.

 

[texasjohn]

Dripping Springs typically has solid limestone in layers very close to the surface or it IS the surface. A 24" auger will surely find rock there, and quickly. Yes, I'd think it would be a good idea to get several shear bolts. What do you need such large holes for?

Quick update. I dug five holes this weekend with the 24" auger: 2 at 2+ feet deep and three at about a foot deep. I sheared the shear bolt on the last hole - it doesn't take a lot to shear it with that large of an auger I guess, and I was digging in an area where it doesn't exactly surprise me. I haven't replaced the shear bolt yet, but after sitting inside all day Sunday there doesn't appear to be any leaks.

 

[gdanuser]

TomSeller,

Thanks for the shout out! Always like to hear from satisfied customers.

 

[michael.white]

Dripping Springs typically has solid limestone in layers very close to the surface or it IS the surface. A 24" auger will surely find rock there, and quickly. Yes, I'd think it would be a good idea to get several shear bolts. What do you need such large holes for?

I sheared the bolt not too far down hill from a limestone outcropping. Further down the hill it's clay for more than 2 feet down with not too many rocks. I plan on ordering a few more shear bolts today - I couldn't find 5/16" 2 1/4" grade 5 bolts at the local Lowe's.

The deep holes were for a couple of pecan trees - I put them not too far from the dry run creek at the bottom of the hill. I have 16 fruit trees coming in from Burnt Ridge nursery. The previous owner took out 90 oaks from my 8 acre lot (due to oak wilt he said), so I've got some open space I'd like filled in. That auger turns a painful hole digging job into a bit of fun

The shallower holes were for some watermelon and ein dor melon hills. I hate the store bought melons - always seem to be picked weeks before they're ready. Hopefully I'll have time for a full garden for this fall or next spring.

 

[gdanuser]

Shear bolts are one of the cons for PTO Diggers, they are necessary to save the gearbox but a pain to deal with. I understand our bolts are higher priced but I thought I should mention this first. Our shear bolts are special made for Danuser to give a solid shaft through the connection then threads. The local store bought bolts will have more thread and less solid shaft therefore they will shear easier. I had a customer with the same machine as you and he was going through several store bought bolts and was upset. He called us and I told him the same thing I am explaining now. I described the differences and he did not believe me. So I did what any other "good" company should do, I sent him 3 of our shear bolts. I called back some time later and he stated that he was using the same shear bolt for a week. Now I understand that there are certain ground conditions, diameter augers, etc. that can alter the time for one bolt but I thought you should be aware before you buy from a box store.

 

[tow653]

If I lived in Fulton,I'd move too! Just kidding

texasjohn, thanks for the welcome!

I love hearing from customrs like you. We still believe in quality and customer service. I think it is evident with the American Made Quality Gearbox! Do you have an Operator's Manual for your machine? If not, please provide model and serial number with name and address I we will send you one free of charge.

Just got back from Texas attending a show in Houston. Everyone was so friendly and had a great time. If our company was not located in the orginal 103 year location, I would vote to move to Texas!! Dig on my friend!

 

[michael.white]

Shear bolts are one of the cons for PTO Diggers, they are necessary to save the gearbox but a pain to deal with. I understand our bolts are higher priced but I thought I should mention this first. Our shear bolts are special made for Danuser to give a solid shaft through the connection then threads. The local store bought bolts will have more thread and less solid shaft therefore they will shear easier. I had a customer with the same machine as you and he was going through several store bought bolts and was upset. He called us and I told him the same thing I am explaining now. I described the differences and he did not believe me. So I did what any other "good" company should do, I sent him 3 of our shear bolts. I called back some time later and he stated that he was using the same shear bolt for a week. Now I understand that there are certain ground conditions, diameter augers, etc. that can alter the time for one bolt but I thought you should be aware before you buy from a box store.

I just ordered 10 Danuser shear bolts & nuts. This should last me a while, as I don't plan on digging in the rockier area any time soon with that auger.

It'd be great if us normal folks could order things like bolts and nuts directly from Danuser. I can understand not selling things like PHDs so as not to compete with dealers, but for things like nuts and bolts I have to call a dealer who then calls Danuser or their distributor who then calls him back who then calls me back. The bolts ship directly to me from either the distributor or Danuser. At least I avoid the Texas sales tax ordering out of state...

Thanks!

 

[kebo]

Wow. That response is impressive in this day and age.

You're not kidding!!! I wish one of the Ford descendants would call or email me about my Triton 5.4L F150 after ONE spark plug broke off trying to wrench it off, and cost me about $500 to change a set of 8 plugs. Or about the time the composite intake manifold cracked and started puking green stuff all over the road which also cost several hundred dollars too.