PHD - 1st Experience

[MikePA]

Today was my first experience using a post hole digger. My wife and I marked the 9 changes in direction around our 2.5 acre pasture late this morning and early in the afternoon the adventure began. What did I learn?

1. It is much, much easier to put the PHD on the tractor if you first remove the auger. I learned this the hard way. I have a Leinbach Model 7200 and it has two 'C'-shaped pieces of sheet metal around the top of the auger. These shields are held on with 2 bolts and wing nuts on each shield. Did I mention the corners of these shields are pointy? I have a 1 inch rip in the upper left thigh area on my jeans and a corresponding 'owie' on my leg. /w3tcompact/icons/sad.gif This happened as I was wrestling with the PHD before I took the auger off. Lesson One - Take the auger off before installing on the tractor.

2. A push button drive shaft yoke isn't too much easier to install than a sliding collar. A little easier, but not by much. Lesson Two - Assume installing the driveshaft will be a pain and prepare yourself for it.

3. It doesn't take much to cut a shear bolt. On the third of nine holes I had to drill, snap went the bolt. It didn't seem to be struggling all that much, nevertheless it broke. The first two holes had some rocks which caused the auger to hop a bit, but nothing major. On the second hole I could not get the auger down to the gear box because of some obstruction. Since I forgot the digging iron, I didn't check it out. Lesson Three - Bring the shear pins, hammer, drift pin and digging iron with you, plus anything else you might need.

4. Having two people would have made it much easier. One on the tractor and one to position the auger and make sure it starts vertical and stays vertical. Lesson Four - Invite the wife to assist next time.

I had some shear bolts(12 of them) I ordered from Leinbach, but they were back at the house. Hmmm, I didn't bring the digging iron and didn't bring the shear bolts. No, I wasn't prepared. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif Of course, I didn't have anything to drive out the old bolt, or a hammer to hit it with. I know what will be going in my toolbox next time!

The ground around here is so dry, it was like drilling in talcum powder. Sure would be nice to get some rain from Canada instead of smoke /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif. They've had to cancel fireworks because the smoke is so bad.

All in all, not too bad a day for a rookie. I'm alive, have all my appendages and only a small abrasion and a rip in my jeans. I lived to drill another day. /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

 

[lblair]

Ive learned the hard way to mounting it. No ripped jeans or cuts but sure could have at any momment. It gets alot easy each time you use it. Keep your RPM's low and you shouldnt break as many pins. Let the auger work digging and dont rely on speed of it turning...youll get better as time goes on. Ive done many holes now and i luv digging with it. Its a joy having people pay me so they can smile. After they get done fighting with a manual or rented digger they cant believe what a job my digger does for the deck or pool posts. Ive done alot of drilling for pole barns too, My auger will do 48"deep. Ya gotta love it. Take care and happy drilling..., Larry

 

[MikePA]

<font color=blue>It gets alot easy each time you use it.</font color=blue>
That's encouraging since I have another 180 to dig! /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

<font color=blue> Keep your RPM's low and you shouldnt break as many pins.</font color=blue>
One the first two holes I had the throttle just above idle. On the third one, I increased the RPMs to see if it would dig better. It didn't. Thanks, again.

<font color=blue>My auger will do 48"deep.</font color=blue>
Wow, how do you get it to go that deep? What size is it?

 

[Old_Wanker]

<font color=blue>Having two people would have made it much easier. One on the tractor and one to position the auger and make sure it starts vertical and stays vertical. Lesson Four - Invite the wife to assist next time. </font color=blue>

Careful there now MikePA. You dont want anyone around that auger when it starts turning. No-one. Theres too many accidents when people get caught up in those things even with good intentions like holding it straight or trying to give it a little more downforce. Try adjusting your 3 point controls so that it comes down with a thump and then feather the hydro to and fro a bit until your straight instead.

 

[TerryinMD]

Mike,

When I first saw the subject, I said - now why is this man talking about a PhD - Doctor of Philosphy.... /w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Sounds like you have your work cut out for you. I've only assisted in using a PHD once and the guy using it just let the machine do it's work - slow and easy. The only thing he did was to reweld a new cutting blade on his. He used sharpened spring steel. That stuff cut right through most anything.

Good luck.

Terry

 

[Elkoboy]

First of all, I'll second what Old Wanker said. Only use a PTO post hole digger from the tractor seat, or from a good distance away. No person is going to be able to react to, and/or overpower the auger should things go awry. There's way to much torque and power there for a person to affect manually anyway. Augers are made to be operated from the tractor seat only!!

Have the wife rest up so she can give you a back rub after your hard day's work instead! /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

As for attaching and removing the PHD, that's an exercise in and of itself. Many people have found that it's easier to come up with either a rig to support or hold the unit, or a hole to drop the auger into while attaching or removing. I've seen some good ideas here on this forum, and I've one of my own, but they all work by supporting the entire digging unit, so that you don't have to wrestle with the heavy digger and auger while it tries to go every which way except onto the tractor.

I tend to break shear pins in streaks. But you're right - always have a bunch handy. If you're digging in rocky soil you're going to go through a lot of them.

I dig down about 8-12" at a time, then raise the auger to get some dirt out of the hole, then back down. I usually dig at low RPMs. If you run at too high RPMs you run the risk of threading yourself into clay, a root, or a rock, and having to spend time and energy extricating the auger.

To start digging in grassy areas, I often use a spade and remove the sod first. This gives me a good starting point, and keeps the auger cutting edges from getting clogged with grass.

I then move the tractor a bit forward and back to get the auger bit vertical (eyeballed, of course). Make sure your sway arms are tight to minimize the side to side motion.

 

[BrettW]

Wow, how do you get it to go that deep? What size is it?


this is getting way too personal!

 

[MikePA]

<font color=blue>Careful there now MikePA. You dont want anyone around that auger when it starts turning. No-one.</font color=blue>

I hear ya. She'd be well clear of the auger, standing near me on the tractor. I'm not sure I can convince her to assist anyway. When I ask for her help, she knows she will be performing an 'assistant' role which doesn't sit well with her! /w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif Plus she tells me she has enough of her own work to do. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[MikePA]

Well, I finished drilling the remaining 6 corner holes last night and I'm still learning.

1. I installed a new shear bolt, put the phd back on the 3ph and tried to finish drilling the same hole where I broke a shear bolt last Sunday. Guess what, I broke a shear bolt again /w3tcompact/icons/sad.gif. I had the tractor at idle and was very slow lowering the digger into the hole. Before putting another shear bolt in and moving on to the next hole, I cleaned the hole out and there's a whopper of a rock down there that I will have to investigate with a digging iron.

2. I did discover that I can replace the shear bolt without removing anything from the tractor or taking the auger off. There are access holes on the safety shield that surrounds the upper U joint that provide access to where the shear bolt goes. All I had to do was raise the digger, tape the U joint to get the holes to line up, knock the bolt out and put one in.

3. I did all digging with the tractor at idle. The only time I had to raise the RPMs was when the auger got slightly stuck. I had to raise the RPMS so the 3ph hydraulics had enough oomph to raise the auger out of the hole.

4. In most cases when the auger would start to get stuck, the tractor would stall before breaking a shear bolt. Perhaps this is an advantage of a lower hp tractor?

5. With the clutch on the left, the 3ph lever on the right fender and the phd behind me, at times, I felt like <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.people.memphis.edu/~sherman/chronoWatergate.htm>Rosemary Woods</A> with the way I had to contort myself to control and watch what I was doing. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif Anyone know a better way to do this?

6. The Leinbach phd has a rod that extends from the gearbox to the tractor seat that allows you to adjust the auger and stop it from swinging. the problem is the SMV sign gets in the way of reaching the rod. The rod is down too far to reach over the the top of the SMV so I had to reach around the SMV. A bit of a pain.

 

[EdKing]

<font color=blue>the problem is the SMV sign gets in the way of reaching the rod. </font color=blue>

Mike, is your SMV sign bolted directly to your tractor ? All of mine (tractor, backhoe, quad, and trailer) are mounted with a quick removal plate. There is a clip that mounts on the vehicle, and a plate that mounts on the sign. I can switch them between vehicles and remove them to make operations easier. I remove the one on the tractor to make refueling easier, and the one on the backhoe while I am digging.

 

[MikePA]

Ed, yes, it's bolted to a mount that is bolted to a bar that connects both sides of the ROPS.

 

[EdKing]

Mike, you should be able to get the quick attach mounts for the SMV at your dealer for a few bucks. I'm pretty sure they have them at Tractor Supply Company as well.

 

[Mosey]

Mike - Unless you're trying to get rid of her and avoid the costs of a divorce, don't let your wife near that thing! There's nothing she, or anyone, can do anyway. Except maybe stand way back from the side of it and tell you if the auger is vertical or not. As for hooking it up being hard, I hang mine from a tree limb My Leinbach (I think it's the same model as yours, but I can't remember for sure, 7200 sounds familiar though), has a loop welded on the top which is there for that purpose. The manual even recommends it as a way to store it.. Piece of cake to take on and off that way. I’ve never had any trouble hooking up the driveshaft. You might want to check for burrs or something, it should slide right on. I keep a thin film of oil or grease on my PTO shaft and always put the dust cover on the tractor when I’m not using the PTO. I’ll get some grease on my hands if I have to rotate it a little to line up the splines (how do you spell that?), so I just keep a rag in the tool box.

 

[MikePA]

<font color=blue>Except maybe stand way back from the side of it and tell you if the auger is vertical or not.</font color=blue>
Danny, this is what I wanted her to do. I'll get better at it, but last evening I spent a good deal of time getting on and off the tractor making sure the auger was vertical, plus a few times to clear rocks away from the auger. Plus, this pasture is for her horses, so I want her to share the 'joy' of installing a fence. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

<font color=blue>I hang mine from a tree limb My Leinbach (I think it's the same model as yours, but I can't remember for sure, 7200 sounds familiar though), has a loop welded on the top which is there for that purpose.</font color=blue>
Ah, I noticed that hook and wondered what it was there for. I read the owner's manual and it didn't sink in. Thanks for telling me. Although, the only trees we have that might be big enough are in our front yard. That probably wouldn't go over too big. When I was finished last night, I just left it augered into the ground. Once I am done drilling all 185 holes, I'll probably end up tying it to a fence post. Yep, I have a 7200.

Hooking it up last night was easier. I think the problem I had was some dirt got into the phd side of the connection.

 

[Mosey]

"the only trees we have that might be big enough are in our front yard. That probably wouldn't go over too big." /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Just park a couple old rusty riding lawn mowers with no hoods and flat tires and pile up some wheels and tires next to it and no one will notice the PHD! /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[JimMc]

Just a thought, would a couple of those bubble levels for campers epoxied to your digger allow you to see if you're plumb and straight from the seat?

 

[MikePA]

<font color=blue>would a couple of those bubble levels for campers epoxied to your digger allow you to see if you're plumb and straight from the seat?</font color=blue>

Good question. I've never seen one of them so I can't comment. But anything that would keep me in the seat would speed up the process.

 

[WVBill]

Excellent idea. I wonder if our friend Rick from R&B Manufacturing of TiltMeter fame would have a model that would work? Rick??

 

[JimMc]

Not only to keep the operator in the seat, but keep other "helpers" away. PHD's are very dangerous at best and the process is complicated by having a second person at risk.

 

[lblair]

It a 48" long auger. The last 8" or so i raise the tractor front end with the bucket and down she goes. The 3 point arms dont quite make the drop.

Larry