post hole digger woes...

[unreconstructed]

Been looking at PHD myself--the Belltec's look pretty good. The hydaulic would be mighty nice I would think, but its at 5 grand.

Have a lot of rocks--don't know if the Belltec is better than JD but it might be worth looking at. Its definitely more expensive.

Haven't thought of welding a pipe at the top of the auger--that's a great idea.

 

[JerryG]

JerryG- guess you missed my point, I'll clarify. Actually 2 problems. 1: The speeco unit does not fit the tractor correctly, it does not allow it to raise the auger completely off of the ground and 2: the auger is stuck in the ground. w/o power reverse I know it's not coming out via a PTO connection.

On the boom of the model 65 and also on the model 70, there are three holes where the yoke mounts. Which hole is yours mounted in, the one closest to the tractor, the middle or the one closest to the auger head?

 

[RonMar]

I weld about a 2" pipe horizontally on the top flight of our augers. That lets me put a shovel handle, spud bar, breaker bar or whatever is handy in there and back stuck augers out. We tend to do it a bit more then the average guy working on his house.

That is an outstanding idea!

 

[Jksnvly]

JerryG- we experimented with all three (or 4?) of the hole locations and didn't see much difference btwn them, none corrrected the lack of ground clearance issue.

 

[Bill Barrett]

I got the big high flow model with a 12" auger $1500.00
Hydraulic Drive

 

[drssg]

Actually 2 problems. 1: The speeco unit does not fit the tractor correctly, it does not allow it to raise the auger completely off of the ground and 2: the auger is stuck in the ground. w/o power reverse I know it's not coming out via a PTO connection.

For problem one, based on your first post, it sounds like you already decided to buy another PHD. I bought a cheap PHD at TSC, and it also provided little ground clearance. I ended up using a tie down to pull the bottom of the auger towards the tractor during transport. This gives it enough height for most situations.

For problem two, the "neighbor with a back hoe" approach sounds like it will involve the least amount of swearing. After screwing mine into the ground once, I'm now more careful about how I lower it. Instead of putting the 3PH all the way down, I lower it a little at a time. When I see it's not digging anymore, I lower it a little more.

 

[cdhd2001]

After screwing mine into the ground once, I'm now more careful about how I lower it. Instead of putting the 3PH all the way down, I lower it a little at a time. When I see it's not digging anymore, I lower it a little more.

Ditto! I only needed that lesson once!

 

[Kamik]

Now that I've decided which tractor to buy (a tough decisioning process eased by the expertise of the folks in this forum) I'm looking at implements. Based on the information and suggestions in this thread the Land Pride HD25 3-point hitch hydraulic post hole digger seems to have the feature set I'm looking for. I'm thinking hydraulic rather than PTO drive as I don't relish the thought of backing out the auger using an oversized pipe wrench!

So how do I hook it up and power it from a 2520? I'll be ordering my tractor (wow, MY TRACTOR, doesn't that sound nice!) with turf tires and a CX-200 loader but I'm debating getting the backhoe now versus next year. The penalty for not getting it now would be about $400.

Could I order Power Beyond now in anticipation of getting the backhoe and use it to power the post hole digger? And if I did, what kind of contol valve would be used to control it? I'd like to be able to use the post hole digger without disabling the loader.

Kamik

 

[Jksnvly]

Update! I never bought another PHD, but I was finally able to get the buried auger out of the ground. It took 2 of us and a large pipe wrench as there was some wiggle to it after sitting all winter. It is bent and no longer usable. I bought another from TSC and although it is still too long, worked okay on level ground. I'm much more cautious in my hole boring now.

 

[kennyd]

Now that I've decided which tractor to buy (a tough decisioning process eased by the expertise of the folks in this forum) I'm looking at implements. Based on the information and suggestions in this thread the Land Pride HD25 3-point hitch hydraulic post hole digger seems to have the feature set I'm looking for. I'm thinking hydraulic rather than PTO drive as I don't relish the thought of backing out the auger using an oversized pipe wrench!

So how do I hook it up and power it from a 2520? I'll be ordering my tractor (wow, MY TRACTOR, doesn't that sound nice!) with turf tires and a CX-200 loader but I'm debating getting the backhoe now versus next year. The penalty for not getting it now would be about $400.

Could I order Power Beyond now in anticipation of getting the backhoe and use it to power the post hole digger? And if I did, what kind of contol valve would be used to control it? I'd like to be able to use the post hole digger without disabling the loader.

Kamik

Kamik,

You will need to add a rear remote to your machine to power the HPHD. Lots of threads on this if you do some searching...But I also suggest you start a new thread with specific questions. Also consider mounting the HPHD on the loader rather than the 3PH-that way you will have down pressure available to you.