post hole digger woes...

[tommu56]

Jksnvly

I think your 3 point gemotery is similar to my BX23 and some 3 point equipment just dosent fit the right way.

I've use a old ford 3000 and got augers stuck and we used the pipe wrench routine but some times had to hook the wrench low to the ground and pullled it with the tractor that was the only way to get it out.

tommu56

 

[walterc]

I bought a Landpride for my B2710 and no height problems or digging. I did get it stuck once and put a hose in the hole and when it was wet enough the 3ph just pulled it straight out. Course I was done with that hole for the day , but I learned (as stated by a couple others) to wait until it quits digging to lower it more and pull it out to "clean" often. No more stuck augers.

 

[curly]

I don't have a PHD yet...but one day I may need one. Hopefully I'll never get it stuck because of all the woes I've read here....nah, I'll get in a hurry and get it stuck

I may as well go ahead and get that huge pipewrench now, so I'll have it when I get the PHD.

 

[Killer_B]

Regardless of what type/size/brand of PHD you use, you will need to develop some technique to keep the stuck augers to a minimum. The best thing you can do is to let it dig a foot or so then raise it back out of the hole and clear the dirt. Then take another bite and do the same thing.

Best of luck.

KB

 

[hemiguy]

I've used rented PHD's several times and always the type that you tow behind a truck and have a hydraulically powered auger but lift in and out of the hole with... my sore back muscles, ouch! The one huge advantage these have though is that they are reversible. In my part of the country, there are rocks, tree roots, and other "stuff" in the ground everywhere and some places where the dirt is clay as hard as concrete. Next time I rent a PHD it will probably be one of those on a mini-skid steer.

Based on my experience I would not try to use a PHD on my 2520's rear PTO. If I used one way more often than I do, and wanted to buy one for the tractor it would have to be hydro driven and be reversible. No if's/and's/but's.

 

[Kamik]

My Landpride PHD digs hole after hole with no problem whatsoever. I bring it up to speed and lower it VERY slowly, and once it stops throwing dirt I inch it down some more.

If I keep the cutter blades sharp it will go through roots without any problem so I touch them up with a flat file. Rocks larger than the radius of the auger on the other hand are cause for immediate stop and hand digging. In this case I dig down past the rock with hand diggers, throw an old tire chain in the hole, use my landscaping bar to loosen the rock and fall it into the bottom of the hole, then hoist it out of the hole lickity split. I've also found that tire chains are great for lifting shrubs and small trees!

I've been thinking about having my old barbell cut down and welded onto the arm of the PHD where it curves down just in front of the auger. With a couple hundred pounds of additional weight I think the PHD would auger through hard clay and compacted gravel without any problem, too. But I just water the ground the day before and it seems to work fine.

Kamik

 

[chadincolo]

I've been thinking about having my old barbell cut down and welded onto the arm of the PHD where it curves down just in front of the auger. With a couple hundred pounds of additional weight I think the PHD would auger through hard clay and compacted gravel without any problem, too. But I just water the ground the day before and it seems to work fine.

Kamik

Yep, that works great. We sell a kit for our diggers that allows you to hang weights on the boom, even 90 pounds makes a big difference...