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gshadel
10-30-2007 08:19:45
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Re: TE20 Auger Purchase Question in reply to Berryville, 10-30-2007 04:45:25
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check thru the archives, you will find some other posts on operating PHD's on a TE/TO, I know I have posted a few myself. I have a PHD with a 8" auger. I recommend checking farm actions & implement dealers too. The same 3PT hitch PHD works on a Ford N, Fergy, or any other 3PT hitch. They are real common and pretty easy to find new or used. Don't pay the freight to buy a catalog unit unless you are in a reallllly remote area. My guess is, one brand is about as good as another. It's basically just a gearbox on a frame. The King Cutter brand is pretty common around here and ~$500-600 new, with a 6" or 8" auger. If your buying used, make sure the auger is the size you need and the flights on the bottom are in good shape. Most good augers have bolt-on bottom flights/cutters, and a screw-in point, which are the wear component. Some oldtimers weld new metal to the bottom of their worn-out augers, which makes it tough to service them later. A new auger is ~1/2 the price of the whole unit, so the size & condition of the auger is an important buying decision. I got a PHD with a long guide handle on it, thinking I wanted that for improved control. I NEVER use that handle, it is a PITA, I need to take it off some day.
Disconnect the PTO shaft and wire it up to the PHD for hooking-up & transporting, so the auger isn't being driven, but you can still use the 3PH to lift the auger. Connect the drive shaft when you are ready to work. Run your engine at a fast idle only, don't rev-up the engine like you would for a mower, or the auger goes too fast and is hard to control. At a fast idle, you will have plenty of torque and speed to run that auger, but at a slow enough speed that you can control the auger. Stay on the tractor with your foot ready to stomp the clutch in case the auger gets caught on a tree root/rock. Raise the lift up & down several times per hole to help clear the dirt and keep the auger from bogging down. With typical clayey silt and fist sized rocks around here, I have no problem running that 8" auger down to 36" deep in a minute or two doing all the above. Don't have anyone standing around near the auger while your working, the safest place to be is in your tractor seat. when placing the auger to start, lift the auger all the way up, stomp the clutch to stop the auger, then slowly lower the auger into position, then let-off the clutch. That will give you pin-point accuracy. I also dig angled holes, like 30 degrees off plumb for trellis end posts, by just driving forward a few inches after placing the auger point.George
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Now I guess I'm gona have to unbolt and back out with a pipe wrench which reminds me I need to go buy a pipe wrench now
..... Looks like this may take a bit of practice. MAN di that thing suck down into the ground quick.....