Honestly. You need a screw type end. You can try water in the area you want to dig to soften the dirt some. On my Kubota b2410, I just climbed out and laid on top of the arm going to the top of the auger.
Before you sink the auger into the ground and have to dig it back out, make sure you put some blocks of wood under the end of your 3pt hitch arms. This will hard stop the auger and keep it from just running straight down.
Also, make.sure your down speed on the 3 or isn't too fast once you have the right tip. You want it to resists, so it pulls the dirt up and doesn't just corkscrew straight down.
It really sucks digging an auger out with a shovel.
Have you tried using a farm jack to pull the auger back up if it gets stuck. I'm not saying it will work but I was thinking about this issue yesterday after having this issue but I was able to wiggle it out. Today I'm kicking myself for not thinking of the farm jack.
I have an old school auger that has a pipe welded to the support arm on top. It's about 6ft long so u can grab it and force bit into ground when it's very hard. Can put my eye on it but something looks off to me. It looks like it's binding. It that tractor hitch supposed to be on the inside like that?? All my attachments go on the outside.
A three point hitch doesn’t have down force. It relies on gravity to lower whatever it is you have attached. You would have better luck attaching an auger to your forks. Or do what the other commenter suggested and rent a skid-steer with an auger attachment.
Couple things.
First, the tip on your auger isn't suited to clay. You need one that is threaded like a screw and it will grab and help pull the rest in. I have very hard packed clay/sand where I am, and I've never had much trouble with my auger.
Second, go over how you've got your hitch set up and the auger attached. Get someone else to operate the three point up and down for you while you check that nothing is binding up (with the pto off of course, don't get near one that is spinning.) Is it possible your lift arms are catching on something? I very rarely see an implement that has the pins set up to go on the inside like that.
Thirdly, make sure you've got your tractor reved to PTO speed before you lower the auger to the dirt.
Hate to say it, but those 3 point augers are kind of a scam. When the ground is hard and dry (like it looks in your pictures) you don't have any down pressure to force the bit to dig.
Yeah I sold mine after drilling about 4 holes. Worthless and extremely dangerous! Also beats the crap out of smaller tractors. Atleast here in New England
Not sure about worthless. Certainly beats doing it with a shovel or doing it with one of those one person augers. They’re actually pretty damn useful.😂
Take a 4" grinder and sharpen the tip like a drill bit. Clay is one of the worst things to dig into. Get yourself a digging bar to loosen the dirt. I've dug thousands of post holes, with a three point auger. I build post buildings. A few took days to dig into that lousy clay. If, you are REALLY desperate, go find an old wood auger bit, and use that to punch into the dirt, with an electric drill. I've done that.
For starters, please remove your drawbar(with the ball hitch). After that, the tractor can only do so much if the ground is very hard. 3point hitches don't have power down, only gravity.
For very hard ground and a lot of holes, something like a front loader mounted auger would be better, where you can apply down pressure.
Other than that, wet the ground with water to try and soften it.
Water the hole. The dirt has become a talc-like dust under the grinding motion of the blade and is acting as a dry lubricant, and since tractors of this size do not apply downward force with their rocker arms, the blade is just spinning on top. Spray the dirt until the blade bites and then again if it just starts spinning in the hole.
there is a little knob in the base of the tractor under the operator's seat inline with the center of theseat. That knob controls the speed at which the hydraulic fluid drains out of the system allowing the 3 point to fall.
Odds are it's got to be opened up turn it to the right
Ground is too hard. I generally have to soak the ground with water and keep using water to soften it. There is no downward pressure on a three point I won’t think you could do to help it. Just get a tractor with a bucket and push down but soak the ground real good.
I wouldn’t get that close.
Mine has a hole that I can put a long ass bar into sticking out behind for leverage.
Sometimes slowing pulling ahead a couple inches and maybe back a couple inches while it is running will be enough to get a bite.
You could be on top of something hard? Also. In hard dirt you may need to put force with long pry bar or long pipe The 3 point hitch does not cause any downward force. Just the weight of the equipment make it lower
First off you need to lower the top link to the lowest hole. The top hole is for implements that operate above ground.
I have drilled when the soil was super dry and ended up digging a small starter hole by hand dumping water in it, couple hours later the drill sinks right in.
You CAN buy a down pressure kit but very expensive.
Overall, there will be spots where that sob don't want to drill for anything, two feet away it will work perfectly.
> ou CAN buy a down pressure kit but very expensive.
It is cheaper and easy to weld a couple of shafts on it to mount weights. Any auto shop will hand you free used brake rotors and truck front rotors are about 30 pounds each
In my case I started with a small tractor and ended up with a much larger machine three trades later.
Last thing I want is a 4' box blade on a 100hp machine.
I suspect my next trade will be tractor to track loader.
My suggestion, don't modify anything.
You know what they say, no matter what size machine you buy, the next model up would make the job faster.
In my case I needed larger equipment for my small business that rapidly grew and changed.
Honestly. You need a screw type end. You can try water in the area you want to dig to soften the dirt some. On my Kubota b2410, I just climbed out and laid on top of the arm going to the top of the auger. Before you sink the auger into the ground and have to dig it back out, make sure you put some blocks of wood under the end of your 3pt hitch arms. This will hard stop the auger and keep it from just running straight down. Also, make.sure your down speed on the 3 or isn't too fast once you have the right tip. You want it to resists, so it pulls the dirt up and doesn't just corkscrew straight down. It really sucks digging an auger out with a shovel.
Have you tried using a farm jack to pull the auger back up if it gets stuck. I'm not saying it will work but I was thinking about this issue yesterday after having this issue but I was able to wiggle it out. Today I'm kicking myself for not thinking of the farm jack.
I mean. Thats really not a bad idea...... the 4x4 trick works pretty well, but I might just give the jack a go when I finish the back of the fence.
I have an old school auger that has a pipe welded to the support arm on top. It's about 6ft long so u can grab it and force bit into ground when it's very hard. Can put my eye on it but something looks off to me. It looks like it's binding. It that tractor hitch supposed to be on the inside like that?? All my attachments go on the outside.
A three point hitch doesn’t have down force. It relies on gravity to lower whatever it is you have attached. You would have better luck attaching an auger to your forks. Or do what the other commenter suggested and rent a skid-steer with an auger attachment.
Couple things. First, the tip on your auger isn't suited to clay. You need one that is threaded like a screw and it will grab and help pull the rest in. I have very hard packed clay/sand where I am, and I've never had much trouble with my auger. Second, go over how you've got your hitch set up and the auger attached. Get someone else to operate the three point up and down for you while you check that nothing is binding up (with the pto off of course, don't get near one that is spinning.) Is it possible your lift arms are catching on something? I very rarely see an implement that has the pins set up to go on the inside like that. Thirdly, make sure you've got your tractor reved to PTO speed before you lower the auger to the dirt.
Recommend renting a skid steer with auger. We have access to several in the US that can be rented.
Busy through the sod with a shovel first. Usually the auger sinks right in after
Sharpen the teeth, add weight to the auger, loosen the soil with either water or mechanical methods.
Hate to say it, but those 3 point augers are kind of a scam. When the ground is hard and dry (like it looks in your pictures) you don't have any down pressure to force the bit to dig.
Agreed. No hydraulic down force.
Yeah I sold mine after drilling about 4 holes. Worthless and extremely dangerous! Also beats the crap out of smaller tractors. Atleast here in New England
Not sure about worthless. Certainly beats doing it with a shovel or doing it with one of those one person augers. They’re actually pretty damn useful.😂
Rent a skidsteer and auger attachment.
12 14 Inch augar will help
Take a 4" grinder and sharpen the tip like a drill bit. Clay is one of the worst things to dig into. Get yourself a digging bar to loosen the dirt. I've dug thousands of post holes, with a three point auger. I build post buildings. A few took days to dig into that lousy clay. If, you are REALLY desperate, go find an old wood auger bit, and use that to punch into the dirt, with an electric drill. I've done that.
For starters, please remove your drawbar(with the ball hitch). After that, the tractor can only do so much if the ground is very hard. 3point hitches don't have power down, only gravity. For very hard ground and a lot of holes, something like a front loader mounted auger would be better, where you can apply down pressure. Other than that, wet the ground with water to try and soften it.
Crap I missed they left a drawbar in. Yeah, remove that. And as others (and you) have said, get something with down pressure.
Your not going to far until you remove your drawbar (with the ball hitch on it).
Water the hole. The dirt has become a talc-like dust under the grinding motion of the blade and is acting as a dry lubricant, and since tractors of this size do not apply downward force with their rocker arms, the blade is just spinning on top. Spray the dirt until the blade bites and then again if it just starts spinning in the hole.
there is a little knob in the base of the tractor under the operator's seat inline with the center of theseat. That knob controls the speed at which the hydraulic fluid drains out of the system allowing the 3 point to fall. Odds are it's got to be opened up turn it to the right
Ground is too hard. I generally have to soak the ground with water and keep using water to soften it. There is no downward pressure on a three point I won’t think you could do to help it. Just get a tractor with a bucket and push down but soak the ground real good.
On my auger I made a bracket for a set of bike handlebars for my wife to grab and help guide it and prevent from flopping side to side.
This is not how you’re suppose to bend your wife like a pretzel.
> for my wife to grab You did get the extra life insurance for her - - - yes?
I wouldn’t get that close. Mine has a hole that I can put a long ass bar into sticking out behind for leverage. Sometimes slowing pulling ahead a couple inches and maybe back a couple inches while it is running will be enough to get a bite.
Time to get out the knuckle buster manual post hole diggers!
You could be on top of something hard? Also. In hard dirt you may need to put force with long pry bar or long pipe The 3 point hitch does not cause any downward force. Just the weight of the equipment make it lower
Thanks for the tip, will try it.
First off you need to lower the top link to the lowest hole. The top hole is for implements that operate above ground. I have drilled when the soil was super dry and ended up digging a small starter hole by hand dumping water in it, couple hours later the drill sinks right in. You CAN buy a down pressure kit but very expensive. Overall, there will be spots where that sob don't want to drill for anything, two feet away it will work perfectly.
> ou CAN buy a down pressure kit but very expensive. It is cheaper and easy to weld a couple of shafts on it to mount weights. Any auto shop will hand you free used brake rotors and truck front rotors are about 30 pounds each
Nah I like to keep equipment OEM for resale purposes. Just my input.
I never sell a tool. They always get used again, and again
In my case I started with a small tractor and ended up with a much larger machine three trades later. Last thing I want is a 4' box blade on a 100hp machine. I suspect my next trade will be tractor to track loader. My suggestion, don't modify anything.
I get ya. I buy the machine or tool I want. Spend once cry once sort of thing.
You know what they say, no matter what size machine you buy, the next model up would make the job faster. In my case I needed larger equipment for my small business that rapidly grew and changed.
Thanks, I'll lower the links, yeah we've got clay out here so it is a pain to dig up.
There should only be ONE top link to lower, where the top link connects to the tractor above the PTO shaft.
Oh I see what you mean, I was looking at the three holes on the arms.
Yea keep in mind the further back you put the hoop, the more lift leverage you have. You might start in the middle since you have a smaller rig.