MF202 post hole digger recommendations

[jesse CA]

Hello All

I've had a MF202 for some time now and finally got it all sorted out ,I put a MF 200/34 front loader on it and found a MF18 scraper for it

I.ve been considering getting a hold of a three point PTO post hole digger for the 202,I've for the longest time entertained using one to plant small trees .

(I am aware most arborists and tree people would cringe at using an auger to plant trees)

So I'm looking for advise on what level of three point auger would be recommended to use and be capable of digging minimum 24" diameter holes in rocky soil.

I know this particular forum is geared for more mechanicl questions but I' like to ask the people who are pecific to the 202
Thanks you to all .

 

[jesse CA]

Has anyone used a post hole digger on thier 202?

 

[Jim.ME]

A PTO driven post hole digger is a post hole digger, I don't know that there is any great difference in mechanical ones. You need one rated for your tractor's PTO horsepower, or more. If you want to turn a 24" auger, so you need a digger rated for that and that a 24" auger is available for. Just my thoughts from using some different ones on different tractors over the years.

 

[Vann]

(quoted from post at 19:41:52 10/09/20) Has anyone used a post hole digger on thier 202?

I used a pto driven post hole digger to construct my pole barn using old telephone poles. the auger was 10" in diameter and my tractor is a MF35.
The first hole taught me a lot. I dug it as deep as I wanted, then tried to pull the auger up out of the ground. It didn't pull up-but the front end of the tractor did.
I ended up with the tractor's front end about 2' above the ground and the digger stuck 2' in the ground.
I had to block up the front of the tractor on jacks, hand dig the auger out and then slowly let the tractor back down. then I had to move the barn site over about 3' because of the giant hole in the ground where I had to dig out the auger.
Lesson learned-dig a little then lift, dig a little more, then lift. I finished 9 holes without further issues.
I can't imagine a 24" auger would be possible .
Vann

 

[jesse CA]

Thank you for the replies, I'm really just thinking about planting small trees (Eldarica/Afgan pines) from five gallon pots and maybe needing to dig down just far enough to bury the root ball maybe between a
foot to a foot and a half. I'm not really sure if I need to go that large (24" in diameter)to accommodate that size of the root ball. That's just the size we end up digging by hand.
I have heard about getting the auger stuck in the ground having no choice but to dig it out,so going down a little at a time makes sense.
So I was considering finding a digger with a 4to1 gear box ratio to turn that 24"auger,but from specs. I've seen for that digger ratio go's between a 40-90hp tractor and a 202 is rated at 40.hp.
So not really sure at a minimum what I need to get the job done.

 

[Jim.ME]

(quoted from post at 13:00:00 10/10/20) Thank you for the replies, I'm really just thinking about planting small trees (Eldarica/Afgan pines) from five gallon pots and maybe needing to dig down just far enough to bury the root ball maybe between a
foot to a foot and a half. I'm not really sure if I need to go that large (24" in diameter)to accommodate that size of the root ball. That's just the size we end up digging by hand.
I have heard about getting the auger stuck in the ground having no choice but to dig it out,so going down a little at a time makes sense.
So I was considering finding a digger with a 4to1 gear box ratio to turn that 24"auger,but from specs. I've seen for that digger ratio go's between a 40-90hp tractor and a 202 is rated at 40.hp.
So not really sure at a minimum what I need to get the job done.

Are you planting hundreds of trees? You can auger a 6" to 10" hole a bit deeper than you need and knock the sides in to get the diameter you need to set the tree and it is easy to clean loose soil from the hole if you need to. It is pretty easy to enlarge a hole that way. Just a thought.

With most, if not all PTO implements, you are better off having your tractor's HP in the lower end of the implements rating than the top end, if your tractor can handle it weight and size wise.

 

[Jack in NB]

We modified an ordinary auger to 24" by scabbing 1/8" sheet onto the existing spirals. I don't remember whether we cut it to form a spiral or scabbed squares onto the existing flutes and welded the leading and trailing edges to make a continuous spiral, for more rigidity. The bottom cutting edge was doubled.

We used it on a 35, and on the first hole ran into the front end lifting problem too - so we took smaller bites on subsequent holes.

It probably would not have worked in ground with larger rocks or bush/tree roots.

 

[Usedtobeiowadave]

I have a 202 with model 200 loader and usually a 3 pt blade on the rear end. Borrowed a friend's 3 pt auger to bore a bunch of holes for deck posts more than 10 years ago. Best I can recall it was a 10-12" auger boring 3-4' holes in central Iowa dirt with some clay. Worked good, would 2nd the already offered experience that you lift often. You might be able to use a 24" auger, probably depend a lot on your soil composition.

 

[MKinON]

In rocky soil? Best skip the post hole digger and rent a mini-excavator. You'll easy get a 30"+ rock out of the way with one of those, while at best beat the tractor and at worst break something and or spend lots of time working with a shovel.
Gravely soil might do better. In my experience rocks and post hole diggers don't get along well, if at all.

 

[shaeff]

Does your 202 have a front driven hydraulic pump? If so, I'd suggest you build a hydraulic post hole digger using something like a wheel motor from a zero turn lawn mower, or something similar.

The upside to building a hydraulic post hole digger is that you can reverse it out if you get it stuck real hard.

 

[ptfarmer]

(quoted from post at 08:47:00 10/14/20) Does your 202 have a front driven hydraulic pump? If so, I'd suggest you build a hydraulic post hole digger using something like a wheel motor from a zero turn lawn mower, or something similar.

The upside to building a hydraulic post hole digger is that you can reverse it out if you get it stuck real hard.

That's why I'm glad I got a hydraulic post hole digger for my 743B Bobcat skidsteer. I don't miss the old 3 point post hole digger one bit.

 

[shaeff]

That's why I'm glad I got a hydraulic post hole digger for my 743B Bobcat skidsteer. I don't miss the old 3 point post hole digger one bit.

Excellent, I *almost* bought a 3pt style for a good deal. Then I realized it would be better to just build one from scratch with parts I (mostly) have laying around...

The idea of turning it out with a pipe wrench does not interest me. Especially in my hard clay soil.