Will a 17.5 HP L175 Kubota diesel tractor run a 6 inch post hole digger?

[Tallbald]

From a previous life I still have a 1981 Kubota L175 two cylinder diesel tractor. Turf tires, three speed PTO, two wheel drive, 8 speed tranny, (8 forward two reverse). Less than 2000 hours. Paid an ER doctor I worked with $750 for it in 2005 with 1125 hours on it, including a crapped out Woods belly mower. His dad had run it into a tree and damaged the sheet metal of the hood. HE had bought it from another doctor who had it set up as a mower for his estate.
Anyway. Some may have seen a post about a move Penny and I want to make back to a rural life on twenty acres with a spring and cave. Question is this. Will a small tractor like mine run a small 6 inch post hole digger that would let me do some fencing, set posts for a shooting shed, chicken coop, yard fence and such? Doesn't have to be fast. Just be able to do it without damaging my tractor. Thanks. Don

[Mk42gunner]

Don,

I have the very same model of tractor. I think it should run a small post hole digger just fine, as long as you don't run into any rocks or large tree roots. Finding a six inch auger may be another thing though; most of the ones I see run about eight or nine inches for small fence posts.

If you do this, make sure you run the PTO at 540 rpms, not 1000.

Robert

[texassako]

The kind of dirt you have will play a big factor. I have a 14hp Kubota and it will run one in lighter soils, but no way is it cut out for our clay.

[oneokie]

Thing I would be concerned with is whether or not the lift would pick the digger up high enough that the auger tip would clear the ground.
Most farm supply stores have the 6" augers.

[country gent]

Also make sure the PTO will stay running with tractor in neutral or clutch engaged. Some older tractors the pto was after drive and engaing clutch or neutral disengaged the pto also. Digging post holes you cant be moving in gear. My old Farmall cub was like this fine for mowers and tillage but no good for post hole diggers.

[Tallbald]

Hmm. Thanks both. I don't get in a hurry but need progress of course. Auger sharpness matters I know, and soil type. I just don't know soil type. Doesn't need to be 36 inches deep. Perhaps 18 inches I'm guessing. Thank you. Don

[Fishman]

Short answer is yes and you can get a 6" auger at tractor supply. Long answer is a suggestion to head to tractorbynet.Com. there is a wealth of information there about tractors and rural living in general. I used to spend quite a bit of time there when I first got my place and really enjoyed it.

[rockrat]

Yours should have a live PTO so you can run it with the tractor in neutral. I have a 23hp MF 135 that runs a 9" without any problem, so yours should run the 6" easily. Depending on your soil, if a bit rocky, make sure the auger has replaceable blades as you will wear them out. Also, if rocky, learn to replace the shear pin on the auger as you will hit a bigger rock and break the shear pin. I finally went with grade 2 bolts, the softer ones.

Before I moved to Colorado, I never needed to replace the blades, but once here, I have replaced them 4 times. Had to modify the auger to take replaceable blades.

[texassako]

Thing I would be concerned with is whether or not the lift would pick the digger up high enough that the auger tip would clear the ground.
Most farm supply stores have the 6" augers.

Yes, look for one specifically for subcompact and compact tractor. I think the L175 is like mine with the skinnier Limited Cat 1 hitch. I can fit a 30 inch auger under mine fine. You will need a big wrench to unscrew it out of the ground as well, in case you don't lift the dirt out in time.

[Reg]

Have one of the 17 hp. 3 cyl. Kubota's and it runs the heck out of even a 12 inch auger but then again we have clay and no rocks in our soil. The lift is the kicker. They don't have a lot of power in the lift and the lift isn't real high. With careful adjusting we can get the height and by lifting every 8 to 12 inches we can keep it in it's power curve. We run posts to maximum dept of 32 to 33 inches. Run up to 48 inches in depth for post building construction but dig the last bit by hand. Give it a try, it might work just fine especially with a 6 inch auger. Don't sweat the sheet metal appearance have yet to see where that effects performance.

[Tallbald]

I believe my tractor is up to whatever I need IF I don't ask more of it than it can give. I can cut posts off a place and do as I need with the right equipment. And hire Amish folks next door to help me as needed because of my physical problems. Rest as needed. All in good time as Daddy said. Thanks. Don.

[waksupi]

You might look into a driver, also.

http://www.postdriver.com/

You may be able to rent one in your area, or buy, use, then sale.

If you are working in rocky soil, you may hit a rock bench and meet refusal, so that is as deep as you will go without blasting, regardless of method.

[MarkP]

I have a Yanmar 155D (same as John Deere 650) 2 cylinder diesel 16 hp, and it runs a 9" auger very well. I did have cooling issues while drilling holes on an incline. I have drilled at least 1,500 holes with my setup planting trees. You should be fine with the Kubota.

[bear67]

Funny timing of your post. I loaned a neighbor one of my pto augers and he has been digging post holes since Friday with an 18 Hp Kubota without any problem. Some red clay in bottoms of holes at his place is solved by having sharp cutters on auger and tipping water out of a bucket into holes. My oldest grandson was welding fence pipe/sucker rod fence for him yesterday and mentioned that it would have been easier it he had used my hydraulic auger on a skid steer loader.

I have not used a pto auger in years after purchasing the hydraulic unit with a used Koering skid steer loader (6 cyl Kubota powered--built by Thomas in Canada). The advantgage is you can put down pressure on the auger with the loader frame. Would not care to be without a skid steer tractor for the last 35 years--we call them souped up motorized Meskins.

Long and short is that you should be able to dig your holes even if takes a little more time. Wish you were closer enough as I have 3 complete pto rigs in my "stuff".

[jcameron996]

"The advantgage is you can put down pressure on the auger with the loader frame."

That is the biggest disadvantage to using an auger on the back of a tractor. If you are going to have to buy something anyway definetly look into a post driver. They don't work the best if you have rocky soil but neither does the auger. If you drive them you are done and move on to the next post. If you dig holes, then you have to set the post and that means either tamping or filling with concrete. Trust me, tamping is no fun. I have yet to under stand how you can put a post in a hole and then put back all the dirt you took out and then some more before you are done. Filling with concrete makes for a solid post but is added expense. Good luck and I hope you can make your move to the country happen. The only time I have lived in town is when I was in college and I couldn't wait to get back to the farm.

[John Allen]

I had the same tractor and have used a 6" post hole digger on it. It worked just fine the only problems I ever had were if I hit a large root and it wound its way down. You will play h*ll getting it back out.

[John Allen]

Also, on a side note have your foot on the clutch and ready to depress it. if it does grab on something it will go down really quick and get stuck even tighter.

[Elkins45]

Thing I would be concerned with is whether or not the lift would pick the digger up high enough that the auger tip would clear the ground.
Most farm supply stores have the 6" augers.

Yes, this is the real concern IMO. You can buy a little 2cycle handheld auger that will spin a hole if you work at it, so full PTO power of even a small tractor is more than enough. The size of the digger is the issue. You will definitely need one that is compatible with compact tractors.

[GRUMPA]

Also, on a side note have your foot on the clutch and ready to depress it. if it does grab on something it will go down really quick and get stuck even tighter.

After reading through the posts I thought I found something someone forgot to mention till I read that.

I have a 35HP with a 12" post hole digger, after 6 holes 14" deep I wore out the teeth in our heavy clay soil, went with the carbide teeth.

[Plate plinker]

Never had to deal with rock ledges here, but I wonder if you will have this issue? If so would it be okay to drill 5/8 holes into the rock and pound in rebar? Then pour concrete in a tube form for your foundations. Do any of our members know if this is an acceptable method of building in the hills?

[MaryB]

Very acceptable method PP, when I installed satellite dishes I would run into granite outcroppings and that is exactly what we did. 3-4 pieces of rebar, a tube form or if the soil was solid just pour in the dirt. We would use a 12-16 inch form depending on how deep the rock was and set a 4x4 in the center with some cross bolts to anchor it in the concrete.

[Plate plinker]

Granite in MN? Noooo..... He he

[MaryB]

Where I am in MN the river valley has some of the oldest exposed bedrock in the USA, also some of the hardest and nastiest i have ever drilled. We finally quit doing the mount and told the person that they need to get a concrete contractor to come in and do it. When they had a post set where I sited it then we would come back and mount the Directv dish. I was losing money messing with concrete, didn't have the right tools to really drill the stuff plus in the time I wasted doing the concrete work I could have installed 3 other dishes or got a lot done back at my bench in the shop where I repaired consumer electronics.

[Plate plinker]

I c. Very good guessing you needed a hilti drill. I've been across I 90 baby times and up to Ely helped my uncle place footers right on the rock up there.

[MaryB]

My boss was to chap to pay for a hilti core drill, I rented one for one job where we installed a 10 foot c band dish for a guy on top of a granite outcropping. Cored holes, used their super epoxy to set threaded anchors and bolted it right to the rock. Dish is still there, has survived 100mph winds so far and was installed 20 years ago.