BX1500 auger or handheld auger?

[Russell King]

To answer a few of your questions
1) All augers do not attach to the implement in the same manner. Some are round and pinned and others are hex shaped. I also assume that larger implements would have larger diameter shafts on the auger attachment side.

2) There are fairly specific dimensions for the different categories of 3PH with 0 being the smallest size. A cat 2 implement will not fit on a cat 1 3PH. BUT the sizes are sometimes close enough that the implement can be designed for two sizes. For instance I often use Cat 1 implements on my cat 1 3PH tractor but turn the pins inwards to make it work easier.

3) There are longer and shorter augers that will work on the same implement. But if the tractor can’t lift the auger above the ground then that auger is useless for that implement since you can’t get the hole even started. But you can put extensions on the auger when the short auger is too short. But then you have difficulty getting the auger out of the hole and you will need to clean out the hole by hand.

4) There are different types of augers for different types of soils and rock even.

5) 3PH auger are better than hand digging a hole but the will get stuck and you will have to get it unstuck which means either use something like a pipe wrench to unscrew it or dig a hole around the auger by hand. You will som have to adjust the location of your hole to avoid a large rock or resort to digging it out by hand.

6) You will need to clean out loose dirt at the bottom of the hole by hand in every hole to get post to proper depth. The auger just won’t be able to do a good enough job. You can sometimes over dig the depth then fill it back in with a long enough auger or short enough hole.

Hope that helps you some. Just make sure you get a complete PTO shaft with the implement and also that the auger is also included. Many of the new ones have no auger, many of the used ones have only part of the PTO shaft with them.

There is also a method for pounding the post into the ground that is used where the soil allows for that. I don’t think those pounders require too much hydraulic flow so may be suitable for your tractor. But the implement may be expensive. There are some hand held versions but I have no experience with them but they are not too expensive

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[PoTreeBoy]

This may help. You want as much vertical travel as possible, so you want
1. As much travel in your 3pt arms as you can get. So make sure your control lever has full up-down travel.
2. Some tractors have 2 or more sets of holes where the lift links fasten to the lower arms. Use the holes nearest the tractor.
3. Maximum length from the pivot point at the 3pt attachment point out to the auger. Some of the augers you've pictured show a pin where the arch part attaches to the beam. You probably want to use the innermost hole. This will reduce the lifting capacity of your 3ph, so you may have to compromise.

After you've maximized the travel, you need to adjust the upper most position so that the auger barely clears the ground. Somebody already gave one way. If that's not enough, you may be able to adjust where the boom attaches to the top link bracket.

 

[joesmith123]

I got one to fit

It was larger and heavier than expected, and took about 1 hour to install

In this picture, you can see the driveshaft is short

We tried lifting it, and there are corroded adjustments, could not get it to reach the tractor

Good news: the inside of that shaft will fit into the shaft on the tractor

possible solution: Where I am pointing, the metal is seized, I hit it with oil and hammer, and could not get it to move, next step, hit with the diesel and the torch

Owner said: If I get this rod loose, it will extend driveshaft to reach tractor

This is one of those sliding shafts that extends?

Here is the up close of how I rigged it to test fit it, tractor is able to take it up and down perfectly

The weld holding the auger to the boom broke

This is looking up at the boom

This is on the auger, there is a seized huge pin, I put oil and tried slede hammering, it did not move,

when manipulating contraption onto the tractor, the seized pin put all the stress on this weld that looks not factory, it has been previously welded, it broke finally once I got home

The two bottom connections of the 3 point were easier, this one, you can tell that I was grinding at the inside for the top 3 point connection to fit in

I took with me many hammers, chisels, pins, cotters, bolts of all sizes, adjustable wrench, plier wrench, but should have also brought a torch and a can of pressurized diesel

It took about 40 minutes of me sledge hammering everything into place, and about 10 minutes of grinding to fit that one pin, and the rest miscellaneous duties

Overall way bigger than expected, but the price was half than others for the entire thing, but it will need welding and I gotta figure out why the auger is not spinning

I go now figure out what needs to be done

At first i was skeptical it was going to fit or that the tractor would even be able to lift it

But when I had to turn the tractor on and lift the 3 point hitch, it pulled all that weight with ease on idle, i was surprised and impressed when the machine lifted that entire thing

the auger looked flush with the wheels, and there are adjustments all over the place to raise the auger, but

all the adjustments have seized, yall have to teach me how to weld

I need to weld: the auger back onto the boom, the seized adjustments to get the auger higher so tractor can move it around freely

What I will be doing in the meantime: get it into the space where you will be servicing it, soak it in diesel, hit it with compressed air, hit with grease (I might've seen a few grease fittings), take apart that gearbox for inspection, grind down the areas that will need to be welded together

The big question at this point: in an off grid setting, what will be the proper way to weld the auger back onto the boom securely?

Without electricity, i am guessing: get oxy-acetylene torch and weld them together where I melt sticks of metal like butter onto those areas

Or get one of those welders that has its own generator

Another talent that is very needed: it is "plasma cutting"

Its a beam of fire and a compressor pushing air, it melts the metal to molten and the air pushes it away

I plan on using this to: clean the areas so the welds hold, I can also get sheets of 1/4 inch steel for very cheap, I will cut those using the plasma cutter to fill in the gaps of the shape of the bucket

These two details once understood, will open up the door to tremendous amount of value. These two details will help fix: all the machines, all the broken buckets, I can fix major problems on the spot for cheap, without the delay of paying someone etc, it will open up doors I cant even imagine

The two big details: The plasma cutting, and the welding

I know things are expensive etc etc, but:

What is the most efficient way to be able to do these very vital procedures with the terms provided? List the exact items that need to be purchased and I will find a way to get them.

available is enough electricity to run an air compressor, but no grid power on the property

 

[PaulL]

Good progress. In general using an auger on a BX is sub-optimal. But hey, life is often suboptimal.

The driveshaft sleeve is a standard fit. You'll probably be able to un-seize it. Be very careful with the length, and making sure you have it sliding freely. If it's jammed and you lift the implement, it can push the PTO shaft on your tractor into the gearbox, which is a very expensive fix. Saving $200 on the implement will look very very expensive if you do that. Driveshafts that are too long are a massive risk, and the BX has quite short geometry, Neil from Messicks has a whole video on it somewhere.

They're incredibly simple mechanically, so fixing it will just involve taking things apart, lubricating/un-seizing, adjusting etc. Problem is that all the parts you work on will cost a bit of money, you could end up spending a couple hundred dollars in miscellaneous bolts, metal, welding rods etc. But it's all good fun at the end of the day.

Buying welding equipment will be way more expensive than buying a new auger. But if you need welding equipment anyway, then buy it. I think I'd go with gas rather than generator driven if you're off grid. I've seen people weld (usually badly) with 12v car batteries, but it seems more the kind of thing you do for a trail repair when 4w driving than something you'd do regularly.

I don't think you really need to plasma cut. An angle grinder or a bit of time spent with a hacksaw will do most things for small jobs. Saving $200 on an auger makes no sense if you have the kind of money to afford a plasma cutter.

Youtube is probably your friend for learning welding (unless you can go to an actual welding class, which is way better). My brother in law taught me, although I already knew the basics of stick welding from Dad. I still suck at it though, things I weld are about 50/50 whether they just break. What you're trying to weld is pretty high stress - probably needs to be welded properly. But you can just work away at it - weld some, grind it back, weld some more. I believe the key is "penetration", which I think means getting enough heat in to melt things good and proper, not just having a surface weld where the weld is sort of sticking to the surface, but not really melted in and joined (welded, in fact).

You've definitely taken on a big job in order to save a couple hundred dollars!!

 

[GreensvilleJay]

re: I gotta figure out why the auger is not spinning

umm, didn't you spin the PTO side of the gearbox to see the auger side spin BEFORE you bought it ??

honestly, with all the busted/frozen stuff, only worth 10% above scrap price if gearbox has been destroyed.
It could easily take you 2-3 days of sluggin and bodging to repair the beast.sorry if I'm Mr. Negative, but you have a LOT of work to get it 'up and running.

step one...place PTO shaft vertical,inside piece on top. pour oil down the 'gap' between the two pieces, pour more every 10 minutes, then walk away (go do other stuff..) 'trick' is to have a gap in time when pouring the oil to let is seep and creep and do it's thing....

welder/genny sounds like a 'prime purchase'!! A big ticket item but protable power AND welder is real handy.

best of luck, please keep posting....
if you want a break I've got 4 yds of dirt to move 300' by shovel......sigh...

 

[GeoHorn]

I didn’t see anyone mention that rock-drill with the rotary-bit for the auger. I like that…but wonder how effective it is as I’ve never seen one like that.

Also, I didn’t see anyone respond to your original question regarding the scraper. I think you’ll find that scraper to be nearly worthless for anything other than to re-distribute a little dirt/gravel on a road. I have one and it’s the least useful item other than a boom-pole/jen-pole (if you have a loader.…. No loader..? …a boom pole may have limited usefulness.)

A box blade will do better for you for levelling ground.

 

[joesmith123]

In general using an auger on a BX is sub-optimal. But hey, life is often suboptimal.

that contraption definitely belongs to a bigger tractor, but so far I think it might work

The driveshaft sleeve is a standard fit. You'll probably be able to un-seize it. Be very careful with the length, and making sure you have it sliding freely. If it's jammed and you lift the implement, it can push the PTO shaft on your tractor into the gearbox, which is a very expensive fix.

I can imagine your statements, if that thing is seized, and I am raising/lowering boom, not good, it needs to to extend and contract freely

They're incredibly simple mechanically, so fixing it will just involve taking things apart, lubricating/un-seizing, adjusting etc.

I hope you are correct, soon I will go attempt to unseize the gearbox and that sliding shaft

Buying welding equipment will be way more expensive than buying a new auger. But if you need welding equipment anyway, then buy it. I think I'd go with gas rather than generator driven if you're off grid.

There is a gas welding method that can be used to weld that auger back onto the boom and fix that big pin that holds it up? Are you thinking of oxy acetyline can fix that broken weld?

I don't think you really need to plasma cut. An angle grinder or a bit of time spent with a hacksaw will do most things for small jobs. Saving $200 on an auger makes no sense if you have the kind of money to afford a plasma cutter.

Yes I know they are expensive, and not just for small jobs, those talents I am needing in general, long term, I am cornered to the point where I need to open that door and start to figure it out

I believe the key is "penetration", which I think means getting enough heat in to melt things good and proper, not just having a surface weld where the weld is sort of sticking to the surface, but not really melted in and joined (welded, in fact).

yes you stole the words out of my head. A bad weld is a two pieces of metal attached, whereas a proper weld makes the metal one fundamental piece

I need to understand and do this (not this second, just in general)

Good progress. In general using an auger on a BX is sub-optimal. But hey, life is often suboptimal.

The driveshaft sleeve is a standard fit. You'll probably be able to un-seize it. Be very careful with the length, and making sure you have it sliding freely. If it's jammed and you lift the implement, it can push the PTO shaft on your tractor into the gearbox, which is a very expensive fix. Saving $200 on the implement will look very very expensive if you do that. Driveshafts that are too long are a massive risk, and the BX has quite short geometry, Neil from Messicks has a whole video on it somewhere.

They're incredibly simple mechanically, so fixing it will just involve taking things apart, lubricating/un-seizing, adjusting etc. Problem is that all the parts you work on will cost a bit of money, you could end up spending a couple hundred dollars in miscellaneous bolts, metal, welding rods etc. But it's all good fun at the end of the day.

Buying welding equipment will be way more expensive than buying a new auger. But if you need welding equipment anyway, then buy it. I think I'd go with gas rather than generator driven if you're off grid. I've seen people weld (usually badly) with 12v car batteries, but it seems more the kind of thing you do for a trail repair when 4w driving than something you'd do regularly.

I don't think you really need to plasma cut. An angle grinder or a bit of time spent with a hacksaw will do most things for small jobs. Saving $200 on an auger makes no sense if you have the kind of money to afford a plasma cutter.

Youtube is probably your friend for learning welding (unless you can go to an actual welding class, which is way better). My brother in law taught me, although I already knew the basics of stick welding from Dad. I still suck at it though, things I weld are about 50/50 whether they just break. What you're trying to weld is pretty high stress - probably needs to be welded properly. But you can just work away at it - weld some, grind it back, weld some more. I believe the key is "penetration", which I think means getting enough heat in to melt things good and proper, not just having a surface weld where the weld is sort of sticking to the surface, but not really melted in and joined (welded, in fact).

You've definitely taken on a big job in order to save a couple hundred dollars!!

To get the auger going, it is not really that big of a job. It only needs: that one main big weld, and to get the gear box moving, and extend that pto shaft

These three tasks, if they go properly, I can have an industrial digger for $200, thats insanely valuable

Usually I have to go drive and hunt down a welder, and pay 100 dollars a minute (half kidding) just to get a simple weld done, I am tired of it

Why cant I just weld it right there on the spot? Why the extra stress of going, searching, paying, its getting old.

umm, didn't you spin the PTO side of the gearbox to see the auger side spin BEFORE you bought it ??

Try to imagine my position: I just drove in heart destroying traffic for one hour to get to this auger setup

First I get there: I was thinking - dang it, I just wasted my time. Then I go to line up the holes, and they fit very snug.

1 hour later of hammering, torching, moving, putting pins, then the thing is literally mounted onto the tractor and the tractor is moving it up and down

Eventually I was too deep in time/energy invested to walk away from it

That auger alone is worth $200 USED, there are so many useful/expensive parts that are higher quality than ANYTHING at tractor supply

Let me illustrate how robust this thing is:

If you dropped this auger with the gearbox on the auger from tractor supply, it would flatten it to a PANCAKE and it would break it into PIECES

I bet a working auger setup of this robust quality would be minimum $2000

I am with you that I need to revive it and put time into it, but the amount of useful parts that i got are tremendous

Just the boom fitting onto the tractor is hundreds of dollars used, not including the gearbox, the pto shaft, the auger itself

People walk out of tractor supply with a few bolts and pieces of plastic and spend $200 like its nothing

Here I got industrial gearbox, industrial auger, industrial pto shaft, industrial boom

It could easily take you 2-3 days of sluggin and bodging to repair the beast.sorry if I'm Mr. Negative, but you have a LOT of work to get it 'up and running.

You could be right, today we will find out. The three tasks it needs: free up the gearbox, free up the sliding pto shaft, and weld that main big weld holding the auger

I like negative comments, I think they are most useful and most honest

step one...place PTO shaft vertical,inside piece on top. pour oil down the 'gap' between the two pieces, pour more every 10 minutes, then walk away (go do other stuff..) 'trick' is to have a gap in time when pouring the oil to let is seep and creep and do it's thing....

yes I am imagining this task, and i will do it today, I am fixing to soak it in oil, and hit with torch not to hard, periodically throughout the day, I do have some gear oil to put into the gearbox as well...

welder/genny sounds like a 'prime purchase'!! A big ticket item but protable power AND welder is real handy.

What is the exact welder I need to fix that big weld that holds up the auger to the boom? Today I'll clean that area and get it ready to weld.

Can I get the oxy aceyteline with the two tanks, and melt sticks of metal like butter onto those two areas, and bond them together STRONG?

I didn’t see anyone mention that rock-drill with the rotary-bit for the auger. I like that…but wonder how effective it is as I’ve never seen one like that.

I dont know if they are all like this, but the gearbox and auger are very heavy, I cannot lift them up off the ground, the thing is an absolute tank

My theory: that thing will put holes in the ground effortlessly once its spinning

I'm honestly worried about that little tractor being able to haul around that massive contraption

Also, I didn’t see anyone respond to your original question regarding the scraper. I think you’ll find that scraper to be nearly worthless for anything other than to re-distribute a little dirt/gravel on a road. I have one and it’s the least useful item other than a boom-pole/jen-pole (if you have a loader.…. No loader..? …a boom pole may have limited usefulness.)

Thank you for answering: since the bucket is annihilated, I was entertaining going the scraper route to get by to finish the construction, I am grateful to hear someones actual experience and will not waste my time with that rabbit hole

 

[PaulL]

What is the exact welder I need to fix that big weld that holds up the auger to the boom? Today I'll clean that area and get it ready to weld.

Can I get the oxy aceyteline with the two tanks, and melt sticks of metal like butter onto those two areas, and bond them together STRONG?

People welded with oxy acetylene for years before arc welding was common. So yes, you can weld with it.

Oxy-fuel welding and cutting - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I also forgot that you can cut with it. So that might be more practical than a plasma cutter in the near term.

A good gen set does get you into arc welding, and as @GreensvilleJay says, portable power is super useful anyway. If you needed a generator, then it makes sense to go electric. But if you're doing it just for the welder, then a powerful enough generator + arc welder + plasma cutter is a lot more money than an oxy setup that does the same thing. Arc welders are generally easier to use I think, but plenty of people use gas just fine.

 

[joesmith123]

A good gen set does get you into arc welding, and as @GreensvilleJay says, portable power is super useful anyway. If you needed a generator, then it makes sense to go electric. But if you're doing it just for the welder, then a powerful enough generator + arc welder + plasma cutter is a lot more money than an oxy setup that does the same thing. Arc welders are generally easier to use I think, but plenty of people use gas just fine.

Yall are full of amazing data. I can get a gas setup for 200-300 dollars locally, and welding gas is almost free in this area.

If it turns out to be that:

I can cut thick steel sheets and weld them together and they not break using gases, omg is that a game changer

If your statements turn out to be true, and I can weld thick steel and put together all my rusted out everything. literally everything, all my buckets are broken, all my machines are broken, there are cracks all over everything, and I keep using the machines until that are useless. Example?

If I would have reintegrated the bucket BEFORE it split in half, I would have saved that bucket and not be in a position where I need a bucket

If I go out and search people's backyards for another bucket, minimum $500 for the bucket, then $800 for the adapter, and a whole day or two of driving/not doing construction. That's $1300 MINIMUM to get another bucket onto the tractor. Plus whatever else I need, which is always something. Before you know it, you are now $1600 into a used bucket, that will break soon, and now I am back in the same problem.

Do yall get my point? There are endless times that I just need to:

Get massive thick steel, reintegrate the bucket, keep scraping/making progress, right on the spot, no driving for days, no spending $1300 just for it to break again

My point: the bottleneck in my situation is the inability to just melt steel pieces together irregardless of the look, for the PURPOSE of progress

Yes I know it is dangerous, but being dumb is also dangerous, and not being capable is actually very dangerous

 

[PaulL]

Get massive thick steel, reintegrate the bucket, keep scraping/making progress, right on the spot, no driving for days, no spending $1300 just for it to break again

My point: the bottleneck in my situation is the inability to just melt steel pieces together irregardless of the look, for the PURPOSE of progress

I know you can probably drive google yourself.

But a quick search gives me:

A gas setup will work anywhere. No power, no nothing. Drag it to wherever you need it, light it and off you go. It takes more skill I think to get a usable weld. It's not something I actually know how to do myself. But it really seems like the best answer for what you describe.

 

[joesmith123]

I know you can probably drive google yourself.

But a quick search gives me:

A gas setup will work anywhere. No power, no nothing. Drag it to wherever you need it, light it and off you go. It takes more skill I think to get a usable weld. It's not something I actually know how to do myself. But it really seems like the best answer for what you describe.

You dont understand how helpful it is for someone to critique the thoughts in my head

If that turns out to be true, and it is affordable to cut steel and weld big steel pieces

And I dont have to spend 100k on a bunch tig/mig/arc/this/that/ and the other, then

the biggest bottleneck to making progress could be solved

Once I get calmer and stable, I sit down and watch and try to understand

No buying anything, just thinking and understanding

In the 2nd video: The guy literally cut a 4 inch thick steel like it is a bone in rib eye

Yes I watched the videos, conclusions:

woah, it is true that all you need to know is the oxy acetyline welding and it could solve all the problems at the moment

I bet there are welders that went through every welding technique and resorted back to the main one that started it all, and the most cost effective/bang for the buck

all the problems: weld the bucket on the bx, weld the main point connecting the auger to the boom, many points on the L295 are breaking down, I can go on and on

The big point: Being able to melt large pieces of steel safely and affordably is the difference between getting the job done, or always running out of money, and working for years and years with no ability to get ahead/be rewarded

The amount of dollar value I am calculating for my situation, it might as well be infinite, right?

Imagine you go and level land aggressively and quickly, you can just go and dig a hole quickly without this or that stopping you, Or you bend a bracket while you are digging, and you have to stop an entire job just because you cannot fix the issue on the spot, imagine the value of all of it together

How much money can you save from renting, driving, arranging, talking, scheduling, sitting at red lights, omg

I dont give a crap how much you paid for that machine, its gonna break

 

[PaulL]

In the 2nd video: The guy literally cut a 4 inch thick steel like it is a bone in rib eye

Yes I watched the videos, conclusions:

woah, it is true that all you need to know is the oxy acetyline welding and it could solve all the problems at the moment

I bet there are welders that went through every welding technique and resorted back to the main one that started it all, and the most cost effective/bang for the buck

Yes, I think it's a real option. I'm a very poor welder myself, things that I weld break often. The nice thing about welding is it's literally melting in new steel. If it breaks, I weld it again. Eventually I get it right. That works for things that aren't safety critical.

I can't recommend strongly enough doing a welding course if you have time/money. They're not expensive and you'll come out both knowing how to weld, and knowing a lot more about the different sorts of welding and why to use them. You can learn by doing, but some things are just easier to learn properly once. If you can't do that, then YouTube is definitely your friend. And lots of practice (seems like you have plenty of broken stuff to practice on).

Actually lighting and using Oxy acetylene can be dangerous. So make sure you have the risk to life and limb under control, but after that, practice will probably get you there.