Everyone who has a potato field sooner or later comes to the conclusion that digging potatoes with a shovel is not a very noble and fun activity, and now you are looking for where to buy a potato digger, when suddenly grandparents come to defend traditional values in the form of manual digging with arguments that the digger He doesn’t dig up all the potatoes, it’s expensive, our grandfathers dug and they told us to. And then an idea comes to your mind: shouldn’t you make a homemade potato digger with your own hands, they say, you don’t need to spend money and your family will be proud of you. But before we start building a homemade potato digger for a walk-behind tractor, let's find out what they generally are.
Fan potato diggers
The simplest ones to manufacture are also produced industrially, but most require some modifications.
It is immediately clear that they are based on the same hiller; it is this hiller, buried below the level of the tubers, that loosens and turns the soil. But he brings up the dug potatoes - a fan welded to the back of the hiller. Its role is played by metal rods, welded at a distance of 3–4 cm from each other, diverging and curved in the upper part.
The amount of depth is regulated by thrust wheels, and the transverse bar serves as a footrest, upon which a person, with his weight, provides the required depth to the device.
It is this type of fan potato digger that seems to us to be the most productive. The digging process itself can be seen here:
You will have to modify the shape, angle of attack and other nuances yourself, taking into account your soil, the power and driving performance of the walk-behind tractor on which you plan to install the potato digger, and even the varieties of potatoes that form tubers at different depths.
A type of similar digger without a fan, designed for two people:
Potato digger: do-it-yourself assembly
To assemble a vibrating potato digging device, the following materials are required: a thick metal corner (section 60x40) or a channel for making a frame, a thick steel sheet (6-8mm), a metal rod or fittings.
Additionally for the digger you will need:
- consumable fastenings (bolts/nuts/washers);
- steel pipe (diameter - 300mm);
- wide steel or rubber wheels.
The steel wheels of a homemade potato digger are inferior to rubber ones in terms of efficiency and maneuverability
When choosing rubber wheels, pay attention to the thickness of the tread, the width of the chamber - the wider, the more stable and passable the model will be
The process of manufacturing and assembling the cultivator:
- Weld the main frame of the device from corners or channels.
- Make sections from a steel sheet to strengthen the frame.
- Connect the frame with bolts or welding with reinforcing gussets.
- Then weld a grid of rods/reinforcements and steel strips.
- Attach a shaft to the grate, which is responsible for the vibration of the working digging unit.
- Afterwards, secure the elevator to the frame by welding and bolts.
Make a plowshare knife from a piece of steel pipe, cut it out using a grinder. Sharpen the ploughshare at the bottom. Connect the knife to the elevator and frame with thick bolts (diameter - 10mm).
Now make the wheel fasteners. Craftsmen recommend fixing the shaft for the wheels on the frame racks, but you can also install the wheels independently of each other on each side of the frame on the hubs. The completion of the assembly process is the installation of the wheels onto the shaft or frame hubs.
Potato diggers with a roar
This is the most common type of potato digger, produced by various machine-building plants in Russia and abroad. It has slight design differences, primarily in the design of the screen drive - oscillating during operation of the pan, which allows the potatoes to be partially cleared of the soil while the potato digger is moving.
The knife of such a digger can have different configurations. It can be fixed motionless, or it can be hinged and oscillate slightly during movement, simplifying the process of digging up tubers. The width of the knife is 35 – 40 cm.
DIY drawings
It is this type of potato digger, despite being quite difficult to manufacture, that is made by home craftsmen with their own hands more often than others. We offer approximate drawings with the main dimensions of such a potato digger for a walk-behind tractor.
A large number of joints of moving parts makes this device regularly serviced, but the result of its work is of better quality than that of fan-shaped potato diggers:
Potatoes are peeled better from the ground and are located on its surface.
The magnitude and frequency of oscillations of the screen may vary and depend on the design of the drive, but even with minor oscillations, cleaning occurs quite well:
Conveyor potato diggers
They are much easier to make yourself, but in our opinion they are no worse at peeling potatoes from soil.
Their knives are the same as those of the screening ones, and the potatoes are peeled while they move along the conveyor belt. It is clear that the longer it is, the better the potatoes will be peeled, but long conveyor belts can only be installed on potato diggers used with tractors. On walk-behind tractors, they will interfere with the person walking behind him.
The conveyor belt drive may be different. If it is taken from the wheels of the digger itself, then they must have good lugs so that they do not lock on wet or very loose soil.
Also interesting in this design are the rear guides, which more compactly place the potatoes behind the belt.
In this self-assembled conveyor potato digger, the belt drive is carried out from the power take-off shaft of a homemade walk-behind tractor and is transmitted by a motorcycle chain.
To view a picture, click on its thumbnail on the right
When manufacturing a potato digger of this type, the main problem will be selecting the rotation speed of the conveyor drive gear and matching it with the speed of the power take-off shaft. In this model, the power take-off shaft rotates at a speed of 500 - 800 rpm, and the gearbox is taken from a motor boat with a gear ratio of approximately 1:2. The rest is selected by the size of the stars for an approximate walking speed when digging 2-3 km/h.
And yet, the connection between the speed of the conveyor belt and the wheel speed seems more appropriate to us.
There are models designed for specific walk-behind tractors and mini tractors, like this one for mechanisms with a side power take-off shaft:
Drum potato diggers
This is a rather rare type of equipment for mini-equipment, so it is mostly homemade. Peeling potatoes from soil in such devices occurs quite efficiently, as does laying them on the ground, but the design itself is quite controversial, and the tubers are more damaged than when digging with the above-mentioned potato diggers, and therefore are worse preserved.
What is simpler about them is the direct drive of rotation from the power take-off shaft. Everything else: making the drum, thrust rollers and bearings is clearly more complicated. The design of the knife does not have any special features, except that it is preferable for it to have a more rounded shape in the back so that the potatoes are not further damaged when they get into the drum.
Horse-mounted potato digger
There are still quite a lot of them for sale on the Internet. They are imported mainly from Poland and converted into mini tractors and walk-behind tractors.
At the same time, taking into account the higher speed of movement of this equipment in comparison with a horse, in addition to modifying the towing device, a limiter-shield is placed on it on the side on which the dug potatoes are thrown. Otherwise, it will have to be collected in neighboring areas. A wedge-shaped paw digs up the potatoes, as in fan diggers, and the drive of the device that removes the tubers from the ground is carried out by wheels with lugs. The higher the travel speed, the faster this potato extractor rotates.
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Attachments for different types of equipment cost an impressive amount of money.
That is why one of the options to save money is to make it yourself, from scrap and purchased materials.
One of the most popular additional devices for a mini-tractor or walk-behind tractor is a homemade potato digger.
It allows you to fully automate the process of harvesting potatoes, which is extremely labor-intensive if done manually.
How does it work?
A special formwork for a walk-behind tractor, designed for harvesting potatoes, can be bought ready-made in a store, but many craftsmen prefer to make it with their own hands. This device is classified as an attachment that is attached directly to the machine using a special hitch. The structure lifts a layer of soil and digs out root crops, which can then be collected by hand from the surface of the ground. Compared to manually digging up potatoes, this method saves quite a lot of time. The average labor productivity of diggers is 0.1-0.02 hectares per hour, this parameter is several times higher than that for manual assembly.
The potato digger can also be used for all other root vegetables - carrots, as well as beets, turnips, radishes and onions. However, before you buy such a necessary mechanism, try to make sure that you can hook it onto your walk-behind tractor or cultivator. You should definitely take into account the power characteristics of this walk-behind tractor, as well as the characteristics of the soil in which the crops are grown.
Where to begin?
Do not rush headlong into tools and pieces of metal. First of all, you should decide on some very important points.
- What type of equipment will the potato digger be used with?
- How much can be spent on this event?
- What type of potato digger and according to what drawings will it be assembled?
- How will the individual parts be connected?
- Where and how will materials for construction be selected?
Connection method - welding or bolt-nut?
There are two ways to connect individual parts of metal structures (sheets, corners and others) that you will have to use when constructing a potato digger.
Contact welding method using electricity or gas
– more aesthetically pleasing, but less reliable in most cases.
If there is a large load on the structure, which may occur when used on hard and rocky soil, there is a possibility of the seam between the metal structures breaking.
Another way is using a bolt, locknuts and nuts.
Using such fasteners, you can connect the metal structure quite firmly.
A bolted connection has other advantages over a welded seam.
If necessary, the structure can be easily disassembled - for example, if you need to transport a potato digger over a long distance.
To connect individual parts you do not need special equipment: a drill, a drill bit and a pair of keys are enough.
What is needed to assemble a homemade potato digger?
The basis of this type of attachment is usually a welded frame made of metal corners. The thickness of the metal is selected taking into account the load it will experience.
The larger it is, the thicker the sheet of metal should be. The most commonly used corners are those with overall dimensions of 63×40 mm. You will also need an iron channel made of durable metal.
Ideally for this case, a part marked with number 8 is suitable. In addition, sheets of metal of various sizes, with a thickness of at least 8 mm, are required.
If everything will be connected with bolts, you should purchase the required amount of hardware.
You will also need:
- a chain that will transmit torque;
- wheels - metal or rubber, depending on the type of soil on which you will have to work;
- metal drum;
- gas pipe with a diameter of ¼.
Operating principle and assembly of a homemade potato digger
The operating principle of a potato digger is quite simple.
The design contains two steel knives that cut the ground. Afterwards, they collect the tubers along with the soil and feed it all along a special transport grid into a collection bunker.
The lattice moves and vibrates, as a result of which the stuck clods of earth are easily separated from the potato tubers.
If there is a lack of material, the bunker can not be made, and the potatoes, cleared of adhering soil, can be dumped directly on the field. Then it is simply assembled by hand.
Assembling the potato digger is carried out in several stages. They are all equally important, each detail performs its function.
The stronger all connections are made, the longer the assembled device will last.
First of all, the frame is assembled from corners and metal channels. It is the supporting basis of the entire structure. After its assembly, all other components are attached to the frame.
One of the largest and most important parts of a potato digger is the elevator.
It consists of a vibrating grid on which the potatoes are fed, and high metal sides made of thick sheet metal.
The entire elevator structure is welded or bolted from metal angles.
The elevator is equipped with special shafts, which transmit the force from the rotating wheels - it causes the grate to vibrate.
After the elevator is completely assembled and fixed to the supporting frame of the potato digger, a ploughshare is attached to it. This is a plow, which is the direct working part that turns potato tubers out of the ground.
It can be made from a variety of metal objects. Both from a real, most ordinary plow, and from a specially sharpened and curved piece of pipe with a diameter of 200 mm.
It is advisable to attach the ploughshare to the elevator using bolts, since this part of the potato digger experiences the greatest load during operation. 10mm bolts are exactly what is needed in this case.
The penultimate stage is the design and assembly of the support and transport unit. It consists of wheels, discs to which they will be attached, two roller chains and a metal rod. There are also sprockets and bearings.
All these assembled parts will make moving the potato digger during operation extremely simple and easy. Roller chains are used to transmit rotation to special shafts that create vibration on the elevator grate.
The sprockets are mounted on a metal rod, which acts as a bridge and rotates as it moves. Metal disks are welded to the rod, and wheels are subsequently attached to them.
Special attention should be paid to the method of connecting the equipment to the agricultural machinery that will set it in motion.
The construction of this device is the last stage in assembling a potato digger with your own hands.
If you have any attachments for a tractor or walk-behind tractor, you should simply make a structurally similar mount.
Although some well-known manufacturers of mini tractors create an individual and rather complex system for connecting attachments.
In this case, you should show engineering thought and find an approach to solve this problem. Perhaps a way out of the situation could be to make changes to the design of the tractor itself.
Choosing the type of potato digger
The unit is used on both loose and dense soils. Depending on this and other factors, the following features can be distinguished:
- Various sizes.
- Various constructive techniques.
- Working strip size.
- The need for weeding.
- The ability to clean potatoes from adhering soil.
Watch a video on how to make a potato digger on a generator with your own hands:
There are the following types of diggers:
- Fan (another name is lancet).
- Screening (vibrating).
- Conveyor (belt or conveyor).
- Drum.
Let's take a closer look at them.
Fan (lancet) potato digger for walk-behind tractor
This device has long been faithfully serving gardeners. They know the digger called "Dolphin", lancet or paw. The design is simple, easy to use, compatible with any walk-behind tractor model, incl. with water cooling.
To start working, the unit is connected to a mini-tractor. A sharp plow loosens the soil, then the tubers extracted from the soil along the edge of the ploughshare (representing a horizontal knife) are fed onto metal rods. The soil separated from the potatoes falls into the gaps between them. The tubers continue to move and fall to the ground, where they can already be collected in containers.
Before you start work, you need to mow the tops. A small number of weeds is acceptable. Such a unit will perform best on soft and loose soil. It is necessary that it be dry, since heavy wet soil will not separate from the tubers.
Screen (vibrating) potato digger
This unit is also called a shaking digger. It is distinguished by a more complex device, which includes three main parts - a knife, a special grid that is made to vibrate by mechanisms, and a metal frame.
The digger operates as follows: the ploughshare loosens the soil along with the tubers. They are fed onto a vibrating surface made of metal rods. The earth spills back onto the boundary, and potatoes fall from the opposite side. This device allows you to harvest even on hard and fairly moist soil. It is perfect for use over a large area.
The main advantages of the digger:
- The unit covers a fairly wide area - approximately 40 cm.
- The ploughshare is buried 25 cm into the soil.
- Crop loss is small. It depends on the type of potato and the looseness of the soil. The minimum value is 2%, the maximum is 10%.
But there are also disadvantages to her work. The main thing can be called constant vibration, because of which it is more difficult to control the walk-behind tractor, and the gardener quickly gets tired. You can get rid of this problem if you install two eccentrics that dampen vibration well. Before starting work, weeds and tops must be completely removed, otherwise the green mass will clog the wheel fasteners and the grille.
Conveyor potato digger
This convenient device can be both large and quite modest in size. The principle of operation is that the tubers are removed from the soil loosened with a knife, placed on a moving belt and then undergo separation.
The tape is made of small metal rods, which are arranged in parallel and secured with a chain. While moving along it, excess soil spills out through the gaps in the lattice, and the tubers either fall back to the ground or end up in a special bunker.
The conveyor is driven by a walk-behind tractor shaft and a chain (or gear) transmission.
The ploughshare is buried 15-18 cm into the ground, this makes it possible to lose no more than 5% of the crop.
Drum type potato digger
The device operates most effectively over large areas, making harvesting easier. Structural elements such as the wheel frame and ploughshare are no different from other types of diggers. The third part is a drum made of metal rods, which rotates during operation.
After the ploughshare cuts the soil, the clods of soil along with the potatoes are placed in the drum. During rotation, large lumps break up and spill out, and the tubers move to the end and fall to the edge.
Rotation of the drum is ensured according to the same principle as in conveyor models - due to the torque transmitted from the walk-behind tractor shaft. The advantage of this type of digger is its careful handling of the harvest. Potatoes are not damaged in the drum, and the soil is cut to a sufficient depth to reduce losses to a minimum.
When thinking about buying or creating a digger, it is important to take into account the soil that will be processed. The lighter it is, the simpler the design should be.
Watch the video of how a hydraulic digger works:
Thickness of the metal used to assemble the potato digger
The optimal metal thickness that should be used for this type of homemade equipment is 5-7 mm. It is this size that guarantees fairly high strength and not excessive weight.
If the work of harvesting potatoes will have to be done on land that has excess moisture, then the lighter the machine, the better. In this case, you can use material of smaller thickness.
If the soil is hard and rocky, then the greater the weight of the potato digger, the better. With its weight it will create the force necessary for work.
It will be easier for the ploughshare to cut into the ground and turn the layers of earth outward along with the potato tubers.
How to set up and adjust a potato digger on a walk-behind tractor
When starting the potato digger for the first time, it is necessary to adjust the depth of immersion of the plowshares into the ground. According to the standards, the knife of the device must enter the soil below the level of the fruit. Thus, the crop will not be damaged and will be delivered to the top layer of soil intact. The optimal immersion depth is 12-15 cm.
The knife is adjusted using the hitch bracket and support wheels. With a shorter length of the racks, the stroke depth increases, otherwise it decreases.
What wheels to use to construct a homemade potato digger
For the type of equipment under consideration, three types of wheels can be used:
- rubber with regular tread;
- rubber with tractor tread;
- metal.
Each type has both its advantages and disadvantages. The use of any of them is fully justified in different cases.
If the soil is wet and loose and easily collapses under heavy weight, you should focus on rubber wheels.
They are quite light, and the tractor tread of the rubber tires will easily rake the ground, which will allow the equipment to move off without difficulty, without slipping or getting stuck.
Also, when designing a potato digger, you should choose the widest possible wheels, otherwise movement will be somewhat difficult.
Metal wheels are perfect for working on hard ground.
They will significantly increase the overall weight of the structure, which in this case is only beneficial: it will be easier for the plow to stick into the ground and perform its function.
It is also advisable to choose a tractor tread for all-metal wheels in order to avoid getting stuck and skidding when driving on loose and marshy soil.
Design features and types
Before you make a potato digger for a walk-behind tractor with your own hands, you need to study the device, design features and prepare the tools and materials necessary for the work. The principle of operation is the same for all models: the teeth of the mechanism stick into the ground and rake out the earthen clod along with the root crops. The harvest can be collected in a bunker or left in the garden. This will depend on the design solution of the model. Potato diggers are:
- fan (lancet);
- vibrating (screening);
- conveyor.
Experienced craftsmen show engineering savvy and independently create multifunctional units that are used for planting root crops, hilling, and harvesting.
Optimal metal thickness
The hanging structure is assembled from metal parts. The thickness of the sheet steel should be selected taking into account the expected load: the greater it is, the thicker the material should be. Experts recommend using sheets with a thickness of at least 8 mm.
Wheels for digging
The design is equipped with movable wheels. When making a digger in a home workshop, you can borrow them from an old garden wheelbarrow. Wide tires will make it easier to move around the beds. The best option is equipped with an axle. Stands are attached to the axle, in which locking holes are made.
Alternatively, you can use metal ones. They will make the structure heavier, which will improve the performance of the rawl on hard soils. Rubber ones will move worse on wet ground; rubber ones, but with a tractor tread, will perform better in such a situation.
Connection methods
All elements of the unit are connected by resistance welding (electric or gas), as well as using classic fasteners (bolts, nuts). Moreover, the advantage of a bolted connection is that, if necessary, the unit can be disassembled and reassembled.
Finger drum
If possible, a finger drum can be installed on the elevator. It is a piece of pipe onto which fingers of the required length are welded.
The part should be of such a size that it does not reach the grill by just a couple of centimeters. The drum is mounted on a special axis, which has a welded sprocket.
Using a chain drive, the drum axis is connected to the wheel shaft.
If everything is done correctly and the calculations are correct, your fingers will break up the hard, dried soil, which falls along with the tubers onto the elevator grate. As a result, the potatoes will be as free as possible from adhering soil.
To make this option you will need:
large diameter pipe cut- round sheets of metal
, which will subsequently cover both holes in the pipe; - steel rod
, which will serve as an axis of rotation; - long cylindrical metal fingers
(you can use reinforcement used to reinforce concrete).
The entire structure is manufactured using resistance welding.
Buying a factory potato digger is a very expensive undertaking. Therefore, if you don’t have extra money and have a lot of time, as well as a well-working head and hands, you can easily save a decent amount.
After watching the video, we can conclude that it is important to be careful and conscientious about your work, then a homemade potato digger will be able to serve you without breakdowns or downtime for a very long time:
Probably, every owner of a large personal plot or vegetable garden wants to minimize the labor intensity of land work and reduce the time of tillage to a minimum, which is why gardeners strive to acquire a walk-behind tractor and various equipment for it. If you are the happy owner of this useful equipment and like to grow a lot of potatoes on your plot, then it makes sense to think about the need for a potato digger for mechanical harvesting. Now you can buy various designs and improved equipment for all types of walk-behind tractors, or you can put in a little effort and make a digger for a walk-behind tractor with your own hands. In this article we will introduce you to the varieties of this device and tell you how to make a potato digger yourself.
How to install and configure?
To attach the potato digger to the walk-behind tractor, use a hitch, which includes the front part - it is attached to the tractor, a device for adjusting the attack angle, as well as a bracket for fastening. The coupling is divided into two elements. The right one remains on the digger, and the second one is fixed to the tractor, both parts are connected with special bolts. To adjust the mechanism, use the long central screw. The depth of digging up the earth when the device is operating will depend on how you configure it.
After starting the engine of the potato digger, it immediately begins to work, however, it often happens that the hitch begins to enter the ground at the wrong angle, the reason is that the mechanism is not configured correctly. If the situation is not corrected, the walk-behind tractor will begin to slip or the belt will simply slip off the pulleys. As a result, the conveyor of the mechanism will begin to become clogged with earth, and it will be impossible to continue working.
In this case, the settings should be adjusted; to do this, carefully rotate the angle of attack screw so as to reduce it. In addition, on the towed unit you need to select the optimal position based on the holes, thanks to such actions you can set the desired depth of immersion in the ground
In order for the digger to interact correctly with the walk-behind tractor, you should adjust all the existing bolts on the towed unit, in this case the units will be located on the same axis, and the device itself will move smoothly along the surface and will not begin to go too deep into the ground.
Many craftsmen prefer to make a potato digger with their own hands - such equipment is much cheaper and works quite well. Having the most minimal skills in working with metal objects, as well as diagrams and drawings, a digger can be built in just a few hours. The manufacture of the mechanism usually begins with the manufacture of a welded frame, for this you need a square metal pipe, it is cut into 4 sections of the selected length, a rectangle is welded from them, then a jumper is made from the remains.
At the next stage, it is necessary to make vertical posts, usually they are cut from metal squares and then welded to a steel frame, the posts are fixed together with iron rods, usually their diameter is 0.5 cm. The cutting part of the device, which will be directly responsible for cutting the ground, made from a 5mm thick steel sheet or from an old circular saw, in both cases this potato digger will work very well. In this case, the sharpening must be rounded, thanks to this it will not be able to go too deep into the ground and will minimize the likelihood of damage to the tubers themselves.
A homemade design is usually supplemented with movable wheels, usually they are borrowed from an old garden cart; it is best to pay attention to devices with wide tires - they will make moving around the beds easier. It is optimal if the wheels are equipped with an axle to which racks with selected holes will be attached
If you don’t have suitable wheels, you can use metal ones.
If you are going to work with wet soils, then it would be right to give preference to rubber wheels, but with a tractor tread. Keep in mind that regular rubber wheels will move much worse in wet ground. All elements are connected to each other using resistance welding, as well as using traditional fasteners - nuts and bolts. The first option is more practical and durable, but models made according to the second principle can be disassembled and put back together if necessary. It is not difficult to assemble a digger, and the cost of the finished product will be minimal.
To learn how to set up and adjust a potato digger with a walk-behind tractor, see the video below.
Do-it-yourself potato digger - design features
There are two types of household potato diggers:
simple and vibration. The principle of operation of potato diggers of all types is the same - the rawl, ploughshare or tines are immersed in the soil and extract potato tubers onto its surface. Thus, the gardener will not need to manually dig out potatoes from each hole - the gardening unit will do it for him. Both types of diggers can be made independently from available materials or you can buy some components, the cost of which is low, and save your budget.
Simple digger
is an attachment in the form of a pointed curved iron sheet to which rods are welded in a fan-shaped manner.
This mini-ploughshare cuts the soil and lifts the tubers along an expanding fan of twigs, while sifting out excess soil. A simple digger, which is attached to a walk-behind tractor, mechanizes potato harvesting. The vibrating digger
is a conveyor potato digger for use when working with a walk-behind tractor.
Complete with screening grid and wheels. The harvesting mechanism with such a digger is simple: the soil is cut with a rake, which goes along with the potato tubers onto a grid, where the root crops are sifted from the clods of earth and then rolled along the screening grid to the soil surface. Important! It makes sense to make a potato digger yourself for cultivating areas with light and medium-heavy soils.
Types of potato diggers for walk-behind tractors and which one is better to choose
Different types of potato diggers for walk-behind tractors may differ in a number of ways. Usually there are five main devices: fan, screen, drum, conveyor, conveyor.
Fan
A fan potato digger is the simplest and most versatile unit. The name of this device is explained by the arrangement of the teeth. They are made of equal-length pieces of reinforcement connected in a fan shape.
The structure of a fan potato digger is similar to an agricultural plow
The principle of operation does not have significant differences with other types of potato diggers: the device is immersed in the ground and catches tubers, which, in turn, are sifted from the ground due to the large distance between the teeth. Finally, the fruits dug up and cleared of soil end up on the surface of the beds, where they can be conveniently collected by hand.
Grohotnaya
The main difference between a screening potato digger and other types of devices is the presence of a lattice compartment. It is located at an angle relative to the ground, which allows the teeth to be driven into the soil with less effort. Also, due to the additional support point and a pair of wheels, the screening unit has a more stable design than a fan potato digger.
The potato digger got its name due to the noise and vibrations produced during operation.
The advantage of the screening device lies precisely in the grid. Due to the constant oscillatory movements of the compartment, the collected tubers are cleared from the soil more efficiently and quickly.
In the video about potato diggers for walk-behind tractors, it is the screening version of the device that most often appears in work, since it is most applicable when cultivating both small and large plots of land.
Drum
A potato drum digger is a fully mechanized device that can make the harvesting process as easy as possible. Thanks to this unit, the fruits are not only dug up and cleared of soil, but also transported to a separate box.
The design of the device implies the presence of a lattice drum. The fruits fall into it directly after being dug up by the plow. Due to continuous rotation, the tubers are cleared of excess soil and then sent to a pre-prepared container.
Most often, they resort to making a potato digger for a walk-behind tractor with a drum with their own hands in order to facilitate harvesting, but this condition is not always feasible.
The drum unit can only be used on soft, loose soil.
Conveyor
The conveyor potato digger is used less frequently than other types of devices. The operating principle of this unit is to move a layer of earth with root crops along a conveyor. The process of clearing fruits from soil in this way is slower than in a drum or screen potato digger, so it may take more time to cultivate the soil.
When working with a conveyor potato digger, the type of soil is important; the device is not applicable in areas with wet or sticky soil
Attention! The use of a conveyor potato digger is not recommended in areas where weeds grow. Long plant stems get wrapped around the partitions, which can lead to device failure.
Conveyor
Another type of device that is rarely found in the personal use of landowners is a conveyor potato digger. It is a structure consisting of a bucket and a belt. Together with a piece of soil, the fruits are placed in a container and then move along a conveyor. During the process, the tubers are cleared of soil and placed on the surface of the soil, where they are subsequently collected by hand.
Using a conveyor potato digger, it is possible to process several beds at once
Despite the variety of units, fan and screen potato diggers are considered the most universal devices. They are suitable for all types of soil and do the job well. You can also often find a drum potato digger in use by farmers, but for its operation it is necessary to take into account the operating requirements.
How to make a potato digger with your own hands: choosing material and tools
In order to make a regular homemade potato digger for a walk-behind tractor, you will need the following materials:
- frame made of welded corners, the size of which is 40 by 40 mm;
- sections of pipe or channel 1.3 m long;
- fittings with a diameter of 10 mm;
- metal sheet with a thickness of 7 mm or more for the sides of the fence and ploughshare;
- pieces of square pipes or channels for metal racks - 8-10 pieces;
- rotary metal drum and chain for transmitting rotation;
- wheels, bolts and hardware.
Did you know?
A vibrating potato digger for a walk-behind tractor ensures harvesting up to 95% of the entire potato harvest, and a simple fan one – up to 85%.
Equipment and tools needed to create a potato digger with your own hands:
- welding machine;
- drill and drill bits;
- metal scissors;
- hammer, wrenches;
- Bulgarian.
Manufacturing of a screen-type digger
A homemade potato digger for a walk-behind tractor must be compatible with all devices. This is a design feature. The rumble (vibrating) potato digger is equipped with a PTO drive or a belt drive. The rotation of the output shaft is converted into a pendulum swing of the grid through a crank mechanism. You can take one of the commercially produced models as a basis.
Before starting production, you should carefully study the nomenclature of parts. It is possible that rotation bodies produced by turning will have to be ordered separately. Assembly sequence:
- The frame is made from a profile pipe with sides of 40 mm and a wall thickness of 3 mm. Base size – 80 x 120 mm.
- Ralo is made from a sheet 3 mm thick. The leading edge is folded and sharpened.
- Weld a 40 cm long support frame on four sides.
- Ralos are attached to the front pillars.
- Assemble a lattice from a circle with a diameter of 8 mm and dimensions of 100 x 800 mm.
- The screen is hinged to the rear of the share.
- The rear part of the grille is connected to the crank mechanism.
- Wheels are installed on the supports.
For your information!
All metal surfaces are cleaned, degreased, coated with primer and two layers of paint.
Features of making a simple potato digger
A simple potato digger is an improved curved shovel that plunges into the ground below the level of potato tubers and pushes them to the surface. By correctly calculating the width of the digger and the angle of inclination of the cutting tool, during harvesting you can loosen the soil, which will not need digging. Making a simple potato digger is simple - three sheets of iron are welded together and attached to the walk-behind tractor with a special fastener. The simplicity of the design and the small number of component parts allow it to be manufactured by a novice agricultural machine operator who knows how to work with a welding machine.
How to make a hiller
The simplest hiller is the lister type, which consists of two peak-shaped welded wings made of sheet iron with a thickness of at least 2-3 mm. This device has a fixed grip length due to fixed elements, the tip of which pierces and loosens the ground, so every gardener planning to make a simple potato digger with his own hands must first make drawings of the device, taking into account the row spacing that is acceptable for him, which he usually maintains when planting potatoes. As a rule, this is about 60 cm, and industrial hillers are only 30 cm wide. To make a hiller, you need to take a sheet of metal at least 3 mm thick, triangular in shape, the base length of which is from 30 to 60 cm, and the height is about 30 cm. This element The hiller is bent along the height of the triangle, thereby creating a point that pierces the ground; small rectangles in the form of wings are welded to it, the span of which will be equal to the width of the rows. 7-10 rods approximately 30 cm long are welded to the main triangle in a fan-shaped manner. For better rigidity, the tip of the triangle is reinforced with an iron strip no less than 3 mm thick.
Important!
A rigid stand-mount will prevent overloading the walk-behind tractor engine during operation.
Attaching the potato digger
To attach the potato digger to the walk-behind tractor, you will need a metal rectangle 50*520 mm, the metal thickness of which is at least 10 mm. Holes are drilled on it to regulate the depth of immersion of the digging tip into the ground to avoid cutting the tubers. It makes sense to strengthen the rigidity of the tip and wings by connecting the edges of the wings with an iron plate, to which a structural post will be welded, bearing the entire load of earthworks when harvesting potatoes; if possible, this metal part can be pre-hardened.
How to make a screen-type potato digger with your own hands
Making a potato screening type digger with your own hands is a little more complicated, but very realistic to implement. First, you need to make the individual components of this useful unit, connect them together, check the operation of the mechanism, and the do-it-yourself vibrating potato digger for a walk-behind tractor is ready for harvesting potatoes. Let's study all the stages of making a potato digger for a walk-behind tractor. Before manufacturing this mechanism, it is recommended to make a schematic drawing of a potato digger for a walk-behind tractor, indicating the dimensions of the parts for clarity when measuring the material and further welding work.
To begin with, it is recommended to make a frame for the screen digger. To do this, you should weld a rectangle measuring 120*80 cm from a square pipe of 40*40 mm (or corners), which needs to be well sanded with a grinder. Then a section of 40*40 mm square pipe is welded to a quarter of the length of this frame rectangle for a jumper and further installation of rods. In another part of the frame we make a mount for the wheel axle; to do this, from the outside in the corners, we need to vertically position and weld two 15 cm long pipes with a diameter of 30 mm, and use a drill to drill a hole with a diameter of 10 mm in each pipe.
Then you should install several vertical posts - to do this, you need to step back 5 cm from the built-in jumpers on both sides and weld them in a square measuring 3*3 cm and 50 cm long, then step back another 20 cm and weld 40 cm posts, after which step back 40 cm and weld 30 cm posts, the result will be a kind of ladder. Now you need to connect the racks with a metal strip, the thickness of which is 0.4 mm, at an angle of 45 degrees, the result is a triangular structure.
Did you know?
The first horse-drawn potato digger was created by a Russian blacksmith in 1847.
How to make a pitched board and ralo
The next stage of making a potato digger with your own hands is welding the working part of our device - the raal and the pitched board. Ralo is necessary for digging potato tubers from the soil and then feeding them onto a ramp made of iron rods. For the construction of the rahl, two metal sheets measuring 400 * 400 mm, 0.3 mm thick, are needed, in each of which you need to make a hole for a bolt, and also drill a hole in the racks, stepping back 5 cm from the edge, and firmly screw these metal plates to frame with bolts. Then a metal plate measuring 30*70 cm is bent cone-shaped in the central part using hammer blows and butt-welded to the side sheets - it turns out to be a rawl, the edge of which needs to be sharpened for better penetration into the ground.
The pitched board is welded from 8-10 metal rods or pieces of reinforcement approximately 1.2 m long, one end of which is welded below to the raft, and the second extends beyond the boundaries of the digger and moves quite freely.
The rods are welded parallel at a distance of about 40 mm. To strengthen the structure, a channel about 30 cm long can be welded at the end of the frame on both sides - these will be risers to which the bar is welded.
Rods will then be welded to it at a distance of two-thirds of their length to strengthen the pitched board. During the harvesting process, the free edges of the rods will vibrate and break the soil adhering to the root crops. It is also recommended to weld metal plates on the side of the bars of the pitched board to prevent potato tubers from falling out of the lattice structure.
Selection of wheels for the design
We have already familiarized ourselves with the main steps of how to make a potato digger with our own hands; now we need to choose wheels for the design from the following options:
- metal – suitable for use on hard soil, their weight makes the digger heavier and improves the work of the rake;
- simple rubber ones - used for working on loose soil; on wet soil they will not make it possible to transport garden equipment;
- rubber ones with a tractor tread - will make it possible to use the structure in wet soil without slipping; they are bulky and heavy.
Rubber wheels with tractor tread are the best option for making a potato digger. The wheel is equipped with a mount shaped like the letter “G”, which is attached to an axle mounted on the frame of the digger. The wheel can be fixed with a “pin” by analogy with a garden wheelbarrow.
Important!
Wider wheels will make it easier to move the potato digger around garden beds.
Making fasteners
And here we are at the final stage of making a potato digger with our own hands - making the mount and final assembly of the mechanism. The gearbox unit is attached to the axle using bearings, and the transport mechanism is assembled from wheels, roller chains, and metal disks. The axle, as a connecting bridge, should be attached with sprockets; discs are welded to it, to which the wheels are attached. The chain will transmit energy and rotate the shafts, driving the potato digger mechanism.
Then a holder is made with the letter “G”. The long end is attached to a radial part connected to the walk-behind tractor, and the short end is welded to the tip of the rahl. To control the angle of the rafter, the best option would be to connect the beam to the potato digger with two or more bolts.
As a result of all the work done, you will have a potato digger for a walk-behind tractor, very easy to use, in addition, it will be partially dismountable and transportable due to the mechanism being bolted together. This potato digger will help remove potato tubers from the soil, clear a little of the soil and carefully place them on the surface of the furrows. The owner of a personal plot will only have to harvest the crop and provide it with optimal conditions for storage.
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For those who know first-hand what it is to work in the field, grow your own potato crop, and even more so harvest it, understand what a difficult task it is. It’s good that after a long time of this practice, a person came up with a simple invention to facilitate potato harvesting - a do-it-yourself potato digger
. In this case, our grandfathers used an ordinary shovel, and this mechanical device was created specifically to automate the collection of potatoes. The function of a potato digger is to separate tubers from the soil and place them on the surface of the field.
Of course, there are factory versions of this device, but for a more or less experienced gardener it will not be difficult to assemble a potato digger yourself, which will be little inferior to these samples.
Potato digger design
The simple design makes it much easier. It is based on a welded frame, which is assembled from a special corner measuring 63x40 mm, an iron channel number 8, and 8 mm metal plates. A ploughshare is made from the plates, which in principle can be made from an ordinary circular saw. The ploughshare is attached to the elevator casing with 4 bolts tightened with nuts. Thanks to the round sharpening of the part, potato tubers are almost impossible to cut.
The tilt of the elevator can be changed by changing the fastening of the casing to the frame, and at the same time the angle at which the opener digs also changes. The editorial unit is made from two cylindrical metal bodies. They have the form of a glass and a bushing and connect two shafts made of steel - the drive and the driven. These shafts should rotate without difficulty, and special sprockets with welded hubs are mounted on prismatic keys. As a rule, they are made from a piece of gas pipeline measuring approximately 25 mm.
potato digger for a mini tractor can do without a cleaning drum.
, however, creating it is the most difficult part in making a potato digger. Its design includes two roller chains with 94 links, mounted on rods. This design, due to its shape, was called the “squirrel wheel”. This wheel is mounted on two bent disks for strength. In some cases, a bicycle wheel rim is used instead of disks. The “squirrel wheel” is welded to the disks and fixed on two fixed welded axles, on which it then rotates. The shaft rotates on the bearings, and with it the driven sprockets rotate, on which the rotation of the drum itself depends.
The best material for a slider so that the chain-bar tape can easily slide over it is fluoroplastic. The tape itself looks like a “squirrel wheel”, but the rods on it are shorter and there are fewer of them. Sliders are also needed to protect the chain from damage and act as a support.
The easiest part of making a potato digger is its support and transport unit. Each person makes it according to his own calculations. Usually there are no special difficulties in creating it. By the way, similar mechanisms are used in
It is worth making a manual potato digger for compact areas. It is better to buy industrial types of equipment for large areas from manufacturers.
Simple vibration equipment can be easily made from the following materials:
- Iron channel.
- The pieces of steel were no thinner than 5 millimeters. Strong steel will be required for the plowshare. A used blade from a circular saw or any other high-speed steel is perfect.
- Iron corners from rolled metal.
- Steel or iron rods. It is better to use fittings of small diameter.
The vibration model must be made from a base or frame. The design must include:
- base (the above-mentioned frame);
- suspension system;
- rods for adjustment;
- moving elements (wheels or lugs).
Drawing of a vibrating potato digger for a walk-behind tractor:
Homemade potato digger for walk-behind tractor
Nowadays, almost no one manually digs up garden plots, because modern technology for caring for summer cottages and garden plots has become available. Nowadays, new equipment is widely used and a homemade potato digger for a walk-behind tractor is often made for them; below we will describe several manufacturing options.
Many people who work in the fields know firsthand what a difficult task it is to grow and harvest your own potato crop. To make potato harvesting easier, man came up with a special invention - a potato digger. Our ancestors used a shovel for this, but a mechanical device for automatically collecting potatoes was specially created for us. The purpose of a potato digger is to separate tubers from the soil and place them on the surface of the ground.
Now there is a large selection of factory options for this device. But if the gardener is more or less experienced, it will not be difficult for him to independently assemble a potato digger that is not inferior to factory models.
Work on creating a vibration model
Rules for manufacturing each part separately and assembling the entire mechanism.
The basis
It is optimal to use a square profile pipe 40 by 40 mm. It is better to take a 4-meter piece of rolled metal and divide it into segments of 120 and 80 centimeters. We get four support beams.
From them you need to weld a base in the form of a rectangle at a right angle. Its dimensions will be 120 by 80 centimeters.
Rod mount
It is necessary to weld the jumpers not in the middle of the frame (rectangle), but at a quarter of its length.
On the back side of the base, we fix the square tubes in a vertical position by welding. They are placed outside the base to install the axle. Wheels are then installed on the axle.
Or an engraver makes a 1 centimeter hole in a place convenient for fastening.
Vertical racks
We retreat 5 centimeters from the edge of the frame and secure the square profile by welding. Its length is no more than 50 centimeters. After 15-20 cm, we also fix the square profile by welding, but already 40 centimeters long. After the second rack, we measure 40 centimeters and secure the 30 centimeter profile with welding.
As a result, the design is similar to a metal pair of descending stairs.
Rigidity for racks
It is necessary to secure the racks at the bottom of the structure. To do this, use a strip of metal 0.4 - 0.5 mm. The racks should be connected by welding at 45 degrees, additionally welding the strips together.
Plowshare or ralo
Creating the working part of a potato digger.
A homemade ploughshare must sink into the soil, digging through potato rows for harvesting. To make a ralo, you need metal from 0.3 mm thick. Two “working” blades are cut out according to the drawing and a homemade plow is welded. To give it a three-dimensional shape convenient for gripping the soil, you need to tap the center of the blades with a hammer, after securing the entire structure with a fastening rod.
Making pitched boards
The pitched board is a continuation of the design of the potato digger, or rather steel rods welded to the base. The easiest way is to use reinforcing bars with a diameter of no more than 10 mm and a length of up to 120 centimeters. Every 4-5 centimeters you need to weld the reinforcement, as shown in the photo.
Adjustment rods
An optional element, because adjustment is only needed on problematic (watery) soil.
The rods will easily adjust the desired angle for tilting the reinforcement (pitched) board. The easiest way is to make a movable structure in the form of a frame on which the pitched board is located. The frame is tightened with ordinary bolts.
Support wheels
The design of a digger for a walk-behind tractor, created by yourself, must be equipped with movable wheels for ease of operation and movement.
It is most profitable to equip the digger with wheels from a garden wheelbarrow with wide tires. We purchase axles, attach them to the frame and install the wheels. It is easier to secure the wheels with a pin (as in a garden wheelbarrow).
How to make a homemade potato digger for a walk-behind tractor
You can make your own digger for a small to medium-sized area. For industrial potato growing, it is better to use factory-made equipment. You can make a simple potato digger for a walk-behind tractor with your own hands from available materials, even with minimal plumbing skills. The main rule is that the performance of the device must correspond to the power of the motor cultivator.
Required tools and materials
To make a digger you will need steel blanks of various grades. The frame is assembled from a profile pipe with a cross-section of 40 x 40 x 3 mm. Rods, brackets, and eyes are made of metal sheet 5 mm thick. Racks and supports are made of pipe with a diameter of 26 mm. The axles are made of round rod. Tools you will need:
- Bulgarian;
- welding machine;
- electric drill or drilling machine;
- metalworking tools;
- measuring.
Drawings of homemade and factory potato diggers
Before starting work on making a digger for a walk-behind tractor with your own hands, you should prepare working drawings of parts and assemblies. As a rule, manufacturers keep design documentation secret. But the craftsmen who make homemade potato diggers for walk-behind tractors share diagrams and sketches. The presence of detailed drawings with a description of the material and manufacturing sequence will facilitate the creation of the device.
For your information!
You can draw sketches of the parts yourself from the finished design of the potato digger.
The basis
In the process of extracting potato tubers from the ground, the digger takes heavy loads from the pressure of the earth. To prevent the appearance of deformations of the attached equipment, it is placed on a massive frame - base. It is made from rolled steel of various sections. The frame of light diggers is made from square profile pipes, heavy ones - from channels, I-beams, and angles.
Rod mount
Various rods are used to set up the equipment and fix the units. They are straight or curved parts. They are attached to the frame or other components of the digger through special connectors - lugs. The latter are made from sheet metal with a thickness of at least 5 mm or shaped rolled steel. An axle with a cotter pin or a bolt with a nut is inserted into the hole in the bracket.
Vertical racks
The supports are made of the same material as the frame. They are fixed at a distance of no more than 5 cm from the edge of the base. A knife is attached to the racks, which cuts the soil, guides for soil and tubers, one side of the vibrating sieve or conveyor. The height of the stands is selected in such a way that when the tool is completely lowered, the remaining structural elements do not touch the bed.
Rigidity for racks
In order for the supports to withstand the bending effects of the pressure of the soil, they are reinforced with overlays and jumpers. The first ones are made of metal 2-3 mm thick; they look like rectangular plates with bevels at an angle of 45 °. For jumpers, steel strips 40 x 4 mm or round bars with a diameter of 8 mm are used. The latter is attached to the frame by welding or bolts.
Plowshare or ralo
When cutting the earth mass, the knife is subject to abrasive wear. To counteract abrasion, the plowshare (ralo) is made of high-strength carbon steel. Such material is hardened at a temperature of 900 °. After heat treatment, the surface hardness increases, and the cutting edge remains sharp for a long time. Depending on the width of the digger, one or more knives are installed on its front.
For your information!
To make a plowshare, you can use an old circular saw as a blank.
Making pitched boards
This is a device through which tubers fall from the front of the digger to the back. In the process of moving along the pitched board, the potatoes are cleared of lumps of soil. An element is made from a circle or reinforcement with a diameter of 8-10 mm. Parts that are too thin will sag under their own weight and the weight of the potatoes. A board made of thick rods will be heavy, which will affect the ease of use of the unit.
The simplest potato digger for a walk-behind tractor with your own hands
A lancet-type potato digger is the simplest type of attachment for.
Manufacturing does not require special materials, complex drawings or measurements. You will need a bipod, but it can be easily cut, for example, from an old shovel. Make rods from reinforcement or adapt teeth from old forks. A thrifty owner will always find a use for even old broken garden tools.
To successfully use homemade equipment, you need to know the degree of soil density on the site. Otherwise, using such a potato digger will become inconvenient.
Easy to attach to any model of cultivator or mini-tractor. There are no moving parts in the design, so there is nothing to break.
General information about the mechanism
A potato digger is a special towed device for a walk-behind tractor or mini-tractor, which allows you to separate the tubers from the soil and dump them on the surface. Afterwards, all that remains is to collect the tubers in a suitable container. The potato business will develop successfully with such a device thanks to mechanization.
A factory-made mechanism is extremely expensive. There are cheap Chinese products on the market, but their quality is worse. It makes sense to start making the device yourself. To do this, it is necessary to distinguish between the types of potato diggers, which are distinguished depending on the operating principle of the devices.
Device types:
- ogival;
- screening or vibrating;
- conveyor
The lancet potato digger has a simple design and is easily suitable for any mini-tractor. There are no moving parts in the device, which simplifies manufacturing. The digger cuts the soil with a knife. Next, the earth falls on steel bars, from where the visa is poured. Potato fruits are retained by the twigs and fall on top of the ground in their pure form.
This device is effective only on soft and dry soil. Wet soil will be cut in clumps, making it impossible to separate the potatoes from it. This will require additional effort. The simplicity of the design should not captivate farmers in the northern regions - the device simply will not work. However, a homemade potato digger for a lancet-type mini-tractor can be made quickly, even without drawings - this is a significant advantage.
The vibration-type mechanism (also called a screening mechanism) consists of a ploughshare, a barrel and a drive. This is a productive device, but difficult to manufacture. Moving parts add challenges to assembly. Operating principle:
- The ploughshare undermines the earth along with the fruits.
- The material falls on a table made of twigs, where the soil is loosened and spills down through the sieve.
- On the opposite side, tubers are poured on top of the ground.
The vibrating table complicates the design, but allows you to work on hard and wet ground. Thanks to vibration, lumps of earth are broken up, and the fruits become relatively clean.
