Has anyone built a homemade potato digger?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Nicahawk
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Nicahawk

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I'm looking for ideas for building a tractor pulled potato digger. Knowing how crafty and inventive everyone is, I'm guessing someone has. I made one last year but it's just like the cheap ones you can buy at HF and a couple other places.

Was hoping someone had a better idea,


and BTW, the shop isn't ALWAYS this cluttered, sometimes it's worse!
 

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BoneheadNW said:
That one looks pretty substantial to me. What is the problem with it?
Bonehead
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Actually it is hell for stout. (The extra paint helps hold it together). :yum: I'm just getting lazy and looking for a better way to sort the potatoes from the turned up dirt.

The Zaga Digger model CPL, in the link Paul posted would be perfect if I just had an extra $2,700 hid away.
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Nica, I've seen some in the past that have long spines sticking out from the blade going backwards, I think the idea being that the potatoes get pushed up onto the spines, and the mud falls through, so the spuds are left ontop of the dirt when they fall off the end of the spines. I'll find a picture if my description is as confusing as I think it is.

On the farm they have a full size commercial spud processor, digs them, sorts them and stacks them. I might be able to get a few pictures if you want, thats if its still out the back, it might have gone. Its a pretty massive bit of kit, but its something that you might be able to scale down.
 
Jim, after looking at the store bought mechanical units I've picked up some ideas. I understand what you mean about the spines sticking out so they somewhat are seperated from the dirt as their dug or harvested. Thanks for the offer to send pictures, but I don't think I'll need them now. I'm half tempted to buy a manufactured unit, but building something yourself is always fun and rewarding. And I love to weld!
 
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Nicahawk said:
Jim, after looking at the store bought mechanical units I've picked up some ideas. I understand what you mean about the spines sticking out so they somewhat are seperated from the dirt as their dug or harvested. Thanks for the offer to send pictures, but I don't think I'll need them now. I'm half tempted to buy a manufactured unit, but building something yourself is always fun and rewarding. And I love to weld!
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Well, if you lived out here in the east...you could pickup an old horse-drawn potato picker at almost any auction...and then all you'd have to do is FIX IT...:D
 
I watched that several times. If you do decide to build it take a lot of pictures.

I'm playing with another design idea that I got from looking at manufactured units. I'll get some pictures posted in a few days.
 
An old farmer near where my folks lived years ago, he used something similar to this. He'd pull it with his horse. (This was back in the mid '80s.)
potato%20digger.JPG


The potatoes would run up the conveyor and into spud sacks he'd have on the back of the machine. Apart from picking the odd stone or two, as simple as it was, this was an unbelievably effective machine.
 
I'd sure like to get my hands on one of those to rebuild! (And paint orange :hide: ) However it's a little too far to drive back East for an auction.

Quincy, thanks for posting the picture. Gives me a few more ideas.
 
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Nica,

I see those horse drawn rigs in the weeds all the time around here. Thay aren't orange, but I know where two are as I type (if the scrappers haven't got to them yet). I bet a run in the want ads will turn you up one quickly if that is something you just have to have. I bet your tractor would pull it apart pretty quickly though.
 
Back when I was a kid and we grew a lot of spuds, we just used a single bottom moldboard plow with the coulter removed to dig them... It worked fairly OK, just had to pick them out of the dirt. But most importantly, it damaged very few.
 
xlr82v2 said:
Back when I was a kid and we grew a lot of spuds, we just used a single bottom moldboard plow with the coulter removed to dig them... It worked fairly OK, just had to pick them out of the dirt. But most importantly, it damaged very few.
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Thanks for the tip. Sounds like that might work. I'm about done digging this year but I'll keep it mind for next summer.
 
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