Vibrating potato diggers - review, reviews, faults

In large agricultural enterprises, crops have long been harvested using various mechanisms. This is gradually being introduced into small agricultural production. Farmers buy devices for walk-behind tractors and mini-tractors that simplify work and increase productivity. One of them is vibrating potato diggers. Let's consider the technical characteristics of such a device, its pros and cons.

What type of potato digger is this?

Vibrating potato diggers are popular among farmers. They are more efficient than other types of mechanisms, but are structurally more complex.

The potato digger is a frame structure on wheels. Consists of an active share and a screening screen (grid).

Principle of operation

The ploughshare cuts the layer of earth, which enters the mechanism grid. On the screen, the layer crumbles and sifts due to vibration between the rods.

Lumps of soil and potatoes that did not pass through the grate are thrown to the surface along the track of the mechanism. The device is designed for harvesting tubers with a width between rows of 60–70 cm.

For walk-behind tractor and mini tractor

Potato digger for walk-behind tractor designed for small farms, used for work on light and medium soils.

Reference. The Neva is considered the most popular walk-behind tractor: it has high technical performance and a long service life of 5 years.

A walk-behind tractor and a mini-tractor are ineffective individually, but with additional mechanisms they perform agricultural work of any complexity.

• The potato planter for a walk-behind tractor is used in large areas. For each pass, she forms furrows in the soil, pouring tubers out of a special hopper and covering them with soil. When harvesting, the teeth of the mechanism cut into the ground, pushing out the potatoes, laying them on the surface for later collection.
• Mini tractors Designed for processing small areas. To do this, you will need a potato digger that provides productivity and ease of use. As you move from the tractor shaft or through a belt drive, the crank mechanism begins to move. When entering the ground, the ploughshare vibrates. The removed earth, pushing through it, falls on the spokes and crumbles. At this time, the potatoes rise to the top.

Specifications

Device characteristics:

• dimensions - 700x700x600mm;
• weight - from 34 to 40 kg depending on the model;
• productivity - 0.05–0.2 ha/hour;
• travel speed - 1.1–2.1 km/h;
• digging depth - 20 cm;
• working width - 39 cm;
• The turning radius of the device at the outermost point is 3 m.

The device consists of:

• durable frame;
• wheels, chains, disks, bearings;
• shafts providing the vibration effect;
• filter grids;
• sides;
• plow

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages of the mechanism:

• selects up to 98% of tubers from the soil;
• able to dig on heavy soils;
• You don’t have to look for dug potatoes in the ground, since they remain on the surface;
• speeds up work and saves time and effort;
• qualitatively cleans tubers from the soil without damaging them;
• convenient for large areas;
• reduces fuel consumption.

Flaws:

• high price;
• not suitable for use in small areas;
• vibrations are transmitted to the walk-behind tractor, which is felt when operating the unit.

When purchasing a device, the farmer must be sure that the walk-behind tractor has a PTO (power take-off shaft) or the ability to connect the mechanism with a pulley.

It is recommended to check in advance whether the potato digger and walk-behind tractor are compatible.

Typical malfunctions characteristic of vibration models

Like any equipment, a potato digger can break. Some damages include:

• bearing failure;
• breakdown of conveyor elements;
• breakdown of the conveyor belt.

When using the device, it is recommended to periodically align the rods welded to the knife, check the fixation of the hexagons and the condition of the gearbox.

This is interesting:

Advantages of a manual potato digger and how to make it yourself
Machines for cultivating potatoes - features of agricultural machinery

What is the price

The price varies from 7,000 to 12,500 rubles. depending on the model, type and configuration.

For example, the Plowman KKM-1 vibrating potato digger costs about 12,000 rubles. It consists of a knife and a screen, like similar devices of this type, but has a peculiarity: support wheels allow you to adjust the digging depth. The mechanism is suitable for the Neva and Cascade walk-behind tractors.

The AgroMark KM-2 device costs about 8,500 rubles. This is a potato digger with an active knife with a working width of 400 mm.

How to use and store correctly

The device is attached to a walk-behind tractor or mini-tractor and fixed for further work on harvesting. The ploughshare plunges into the soil, captures it along with the tubers, and they rise to the surface.

Keep the device in a dry and ventilated place, protected from precipitation. Do not leave the potato digger in the same room with chemically active substances.

Is it possible to do it yourself?

The device consists of 3 elements: a knife, a grid with mechanisms that create vibration, and a metal frame. Making a digger will take several hours. Experience with agricultural machinery will be required.

To create the unit you will need:

• Bulgarian;
• welding machine;
• drill, metal drills;
• metallic profile;
• steel sheet;
• steel wire with a diameter of 8 mm;
• wheels;
• bolts, levers, hinges, eccentric, measuring tape;
• ruler and pencil for marking.

Procedure:

1. Measure and cut the metal profile for the frame, weld it.
2. Weld a wheel stand at the bottom.
3. Attach holders for hinges inside (the screen will be suspended on them).
4. Weld brackets to the frame to install the gearbox and mechanism. They will create vibration.
5. Weld a sifter box from metal rods and hang it on hinges inside the frame.
6. Attach the gearbox to the brackets.
7. Make a knife from a steel sheet: cut and bend to the desired shape.
8. Attach the plowshare knife on hinges to the bottom of the frame and the screen.
9. Put and fix the wheels on the made device.

Reviews about potato digger

Comments and opinions of farmers regarding the use of a vibrating potato digger on the farm vary.

Konstantin, Saratov region.: “The potato digger is very easy to adjust. It’s convenient that you can change the coverage width depending on the ground. I haven't found any shortcomings yet. I hope that the impression of the purchased device will not spoil.”

Dmitry, Penza: “The digger is heavy, all the welding is on clamps, the nuts flew off due to strong vibration, the plates are thin, the drive belt soon cracked.”

Conclusion

The peculiarity of such a potato digger is its characteristic vibration, due to which clods of earth are crushed and go through the cracks into the field, and the tubers are dumped in a row on the other side of the movement of the mechanism. The ploughshare goes deeper into the soil as the walk-behind tractor passes across the field, and the soil is transferred to the grate.

It is better to use the device on light and medium soils. It is intended for small farms and is compatible with walk-behind tractors and mini-tractors.