Making a homemade potato harrow for your power tiller with your own hands
For people living in rural areas, harvesting potatoes in the fall remains a time-consuming activity. Of course, today, few people do this kind of work by hand, with a shovel. Many people buy a variety of mechanical devices for this purpose, and some, so-called “dabblers”, make various devices with their own hands to relieve themselves and their loved ones from hard work. Particularly in demand among rural toilers is potato tiller, which operates with a power tiller of any modification, whether it’s beloved model “Neva”, or the device from another manufacturer. The main thing here is to have a clear idea of what is a homemade digger for potatoes, and be able to create drawings according to the necessary calculations.
Design features and types
It is worth recalling at once that this mechanical device, as can be seen from the photo, to do the work, is hooked to the power tiller. Such a digger, made with their own hands, as shown in the video, is able to process the land plot not only near the house, but also in the field.
The main purpose of the potato digger is to separate potato tubers from the soil and lay them out on the ground area. Such a unit is easy to operate and has a simple design. Therefore, to construct it with their own hands is usually not particularly difficult. The most important thing is that this hitch is suitable for any model of power tiller, whether it is the well-known “Neva” or another modification.
Many readers will say that you can buy such a potato digger in the sales outlet for agricultural mechanisms and devices, and why make it with your own hands. This statement is correct, but not quite. Any experienced vegetable grower will say. a digger, designed in a home workshop will be more practical, because it will be designed under the already known characteristics of the soil, and will be made under the force of a particular person. Another thing to add here is the price. The device made by your own hands will cost much cheaper than buying it in a store.
Before getting down to creative design work to create a potato digger, remember, it is adapted to work on soils that have medium and low density criteria. In order to make machines adapted to work on heavy soils, it is necessary to have a deep knowledge of physics and mechanics.
Digger for potatoes, adapted to the tiller, as shown in the photo, there are such types:
A screen or vibrating mechanism. it mainly consists of a ploughshare and a vibrating screen. The principle of operation of this type of potato harvester, which functions with a power tiller, is simple. The ploughshare undermines the soil together with the potatoes. The immovable transporter screen then leaves the tubers on its surface, while the soil is shaken off like a sieve. This model is effective in operation, but rather difficult to make.
Conveyor unit for digging potatoes. it can work freely, for example, on the basis of such power tillers as “Neva”. by design, the transporter digger consists of a ploughshare and a driving conveyor with a special hooking device to hold the tubers on the platform and remove the soil. Transporter design for digging potatoes is more practical than the vibrating type of potato digger. But on soils with a light degree of density to use this type of device is not appropriate.
The arrow form. according to the device, this is the simplest mechanism, which can easily be adapted to any model of mini tractor, for example, such as “Neva”. It does not contain any movable knots. As shown in the video, the soil with tubers is trimmed with a knife. Next, the cut falls on the surface of special bars, where the soil is poured back, and the fruits in pure form are laid on top of the soil. It is efficient on low-density soils, where it is not practical to use other kinds of machines.
Before you begin to design such a device, first of all, you need to determine exactly the density of the soil on which it will be used. It is worth remembering that where a transporter design with a lancet type could ideally be used, it will be difficult to work.
Blueprints of homemade and factory potato diggers
For a small farm, to conveniently harvest potatoes, you need to make a small-sized device. It should be easy to use and easy to hitch to a single-axle tractor.
Potato harvester construction: 1. welded frame, 2. knife, 3. conveyor, 4. pulley, 5. connecting rod, 6. pulley of bevel gear. 7. belt, 8. rack, 9. adapter, 10. support wheel, 11. spring tensioning device.
In order to make the device in question, it is necessary to have:
Coulter, molded from high quality metal alloy, with a thickness of at least 5 mm. To make it, you can use a saw from a circular machine.
Metal angles of size 40 and 63 mm.
Steel bars. They are required to make a device, as shown in the photo, at least 8 pieces.
To make a device for digging potatoes of vibrating type, first of all you need to make a frame. It should be easy to dock, for example, with a mini tractor “Neva” or other modification.
In general, as shown in the video, such a device consists of the following nodes:
Adjusting rods of vertical version.
To design such a unit, it is required to make accurate calculations and according to them create drawings. Without this rule, the process of making it with your own hands is difficult.
Features of screen designs
The second name of this design is a vibrating digger. This kind of potato digger for power tiller works on the following principle: one of the elements. the babble, deepens under the ground, and the stationary grid, leaving the tubers, sifts the soil, as if through a sieve. Rumble potato digger to the tiller, as a rule, is not capable of processing large areas at once. The driver is forced to pass thin strips of land, which wastes a lot of fuel and time on harvesting.
This design consists of a pellet and a moving conveyor belt. Before digging potatoes, you will need to check the area for thick weeds, so that they do not wind up on the “tray” of the device.
The design conveyor is equipped with a hitch element, which is designed to hold the potatoes on a special platform. In this case, the soil simply falls off the platform, so that the farmer gets clean potatoes.
This type of equipment is quite practical, but it should not be used on wet ground.
The design of lancets
The lancet, or fan design, is considered one of the simplest. During operation, the soil is cut by knives, and together with the crop falls on special bars. The soil falls off quickly, and the potatoes stay on their surface.
This type of equipment has proven to be efficient on soft and loose soil.
Potato digger for a motor-block of this type has one drawback. when processing uneven areas, the rods can get stuck in the ground, so the farmer has to constantly stop the work.
The design of lancet diggers
Arrow, or fan design, is considered one of the simplest. During operation, the soil is cut by knives, and together with the crop falls on special bars. From them the soil quickly crumbles, and the potatoes remain on their surface.
This type of device has shown its effectiveness on soft loose soil.
Potato digger for a motor-block of this type has one disadvantage. when processing uneven areas, the rods can get stuck in the ground, because of which the farmer has to constantly stop the work.
The order of making a potato digger with their own hands
Before you make the equipment, you need to prepare the materials and equipment. To work you need:
- Several sheets of metal, channel bars and metal corners;
- Bolts and nuts;
- Welding machine;
- angle grinder;
- A tape measure;
- Hammer.
After collecting everything you need, you can begin to study the drawings. They indicate the material of each of the elements and their dimensions.
It is very important to study the scheme thoroughly, so that you do not get distracted by searching for the right information.
The assembly process is as follows:
- To begin with, take the metal corners, channel length of 1.2 m., And start welding the frame;
- To mount the adjustment mechanisms, weld a separate channel, 30 cm down from the frame.;
- After that, you need to weld the uprights. Start at either end, welding the parts vertically. There should be a distance of 15 cm between them. First, weld a long 50-centimeter stand, and then in turn attach the parts a few centimeters smaller;
- Next, connect the uprights with pieces of the remaining channel. In this way you should have a metal triangle;
- To it, weld a metal plate. Then bend it with a sledgehammer and fix it on the back side;
- Bolt the ploughshare to the elevator;
- Weld the rebar to the frame, and on the sides fix the thick reliable metal, which will hold the tubers on the structure;
- Fix the shafts to the elevator;
- Fix the reduction unit to the rod by means of bearings;
- At the end it will be necessary to assemble the support and transport mechanism.
If you do everything according to the algorithm, the result will be a reliable device that will serve you well for many seasons.
It is worth listening to expert advice when making the equipment. Experts do not advise using too thick metal. sheets that are 5 mm thick are enough. If you need a small structure, you can make it with the hinges from an old car or tractor. For more reliability, use welding instead of bolts.
The potatoes come out by themselves: a simple potato digger for power tillers that is easy to repeat
If when using a conventional potato digger on it gathers the roots of weeds and haulm remnants, from which the single–axle tractor periodically needs to be stopped for cleaning, you can remake it on two legs, and the problem completely gone. With the upgraded digger you will work much easier and faster. Such a rigging is only suitable if the potatoes are located in the crest of the row, and does not go deep into the dense lower layers of soil.
Materials:
In the design of this potato digger, the main load will be taken by the lancet cultivator foot without a stand. A razor foot is welded on each side. The distance between their edges is made so that the potato digger captures the whole row and has a small margin in width.Razor bars are welded to the legs with a length of 450 mm, like the standard posts. Before that, holes are made in their upper half with a 10 mm drill, with a few centimeter increments, in order to be able to change the depth.Then a fan is welded. To do this, the rebar is cut into pieces of 30 cm in length. Seven pieces are enough. Then they are welded behind the jointed foot. One armature goes in the center, the others symmetrically on the sides with the same indentation, but not wider than the middle potato. The fan is welded with a slight upward slope.
Then a crossbeam is made to fasten the legs struts. It can be welded as a U-shaped profile of 3 strips. Holes are drilled in the center of the traverse so that it can be attached to the hanger instead of the coulter support. If your power tiller uses another type of attachment, you need to upgrade the design for it.On the edges of the crossbar, the brackets for the uprights are welded. These are welded from strip. A hole is drilled through the mounts on each side. To mount the tine in it, align the holes, and secure it with bolts and nuts.
Before using the digger, it is important to carefully deburr the welds between the arrow foot and the razors. It is also desirable to remove any rust so that the potato harvester can slide better. Then it is mounted on the hanger.For ease of use mow the already dried out potato stalks.
And start to go through the rows. The potato digger of this design goes straight, it is less likely to move sideways when encountering large roots from weeds, and most importantly it does not clog.
But in order for it to work well, it is important not to deepen it when planting the potatoes. It should be placed in the ridge. In this case, the digger will not cut the tubers, and all of them will be shaken up.
Construction specifics
Before you start building a digger for a power tiller, you need to study its structure, understand the principle of operation, prepare materials and tools. All machines for digging potatoes operate on the same principle: the tines dig into the soil, pull it up together with the potatoes, and lift. The earth crumbles, and the potatoes roll over into the hopper or fall into the arable.
Optimal metal thickness
The blades and other metal parts are made of sheet metal 8mm thick. Other dimensions are possible, depending on the anticipated workload.
Wheels for the digger
The wheels of the potato digger are made movable. Suitable are those left over from old products, for example, from a garden wheelbarrow. It’s good if they have wide tires, so it’s easier for the machine to drive between the rows. The wheels can be rubber, with tread, or metal. The first option will make it difficult to move on wet ground, the second facilitates movement on hard ground. Treaded tires are universal. suitable for all types of soil.
Blades and other metal parts of the digger are made of steel sheets
Connection methods
Parts are connected by fasteners, electric or gas welding. Bolted connections are preferred because they make it possible to disassemble and reassemble the machine.
How to make a homemade device with your own hands
Even a novice mechanic can make a potato puller for a tiller with his bare hands. The machine construction does not require considerable financial expenses. The unit turns out to be simple, so for its repair and maintenance it is not necessary to involve professionals.
The device for digging potatoes is made of a bent metal sheet and rods. Parts are welded and fastened to the body. single-axle tractor moves, tines rake the potatoes, and soil spills between the bars.
Making a drawing for a potato digger with their own hands, the size and type of construction are chosen based on the width of the row spacing and planting depth.
Necessary tools and materials
a single–axle tractor is equipped with a hinged potato digger of its own making, if the area of the plot is measured in hundredths, not tens of hectares. On an industrial scale, it is advisable to harvest using a purchased device.
It is not difficult to make a potato harvester with your own hands
Materials, tools and components of construction:
- steel or iron bars (rebar);
- channel bars;
- angle;
- steel with a thickness of 5-8 mm;
- laser level or angle grinder;
- plates for fasteners;
- nuts, bolts;
- drill, graver;
- welding machine;
- angle grinder;
- regulating rod;
- suspended system;
- frame;
- grousers (wheels).
It is not necessary to buy all the parts. it is not difficult to make a potato harvester for a power tiller with your own hands from those that were in use.
Use a rectangular or square tube to make the frame
Step-by-step assembly and mounting process
The peculiarity of our country’s climate is that the soil is always wet during the potato harvesting season. A simple spade will not do. a more effective spade is needed. Assemble in a certain sequence.
The frame
The frame is made of a rectangular or square tube with sides of 4 cm or more. The support beams are made of a 4-meter steel billet. It is cut into sections of length 80 and 120 cm, of which a rectangular frame is welded. Connect the corners by gas or electric welding.
Crossbars and their fasteners
Crosspieces are welded to the frame, but not in the middle of the sides, but a quarter of the length from the edge. On the back side of the frame, supporting tubes are welded vertically, and the axle base is attached to them.
Nuts and bolts are used for mounting, and the holes are made with a drill or graver. The wheels are set on the axle.
Vertical uprights
In total make 3 vertical struts on each side of the frame. The first one is 50 cm long, 5 cm from the edge of the rectangle. The second has a size of 40 cm and is set back from the first profile by 40 cm. The third leg is 40 cm from the second leg, 30 cm long. The result is a descending staircase.
In order to prevent the machine from collapsing under the heavy loads, it is necessary to have some stiffness for the uprights
Stiffening the stiffness
The props are reinforced with a 0.5 mm thick strip of metal. Connect the elements at the bottom at a 45 degree angle. Stiffness for the poles is needed so that the unit will not collapse under heavy loads.
The stalk or wing
The uprights are made of 0.3 mm thick sheet metal. According to the drawing cut out the blades, and the plow is attached to them by welding. You need to give the blades a convex shape to make them grip the ground better.
Making a sloping board
The board, on which the tubers will roll as they are cleared of the soil, is also included in the construction of the machine. In order not to make the construction heavier, the gantry is made of thin metal bars. Fittings with a length of 1.2 m and a diameter of 1 cm are suitable. The sections are welded at a distance of 4-5 cm from each other.
Adjustment rods
Drawbars are not compulsory, but they do make it easier to use the potato harvester on wet and hard ground. Alternatively, the adjustable design is attached to a separate frame, and it is attached to the main frame. Fasteners must be tightened with bolts and nuts.
The ease of moving around the rows depends on the width of the tires
Support wheels
The wheels are an essential part of the potato harvester. The width of the tires depends on the ease of movement on the rows: the narrow wheels when moving fall into the ground, especially if it is wet. Tires from a garden wheelbarrow or other unnecessary device will do.
Selection options
Potato harvesters differ in such parameters:
- Dimensions. the greater the length and width of the working mechanism, the greater the productivity of the potato tiller. Narrow devices are more suitable for single beds in the household, while wider analogues with a gripper are used to harvest potatoes from more than a hectare of land.
- The way to clean the potatoes from the soil. this factor is taken into account, depending on the soil characteristics of the region where you plan to use the potato harvester. If loose chernozem is easy to fluff, loamy and sandy soils need additional cleaning.
- Working principle. this determines the productivity of the attachment.
- The presence/absence of additional wheels. large units must have an extra point of support, otherwise it will be difficult for the power tiller to do its main job.
- Attachment methods. the optimal option is considered a screw way to attach the potato digger to the power tiller. This allows you to detach the device at any time. Some models are exclusively fastened by welding.
Many farmers also pay attention to the brand name and price. These two are not the key factors, but they largely determine how productively the machine works.
Depending on the technological features, potato diggers are of several types: fan, screen, drum, conveyor, conveyor, vibrating. Each of them is designed for certain types of soil and volumes of cultivated area.
Fan
Received its name because of the location of the rods in the form of a fan. The working mechanism is in the form of a plough, with equally spaced bars radiating out from the plough.
The working principle is simple: the plough plunges into the ground, the traction of the power tiller lifts the potatoes from the depth and falls on the bars, where it is shaken off the excess soil and lies as a carpet on the bed.
Advantages are ease of production and low cost. The disadvantages are the rapid wear and tear of the rods and their breakage when used on hard soils.
Grate
Has a more complex design with additional wheels and fulcrums. Contains a sieve that is inclined in relation to the ground at an angle.
Potato digger is deepened below the location of the potatoes, after which the potatoes are lifted to the surface, the excess soil on the grid is removed, and the root crop is placed on the ground surface.
One of the advantages is the possibility to get the potatoes mostly free of soil. Low output is a disadvantage.
Drum
It is a complex mechanism that simplifies the landowner’s work to the maximum. With the help of the plough, which goes deep into the soil layer, the potatoes are lifted and placed on the grid, after which they are transported to the rotating drum. Further the potatoes are additionally cleaned from the ground and put into the box.
There is another principle of the drum potato digger: the knife cuts the soil layer together with the potatoes and grips them in the drum, where under the influence of the constant movement the excess soil is sifted and the potatoes are poured on the ground.
The advantage is the ability to process large areas, as well as transport the potatoes directly into the container. No need to pick up potatoes from the ground. The disadvantages are inability to use on hard soils.
Transporter
It consists of two main parts: the conveyor belt, on which the potatoes move, and the flatbed, by which the layer of soil with the root crop is lifted. Not suitable for wet and sticky soil.
The disadvantage is that it cannot be used in fields where there are weeds. The stems of the plants get caught in the conveyor belt, wrap themselves up and slow down the potato harvester.
Conveyor
Potato digger is a bucket with a buried position, in the center of which a conveyor belt is installed.
The root crop is lifted with the soil, moved onto the belt where the soil residue is removed. Then the potatoes are placed on the ground.
The advantage is the possibility of processing several rows at the same time. Potatoes at the same time clean and with minimal damage.
Drawings, diagrams, dimensions of potato harvesters for power tillers “Neva”, Mole, Kaskad, MTZ-09H, Salut, Agat
The most popular among farmers and landowners is considered a single–axle tractor “Neva”. It has a user-friendly design and powerful technical characteristics. The most suitable homemade potato digger for the motor-block “Neva” is a device of the screen type.
Because of the specifics of its work, the screen potato harvester for power tiller “Neva” has received the second name. the vibrating
Universal option for all types of power tillers. “Poltavchanka” model potato digger. The parameters of such a device are 950×790×800 mm, the processing depth. 25 cm. These features enable the implement to be used in all conditions, whatever the soil and crop type. “Poltavchanka” is valued for its high performance in a relatively small size.
“Poltavchanka” is popular with the owners of power tillers “Mole” and “Agat”
Moto-blocks “Salut” and “MTZ-09H” are similar in their construction, that is why in the production of potato harvesters for this technique are often used identical drawings. Diggers for these devices have the same mounting system, which allows you to use the same unit for both models.
“Salut” and “MTZ-09H” have an original design, that’s why the drawing of the potato harvester for these devices have different features
A vibrating potato digger is also recommended for the “Cascade” power tiller, but due to the more massive wheels, the harvesting device may have different parameters from similar equipment.
Often, when making a vibratory digger for the Cascade motoblock, changes are made in the location of the plowshare and the size of the wheels
The process of making a potato harvester
To make the mechanism work it is necessary to make an eccentric. To do this, the end of the shaft from the bearing housing must be bored to the diameter of the existing pulley with an offset center. A hole is also drilled in the end, and a thread is cut. On the reverse side of the shaft, a counterbore is made to connect it to the splines of the power take-off shaft of the power harvester.
An adapter is pressed onto the level end of the shaft and connected with the splined bushing. To prevent rotation, the connections are fitted with pins.
A coupler is welded from pipe to connect to the take-off shaft. You can simply cut that part off the unnecessary attachment. The coupling is mounted on the single axle tractor and the slotted bushing with an eccentric is connected to it.
The remaining part of the body is assembled in relation to the measurements taken. This is easily accomplished with 2 pieces of channel bars. The body of the eccentric mechanism is bolted to them. The channels are then welded to the hitching bars and brackets. Bottom and top bearings for the vertical shaft are bolted to the side of the channels.
Next, you need to install the pulley on the eccentric, and connect it to the sole of the vertical shaft. A knife is welded to the sole for pulling tubers.
Then a fan is welded on the foot from a 12 mm bar. On the sides of the channels, adjustable stands are made, and the wheels are attached to them.
The simplified potato harvester is ready for use. It works in the same way as a more bulky and complex rattle, but is made faster, requires less material. It is desirable in its manufacture to put the wheels as far back as possible to facilitate the management of motor-block, as due to the short wheelbase it tries to wiggle out of the row.
Drawings of a potato harvester for a power tiller: sizes, photos
Detailed drawings of fan type potato harvester for power tiller photo and video of the device in operation.
As it is known, there are two types of potato diggers for power tillers, fan and vibrating, the most simple in the production fan digger, and its device we will consider.
Fan digger is an attachment, in this case for power tiller, this is how this device looks like.
The device for digging potatoes is a plough with a fan of rods, while the motoblock is moving, the plough cuts into the soil and lifts it on a grid of rods, in turn, the rods loosen and sift the soil, while the potato tubers are thrown out already on top of the soil.
The video shows the principle of fan potato digger.
To make a potato digger for a power tiller, you can use the provided drawings with dimensions and photos.
The self-made plough consists of several parts:
A variant of making a plough for digging potatoes.
The photo shows the system for depth and angle adjustment of the plough. Openings in the bipod allow the depth of the plough to be adjusted.
In this video the author shows the potato planter, made with his own hands.