jon_schram
Member
So I need to dig 50-60 holes in the next few days to pen in some calves and fix some fence in a pasture we are going to rent. My Danuser post hole digger is with my dad...2 hours away and he is supposedly using it. So instead of fighting with my old man and driving all over the state, I bought a new unit at the farm and fleet store (Bommgaars). I bought their mid-tier 3 point post hole digger (the red one), because it is supposedly better than the cheaper Land-Pride unit. Claims to be good for 65hp and seems fairly well built.
Pretty much every post hole digger I've ever used starts leaking at the input and output shafts. My Danuser leaks, and I've replaced the seal/bearings several times. Easiest solution we've found is to use a mix of JD cornhead grease and 80/90. Seems to work good. I use the same in most of our rotary cutters, tiller, etc when they start to leak and I'm too lazy to fix them.
So I was wondering if I should just fill this gear box with 50/50 corhead grease and 80/90 to begin with? Any down-sides of going this route? Is the cornhead grease bad for the gear drive in the long run? This was a pretty cheap unit, $699 I think, but I don't want to destroy it either. Be nice to have another unit around for when one needs "borrowed."
Anybody else ever fill a brand new gear box with something to stop leaks before they arrive? I'm going to get it cut off the pallet in the A.M. and put it to work either way.
I know I'm over thinking it, but I would hate for this unit to develop a leak and my wife or father-in-law to use it without checking the fluid and smoke the gear box (very likely...my wife never checks anything before using it...got that from her dad!). My el-cheapo tiller bit the dust this way when a friend put in some food plots and neglected to check the oil level.
Pretty much every post hole digger I've ever used starts leaking at the input and output shafts. My Danuser leaks, and I've replaced the seal/bearings several times. Easiest solution we've found is to use a mix of JD cornhead grease and 80/90. Seems to work good. I use the same in most of our rotary cutters, tiller, etc when they start to leak and I'm too lazy to fix them.
So I was wondering if I should just fill this gear box with 50/50 corhead grease and 80/90 to begin with? Any down-sides of going this route? Is the cornhead grease bad for the gear drive in the long run? This was a pretty cheap unit, $699 I think, but I don't want to destroy it either. Be nice to have another unit around for when one needs "borrowed."
Anybody else ever fill a brand new gear box with something to stop leaks before they arrive? I'm going to get it cut off the pallet in the A.M. and put it to work either way.
I know I'm over thinking it, but I would hate for this unit to develop a leak and my wife or father-in-law to use it without checking the fluid and smoke the gear box (very likely...my wife never checks anything before using it...got that from her dad!). My el-cheapo tiller bit the dust this way when a friend put in some food plots and neglected to check the oil level.