DIY Potato Digger For Tiller

We make a homemade potato digger for the tiller with our own hands

Design features and types

Drawings of homemade and factory potato diggers

Stages of manufacturing a potato digger of a roaring type

For people living in rural areas, harvesting potatoes in the fall remains a laborious task. Of course, today, few people perform such work by hand, using a shovel. Many people buy various mechanical devices for this, and some, the so-called “Kulibins”, make various devices with their own hands to save themselves and their loved ones from hard work. The potato digger, which operates with the help of a tiller of any modification, be it the favorite Neva model, or an apparatus from another manufacturer, is in particular demand among rural workers. The main thing here is to have a clear idea of ​​what a homemade potato digger is, and to be able to create drawings according to the necessary calculations.

Design features and types

It is worth recalling immediately that this mechanical device, as can be seen from the photo, clings to the tiller to do the work. Such a do-it-yourself digger, as shown in the video, is capable of processing a land plot not only near the house, but also in the field.

The main purpose of the potato digger is to separate the 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, constructing it with your own hands is usually not difficult. The most important thing is that this hinged mechanism is suitable for any model of the tiller, be it the well-known Neva or another modification.

Before you start creative constructive work on the creation of a potato digger, you need to remember that it is adapted to work on soils with medium and low density criteria. For the manufacture of units adapted to work on heavy soils, it is necessary to have a deep knowledge of physics and mechanics.

A potato digger adapted to a tiller, as shown in the photo, is of the following types:

Rumbling or Vibrating Mechanism. It consists mainly of a share and a vibrating sieve. The principle of operation of this type of potato digger, operating with a tiller, is simple. The soil, together with the potatoes, is undermined by the share. Then the immovable conveyor grate leaves the tubers on its surface, and the soil shakes off, as through a sieve, back. Such a model is effective in work, but rather difficult to manufacture.

A conveyor installation for digging potatoes. it can work freely, for example, on the basis of such a tiller as “Neva”. By design, the conveyor digger consists of a ploughshare and a moving conveyor, which has a special hook device for supporting tubers on the platform and clearing soil. The conveyor structure for digging potatoes is more practical than the vibrating type of potato digger. But on soil with a light degree of density, it is impractical to use this type of device.

Arrow type. by design, this is the simplest mechanism that can easily be adapted to any model of a mini tractor, for example, such as the “Neva”. It contains no movable parts. As shown in the video, the soil with the tubers is trimmed with a knife. Then the cut falls on the surface of special rods, where the earth is poured back, and the pure fruits lie on top of the soil. This digger is effective on the ground with a low degree of density, where it is not practical to use other types of devices.

Before you start designing such a device, first of all, you need to accurately determine the density of the soil on which it will be used. It is worth remembering that where the conveyor structure with a lancet appearance can be ideally applied, it will be difficult to work.

Drawings of homemade and factory potato diggers

For a small farm, so that it is convenient to harvest potatoes, you need to make a small device. It should be convenient during operation and can be easily hung on the tiller.

Potato digger design: 1-welded frame, 2. knife, 3. conveyor, 4. pulley, 5. connecting rod, 6. bevel gear pulley. 7. belt, 8. post, 9. adapter, 10. support wheel, 11. spring tensioner.

In order to make the device in question, you must have:

The coulter is cast from a high quality metal alloy, with a thickness of at least 5 mm. To make it, you can use a saw from a circulation machine.

Metal corners in sizes 40 and 63 mm.

Steel bars. They are required to make the device, as shown in the photo, at least 8 pieces.

For the manufacture of a vibration-type potato digging device, it is required, first of all, to make a frame. It should be easily docked, for example, with the Neva mini-tractor or with another modification.

In general, as shown in the video, such a device consists of the following components:

Vertical adjustment rods.

To design such a unit, it is required to make accurate calculations and create drawings for them. Without following this rule, the DIY manufacturing process will be difficult.

Stages of manufacturing a potato digger of a roaring type

As you can see from the video, before starting work, you need to prepare the following tool:

angle grinder;

engraver or drill.

Also, to make the device, you need to prepare bolts and nuts.

stage. making the frame. To do this, as shown in the photo, a square pipe is cut into four parts. Two pieces should be 1200 mm and two should be 800 mm. The pipe size is 4040 mm. The prepared parts are connected by welding in a rectangle.

stage. Fastening the jumpers. It can be seen from the video that they are necessary to install the vertical control rods. This element is attached, about a quarter of the length of the base of the frame. At the other end, two wheel mounting elements are attached. A similar element should be made of two tubes with a diameter of 30 mm and a length of 150 mm.

stage. the establishment of vertical racks. On the side where the lintels are mounted, at a distance of 5 mm from the edge of the frame, two squares with a size of 3030 mm and a length of 500 mm are mounted vertically. After that, at a distance of 200 mm, posts with a length of 40 mm are installed. Then you need to retreat another 400 mm and fix the racks with a length of 300 mm. We connect the racks to each other with a strip of 0.4 mm.

stage. Ral making. First, on a metal sheet 400-400 mm, having a thickness of 0.3 mm, and at the bottom of the racks, two holes are prepared for fastening. The workpiece is rigidly attached to the racks. The same blank is attached on the other side. Another square of sheet metal 700-700 mm and 0.4 mm thick is butt-welded to the first element, and then using a sledgehammer is bent into the desired conical configuration.

stage. lattice design. For this, a rod with a diameter of 10 mm is attached from below to the finished ral, and the other end extends beyond the perimeter of the frame towards the traction mechanism, which may be the “Neva” model.

Next, you can install adjusting rods and wheels with your own hands. They are attached using specially prepared fasteners

How to make a potato digger for a passive tiller

Please note that for the manufacture of the device, you will need not only the materials themselves, but the ability to handle the tool: an arc welding machine, a drill and a gas torch.

• Sheet metal 3-5 mm thick for a share. The stronger the steel, the less often the shovel will need sharpening.
• Rebar or steel circle with a diameter of 8-10 cm to create a screening grid.
• Suspension strip or channel for the manufacture of a suspension device
• Corner 30 mm to strengthen the resulting structure.
• Fasteners

The ploughshare is made according to the principle of a dovetail cultivator, then it is welded to the back of the rods. To create the rack, a steel strip is used, and the suspension is made from a channel.

The resulting homemade potato digger for tiller is convenient and easy to use.

How to make a potato digger for a tiller with your own hands

Mechanization has become a part of our life. Most of the devices for cultivating the land and harvesting, used on collective farms and on farms, are used in modified form by private traders.

One of these mechanized assistants is the potato digger. Nowadays almost no one digs up potatoes by hand, exhausted from fatigue and back pain. Potato diggers automate the harvesting process, making it easy, fast and enjoyable. We will tell you how to make a potato digger for a tiller with your own hands.

The principle of operation of the potato digger is very simple: the loosening attachment is immersed under the potato tubers and extracts them outside with minimal losses. Potato diggers are installed on a tiller or mini tractor. Most Belarusians make potato diggers for MTZ mini tractors and tillers.

There are several types of potato diggers:

• Passive devices. Such potato diggers are equipped with a modernized concave shovel. It sinks into the soil 5-10 cm below the occurrence of potato tubers and raises a layer of soil with tubers outward. The soil layer with tubers will turn out to be loosened if the angle of inclination was chosen correctly. Before picking potatoes, you will need to peel them by hand.
• Active type potato diggers maximally automate the harvesting process. Such devices are equipped with their own frame. On it are shovels for raising the earth and screens. devices for screening out the soil using vibration. The shovel lifts a layer of earth with potatoes, which, under the pressure of the next portions of soil, moves to a grate connected to a vibration mechanism. Thanks to the shaking, clods of soil are separated from the tubers and fall through the bars of the grate. Clean tubers accumulate on the net or fall over the sifted soil.

How to make a potato digger with a rattling mechanism

The productivity of a potato digger with a rocking mechanism is about 2-3 times higher, but it is also much more difficult to manufacture it.

Necessary materials:

• Frame pipe
• Steel sheet 3-4 mm for making a bucket
• Steel reinforcement or circle for lattice
• Front hub from rear wheel drive vehicle.
• Reducer from the rear axle VAZ
• Splined connection from old gearbox
• Wheel
• Fasteners

Required tools: welding machine, drill and angle grinder.

The tiller potato digger with a sifting mechanism rests on the ground using a wheel. A gearbox is connected to the wheel. The spline connection drives the share and the roar. To understand the principle of operation, take a look at the illustration.

The peeled tubers accumulate on the net. To unload the harvested tubers, you will have to stop the potato digger. If you set the grate at an angle, the tubers will fall on the loosened ground. You just have to collect them.

Experts who are well versed in technology write in this category and can describe in detail the advantages of a particular equipment:

reviews on motorcycles and scooters;

articles in question-answer mode;

lists of required accessories.

Fan potato diggers

The easiest to manufacture, are also industrially produced, but most of them require some modifications.

It is immediately clear that they are based on the same hiller, it is he, buried below the level of occurrence of tubers, loosens and unfolds the soil. And here 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 at the top.

The depth of penetration is regulated by thrust wheels, and the transverse bar serves as a support for the legs, standing on which a person, with his own weight, provides the required penetration to the device.

It is this scheme of the fan potato digger that seems to us the most productive. The digging process itself can be seen here:

The following is an exemplary drawing of such a potato digger, containing the main parameters for manufacturing.

You will have to modify the shape, angle of attack and other nuances yourself, taking into account your soil, power and driving characteristics of the tiller on which you plan to install the potato digger, and even potato varieties that form tubers at different depths.

A variety of such a digger without a fan, designed for two people:

Potato digger for tiller, types of structures, drawings for making by hand

The main part of the garden areas of Russians is traditionally allotted for potatoes, because among our people it is also called the second loaf. Many have shifted part of the work of growing potatoes onto their shoulders, or rather onto trailed equipment for small mechanization: tillers and mini tractors.

And if planting potatoes is not a lot of work, then hilling, and most importantly, digging up is not an easy task. For hilling and weeding, the hiller supplied with the tillers is most often used, but for digging in its pure form it is not quite suitable. Let’s figure out what to dig and how to make a potato digger for a tiller with our own hands.

Several designs of potato diggers are known for tillers and mini tractors. Let’s consider them: from the simplest to high-tech.

DIY drawings

It is this type of potato digger, despite the sufficient difficulty in manufacturing, is made by home craftsmen with their own hands more often than others. We offer rough drawings with the main dimensions of such a potato digger for a tiller.

A large number of joints of moving parts makes this device regularly serviced, but the result of its work is better than that of fan potato diggers:

Potatoes are better cleaned from the ground and located on its surface.

The magnitude and frequency of vibrations of the screen can be different and depends on the design of the drive, but even with minor vibrations, the cleaning proceeds quite well:

Potato harvester

Drum potato diggers

This is a rather rare version of equipment for mini-equipment, so it is mostly homemade. Cleaning potatoes from soil in such devices is quite high quality, as well as laying it on the ground, but the design itself is quite controversial, and the tubers are more damaged than when digging with the above potato diggers, and therefore they are worse preserved.

What is simpler in them is a direct rotation drive 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 additionally damaged when they enter the drum.

Transporter potato diggers

They are much easier to make on their own, but in our opinion they peel potatoes from the ground just as well.

Their knives are the same as those of the screening ones, and the potatoes are peeled while moving along the conveyor belt. It is clear that the longer it is, the better the potatoes will peel, but long conveyor belts can only be placed on potato diggers used with tractors. On tillers, they will interfere with the person following him.

The conveyor belt drive can be different. If it is taken from the wheels of the digger itself, then they should be with good lugs so that they do not get stuck on wet or very loose ground.

Interesting in this design and rear guides, more compactly stacking potatoes behind the belt.

In this do-it-yourself conveyor potato picker, the belt is driven from the power take-off shaft of a homemade tiller and transmitted by a motorcycle chain.

To view a picture, click on its thumbnail to the right

When manufacturing a potato digger of this type, the main problem will be the selection of the speed of rotation of the drive gear of the conveyor and its coordination 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 matched 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 to us more appropriate.

There are models designed for specific tillers and mini tractors, like this one for mechanisms with a side PTO:

Roaring potato diggers

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 grate drive. the pallet oscillates during operation, which allows the potatoes to be partially cleared of the ground during the movement of the potato digger.

The knife of such a digger can have different configurations. It can be fixed motionless, or it can be hinged and fluctuate slightly during movement, simplifying the process of digging out tubers. Knife width is 35. 40 cm.

Horse potato digger

There are still quite a few of them sold on the Internet. They are imported mainly from Poland and are converted into mini tractors and tillery.

At the same time, taking into account the higher speed of movement of this technique in comparison with the horse, in addition to reworking the trailing device, a limiter-shield is placed on it from the side onto which the dug potatoes are thrown. Otherwise, it will have to be collected in neighboring areas. A wedge-shaped paw digs in the potatoes, as in fan diggers, and the drive of the device that takes out tubers from the ground is carried out from wheels with lugs. The higher the travel speed, the faster this potato remover rotates.

Dear readers, if you have any questions, ask them using the form below. We will be glad to communicate with you;)

Benefits

Of the advantages of the operation of this unit, farmers note the fact that it greatly facilitates the work of a person during harvesting. It is used not only for harvesting potatoes, but also for other vegetables: carrots, beets. The device saves time and energy. Potato Digger Patriot Tiller Slicer Delivers Superior Harvesting Results.

Before purchasing a potato digger, you should make sure that it can be installed on a tiller and a motor-cultivator.

Note! Tiller design, soil type should be considered before purchasing.

Roaring Potato Digger

This potato digger is also called vibrating potato digger, shaker digger. The roaring potato digger consists of three parts. a knife, a moving grate with mechanisms that ensure its vibration, and a metal frame (frame).

The potato digger is made within a few hours; the work requires experience and skill in working with agricultural machinery. For the manufacture of the unit you will need:

• Angle Grinder;
• welding machine;
• drill, drills for metal;
• metal profile with a side of a square 2.5 cm;
• steel sheet 3-5 mm thick;
• steel wire with a diameter of 8 mm (or non-corrugated reinforcement of the same diameter);
• wheels;
• bolts, hinges, levers, eccentric, measuring tape, consumables.

You will also need a ruler and pencil for marking. The order of work in the manufacture of a roaring potato digger:

• measure and cut a metal profile for the frame (frame);
• weld the frame;
• at the bottom of the frame, wheel stands are welded;
• holders for hinges are welded inside the frame, on which the screen will be suspended;
• brackets are welded to the frame for installing the gearbox and mechanisms that will create reciprocating movements (vibration) in the unit;
• a sifter box (roar) is welded from metal rods;
• a hinged roar is suspended inside the frame;
• a gearbox, other equipment for creating vibration is attached to the brackets, and they are connected to the roar. During operation, the rotation of the tiller shaft is transmitted through the mechanisms (lever and connecting rod) to the roar, the vibrations create the rotation of the eccentric;
• a potato digger knife is cut out of a steel sheet and bent to the desired shape;
• the pivot knife is attached to the bottom of the frame and to the screen;
• put on and fix the wheels on the unit.

A ploughshare knife for a gravity potato digger is made in different shapes. It can be bent and pointed, convex and concave. Digging potatoes is as follows:

• The ploughshare is buried in the ground and cuts it off along with the tubers.
• The knife constantly vibrates in accordance with the vibrations of the roar, cuts the soil with potatoes and throws the tubers up a little into the roar. The screen vibrates, reciprocates in the frame.
• The peeled tubers roll off the grate and fall on the arable land behind the potato digger (or on the side of the strip, depending on the design of the unit).

The vibrating potato digger is used to harvest potatoes in large areas. This unit has a number of advantages:

• The grip of the strip is 38-40 cm.
• The depth of penetration of the knife into the soil. 20-25 cm.
• The yield loss is, depending on the variety of potatoes and the flowability of the soil, from 2 to 10%.
• The vibrating potato digger also has a number of disadvantages. They are due to the design features.
• Sieve shaker vibrations are transmitted to the tiller control levers, making long-term work tiring.

When digging, the area must be completely cleared of weeds and potato tops. Otherwise, the grass and tops will be packed under the screen of the screen and in the wheel mounts.

In improved screen type potato diggers, vibration is damped by installing two eccentrics instead of one.

Manufacturers

These devices are manufactured at many enterprises in Russia and the CIS countries. Below is a list of the most famous enterprises producing potato diggers:

• The Agromotoservice plant located in Starokonstantinov (Ukraine) produces the potato digger KM-1P. This device is recognized as one of the best on the Russian and CIS market. It is certified in accordance with all the requirements of the ISO 9001: 2009 standard.
• IE Akimov (Cheboksary, Russia) produces a potato digger KKM-2. It is widely used by farms in Russia.
• LLC “Mechanical Plant”, located in Molodechno, Belarus, produces high-quality and reliable potato digger KM and its version KM-2.
• LLC SAZ (Smorgon, Belarus) produces a digger KFT-2. This is a powerful and reliable digger based on the Belarus tiller.
• LLC “Beltraktora” (Brest, Belarus) manufactures potato digger KT-5. Its designers are constantly working to improve the model and improve its performance.

Fan potato digger for tiller

The fan potato digger has several names. It is also called lancet digger and paw. Manufacturers of agricultural machinery call this model “Dolphin” because of the characteristic shape of the plow (share). The unit is simple in design and removes tubers well from the ground.

• The digger is attached to the tiller.
• A ploughshare with a sharp end loosens the earth.
• The potato is removed from the ground, falls on the inclined surface of the share and moves onto the metal rods.
• The soil is separated from the tubers and pours into the arable land through the twigs.
• Potatoes, moving up the raised twigs, fall to the ground, where they can be harvested.

Digging with a fan digger allows the presence of a rare and low weed on the field. Potato tops are mowed before harvest.

Fan potato digger

The simplest mechanism. This potato digger is essentially just a shovel with the edges bent inward and thin metal rods welded to it. The sharp end goes deep into the ground, raises the potatoes, in the course of movement it falls on a grate of metal rods, the earth crumbles through them, and clean potatoes are laid on the ground, where they are then manually harvested.

pros

• Simple design, easy to manufacture,
• Easy installation on the tiller,
• It can even be installed on tillers with low motor power (for example, Neva MB),
• High performance,
• Reliability,
• Price.

Minuses

• Small digging depth, up to 15 cm.,
• Small processing width, up to 20 cm.,
• Not everything is dug up, about 15% of the harvest of potatoes and other root crops remains underground,
• Damages potatoes,
• Only works on light soils,
• High fuel consumption of the tiller,
• After digging, the potatoes must be picked by hand.

KM-1 for MTZ tiller

The vibrating potato digger KM-1 is aggregated with the MTZ-09N tiller through its rear power take-off shaft. Regular metal wheels. All hinge joints are made through silent blocks (rubber bushings).

Specifications

• Overall dimensions: 856858 cm.
• Weight: 35 kg.
• Gripping width: 38 cm.
• Productivity: up to 0.2 hectares / hour.
• Digging depth: 18 cm.
• Tiller drive: PTO.
• Compatible with tillers: MTZ.

Types of potato diggers

Potato diggers are used on loose and medium compacted soils. Potato digging machines differ:

• dimensions;
• design features;
• the width of the working strip;
• requirements for clearing the field from weeds;
• ways of cleaning tubers from the ground.

Masters make several types of potato diggers with their own hands. The most popular are fan and screening units. experienced craftsmen make conveyor and drum diggers for potatoes.

Potato rows in fields cultivated with tractors and tillers must be level. There is enough space between the rows for the wheels of agricultural machines to move.

Self-made lancet digger

A homemade potato digger for a lancet type tiller is a simple type of attachment. In some ways it looks like a cultivator. It doesn’t take a lot of material and complicated tools to construct it. Assembly operations are simple and with minimal skills can be performed by any household summer resident.

Necessary materials:

• steel channel;
• plow. it can be cut from an old shovel or circular saw, but it is better to take high-quality steel with a thickness of at least 5 mm;
• metal corners 40 and 63 cm;
• steel rods in the amount of 8 pieces. can be removed from a worn-out fork or a broken garden tool, replaced with fittings.

The device should end up being small. It is necessary to make it easy to attach to the Neva tiller. There are no moving parts in the lancet digger, so there is nothing to break. The main thing is that the structure itself withstands and does not crack.

Manufacturing procedure:

• The channel is used as a base. A hitch is mounted on it.
• A plow is installed on the base.
• Rods are welded to the plow, which separate the tubers from the sand.

Disadvantages of the device:

• Small strip width. about 25 cm, because of this, crop losses increase by about 15-20%.
• There is a high risk of damage to tubers from a knife.

The grass must not clog the twigs during work. Otherwise, the device will cease to perform its function and begin to crush the potatoes. Despite the disadvantages, it can be used in a small courtyard in the southern regions. The wider the plow is made, the better.