The rumble potato harvester for the power tiller with his own hands

All you need to know about potato harvesters for power tillers: drawing for a self-made machine, video

Owners of land plots willingly use mechanized helpers for tillage and harvesting of grown vegetables. Quite recently, mechanized harvesting of potatoes and other root crops used only large private and state-owned agricultural enterprises. Today, even small farmers want to reduce the proportion of manual work.

If a small piece of land, there is no need for a tractor or combine, will help collect the harvest single-axle tractor equipped with a hitch. The potato harvester for power tillers is in particular demand among smallholders.

Additional equipment allows you to increase productivity, simplify the process and facilitate physical labor.

Manufacturers of agricultural equipment take into account all the wishes of consumers and produce different models of potato diggers, but the purchase for a small private farm and motorblock, and attachments to it is not always justified (as evidenced by the annual reviews of average prices). Therefore, private citizens decide to make a trailer device on their own, using improvised and inexpensive materials, spare parts from old mechanisms.

How it works?

Special formwork for a motor-block, designed for potato harvesting, you can buy ready-made in the store, but many craftsmen prefer to make it with their own hands. This device is one of the attachments, attached directly to the machine with a special hitch. The design lifts the soil layer and digs up the root crops, which can then be picked by hand from the ground surface. This method saves a lot of time compared to pulling the potatoes by hand. The average productivity of shovelers is 0,1-0,02 ha per hour, this parameter is many times higher than the one for manual assembly.

The potato digger can also be used for all other root crops. carrots, as well as beets, turnips, radishes, and onions. Nevertheless, before you buy such a necessary mechanism, try to make sure that you can hook it on your power tiller or cultivator. it is necessary to take into account the power characteristics of this power tiller, as well as the peculiarities of the soil in which the crops are grown.

Keep in mind that a coping device is quite expensive, so when choosing a model it is worth taking into account all the listed parameters, otherwise you risk simply wasting money.

Depending on the design features, a distinction is made between drum-type, fan-type, rotary, gimbal-driven, PTO-driven and geared mechanisms.

According to the principle of operation, there are three types of potato diggers:

A screen or vibrating digger

Digger of vibrating type is considered the most effective in comparison with all other types of equipment. It consists of a special grid table, as well as the drive and ploughshare. The principle of operation is quite simple: one of the main elements of the potato digger. a babe, goes deep into the ground and together with potatoes picks up the upper layers of soil, which are shifted to the table grate. After that, under the influence of slight vibration, the excess soil begins to flake off and “go” through the cracks back into the ground, and the root crops themselves already clean fall out the back side of the machine.

This system allows to collect up to 98% of all tubers from the ground. Mower blades deepen into the ground to 21-25 cm and capture a layer of soil 35-40 cm wide, thanks to such a mechanism can be processed quite a large area of planting at one time. The screen-type model successfully copes even with heavy soils, after digging absolutely all the tubers remain lying on the ground, so the farmer does not have to dig in the earth lumps and look for the remaining tubers there.

When using a vibrating potato digger, almost all tubers are dug out and intact at the same time.

However, there are some disadvantages. This mower costs a lot, and it is not profitable for small plots since the purchase cost and fuel expenses are not recovered. Also, vibration is often transferred from the mower to a single-axle tractor, and from there to the operator, which may cause a certain discomfort to the operator.

A simple or a lancet one

The simplest type of potato digger is the universal lancet. It looks like a shovel with bars attached to it. Due to the sharpened edge of the device podpirovat soil in the rows, and the potatoes get on the teeth of the device. After that, all unnecessary soil is crumbled, and potatoes are thrown on the surface of the sown area.

Such a scheme has many advantages:

• the device is universal, that is why it can be mounted on the most different modifications of power tillers;
• the digger may be used even with low power tillers;
• on the modern market there are several varieties of universal devices, which allows the farmer to choose the best option based on the structure and moisture content of the soil, as well as the depth of the potatoes;
• increased speed and productivity of the unit, by connecting such a digger to a power tiller, it can even be switched to the second or third gear;
• the universal modification is relatively inexpensive and therefore available to the majority of Russian dacha owners and homestead owners.

The universal model also has its disadvantages:

• the digger deepens into the ground no more than 15 cm, and its width does not exceed 20 cm;
• After harvesting at least 15-20% of all potatoes remain in the ground;
• the sharp edges of the shovel often cut the tubers while digging them out, however, with the manual method of assembly, this indicator is much higher;
• the harvest can only be harvested in rows. before you start digging up the potatoes, you must dig up the previous row.

Transporter

Potato digger, designed for heavy-duty pulling power harvesters. The only disadvantage of such equipment is a very high cost. The machine with a belt mechanism slightly resembles a vibrating variety of devices, but, instead of a special table here. a moving belt. During the work of the machine the tubers are moved along it and are completely cleaned from the remains of soil. This model is optimal for large farms that grow a lot of root crops for commercial purposes. The harvest with this digger can be harvested quite fast, even on a large sown area.

Note that before you start the harvesting system, you should check the area for thickened weeds, t. к. If you don’t get rid of them, they can wind up on the mechanism.

Making a homemade potato harvester for your power tiller with your own hands

For people who live in rural areas, the autumn harvest of potatoes is still a labor-intensive activity. Of course, today, few people do this kind of work by hand, using a shovel. Many people buy a variety of mechanical devices, and some, so-called “hobbyists”, make their own hands various devices to save themselves and their loved ones from hard labor. The potato harvester, which operates with a power tiller of any modification, whether it’s the beloved “Neva” model or a machine from another manufacturer, is in particular demand among farmers. Here the main thing is to have a clear idea of what is a self-made potato digger, 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 seen in the photo, to do the job, it is attached to the power tiller. Such a digger, made by its own hands, as shown in the video, is able to work the land 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 put them on the ground area. This unit is easy to operate and has an uncomplicated design. So it is not very difficult to construct it with our own hands. The most important thing is that this attachment is suitable for any model of power tiller, whether it is the well-known “Neva” or other modification.

Many readers will say that you can buy such a potato harvester 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 for the already known characteristics of the soil, and will be made under the strength of a particular person. Added to that is the price. The device, executed by your own hands, will cost much less than buying it in the store.

Before you start the creative design work to create a potato digger, remember, it is adapted to work on soils with medium and low density criterion. In order to build 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 these types:

US Small Farm one row potato digger with Collection Wagon

The rumble or vibrating mechanism. it mainly consists of a ploughshare and a vibrating sieve. The principle of operation of this type of potato digger, which functions with the help of a power tiller, is simple. The soil is undermined together with the potatoes by the ploughshare. Then the immovable conveyor grid leaves the tubers on its surface, while the soil is shaken off, like through a sieve, back. This model is efficient in operation, but rather difficult to produce.

The conveyor system for digging potatoes. it can work without problems, for example, on a power tiller like the Neva. By design, the transporter digger consists of a ploughshare and a driving transporter, which has a special hitching device to maintain tubers on the platform and clean up from the ground. Conveyor 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 inappropriate.

Arrow type. by 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 movable assemblies. As shown in the video, the soil with tubers is trimmed with a knife. Then the cut falls on the surface of special rods, where the soil is poured back, and the fruits in pure form are laid on top of the soil. This digger is effective on low-density soils, where it is not practical to use other types of devices.

Before you begin to design such a device, first of all, it is necessary 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 can ideally be used, it will be difficult to work.

Blueprints of home-made and factory potato harvesters

For a small farm, to make it convenient to harvest potatoes, you need to make a small-sized device. It should be convenient in operation and easy to hitch on a single-axle tractor.

The construction of a potato harvester: 1. welded frame, 2. knife, 3. conveyor, 4. pulley, 5. connecting rod, 6. pulley of the angular reducer. 7. belt, 8. stand, 9. adapter, 10. support wheel, 11. spring tensioner.

In order to make the device in question, it is necessary to have:

Coulter made of high quality metal alloy, at least 5 mm thick. To make it, you can use a saw from a circulating machine.

Metal angles of size 40 and 63 mm.

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

To make a device for digging potatoes of the vibrating type, it is required, first of all, to make a frame. It should easily 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 units:

Adjusting rods of vertical design.

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

The steps of making a potato digger of the screen type

As you can see from the video before starting work, it is required to prepare the following tools:

Also, to make a fixture, it is required to prepare bolts and nuts.

stage. making the frame. To do this, as shown in the photo, sawn into four pieces of square tube. Two pieces should be. 1200 mm, and two. 800 mm. Pipe size. 4040 mm. Prepared parts are connected by welding into a rectangle.

Stage. Fixing the crosspieces. From the video you can see that they are needed to install the vertical control rods. Fix this element, about a quarter of the length of the frame base. On the other end there are two elements for mounting wheels. Such element should be made of two tubes with a diameter of 30 mm and a length of 150 mm.

Stage. installation of vertical props. On the side where the bars are mounted, at a distance of 5 mm from the edge of the frame are mounted vertically two squares of size 3030 mm and a length of 500 mm. After that, at a distance of 200 mm long posts of 40 mm are installed. Then you need to step back another 400 mm and mount the studs of 300 mm in length. Connect the posts to each other with a 0.4 mm strip.

Stage. Making the frame. First, on the metal sheet 400400 mm thick, which is 0.3 mm thick, and at the bottom of the uprights two holes are prepared for fastening. The workpiece is rigidly attached to the uprights. The same workpiece is then mounted on the other side. Another square piece of sheet metal 700700 mm and 0.4 mm thick is welded butt-welded to the first element, and then bent into the desired cone configuration using a sledgehammer.

step. design of the grid. To do this, a rod with a diameter of 10 mm is attached from below to the finished frame, and the other end goes beyond the perimeter of the frame towards the pulling mechanism, which can be a model “Neva”.

Then with your own hands you can install the adjusting rods and wheels. They are attached through specially prepared mountings

How to make a drum potato harvester for a power tiller with your own hands

The drum potato digger consists of three main parts: a frame with wheels, a knife and a drum. The last element is connected by means of a chain, gearbox and gears with the shaft of a motoblock or minitractor, thanks to which it is moved.

To make a potato digger of the drum type, you need:

• First you need to assemble the frame. Its dimensions are governed by the desired volume of the machine. This construction can be found among scrap metal or welded with your own hands from metal profiles.
• Use old leaf springs to make a blade and attach it to the frame with a hinge.
• Use steel bars to weld a drum. In order for the construction to be reliable, additional segments must be mounted across it.
• Attach the drum to the frame.
• Mount the wheels on the frame.
• Using chains, gear system and gearbox, attach the potato harvester to a power tiller or other machine.
• To the frame on the outlet side of the drum, weld a structure to mount the container.

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

To make a screen potato digger you will need the following materials and tools:

• metal square pipe 40×40 mm;
• 2 metal sheets with a thickness of 0.3 mm and 0.4 mm;
• rod with a diameter of 10 mm;
• wire 8 mm;
• metal angle;
• wrenches;
• bolts;
• sledgehammer;
• grinder;
• welding machine;
• drill or engraver.

You can use one of the above drawings as a base. The step-by-step instructions for making a simple homemade screen potato digger are as follows:

• In the first phase, make the frame. To do this, saw a square metal tube. As a result, you get three pieces. one 120 cm long, and the other two. 80 cm.
• Installation of the lintels at the base of the frame (quarter length). On the other side, 2 elements are fixed, on which the wheels will then be mounted. They consist of two metal tubes (each 15 cm long, 3 cm in diameter).
• Mounting the vertical struts. To do this, on the side of the lintel mount 2 squares of 33 cm (5 cm from the edge of the frame). Then mount the 4cm uprights (20cm apart). Then another 40 cm is left over and the posts with a length of 30 cm each are fixed. They are connected to each other with a narrow strip of 0.4 mm in diameter.
• Now you need to make a frame. For this they take a metal sheet of small thickness (0,3 mm) with the parameters 4040 cm. Then make two fixing holes at the bottom of the uprights. Mount it on the uprights. Fix the same piece on the back side. Then you take a sheet of 0.4 mm thick (also square, 7070 cm) and weld it flush to the first element. After that, it is given a cone shape by hammering the surface with a sledgehammer.
• As the final step construct the grating. Take a metal bar with a diameter of 1 cm, attach it to the bottom of the frame. The second end is led out beyond the perimeter of the frame of the power tiller “Neva” or other model. Then the tractor arm and wheels are installed.
• To assemble the potato harvester, it is necessary to connect it to the hitch node of the power tiller. At the same time, the shaft itself is inserted in a coupling with a slotted shank. The pin is placed in the coupling hole and secured with a cotter pin. Then check once again that the coupling is secure and test.

Here’s an animated instruction how to make a potato digger with your own hands.

Harvesting with the potato harvester

• Stick the plough shaft into the soil.
• Turn the machine on, watch the movements of the blade (it must work in sync with the rattle).
• The soil layer is cut and pushed up so that the tubers fall on the surface of the sifter.
• Excess soil is then removed by the constant vibration, and the root crops are slowly rolled to the rear or tilted parallel to the harrow.

Equipment with a conveyor

Conveyor potato harvester has a standard form, in which the main elements are ploughshare and platform with conveyor. Features:

• A conveyor belt is mounted on the platform, the type of which is regulated by the requirements;
• A simple device allows you to install it on almost any variant of power tillers, including domestic manufacturers;
• often used in places with hard or loamy soil;
• Potato digger for power tiller is created strictly according to the specified parameters of the transporter and platform, as it is necessary for normal digging of tubers.

When making your own, it is worth considering two factors that will affect installation and operation. The first factor is the size of the device, which allows you to fix the mechanism on the power tiller. The calculation must always take into account the parameters of the equipment. Another factor is the manifestation of versatility. Most homemade conveyor-type devices can be supplemented with secondary elements.

Review of potato harvesters for Neva power tillers: how to choose the best, adjust

Potato harvester for the Neva power tiller is an attachment that allows the most rapid, efficient and high-quality harvesting of the land.

Until recently, mechanized harvesting was carried out only by large agricultural enterprises. Now even small farmers are trying to speed up and simplify this process. Having motoblocs or minitractors at their disposal, farmers think about buying additional mechanisms to them, which reduce physical labor and increase productivity. Today’s market offers a wide range of mounted agricultural equipment, such as:

This review will consider the main models of potato diggers to the Neva power tiller, their characteristics and principle of operation.

Necessary tools

The following materials and tools will be required for work:

Good steel is needed for the ploughshare. it must be quite thick (at least 4 mm). The design has a welded frame, hangers, rods, which will adjust the dynamic elements. wheels and hooks.

The construction of the machine is not very difficult. Such a potato harvester can really be used on any, even very heavy soils.

Do-it-yourself craftsmen construct potato diggers of two varieties.

It is a little more difficult to create conveyor and drum units, because their design will be a bit more complicated, but technically it is quite feasible to create such units.

If you have to harvest over a wide area, a screen or conveyorized potato digger is the way to go. For a suburban or garden plot of 10 hectares a fan digger may also be quite suitable.

The disadvantage of all potato diggers is that they do not “take out” the whole crop. Tubers that grow away from the cultivated strip do not fall into the field of action of the plow.

Drawings, schemes, dimensions of potato harvesters for power tillers Neva, Mole, Kaskad, MTZ-09H, Salut, Agat

The single-axle tractor “Neva” is considered the most popular among farmers and landowners. It has a user-friendly design and powerful technical characteristics. The most suitable homemade potato harvester for the motor-block “Neva” is the device of the screen type.

Due to the specifics of its work, the screen potato harvester for the “Neva” power tiller was given a second name. vibration potato harvester

A universal option for all types of power tillers. a potato harvester of “Poltavchanka” model. The parameters of such a device are 950×790×800 mm, the processing depth is 25 cm. These characteristics allow to use the unit in any conditions, regardless of soil and type of crops. “Poltavchanka” is valued for its high performance in a relatively small size.

“Poltavchanka” is popular with owners of power tillers “Mole” and “Agat

Salut” and “MTZ-09H” are similar in their structure, that’s why the same drawings are often used for making potato harvesters for this equipment. Diggers for these devices have the same mounting system, which allows you to use the same unit for both models.

“Salyut” and “MTZ-09H” have an original design, so the drawing of a potato digger for these devices differs in features

A vibratory potato harvester is also recommended for the “Cascade” power tiller, but because of the more massive wheels, the harvesting device may have different parameters from similar equipment.

Often, when making a vibratory digger for a “Cascade” power tiller, changes are made in the arrangement of the ploughshare and the size of the wheels