Agricultural work has always required a lot of labor and time, especially for harvesting potatoes. In our time, devices have been designed that significantly speed up and facilitate these operations for farmers. We are talking about such a simple unit as a potato digger.

Purpose and principle of operation

A potato digger is all technical devices that automate the work of processing potato fields to dig out the crop and clear it of adhered soil. If in summer cottages and small planting gardens it is quite possible to cope with manual work, then on vast areas you cannot do without the help of a mechanized digger.

Potato digger

There are two-row and single-row potato diggers, the first has a special structure, thanks to which it can handle twice the area of ​​a potato field. The equipment can be suspended from traction machines using a hitch or mounted on its axle.

The principle by which any potato digger works is as follows: the unit lifts root crops from the soil, separates them from the remnants of the earth and returns them to the field in windrows, after which the crop is picked up manually.

Dimensions and specifications potato diggers are determined by the type of unit components:

  • support frame;
  • vibrating shafts;
  • lattice filtering elevators with protective sides;
  • storage hopper for harvested tubers;
  • support and transport system, consisting of wheel sets, chains, discs, metal axles, bearings and cardan;
  • plow-shaped plow with sharp knives.

Types of potato diggers and their device

Agricultural machinery manufacturers produce various types of potato diggers for motor winches, tractors and mini-tractors. They differ from each other in the principles of functioning and technical aspects:

Potato digger for walk-behind tractor

  • universal diggers are the most affordable, they are a kind of shovels with fan-shaped teeth attached to the upper part; the top layer of the soil (15 cm) is cut with a pointed part and placed together with the potatoes on the teeth, where the tubers are separated from the clods of earth and laid out back on the field, light and medium soils are suitable for such devices;
  • a vibrating potato digger is a construction of a working knife (ploughshare) and a vibrating horizontal grate - a roar (therefore, this unit is also called a roaring-type potato digger); the knife cuts the soil, the tubers are fed to the roar, where they are cleared of traces of earth, while the litter is sown through the lattice cells, the potatoes are shot off on the sides of the digger;
  • The conveyor potato digger resembles a vibrating potato digger without a screen, which instead has a belt (bar) conveyor, on which tubers are cleaned from contamination intact, such units are the most popular among farmers.
Roaring potato digger for walk-behind tractor

Diggers for an electric winch, tractor or mini-tractor can have the characteristics of all these types.

On a note. For motoblocks with high power, it is recommended to select a rotary potato digger, the main thing is that their powers match each other.

Potato diggers with a drum-type bunker, where potatoes raised from the field are supplied, are quite rare, mainly such units are made by hand.

Universal potato digger

Universal potato digger

Such devices are also called lancet, they quickly and easily process potato, onion, garlic, beetroot and carrot crops, working according to the "shovel" method, are applicable on all soils. Root crops are not damaged during harvesting and retain their presentation. The angle of inclination of the digger and the depth of immersion are regulated by the tractor hitch.

These simple devices are potato diggers with no power take-off shaft, so it is quite possible to connect them to any models of walk-behind tractors.

Important! Universal diggers do not choose the entire crop, only 85% - this is considered their main disadvantage.

Vibrating diggers

Screen type potato diggers pick out almost all tubers from the soil (up to 98 percent). Separation takes place using a sieve that vibrates continuously, making characteristic sounds (hence the name). Due to the vibration, the soil clods are crushed and go through the slots back into the field, the potatoes are dumped in a row on the other side of the transport vehicle's travel. Roaring potato diggers can be assembled by hand according to the size of the drawing.

Transporter potato diggers

Such units are a little similar to the screening ones, however, instead of a vibrating grate for cleaning the crop, they use a conveyor mechanism, where the tops and lumps of soil are separated from the tubers. Such diggers are much more efficient than analogues of other types, but their price is much higher. In terms of size, such a potato digger is best suited for working with walk-behind tractors on large areas, it can function in all weather conditions.

Transporter potato diggers

Description of popular models

Potato digger for motoblock neva

There is a huge selection of potato digging units on the market, and the question of which potato digger is better to use a roaring or conveyor one, maybe even a universal potato digger for a simple cultivator, is solved, depending on the amount of work, performance requirements, type of soil and type of traction mechanism.

Interesting. The potato digger Neva is very popular among farmers - it has good performance indicators and a low price. In addition to harvesting potatoes, this machine can be used for beets, garlic and rutabagas.

Pneumatic rubber wheels are installed on the vibrating Russian havert potato digger. It is connected to the walk-behind tractors with a V-belt and has a height of 0.6 m, a length and width of 07 m each. In an hour, such a device can process 0.05-0.2 hectares.

Small mounted diggers for walk-behind tractors (Cascade, Oka and others) such as KVM 01, Salyut, Celina (made in Russia) are popular, due to the ease of installation and great help in gardening and gardening life.

The vibrating-screening trailed potato digger KKM 1 for motoblocks is the best choice for small subsidiary potato farms and vegetable gardens. The weight of the apparatus is 40 kg, the speed of movement is 2 km per hour, the depth of excavation is 0.2 m.

The potato digger of the ML-1M Burlak motor winch is distinguished by its small size, unpretentious maintenance and reliable operation.

Of the imported models, the Polish double-row potato digger Z-609 is often used. This is a mounted model (weight - 0.45 t), aggregated with tractors of the MTZ, YuMZ, T40 brands.

Note! There is also a lighter version - the Chinese transporter 4U-1 for mini tractors from 20 hp, it weighs no more than 125 kg and is much cheaper. Advantages and disadvantages of a potato digger

The huge advantages of using diggers are the facilitation and increased productivity of agricultural work for harvesting potatoes, beets, onions and garlic. The percentage of selection of tubers from the soil is constantly increasing, as well as the degree of their cleaning from the ground. There are models for both large farms and small vegetable gardens.

The disadvantage can be considered the non-versatility of the attachment to the cultivator or walk-behind tractor - it may not fit. Also, for each type of soil, you should choose your own model of potato pickers.

Important! It is imperative to coordinate the power of the potato digger and the draft means. In addition, potato diggers are not such a cheap pleasure.

In the old days, potatoes and other root vegetables were dug up by hand, which was time consuming and very labor intensive. Now agricultural producers supply vegetable growers with different types of mechanical potato diggers, which are driven by tractors, mini tractors and even walk-behind tractors.