Content:
Technological progress introduces all new ways to make human life easier. The manual potato digger is a device for digging out root crops that turns the dull and hard work of harvesting into a comfortable activity.
Device
Potato diggers, depending on their design features, can be manual or attached to a walk-behind tractor. Using the potato digger is simple. The only force required is to stick the tines into the ground next to the potato bush and press your foot against the front arch. The pitchfork lifts the potatoes up, the soil crumbles. In this case, the root crop is not damaged, since the teeth pick up the potatoes from below and from the side.
Main settings
The versatile, demountable tool is similar to a conventional shovel. The simplest design is represented by swiveling forks with a gripping range of 30 cm. The weight of a potato digger is about 2.9 kg on average. The material used is high strength steel. The teeth are made from a rod of various sections: square, round or hexagonal.
Manual potato digger
Advantages and disadvantages
The advantage of the tool is that it greatly facilitates the work in the garden. A person no longer needs to repeatedly bend over to the ground, manually shake off the tubers from the soil, straining the spine. Labor productivity increases significantly.
Additional functions
The potato shovel is a multifunctional gardening tool that simplifies many tasks. You can replace the outdated shovel and pitchfork with the Urozhay potato digger. It allows you not only to dig up roots, but also to dig up beds, loosen the soil. Design features:
- tool steel forks with frequent teeth (7 pieces);
- a hinged pedal that acts as a lever.
The furrow width is 28 cm, the loosening depth is 25 cm, the weight of the unit is 3 kg.
The long pins do not just dig up the soil, but also break up earth clods, making the soil uniform. The bush of the plant is easily removed from the ground, the potatoes are not pierced or cut. When moving to the next potato bush, you do not need to lift the tool, you just need to step back and pull it towards you.
Another modern unit - "Farmer", which combines 5 tools. They can dig potatoes, harrow, loosen and dig up the ground. In addition, it is used for spreading manure. To activate the "potato digger" function, you need to fix the plates along the arched lever. Pressing the lever raises the forks up. Shaking the tool by the lever releases the potatoes from the ground.
Construction parameters:
- length of teeth, working blades - 25 cm;
- penetration depth into the ground - 20 cm;
- size - 120 cm;
- unit weight - 3 kg.
There are also potato diggers that work on a different principle. They are a versatile alternative to a shovel. The entire unit rests on a single metal pin stuck in the ground. Clockwise rotation of the handles drives the curved hardened steel teeth. The tubers are picked up together with the ground and turned to the side.
Homemade manual potato digger
A manual potato digger with your own hands is easily assembled without a drawing.For the fork, you need a hollow square tube 40 cm long. You need to weld 6 teeth taken from a conventional forks to it. The teeth can also be forged from wrenches, their length should be about 25 cm. A branch pipe, a short pipe, is welded perpendicularly to them.
Homemade manual potato digger
A movable lever on the handle is attached to the metal handle. In two plates you need to make holes for the lever and weld them to the handle. To be able to adjust the height of the lever, it is better to increase the length of the plates, drill several holes in them. A homemade lever is made from a round curved pipe. A stop is welded to the bottom of the lever, which is better made from the corner. Thus, on the handle there is a pair of arm stops in the form of pipe segments.
The comfort of the handle is provided by its bend. This shape helps to increase the leverage. The handle is attached to the handle by means of bolts and nuts. But it is better to use welding for the connection. Homemade mechanical manual potato digger is ready. Household tools are inferior in the degree of soil loosening to a special tool, so the beds have to be further leveled. The advantage of a homemade potato digger is its lightness.
There is another way to make a potato digger. This device captures from both sides, pulling root crops to the surface. Having spread the pitchfork to the open position, the digger is installed above the bush. Pressing your foot on the crossbar, the pitchfork is immersed in the soil. By spreading the handles to the sides, the forks are brought together at the same time. Roots, tubers, soil captured by the teeth rise upward. The earth is poured, clean root crops remain.
DIY manual potato digger
You can assemble the unit at home according to the drawing. Materials needed:
- a pair of pitchforks;
- a pair of pipe sections, length from 720 to 950 mm, diameter 27 mm, wall thickness 2 mm;
- metal plate 330 mm long, 50 mm wide, 5 mm thick.
Manufacturing algorithm:
- The pitchforks are freed from wooden cuttings.
- In the lower part of the tulle, in the middle of the pitchfork, two "ears" are welded (with a diameter of 11-12 mm, a distance of 55 mm). The crossbar should fit between them.
- At the bottom of the crossbar, on the short sides, tubes are welded (diameter - 10.5 mm).
- A hinge bolt with a diameter of 10 mm and a length of 70 mm should pass through the tubes and "ears".
- The tubes for the handles must be bent and made comfortable to hold. Hose sections are put on the ends of the pipe.
- It remains to weld the handles into the forks of the pitchfork.
The potato digger is a handy and useful tool in gardening tools. Harvesting is no longer hard work, as the process is enjoyable. Each owner can make a handy tool for digging up root crops himself or design a new version. This will increase productivity, save time and money, and preserve health.
