Augering

LifeTrac is back out in agriculture action. We mounted the power take-off motor on the front loader arms, and attached the post-hole digger. The post-hole digger was from our former, now defunct D17 tractor. We dug post holes for staking our grapes, and augered planting holes for a couple hundred hazelnuts:

This exercise was interesting in so far as it showed that LifeTrac can be modified readily for other uses, and that we were able to plant out 200 hazelnuts in about an hour of planting time with 2 people.On the CEB press, we’ve begun to modify the existing LifeTrac tiller to be the soil pulverizer for the CEB Press Prototype 2. Along the lines of a lifesize erector set modular design, the tiller will be convertible not only to the soil pulverizer, but also to a planting auger, a posthole digger, and a mixer – all in one. To do this, it will have 2 quick-interchangeable hydraulic motors with quick disconnect hoses, different tine sets, and reconfigurability to horizontal or vertical operation. This is crazy, but it’s worth it – at the benefit of lower cost but cost of higher operator skill requirements. We’re reducing about $5-10k of implements into a cost of about $500 – a worthwhile exercise with details forthcoming.