Harvesting potatoes with motor-blocks and motor-tractors

Збирання врожаю картоплі на значних ділянках завжди є трудомісткою операцією, яку завжди хочеться й прискорити й полегшити одночасно не втрачаючи якості та кількості бульб. За наявності в господарстві мотоблоку чи мінітрактору використання картоплекопача як навісного чи причіпного агрегату може суттєво полегшити цю операцію та дозволити додатковий заробіток, надаючи послуги з механізованого викопування картоплі. Останнє важливо, бо як правило якісні копалки вартують значних коштів, які хочеться швидше "відбити". Тож розглянемо це питання в деталях.

Unlike large farms, where potatoes are harvested with expensive potato diggers or potato harvesters, in small and auxiliary farms it is advisable to use potato diggers, which are aggregated with motoblocks andmoto-tractors. But in both cases, regardless of the cost of the units, it is necessary to achieve minimal loss of tubers and their minimal damage and injuries.

Buy a potato digger for a walk-behind tractor

Buy a potato digger for a minitractor

The main stages of harvesting potatoes with mini machinery

Harvesting potatoes is realized in three stages:

• The first stage is the removal of weeds and tops. To do this, you can use lawnmowers or chemically by spraying (although desiccation is impractical for personal consumption). It is advisable to do it a few days before digging up the tubers. Unlike manual digging, there is no need to worry about marking the bush with the tops, since the entire row is dug, not the bushes selectively.
• The second stage is the direct digging of tubers by cutting the row and placing the tubers on the surface of the field.
• Третій етап – підбирання викопаних бульб у тару (сітки, мішки, контейнери, ящики) і подальше їх транспортування до місць післязбиральної обробки (часто за допомогою причепа до мотоблоку чи мінітрактору). Доцільно підбирання бульб виконувати через декілька годин після викопування, що дозволить підсохнути бульбам (для кращого відділення налиплого ґрунту), а кірка на їх поверхні зміцниться (для зменшення травмування).

Основні типи картоплекопалок для мотоблока та мото-трактора

When harvesting potato tubers, regardless of the type of potato digger based on a walk-behind tractor or walk-behind tractor, the following operations take place:

• cutting a row of potatoes with a knife;
• sieving fine soil through a cleaning surface;
• laying tubers, soil clods, plant impurities on the surface of the field.

Тож, реалізуючи ці операції у різний спосіб, картоплекопалки до мотоблока за конструкцією найчастіше бувають:

• universal;
• vibrating and vibrating;
• transporter.

Universal potato diggers

Universal potato diggers consist of the main elements:

• stand;
• a fixed knife for cutting a row with a grip width from 20 to 40 cm;
• bars attached to the knife for sifting soil impurities.|| |142

Популярна та дешева універсальна картоплекопалка, яку часто називають "дельфін", "ракета". При своїй простоті вона досить ефективна. Проте під час роботи є певні нюанси: час від часу потрібно піднімати прутки; кріпити можна як через універсальну зчепку, так і безпосередньо за допомогою тримача обмежувача глибини при роботі з грунтофрезами (при невеликих обсягах копу); копати варто через рядок, тоді не пригортаються сусідні виорані, а потім ті, що залишилися. І обов'язково перевірте на поганенькій гряді рядка регулювання встановленого копача, щоб не зіпсувати бульбу. Часто це потрібно лише перший раз або для незнайомого грунту та способу посадки.

A strip surface can be used instead of rods on potato diggers of the AGROLUXE type, which allows you to significantly improve work, especially on wet soil.

Potato digger AGROLUXE. The design is the same as that of a digger and there is an adjustable digger immersion limiter.

Potato diggers are connected to the walk-behind tractor using a hitch.

The universal hitch allows you to adjust not only the depth of immersion of the universal digger, but also the angle of attack (this parameter regulated by the threaded part)

Universal potato diggers are made single-row with a digging depth of a row of potatoes - 11...32 cm. The digging depth can be gradually adjusted by changing the position of the stand attachment to the walk-behind tractor through the holes. It is impractical to use several such potato diggers with one walk-behind tractor, as this will, first of all, make it difficult to control the walk-behind tractor, and plowing several rows of potatoes makes it difficult to pick them. When purchasing such a potato digger, you should pay attention to whether it is able to work effectively with all brands of walk-behind tractors, or whether it is designed to work with certain brands of walk-behind tractors. The same applies to other types of potato diggers.

Peculiarities of the construction of potato diggers and the peculiarities of their use also affect the price.

Vibrating and vibrating potato diggers

Vibrating and vibrating potato diggers are used mainly with heavy motoblocks and moto-tractors. The main elements of such a potato digger are:

• undermining ploughshare (knife) for cutting the row;
• screen (grid) for sieving fine soil;
• eccentric mechanism for oscillating the ploughshare from the belt transmission with thunder; depending on the drive, potato diggers can have a one- or two-hexcentric mechanism;
• supporting metal or pneumatic wheels for adjusting the depth of digging up to 20 cm by changing the position of the supports of the support wheels along the holes.

Vibrating and vibrating potato diggers at the point of sale. The frame is painted blue, and the ploughshare with the screen and its drive is black. With relative simplicity, an effective digger, but requires aggregation with a power take-off shaft.

As a result of the oscillating movement of the blade with a screen, digging of the row and sifting of fine soil is improved. The attachment of the potato digger to the tractor can be central or with an offset center (simplifies control of the tractor and reduces damage to dug tubers).

The productivity of such potato digger is up to 0.15...0.3 ha/h. (depending on the width of the grip 0.4...0.6 m).

Transportable potato diggers

Transportable potato diggers are used when harvesting potatoes on the basis of walk-behind tractors and motor-tractors. Potato diggers can have a grip width of up to 60 cm with a digging depth of up to 25 cm, and their productivity is on average about 0.35 ha/h.

Compact transport potato digger. The knife for cutting ridges is additionally equipped with ribbon looseners for more effective separation of soil and tubers. The digging depth is adjusted by moving the mounting rack.

The main elements of the conveyor potato digger are:

• passive knife for trimming a row;
• rod conveyor for sieving fine soil and transporting and stacking tubers and impurities in rolls on the field surface.
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At the bottom of the potato digger there are slides, changing the position of which regulates the depth of digging the row.

The drive of the transporter is carried out by a wheel with soil grips.

The drive of the conveyor is from a wheel with soil grips.

Вид кріплення шестерні та колеса приводу транспортеру.

Features of using potato diggers

Potato harvesters for walk-behind tractors and walk-behind tractors can provide high-quality and efficient harvesting of potatoes, which are grown both with ridges and without ridges on light and medium soils. At the same time as the tubers are dug up, a high-quality loosening of the soil occurs, which is quite important for its further use. Such potato diggers can also be used to dig up onions, garlic and root vegetables.

Based on productivity and labor costs and time for picking tubers, vibratory and conveyor potato diggers should be considered more effective, although working with them requires greater fuel consumption and engine power of the walk-behind tractor.

Preparation of potato diggers for harvesting

The main thing in preparing potato diggers for work is:

• checking the condition of their elements;
• adjustment to the appropriate digging depth;
• connection with a motor vehicle.

In case of detection damaged elements of a potato digger (for example, a knife) or a hook must be replaced or repaired, since damaged elements make it difficult or impossible to harvest potatoes with high quality.

Buy spare parts for potato diggers

Adjustment to the appropriate digging depth is carried out by moving the racks of the knife (ploughshare) or the support wheel. To check the correct setting of the digging depth, it is necessary to walk several meters of the row and evaluate the tubers for cuts. In the presence of cut tubers, it is necessary to increase the digging depth.

When using such potato diggers with walk-behind tractors and walk-behind tractors, it is advisable to ensure that rows of potatoes are dug one after the other, in order to reduce the loss of unharvested tubers and their damage by wheels, as well as to avoid lateral displacement of the motor vehicle.

And for the rest. If you wish, if you have metal and you have the skills to work with it, you can easily make such a unit with your own hands and specifically for your motorcycle. For this, drawings and videos on the network are more than enough. And rather, your creation will be of higher quality than factory or hand-made, it is not known where. Samples of potato diggers with a circular conveyor, which collect the tubers already in the boxes, are interesting. And in general, we advise you to review the designs available on the network and make your rational contribution to their improvement.

Good harvest to you and minimal effort to get it!