Add-On Engine Boosts Auger Performance

Add-On Engine Boosts Auger Performance AUGERS Augers (29B) 25-6-3 John Gray, Vanscoy, Sask., used a 60 hp gas engine and 4-speed transmission from a 1980 Honda Civic to boost power and improve performance of his 7-in. dia., 47-ft. auger. Gray grows specialty crops like peas and says the big engine lets him run the auger as slow - or as fast - as he wants. Also, the transmission allows him to instantly reverse the auger to quickly clean it out to use for another crop. The auger was originally powered by a 14 hp gas engine. He removed that and mounted the Honda engine and transmission in its place, bolting the motor mounts to an angle iron frame which he then bolted to the auger frame. A pulley that he mounted on the transmission is used to belt-drive the auger. A sprocket mounted on front of the engine is used to chain-drive a hydraulic pump that Gray uses to operate sweep augers inside his bins. He also shortened the transmission gearshift lever and mounted it next to the transmission, about 3 ft. off the ground. A pair of poly tanks mount on the auger frame next to the engine, one for gas and the other for hydraulic oil. "It allows me to shift gears from ground level and operate the auger as slow or as fast as I want. By operating the auger slow I can keep it full all the time and avoid breaking peas. To reverse the auger, I simply flip a homemade clutch lever, which I mounted on one side of the engine, to disengage the transmission. Then I use the gearshift lever to put the transmission in reverse. The frame that supports the engine pivots in the middle so the engine always stays level as the auger is raised or lowered. As a result, the belt always stays at the correct tension level." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, John Gray, Box 330, Vanscoy, Sask., Canada S0L 3J0 (ph 306 668-2005).

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