Posthole Digger Post Hole Digger question

[woodlandfarms]

This is probably going to be a simple answer and I am going to feel stupid, but here it goes cause I don't know.

I need to set some post holes for a pole barn. I have been considering a hydraulic PHD for the PT. I also plan to put of some fencing at one point or another. I do have a back-hoe...

OK, to the dumb question. How well does a tractor based PHD work compared to a 2-man gas powered unit, especially on slopes. The pole barn will be on "flat" ground, but the fencing will be on sloped. I know there is a certain amount of flexiblity in aligning the augers (especially with a skid steer hydraulic version) but if I am at an angle, and the auger needs to be vertical, how do you deal with the geometry?

Thanks for humoring me.

Carl

 

[john_bud]

I would think that you need to aproach the slope from downhill (facing up) and moderate the bucket angle to ensure that it is going down straight.

You may want to temporarily "glue" 2 levels to your bucket or mounting plate to get horizontal and verticle dead straight.

jb

 

[johnk]

When my auger is slightly above the ground it swings back and forth and when it stops it is usually 90 degrees to the horizontal. If on a slope have your tractor pointed straight up or straight down the slope and the auger is like a pendulm or Plum Bob and will be perpendicular to horizontal.. Good luck.

 

[ponytug]

Dear Carl,

There is no comparison between them, especially if the soil is hard/ full of clay/rocks/gravel. Get the tractor mounted one. Remember that to drill a totally straight hole, you will have to move the tractor backwards and forwards as you bore downward, since the tractor arms move in an arc. If you make large, oversize holes because you are going to put in footings, it doesn't matter, but it does matter for fence posts.

For fencing, I am going with a post driver- you can get the post straight before you put it in. Once it is in, it is fully tamped, straight, and "Ain't goin' nowhere."

I am thinking of getting both the driver and an auger to set the 14' posts, but I'll probably rent for those.

I know a guy who bought an old telephone truck with auger, used it to set 10 miles of wood fence posts over three years and then sold it again on ebay- for about the same price he bought it for. He said that it worked even better than the tractor augers, since he had 200HP driving the auger, and enormously greater downforce. He was boring through shale rock some of the time, which was beyond the capabilities of the tractor auger that he had.

All the best,

Peter

This is probably going to be a simple answer and I am going to feel stupid, but here it goes cause I don't know.

I need to set some post holes for a pole barn. I have been considering a hydraulic PHD for the PT. I also plan to put of some fencing at one point or another. I do have a back-hoe...

OK, to the dumb question. How well does a tractor based PHD work compared to a 2-man gas powered unit, especially on slopes. The pole barn will be on "flat" ground, but the fencing will be on sloped. I know there is a certain amount of flexiblity in aligning the augers (especially with a skid steer hydraulic version) but if I am at an angle, and the auger needs to be vertical, how do you deal with the geometry?

Thanks for humoring me.

Carl