Another stuck PHD auger- modification of the standard pipe wrench methodology

[KenB2920]

My auger managed to get mangled after hitting some roots.... Still works fine .... this is a Danuser F-8

I agree the hydraulic would be better, but not having the flow on a tractor and only needing a PHD once a year or so, it's not worth the expense of a hydro unit .. If I needed it a lot, I would definitely think about it. This unit with two augers was only $400 used

 

[sdef]

Reversing gear box and breaking shear pins ? Both are a lost cause . Use a hydraulic orbit motor with a torque spec /relief valve setting equal to the current shear pins rating.
Once you use a hydraulicly driven post hole digger mounted to a loaded bucket. You will never go back to fooling around with a pto driven three point hitch PHA.
Could you post an image of the auger's cutting tip when cleaned off?
I upgraded my PHA from a cheapo version of this bit Auger 12" x 4" Serrated Cutting Edge w/ 2" Round | Danuser To this Auger 12" x 4" Hole Digger Head with Teeth w/ 2" Round | Danuser

Wouldn't know it was the same machine . Have to ease it into the ground now and hold back. Instead of using down pressure .

My bit tip is the standard screw tip seen on most augers. I saw that fishtail/butterfly auger tip you upgraded top on two different OEM augers but never was able to find out what the difference would be vs. the standard screw tip. So I did not purchase it as in my soil my thought was it would get broken. My auger tends to jump around a lot while digging most holes due to the flights hitting rocks or large tree roots. My whole property was a forest prior to me clearing a homestead and driveway location.

Any idea how strong the upgraded tip is? I will purchase one if I can find it. But am mostly done with digging holes now for awhile, I hope.

 

[sdef]

I drilled hundreds of holes and only got it stuck when I was in the learning stage. After a few traumatic experiences, I learned to dig in small increments, reduce the PTO speed and raise the auger back and forth so it could clear itself out. After figuring that out, I didn't get it stuck for the next 10 years. Just a thought here that may not apply.

Yep, I know how to drill holes. I think what happened was it drilled down okay, well as okay as one can have on my property, and was able to drill past a protruding rock in the hole that the flights missed or scraped over as it went down. I was down and up with the auger every 9" or so until I got about 2.5 feet deep and then it would not come back up. I gave it more power as I recall and it just drilled deeper and then broke the shear bolt.

Once I finally removed the auger and was able to clean out the hole manually with a rock PHD, I did bring up a few rocks along with a bunch of dirt. But no direct evidence of what may have happened. Maybe I let it get too deep before cleaning the hole or maybe not. Butt it is done now and filled with a post and concrete

 

[buickanddeere]

She is a rooting tooting drilling machine .

 

[bdog]

Posts like this really make me love my skid steer mounted hydraulic PH.D.

 

[EddieWalker]

When I bury my auger, it's because I've gone through the red clay and into the grey clay. That grey stuff is a lot harder and it holds together more, so the auger tends to bury itself into it instead of breaking up the dirt like it does in the red clay. Most of my land is red clay and I've only hit the grey stuff in a few places.

I'm not strong enough to turn the auger with my 4 foot pipe wrench, but with a ten foot length of 2 inch pipe over the end of the wrench handle, it's pretty easy, just awkward keeping the wrench in place.

 

[bdog]

I don't see why anyone would buy a 3 point PHD. If you have one sitting around sure use it for a few holes but for most conditions they are horrible. I have drilled literally thousands of post holes and I can tell you with a tractor or a skid steer with a hydraulic hole digger I can drill tons more per day. I have spent a whole day only drilling ten holes with a 3 point digger due to lack of down pressure and getting stuck. With a hydraulic unit and down pressure and the ability to reverse we can drill hundreds per day.

 

[EddieWalker]

I spent $300 for my brand new 3 point 12 inch post hole digger. It didn't have a good auger on it, so I spent another $100 for a new 12 inch Speeco auger from tractor supply. It takes me about 5 minutes to drill a 12 inch hole three feet deep. It takes me even longer to measure and lay out the marks to drill the holes.

What did you spend for you hydraulic auger? and the connections to make it work?

 

[bdog]

I don't really remember. I bought it over five years ago - maybe $1500? It is a bel-Tex. No special connections. On my tractor I hooked it to my rear remotes and on the skid steer it hooks right up front. In some soils the 3 point might work great. Here they are horrible. When I bought my 3 point new I had a friend who needed some holes for a fence. I was all gung-ho and said sure I will
Dig them for you just buy the beer. No joke it took nearly an hour an hole and adding water to drill through our hard ground. With my hydraulic I have never had a hole I couldn't drill in minutes.

 

[Snobdds]

I don't really remember. I bought it over five years ago - maybe $1500? It is a bel-Tex. No special connections. On my tractor I hooked it to my rear remotes and on the skid steer it hooks right up front. In some soils the 3 point might work great. Here they are horrible. When I bought my 3 point new I had a friend who needed some holes for a fence. I was all gung-ho and said sure I will
Dig them for you just buy the beer. No joke it took nearly an hour an hole and adding water to drill through our hard ground. With my hydraulic I have never had a hole I couldn't drill in minutes.

I'm glad you were able to buy the cheapest hydraulic post hole digger in the US. How well do they work again?