Are all post hole augers created equal?

[murphy1244]

Just keep in mind that almost always when purchasing NEW IMPLEMENTS that you get what you pay for. Not saying that what you are looking at is good or bad. Everything has it's place and purpose. There are huge differences with the augers themselves along with type of teeth that are used. There can be big differences in the gear boxes. As has been said, they are not all the same. You just need to do some more research, do some reading, make your own decision.

Good luck

I'll say, my LP augers were 365.00 each.

 

[BlackRaptor]

Lots of good info thanks guys.
I think PTO will be fine for the amount i'll use it. i see my self using it a lot in this first run than after that maybe a few times a year.

For planting trees does the 9" make sense or should i do 6"? these trees will be small sticks. 9" seemed to make more sense for roots and larger bed of soft dirt worked up.

 

[lost in wisconsin]

If you in rocky or gravely ground with clay go for something more heavy duty. I used one of the older county lines and found out the hard way that they used a grade 2 bolt not grade 5. Unless they changed the design. Once i replaced / welded the other broken pieces and used the grade 2 worthless pot metal bolts i was going through between 2 and 4 sheer pins per hole. Luckly i only needed 6 holes i could not wait to give it back

Dave

I agree with others in that all PHD's are not created equally and once you use a hydraulic PHD mounted to a larger tractor or skid steer, it's difficult going back to a 3 point PHD. With that said, we put in around 40 posts this summer with our 2520 and Frontier (Rotomec) PHD200. As you can see from the pics, we have some very rocky soil in places. I did break a couple of sheer pins but I am happy with the results of our project and how well the PHD stood up to all the rocks. FWIW...the price of the PHD was $980 and 9" auger was $280.

Best of luck in your decision and also your upcoming projects.


Doug

 

[schmism]

I bought mine off of CL for $200. with 8"? auger. works great. it can be slow in the IL ground in the middle of summer when the clay is hard as a rock, and you have to be carefull not to screw it into the ground in the spring with the ground is soft, but no complants.

oh and hydrulic bucket PHD might be nice, but not twice as much money nice.

 

[xring100]

I agree with others in that all PHD's are not created equally and once you use a hydraulic PHD mounted to a larger tractor or skid steer, it's difficult going back to a 3 point PHD. With that said, we put in around 40 posts this summer with our 2520 and Frontier (Rotomec) PHD200. As you can see from the pics, we have some very rocky soil in places. I did break a couple of sheer pins but I am happy with the results of our project and how well the PHD stood up to all the rocks. FWIW...the price of the PHD was $980 and 9" auger was $280.

Best of luck in your decision and also your upcoming projects.

Doug

Looks like you were drilling at my house. What grade are your shear bolts?

Dave

 

[Wyobuckaroo]

Several years ago I bought an older Speeco that was in good shape, but needed a very good clean up.
Changed lube, cleaned and painted (green, yellow) new cutting edges.

Has worked well on my older JD855. And very rocky ground.

Good luck

 

[lost in wisconsin]

Looks like you were drilling at my house. What grade are your shear bolts?

Dave

Grade 2...Just brought down the throttle to an idle and took it real slow. A few times I had to get in there with a "breaker bar" to bust up a rock that was too big for the auger to take up.

 

[jenkinsph]

Hey guys have a bunch of post hole projects to do this spring and i'm sick of renting those two man arm breakers.

i am going to plant 200 dog wood trees build a deck buils a pole building put up a wall in my current shed and also build some anchers next to the barn to support a wall thats drifting out. all this i think justifies a purchase. haha

My question is i was looking at the Tractor Supply 3pt posthole digger Country Line. with a 9 inch and 12 inch augers. The price is looking to be around 750.
I was wondering if this is a good auger/price or if there are much better brands for the money.
Thanks.

you have received some good advice but i have another suggestion, try using a manual post hole digger for one hole as deep as you can go to see how much rock you have to deal with. If it isn't too hard to dig then go with the 3pt auger setup, if you hit large rocks then consider buying or renting a larger hydraulic setup.

i have both 3ph and hydraulic mounted on my backhoe and there is a huge difference in the auger bits themselves with the hydraulic model bits weighing more than twice as much. I wouldn't go that route if you don't need it though.

 

[Heywood Jannockitov]

If you're asking specifically about "3pt PHDs" then no they aren't all created equal. How do you tell a light duty from a heavy duty? Look at the tubular steel boom. A heavy duty, or at least a good quality will be gusseted or have an additional flat steel dorsal "spine" welded to a portion of the boom where the risk of bending is greatest. The size of gear box will likely be a good indicator as well. I think most would agree that Danuser probably makes the best, but I have a Green MFG. that works great too. Weight of the phd helps with down pressure so the heavier the better. I don't think down force kits are really needed in most cases if the digging teeth are not worn out. My auger is 14 inch and I usually start each hole by digging the sod away since part of the problem digging for me is clogging the teeth with grass and roots

If you are looking at the County Line at TSC, check if they carry replacement teeth and auger points for the ones they sell. Depending on soil conditions, you will need to replace digging teeth on occasion, more so than the spiral point. In my hard pan clay, I get about 60 post holes only per set of teeth. Forget sharpening them, doesn't seem to make a difference. When their worn, they are toast.

Curious about hydraulic models designed for skid steer QA when attached to a tractor.
2 things that come to mind are, 1 - as already mentioned - sufficient hyd flow and 2 - can you see where you are digging?

I don't think I could see the auger point from my tractor seat.
If I had a skid steer though, it would be a no-brainer.

 

[Missouri Pioneer]

When I first started looking for a PHD at TSC, I talked to the salesman. I was pleasantly surprised when he advised me against buying his product, too lightweight for the rocky SW Missouri ground, he said.

I ended up buying a used Rhino SPHD , for less money, and while not great in hard packed ground, it is sufficient.

I have no doubt that a hydraulic PHD is superior, but I understand that most tractors do not have sufficient GPM flow, in contrast to the skid steer.