Auger Sizes

[SpaceRage]

Hey folks,

Planning to buy a post hole digger in the next few weeks

What size augers are worth buying with the implement? It will just be used for lifestyle property on a Kubota B26, so nothing too extreme or high powered.

I also figures the 'hydraulic assist' post hole digger might not be worth the extra $ in this case as I only have a small tractor.

Options are: 6 inch, 9 inch, 12 inch and 18 inch.

Also considering getting a few spare blades / tips for the augers.

Cheers!

 

[3Ts]

What are you going to use it for? That will determine what size to get. For example if you're setting 2" metal fence posts, the 6" would work, but with wood 4x4 i'd go with the 9", and for 10" treated gate posts, you'd need the 12" size and if planting trees, the 18" would be better.

 

[bullbreaker]

For me my first size i would buy is a 12 if not second choice a 9 . Everyone's needs vary . Check your gearbox oil on your phd most come shipped dry (80/90) .

 

[stuckmotor]

I have a 9" and a 12" . There's less packing to be done with the 9" inch and more wiggle room to line up and straighten the posts with a 12".

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

I only have a 9" for my auger. We have hard clay, anything bigger would just cause frustration. I have 19 pto hp, the 9" digs great! I could probably do just as fine woth a 12", but decided not to get one. We do a lot of tree planting and if I need a bigger diameter hole, I just dig clusters of 3,4,5 holes in the area (making like a circle of holes) then just shovel out the remaining dirt. Works well for the bigger trees. For 4-5" fence posts, the 9" works great.

 

[mike48130]

I have a 9" and a 12" . There's less packing to be done with the 9" inch and more wiggle room to line up and straighten the posts with a 12".

I have 9 and 12. Use the 12 for almost everything because if you hit a larger rock, it will push the auger to one side. So to keep your post in alignment you want a bigger hole. Like everyone said, depends on what you are doing. A 4x4 post is 3.5" so that only 2.75" on each side of the post if you are cementing. Less along the diagonal, and less if it is not centered.

 

[Scrambler82]

To add another question, if you are using 6x6 Gate Posts, very solid/packed ground, will the 9" auger work ?

 

[SpaceRage]

Well thanks everyone

Its going to be used for setting some fence posts and digging in small plants............

I figured 18 inch might be too big for my 19.5 hp PTO.

Think I'm pretty much settled on a 9 inch and 12 inch, seems like these are pretty standard for most uses.

 

[ning]

Also pertinent will be, what type of soil are you digging in?
Depending on the answer, there's going to be a limit to how big of an auger your tractor's going to be able to effectively use.
This will also likely depend on the season; around here, I could probably turn a 36" auger in the spring, but come mid-summer I'll be lucky to get the 12" started!

Personally, I started with a 9", and picked up a 6". The 6" makes a great hole for 4x4's and 4" peelers, and the 9" makes a fine hole for 5-6" peelers, and I used it for a 8" tubular concrete form. I've yet to find a need for anything bigger, myself.

When I planted a bunch of trees, I rented a ctl with a 36" auger; I could've done the job with my backhoe but the ctl has a much lighter footprint and didn't rut everything up when it was still soft in the spring.

 

[Texasmark]

2 considerations as I see it: Large enough diameter for you to miss the designed spot and have to skin the post in the hole to make it and if your soil has no supporting ability, large diameter to make a concrete disc at the bottom of the hole onto which the post sits....then fill back in with dirt.

On drilling, I like Live PTO over tranny and Ind....having used all 3. Also, digging use an up and down motion to keep the finds out and help to keep the auger from augering to China. When the depth is acquired, stop the PTO, pull the auger straight up out of the hole and hit the PTO........Live is perfect for the last remarks besides inching fore or aft to line up the hole as you dig...usually the bottom sucks back to the tractor slightly due to the arc of the lift arms on the digger yoke. If you get stuck, aka augered to China, unpin the auger from the digger and using a pipe wrench and a cheater pipe, back the auger out of the ground.

 

[grsthegreat]

Agree 9&12 are both useful. If your digging in clay the teeth will last forever. I dig in rocks here in north idaho. Teeth take a real beating. I can dig a 12” x 3’ deep hole in a few minutes early spring right after thaw, but same hole will take 20+ minutes by July as ground gets ridiculously hard here. By late September.........I’ll wait till next year.

 

[3Lfarms]

I have both 9 and 12 inch augers. The 9 is perfect for 4x4s to give enough room for cement or compacting dirt. The 12 inch works for setting railroad ties for corner posts. I also use it to dig shallow holes for planting small trees in my hard clay.

 

[DavidL61]

I bought a 9" for 4x4 posts and a 12" for 6x6 and corner post.

 

[SpaceRage]

Heavy duty with 12" auger - Hayes Products - Tractor Attachments and Implements

Think I'm going for above unit, with additional 9 inch auger.

Is it worth buying the version with hydraulic assist? Its an extra $400? (as I already have the rear hydraulic remotes on tractor). I noticed the hydraulic assist model is also double the weight at 220kg (compared to 120 kg for above).

 

[Wyobuckaroo]

When we bought our phd last summer the only auger in stock, on sale was a 12 inch. So we took what we could get.

We have used the 12 inch to plant trees and berry bushes. Sweeties philosophy is to dig a $100 hole for a $10 bush. The hole filled with chicken barn, rabbit barn, donkey yard cleanings or all 3 and potting soil on the top. Watered to the top before planting. This works well as she is quite successful with plants and berry bushes.

I am watching the local auto farm store sales for a 9 inch auger. As said 9 inch for line posts, 12 inch for corner and bigger posts.
My 5 cents of opinion.

 

[grsthegreat]

i hae hydraulic assist on mine. it helps when i get into dryer soil with rocks. if you have easy digging soild its not necessary. Mine is a single acting hydraulic assist so i had to do some re plumbing on tractor to add sump dump. wasn't hard to do. its basically adding the return port thats used for back hoes. Im not sure what kind of system your looking at.

 

[SmallChange]

I only have a 9" for my auger. We have hard clay, anything bigger would just cause frustration. I have 19 pto hp, the 9" digs great! I could probably do just as fine woth a 12", but decided not to get one. We do a lot of tree planting and if I need a bigger diameter hole, I just dig clusters of 3,4,5 holes in the area (making like a circle of holes) then just shovel out the remaining dirt. Works well for the bigger trees. For 4-5" fence posts, the 9" works great.

This is pretty much it for me too. Sometimes I see other sizes on sale and think I should pick one up, but for a good 20 years now I've still not gotten around to it. I've even used it to make a line of holes to create a twenty foot trench.

 

[SpaceRage]

Seems like everybody has 9" and 12", think this is definitely the way to go........

Think I'll pick up a few spare tips and blades as well, always handy to have them around rather than wait for mail delivery!

 

[rd_macgregor]

I have an FEL-mounted hydraulic auger with 9" and 14" bits. The 9" is great for line posts and the 14" for hefty corner posts. The 14" also makes pretty good planting holes for shrubs/trees. In the spring the bit goes down really fast...not so much in the late summer or fall. I also found that the auger digs better when not operated in reverse (!)

 

[bdog]

I will disagree. 9" & 12" are so close to each other I wouldn't 't buy both unless you are planning on a ton of digging or just have excess money to spend. If you plan on using something larger than a 4x4 then get a 12" but if not get a 9". I have a 9" and 18". The 9" has worked for the hundreds of fence post holes I have dug and the only time I have used the 18" on fencing was for setting some 6.5" pipe for an entryway. Other times it just gets used for setting sono tube footings, I-beams, planting trees, etc.

Don't misunderstand me 9" and 12" have their place and if you were doing a ton of fencing with a lot of small and larger fence posts then buying both might make sense but from what I gathered from your post the wasn't the case.