Auger Sizes

[SpaceRage]

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.

Good point, luckily I haven't ordered anything yet. Do you think 20hp PTO is capable of running a 18" auger though? That was my concern....

 

[bdog]

I don't know. I run mine on a 100hp skid steer with a hydraulic auger. 20HP is probably on the weak side depending on your soil. With an extension I have dug 8' deep holes with my 18" auger.

I wasn't necessarily recommending an 18" for you, I was just saying there isn't a lot of difference between a 9" & 12" for infrequent use. I wouldn't want to dig 500 12" holes for 2-3/8" pipe fence posts but if you only had a few to do it will work fine. I would rather spend my implement budget on other goodies than both a 9 & 12 unless you had a specific need.

 

[Scrambler82]

I was just going to post a question: "Will a 6" Auger work for 4x4 Posts ?
Assuming the surrounding material is solid !
Also, I assume a 6" Auger will actually end up cutting a larger hole than 6" !

A second question: "If... the 6" Auger cuts a larger hole than 6", can we also assume a 6x6 Post might work with this sized Auger ?

Reading all of these "postings", is there an accepted standard for the size of the hole vs the post size !
My first Auger will be the 6", seems like most things I do should work with it !

 

[yooperdave]

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!

I bought a 24" diameter auger for my 25 hp CUT so I could plant several trees.

I learned to attach a hand winch to the ROPS to get the auger out of the ground if I dug too deep.

Regards,

Yooper Dave

 

[radios1]

here's something you can rent if you need it. it only goes up to 14 foot diameter though. Soil Auger | Earth Drill | Dirt Auger - Champion Equipment Co.

 

[CobyRupert]

I bought a 24" diameter auger for my 25 hp CUT so I could plant several trees.

I learned to attach a hand winch to the ROPS to get the auger out of the ground if I dug too deep.

Regards,

Yooper Dave

Yikes!
I guess it works.
Until it doesn’t.
Man, I’d be very careful you don’t torque those ROPS too much.
I’d imagine a stuck auger could win that battle on some days.

 

[kantuckid]

I bought a 24" diameter auger for my 25 hp CUT so I could plant several trees.

I learned to attach a hand winch to the ROPS to get the auger out of the ground if I dug too deep.

Regards,

Yooper Dave

I need to use a 24" auger if I avoid hiring a backhoe to dig some piers for a cabin I'm building. Obviously the auger could be a less messy hole too.
I can rent the 24" auger bit for $100 weekly and already own a PHD with a 12" bit.
The ground involved will have some "casual" rocks but no rock shelf present. The rocks that show up on the surface there are sandstone and sedimentary, having dropped in from a cliff maybe 100' above this bench in the woods and deposited when Fred Flintstone lived nearby.
My tractor is a Kioti DK35SE with nearly 40hp. IMO rocks may stop some holes, not all in the 9 I need to dig.
i gotta say I'm a bit nervous on that large of a auger! With the 12" I used a spud bar for leverage thus two people involved.
I'd like to hear others comment on the use of that tractor and a 24" auger bit? Me thinks a backhoe may make sense?

 

[3Ts]

I run an 18" auger with a 50 hp tractor in clay soils. I do have to be careful I don't screw it into the ground because it is a b___h to get back out, but otherwise there's plenty of power and probably more than I need. Be sure it's in contact with the ground before you start to turn it of course. The 10 hp difference between your tractor and mine isn't that big of a deal (for 18" auger) - another 1/3 (6") is a lot, but for $100/ week I'd give it a try. If it doesn't work out, then go the backhoe route. BTW, 9 holes isn't that many and you should be able to dig them with a PHD in a day or two even with occasional rocks.

 

[goddom]

I have a 9" auger for 4x4 posts and I find that either I am not good at measuring or that sometimes the slight angle I get from the auger, the post won't sit centered that I need to have some wiggle room for the posts. I think I am going to go with a 12" auger inthe near future.

 

[SmallChange]

Does anybody know where to get an auger smaller than 6"?

My soil is often so hard I can't even get the tip started - I mean the casting that looks like the end of a wood screw. I have round river gravel cemented together by clay. Many years ago I did a painfully big project with a 4 handle handheld auger and 3 of us, and we were actually using a masonry bit to drill pilot holes to get it started.

I'd like to find a 2" or so drill bit long enough to penetrate a couple feet into the ground. A masonry bit might work, or perhaps a drill bit intended for metal.

Another possibility would be more weight on the assembly. I haven't had a convenient point for hanging weight so perhaps that what I should try next.

 

[SmallChange]

More on this -- I see I can buy carbide masonry bits around 40" long and 1.5" diameter for around $270. I'd have to make some kind of adapter if I wanted them on the tractor auger, as they have special splined shanks to fit a rotary hammer tool. Not sure I could handle them in a rotary hammer drill by hand, especially pulling back out.

 

[bdog]

I have a pile of augers that are 5 long and around 3 in diameter. The have 1-5/8 hexagonal connections on the ends.

Good bits for them are around $60 each and the auger sections are around $200 each. You would need an adapter made to fit them on a tractor auger. I get them at Mobile drill.

The bits you want are the two prong mining bits.

 

[wawajake]

I have a BX2660 so same engine and PTO size as original poster . I went with 9 inch auger and in clay have got that badly stuck and the tractor overwhelmed. Large pipe wrench and pipe on handle to reverse it out. I hate to think what a bigger auger would be like . Keep in mind that even if your post size is tight for a 9 inch …..you can have more wiggle room to get them vertical by moving forward and back with tractor while auger is in ground to make upper part of hole larger.

 

[bigtiller]

Does anybody know where to get an auger smaller than 6"?

My soil is often so hard I can't even get the tip started - I mean the casting that looks like the end of a wood screw. I have round river gravel cemented together by clay. Many years ago I did a painfully big project with a 4 handle handheld auger and 3 of us, and we were actually using a masonry bit to drill pilot holes to get it started.

I'd like to find a 2" or so drill bit long enough to penetrate a couple feet into the ground. A masonry bit might work, or perhaps a drill bit intended for metal.

Another possibility would be more weight on the assembly. I haven't had a convenient point for hanging weight so perhaps that what I should try next.

Here is one for 30 bucks.

https://www.amazon.com/AuSable-Bran...nt=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-640958895754&psc=1

 

[SmallChange]

I have a pile of augers that are 5 long and around 3 in diameter. The have 1-5/8 hexagonal connections on the ends.

Good bits for them are around $60 each and the auger sections are around $200 each. You would need an adapter made to fit them on a tractor auger. I get them at Mobile drill.

The bits you want are the two prong mining bits.

Wow. Looking through the products at https://mobiledrill.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/CFA-Pages.pdf now. Seriously impressive. Of course it should have occurred to me, people drill through all kinds of rock and wicked soil. It's expensive but I kind of want to go for it just to mess with augers this serious.

 

[SmallChange]

Here is one for 30 bucks.

https://www.amazon.com/AuSable-Bran...nt=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-640958895754&psc=1

Not bad! Amazon has a number of similar ones, sized for hand drills and sized for the gasoline augers you hold by hand. Almost clicked Buy Now, but there's adapting it to my 3pt auger to take care of too, thinking on that one. Thanks!

 

[two_bit_score]

Wow. Looking through the products at https://mobiledrill.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/CFA-Pages.pdf now. Seriously impressive. Of course it should have occurred to me, people drill through all kinds of rock and wicked soil. It's expensive but I kind of want to go for it just to mess with augers this serious.

When you need serious help find someone with a BellTec.

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