CRACK! There goes the new PHD auger...

daugen · Mar 25, 2012

Brand new small Land Pride PD10, digging holes for fenceposts to put in a new garden, in a field that is a warzone for rocks. Worked wonderfully for half an hour, then stopped. When we investigated, we found the auger tip sitting in the soil, broken off from the bottom of the bit. I took some high rez pics of the metal area that broke; I'm wondering if the metal grain should be that coarse. The rest of the bit showed wear, but not major damage; this thing just twisted its neck off.

I was running a 21hp pto tractor at 1500 rpms, pretty slow, and stalled the tractor a few times, but I was hoping not to overpower the bit. Sure did.
Dealer wants it back, I have no idea if Land Pride will replace it since it was clearly used, and they might well say abused. I know I hit a big rock, I'm fessing up. And I have no expectations they will give me a free one, just curiosity at this point. This is a new garden in a spot that I have no idea what's underneath, other than a sea of rocks. This bit looked pretty beefy for a 4 inch bit, but it was not a specialized rock bit. Maybe I ought to get one.
We used a big heavy bar to whale on the uncooperative rocks, and that usually got things moving enough for the auger to clean the hole of the rocks.
But this time it went down, and just twisted its head off.

We kept digging, after digging a pilot hole which was a real drag, and it really didn't dig that well, nor did we expect it to, but it got the job done and we were pleased. 4x4's got put in about two feet down, and we leveled them with a nifty plastic level my wife got me made for posts. My own little Stonehenge at the moment without the deer fence on it. No pics of the post work yet probably a good thing since when we put the posts in at one end my friend and i looked at each other and started laughing. We were so far off... We moved one and all was well, but my friend and I agreed not to come back in our next life as land surveyors.

bilrus61 · Mar 25, 2012

Land Pride should replace it under warrenty. If not be sure to tell us WHY they said they wouldn't!. PHDs are designed to hit rocks and no be damaged. With your low powered tractor there is no way that should have happend even if you put it in a pile of boulders. At the risk of starting that same old "where is it actually made" threads, I would bet things like this auger are imported from India or China and are not made of a high grade of steel. What you were doing is exactly what it was designed to do. I think they will replace it. Land Pride needs to spec it better from their supplier. Good luck with it!

ToadHill · Mar 25, 2012

In my opinion, the metal is bad. The crystilin look shown in the photo indicates bad steel. With the turning motion if a drill, when it fails I'd expect to see a tearing longatudinal fracture of the metal

daugen · Mar 25, 2012

thanks, I agree with both of you, but the last time I went on the warpath in this forum about mfg quality, I clearly learned that other normal decent folk think very differently than I, and have different expectations about their equipment. Now here's a case where I'm clearly admitting I used the bit "heavily" but never abusing it, dropping it full force on the rock, but I may have and not even knew I was doing it. So yeah, kinda hazardous working environment. But it's the comment on the fracture graining that interests me; I didn't see any rotational shearing but I know very little here. It just struck me as "coarse" vs. what I thought would be finer in hardened steel.

Ok,fellow PA and NY rock diggers and pickers, have your augers broken occasionally on our local granite and shale? If Land Pride makes a "rock rated" bit, which I assume is like a marine icebreaker, it's meant to break something normally too tough to break, than maybe I'm just using the wrong tool. It was always dirt and rocks, but sometimes lots of rocks.

I have to be careful here and admit I'm not sure the auger bits themselves are from LandPride, so no aspersions cast here, and none meant. These are 30 inch auger bits, and looked well made. But it sure only takes one weak spot.

FredH · Mar 25, 2012

I agree with Toad , If it was a tearing motion in steel , that would be one thing , but that just looks like weak steel . If they will not warranty , maybe try to weld it solid ??? Don't flame me for that suggestion , have only used a phd once and that was a rented one .

Fred H.

daugen · Mar 25, 2012

thanks Fred, don't worry about that, I don't know how to weld..

the thing is supposed to be modular, so I'm assuming just the bottom needs to be replaced, but I am quite sure the dealer will handle this. I just ordered a new RTV400 from him, and a new Land Pride field mower. Something tells me I won't get a bill, and that's the way it's supposed to be, or used to be, on little stuff.

paulemar · Mar 25, 2012

Isn't there a shear pin on there that should have broken before the bit? I didn't see a 4" bit listed with that model on the Land Pride website, only 6, 9, & 12. Are you sure that it's a LP brand bit?

Mark Page · Mar 25, 2012

I've never broken a bit on my Danuser. I've broken a few low grade 1/2" shear bolts but never a bit. Of course mine is about 40 years old and built like a tank. The teeth on the ring and pinion must be 1" deep and 3/4" wide.
When you're buying Lands Pride your buying top of the line stuff and should expect a new auger.

daugen · Mar 25, 2012

Are you sure that it's a LP brand bit?

No, I sure am not, it might be another supplier and it's not close for me to check. If the gearbox conked out, no question for me regarding Land Pride's response. But I wonder if this is like driving your car out of the showroom and hitting a big pothole and blowing the tire. Not the dealer's fault...and the tire company will probably tell you to report it to your insurance as a "collision with roadway" or some such nonsense. Mine collided with a rock and lost.

I'll let you know what the response is. If any one has any experience with rock specific augers, I'd sure appreciate some feedback. Thanks. Drew

daugen · Mar 25, 2012

rock augers:
http://www.skidsteersolutions.com/Skid_Steer_Rock_Augers_p/aug-rock.htm

pricey numbers, more than triple a regular one, with some nasty looking carbide points sticking out like a miner's shaft drill. But it looks like it could still break off at exactly the same place, so it's got to get down to metal quality. The teeth didn't break here, the entire assembly broke off, like the first stage of a booster rocket, leaving the larger stage behind...
Instead of jumping from 200 to almost 800 bucks for a specialty auger bit, I'm hoping perhaps another hundred bucks thrown in will get me a tougher replacement. I sure don't want the same thing back, or the same inadequate capability. So to me it's not so much the repair/replacement of it, it's making sure I'm using the right tool. Even Craftsmen and SK break if you abuse them.

This is my first post hole digger, but I knew to go slow and gently. I just got finished paying for it, I sure didn't expect to promptly break it. And I'd really like to not worry about doing it again, and having to pussyfoot around with the phd. But the price of the rock bit is kinda unappetizing. This may get back to the tried and true wisdom of getting what we paid for. Or maybe just one flukey bad casting/forging. The overall phd is compact but very nicely made and ran perfectly, though I did just order the steadying arm which will help find the hole better when it inevitably pops out too far.

I'm not someone who thinks there should be a warning label on the thing saying "do not use on rocks" and if they don't, strict liability applies. But I sure will be guided by the experience when I seek a replacement, like any of us would. If it turns out I got a non LP bit, then this won't surprise me a bit, no pun intended.

And what I will have learned is boy I need a higher quality bit and then I start comparing brands. And likely get an LP if I didn't.