ETA post hole digger

liberty2701 · May 18, 2014

I am looking to purchase a post hole digger for my 38 pto hp Kioti tractor(dk50se). I am going to erect a pole barn and will require either 18 or 24 inch holes 4 ft down. Is this asking for this size tractor to do too much? Soil is not sandy but the first two feet of the dig will be bank run gravel. After that it will be two feet of the earth. Eta has one for around $900 with the 18" auger. What do you think?

JimRB · May 18, 2014

When I built my barn I used a 12" auger for 6x6 poles. Is there some requirement for such large holes? That said I missed my mark on a number of the holes and had to hand dig some of the holes but not by a lot. Huge hole means a lot of backfill to compact. Or if you were like me a lot of bags of Sakrete to hoe mix and pour.

phiferpharm · May 18, 2014

I just finished digging over 100 holes with my Cheap ole' County Line (under $500?) yesterday. My DK45 never bogged down at all. My ground is not rocky, but we dug through some serious left over roots from felled Oak trees. Next weekend is another 100..:thumbsup:

liberty2701 · May 18, 2014

JimRB said:
When I built my barn I used a 12" auger for 6x6 poles. Is there some requirement for such large holes? That said I missed my mark on a number of the holes and had to hand dig some of the holes but not by a lot. Huge hole means a lot of backfill to compact. Or if you were like me a lot of bags of Sakrete to hoe mix and pour.

The plan calls for a large footing to carry the load. Poles are every eight feet and with a 90lb snow load. that is a lot of weight. Wondering if the 18" auger would be too much?