Father in Law wants a Handheld Gas powered earth auger

Tangoddess · Sep 18, 2017

Hello,

My father in law, sort of, is wanting to buy a HANDHELD gas powered earth auger (don't ask me why, we already have one for the PTO for use on the tractor).

He likes this one from Harbor Freight Gas Powered Earth Auger

This one from Harbor Freight is about $199.

I am sure there are some better options out there....maybe for a bit more $$

Like Stihl or something like that?

Any suggestions please?

Thank you

leonz · Sep 18, 2017

Hello tanggodess,

If he buys one of any brand he needs to buy the 4 inch auger and the six inch auger both as using the six inch auger guarantees a pair of broken arms in hard ground. It almost happened to me with a two man auger where it stuck at the bottom and the power unit started spinning before I could hit the kill switch.

I just let it run out of fuel and pulled it out later.

A heavy 1/2" drill and a 2 inch tulip bulb auger are the best ways to start holes as long as you have a pail of water handy to soak the ground and the holes after you start them.

The Stihl gas powered drills are very spendy if your not going to use them a lot but would work well with a 2 inch auger I have the same Stihl tools I bought 17 years ago so........

mapper · Sep 18, 2017

Rent him one for a day, after it beats him up for a few hours he will change his mind about getting one of his own.

Thomas · Sep 18, 2017

Sure hope your father in law soil soft...no roots rocks etc...might be wise to have someone else there just in case.

Tangoddess · Sep 18, 2017

Thank you all. He does not listen to me he is very confident in his abilities and does not welcome input.

All I may be able to do is convince him to go with another brand in a similar price range, possibly talk him into renting one, but I doubt it.

It seems that the HF one is the best option in that price range? I believe that is 6 inches.

Industrial Toys · Sep 18, 2017

We have stones around here and a powered auger is on a list of useless things to own. We once rented a Stihl two man auger to put some lights in for a neighbor. NEVER, EVER again!

leonz · Sep 18, 2017

If he can rent one of those tow behind rental units it will be safer for him to use just be sure he was a bucket of water handy to dump on the ground and dump in the hole after he starts it.

Silvic · Sep 18, 2017

I have a Stihl BT131 and would recommend it to anyone wanting one.
It is a well designed unit and has safety features that I doubt the Harbor freight unit has. As poster leonz mentioned if it hits something hard it can twist hard, very fast.
The Stihl unit has a clutch disconnect that you can see in the picture which is the "bar" that stick out to the side. It works great.

I would NEVER ever try to use one without the disconnect for the reasons that have been mentioned.

Not cheap but worth the design cost if you really want one. Now if you don't like and want to get rid of your FIL then encourage him to get the Harbor Freight one.

k0ua · Sep 18, 2017

You should recommend the harbor freight one, and it is the least amount of money wasted. It should like he has a hard head and won't listen to wisdom of MANY people advising that those things are of VERY limited value. Soon it will be discarded in the corner, and it is just $200 bucks down the drain, and hopefully no permanent injury. Some people WILL NOT learn from the mistakes of others, they must make them all themselves.

k0ua · Sep 18, 2017

Silvic said:
I have a Stihl BT131 and would recommend it to anyone wanting one.
It is a well designed unit and has safety features that I doubt the Harbor freight unit has. As poster leonz mentioned if it hits something hard it can twist hard, very fast.
The Stihl unit has a clutch disconnect that you can see in the picture which is the "bar" that stick out to the side. It works great.

I would NEVER ever try to use one without the disconnect for the reasons that have been mentioned.

Not cheap but worth the design cost if you really want one. Now if you don't like and want to get rid of your FIL then encourage him to get the Harbor Freight one.

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