Looking for recommendations and advice for my first Post Hole Digger

[Spanky100]

I bought the PHD from Tractor Supply that you are talking about. I already had the auger. I have used it a bunch to drill holes up to 48 inches deep. I use mine mainly for planting trees. Way easier than a shovel where I live. We have lotsa rocks and the auger just pulls them up. I am using a Yanmar YM2310 tractor to drive the PHD. It has 23 HP at the PTO. I have had to back the auger out twice by hand using a pipe wrench. Being smart for once I turned off the tractor both times before unscrewing the auger. No sense getting all wrapped up around an auger or PTO shaft. Anyway, I have drilled many holes and expect to drill many more with my setup.
Eric

eptm

Appreciate your experience with the TCS PDD. I do plan to use it to add small trees and looking forward to not using a shovel as in the past.

Good point about having to back out the auger so will include my pipe wrench and matching extension pipe to be prepared.

Fully agree with power off when you are manually engaging any PTO equipment. I now always do a safety briefing with my kids and grandkids including showing the PTO shaft safety sticker showing the person wrapped around the PTO shaft.

Thanks.

 

[CH4Ohio]

CH4Ohio

My first use will be for installing vinyl 6 foot high stockade fencing at my Daughter's house and the instructions call for a 42 inch depth with a 10 inch diameter. So likely would benefit from your input and get the smaller 10 inch diameter auger.

I'd still get the 12" auger. More bang for the buck. The extra width will come in handy for transplanting potted plants, trees, etc. I was just pointing out that it's easy to get the auger hung up so you need to do quite a bit of up-and-down to keep the hole open and prevent that. Once it's screwed into the ground, you'll find your 3-point won't just lift it out.

 

[EddieWalker]

I think the best value for your money is the Countryline auger from Tractor Supply. The auger has replaceable teeth and digging tip. I've been using it for well over a decade now. It's my third auger, and by far the best for digging my red clay soil. Tractor Supply is terrible at keeping the teeth and tip in stock, but so far, I've been able to get them on Amazon.

I've done close to 1,400 feet of viny three rail fencing with it every 8 feet, and another 5,000 feet of horse fencing with wood posts at least every 100 feet, with some a lot closer. And also all my fencing for my dogs around my house, plus trees that my wife wanted and other things like a barn and light posts.

In my experience, getting the holes in a straight line is just about impossible with a 3 point auger. They start where you want them, but they angle or wonder off a little as you go down. All my holes are 3 feet deep. That's as far as I can get it to go with my tractors, and I've never needed them any deeper. Once the holes are dug, you will need a good clam shell digger to clean them up, and also dig the sides of the hole to get it lined up with the others. Expect to do this a lot when doing a straight fence with posts every 8 feet!!!! Roots and rocks will move a hole every time.

I started out with a 38hp tractor, and now it's on a 65hp tractor. The 38hp tractor had plenty of power to drill the holes, but not enough to pull it back out if it buried itself. I use a 36 inch pipe wrench to unscrew them, but I also have a length of 2 inch pipe that I put over the handle to get more leverage when it's really buried. Expect to ruin your entire day when you bury the auger!!! The 65hp tractor doesn't have this problem. Something that I came up with to help with the smaller tractor burying the auger was a set of blocks to stop it from going down any farther while using it. Once they gear box hits the wood, it stops digging and then it spins in the hole, breaking itself free.



I also have a 6 inch auger that I thought would be easier to do some metal pipes in the ground. But it got buried faster than the 12 inch auger, and it was so annoying that I threw it away. I never used it on my bigger tractor, but in all reality, there was never a need or use for the smaller auger. It's a lot easier to fill in a hole then it is to make it bigger after it's been drilled.