Post hole digger...I need to borrow one

[SunnyJim]

I have been finishing the fence for my wifes horse, I am down to the last 14 or so posts and I have gotten to the ground that is taking the longest. I rented a 1 man auger last weekend and everything went great until I got to this 1 area and for some reason it is just really slow going, roughly 15-20 minutes per hole. I really need a PTO driven auger so that I am not getting beat up trying to put in the last couple posts.

I don't want to buy a new auger just for 14 posts but I cannot find a used 1 either. I basicly need to borrow or rent a PTO driven auger. Anyone have an auger I can borrow or rent for a day? Maybe attachment useage swapping? I have a tiller, box blade, angle blade, set of forks, middle buster and a quick spade.

If I cannot find 1 to rent or borrow I have already looked at simply buying 1 for 1 days use. None of the rental places had PTO augers just 1 man, 2 man. The spade on this ground is of little use as well.

Jim

 

[leonz]

Candidly you would be better off renting the smallest tracked back hoe for a day to do this and be done with it and have it done in a few hours as you would spend a lot of time fighting with it otherwise- I sure as **** spent wasted time and money on a one man auger on a two wheel mount, I know its your money but I want you to succeed and not fail, and you will be able to drop the posts in and then concrete them or not etc.

The narrow bucket will be an advantage for you simply because the narrow longer hole will be easier to manage while digging with smaller bites.

I am not trying to stick my hand in your wallet- I just hate fighting with things- I will be renting a small hoe to install the second hoop shed because the augers are not worth much unless they are large diameter tapered units for trees which remove more soil and do it quickly.

The money spent on a small hoe rental would be less than a skid steer with a tree transplanting auger -if they have one to rent.


prior to this I rented a towed post hole digger with the counterbalance being the engine and it did nithing but bounce and I could not get a straight hole; The bobcat our landscaping contractor had used a rental PHD and it was just a pain for 36 inch deep holes with black clay and evergreen tree roots
just kept bouncing and bouncing and it took 2 hours for 8 holes for my first hoop shed which discouraged the start of the second on which is still waiting.

I agree with ken that water does work well too I just did not use it on the black clay which was and still is awful on my mountain.

I dont know if hiring a traveling back hoe would be something to consider as they could come by and scoop out the hole per your previous instructions and then backfill the hole after putting in the post.

They used to stick up a lot of people with the equipment set up feet to go along with travel time billing to the job which really whizzed me off considering it only took two hours to dig the barns slab on grade foundation.

the latest inicident which really whizzed me off is about a kid we grew up with that did work for my father -

little weasel took advantage of my father and charged him almost a thousand dollars to remove some properly treated and trimmed 12 foot arbor vitae- weather damaged and stressed with lousy ground- same mountain and terrain.
All he did was chain them and pull them out of the ground with the lower boom.

The little SOB spent an hour and hauled them away and would not cut his price and give my father a discount -you know *&^%$# well the little SOB stuck him for his back hoe payment and I wanted an estimate for some trenching and he came up with the same magic figure-he ranks right up there with my neighbor who is the absentee landlord; I told him about my my property being flooded by his springs welling out of the ground and could he do something about it- his statement was "if you want to to put drainage pipe on my property your more than welcome to", UH HUH SURE.

 

[sweettractors]

I have been finishing the fence for my wifes horse, I am down to the last 14 or so posts and I have gotten to the ground that is taking the longest. I rented a 1 man auger last weekend and everything went great until I got to this 1 area and for some reason it is just really slow going, roughly 15-20 minutes per hole. I really need a PTO driven auger so that I am not getting beat up trying to put in the last couple posts.

I don't want to buy a new auger just for 14 posts but I cannot find a used 1 either. I basicly need to borrow or rent a PTO driven auger. Anyone have an auger I can borrow or rent for a day? Maybe attachment useage swapping? I have a tiller, box blade, angle blade, set of forks, middle buster and a quick spade.

If I cannot find 1 to rent or borrow I have already looked at simply buying 1 for 1 days use. None of the rental places had PTO augers just 1 man, 2 man. The spade on this ground is of little use as well.

Jim

When the going gets tough while digging a post hole, I usually pour water into it and go back the next day and finish her off. Ken Sweet

 

[medicshawn]

Try Agri supply

Agri Supply - Search Results for post hole digger

 

[SunnyJim]

I am going to continue to look for a used PHD but I am also going to stop on the way home tonight and look at a new Howse PHD. I already know the price of the howse unit which is roughly close to most of my options thus far. I just don't like buying something for such a limited use. Manual PHD are just about useless in this case and the 1 and 2 man PHD was major effort for limited results. I was putting all of my weight on a 1 man while someone else held it and it just did not go down. Only other option is bore hole and dynamite.

By the time I rent a hoe, get it to my place and do what needs doing I have spent just as much as buying the Howse PHD. The local RSC wants to charge me for 2 days rental if I get anything during a weekend. That makes a 1 day rental of a 2 man PHD $200.:confused2: They do have a skid steer with a PHD but it would cost more then buying the Howse.

 

[inveresk]

I've been fencing horse pasture this summer and have a 6" pto driven post hole auger for that purpose. It worked well at the start of the summer but after two months of drought during which the clay has firmed up I've had to complete the job by drilling the last of the holes with the pressure washer. If I wanted to continue to use the auger, I'd have to wait until the rains come and the ground softens up, usually October.

 

[Verticaltrx]

If the soil is truly as hard as you are describing, a standard PTO driven auger will not be any better than what you have been using. To really dig in tough, hard, dry conditions you need a PTO powered digger with down force, or a hyd. powered digger on a loader. With out down force the PTO digger will just sit there and spin on top of the soil. For the cheapest setup with down force you are looking at spending $1000+.

 

[wedge40]

I agree with Verticaltrx, if you're having that much trouble then you will need something with down force.
I would suck it up and rent the skid steer with the PHD on it. Do you know if you're hitting rock or just really hard dirt/clay. As long as it's not rock, water will do wonders to help things along.

Wedge

 

[buckeyefarmer]

my local rental house has a pull behind post hole digger.

 

[MMagis]

With out down force the PTO digger will just sit there and spin on top of the soil. .

That's simply not true. At all.
Everyone seems to be ingoring Ken Sweets suggestion, which is the best one I've seen. Dig the hole as far as you can, then dump in a bucket of water and go back the next day.