Posthole Digger Posthole auger point/bit replacement

[beowulf]

The attachment that has proven to be the most disappointing has been my PHD. I have the Gearmore D40 with 6 and 9 inch augers. I almost always am using the 6 inch auger. The disappointment arises because - for whatever reason - unless the dirt is already soft enough to dig out with a manual post hole digger/shovel - frequently I cannot dig very deep. I am guessing it is not the PHD but rather the dirt here - we do have DG in places. So many times I will start to dig the holes with the PHD only to abandon the task and go about it by hand. BTW - most of the time I am aiming for abut 2' deep, more for some projects.

When I go to it by hand I can make progress - but slowly - by pounding away at the hard soil little by little. Sometimes after I make some progress I will try again with the PHD and sometimes it will work and sometimes I have to return to the manual method - and sometimes there I pour water and come back later. Only if the dirt is soft can I dig down with the PHD.

So, I am guessing that perhaps my auger point needs replacing. I found the replacement parts in the Gearmore PHD manual, but I also found some points at TSC. Those at TSC were of two kinds - a screw in kind and a bolt in kind. They do not match - visually at least - what I now have. But the design of the TSC replacement points seems superior to what I now have. I guess I will take off my points and to to TSC to see if the bolt on kind is the same size as what I have and if so will try it out. They are about $40. TSC has a new 6 inch auger for $129 which I guess I will get if their replacement points won't work on my auger.

Anyway, any suggestions re the best auger points? Anyone with experience with the TSC points vs the standard Gilmore points?

I was also thinking of grinding the ones I have to make them more effective, but like I said, I don't think the design is ideal. It just may be my soil.

 

[travlitt]

I grind new points on my PHD

 

[Leejohn]

If the cutting blades OD is smaller then the auger OD it well not dig good.

 

[EddieWalker]

My soil is mostly all hard packed red clay. It has a crust to it that is very hard to get though, but once I'm down a foot or two, it becomes easier. I have a full sized backhoe and during the heat of summer, I can hardly break through it.

On my 35 hp tractor, I started out with a Leinbaugh Line 12 inch post hole digger that was horrible. The cutting edge would just spin on the soil and never penetrate the hard soil. In Spring and Fall, it dug fine. After years of fighting it and trying to modify it with Pengo brand cutting teeth, I bought Speeco 12 auger bit that had replaceable teeth and a corkscrew tip.

This was night and day better. It would dig into the ground and usually go all the way down. I've learned that my soil is in layers, and there is a hardpan, gray colored layer of clay several feed down in areas. The Speeco bit would just wear away like it was hitting sand paper, and not dig anymore when it hit that gray stuff. After buying every replacement tip at both Atwoods stores in my area and then not having any more, or any idea of when more would arrive, I went to Tractor Supply and bought their Country Line 12 inch auger.

I've never been a fan of Tractor Supply, but I have to admit that this is the best digging, most aggressive auger that I've ever seen. It doesn't matter how dry the clay is, or if I hit that gray stuff, it just digs. I've had to relearn how to operate my post hole digger now because if I allow it to dig too fast, it will bury itself and bend the driveshaft.

So on another project I got the idea that I would buy a six inch auger from Tractor Supply. This one has proven to be more difficult to operate then the 12 inch. It's supper aggressive and I've destroyed two driveshafts burying it into the ground. I'm my worse enemy and I've developed the bad habit of revving the engine, slipping the clutch and getting the auger to spin itself out when buried in the ground. This is not only wearing out my clutch faster then normal, but it's bending those drive shafts a little every time it happens, until it looks like a bow that could shoot arrows.

Before I use it again with another brand new driveshaft, I'm going to weld on some feet to the boom of my auger that will not allow it to go down all the way to the ground when the auger buries itself. I'm just not smart enough or a good enough operator to not do this, so I need something that will limit how far down into the ground the auger will dig itself. Two feet on either side of the boom should do this. At least that's what I'm hoping for.

 

[orezok]

The cemented caliche out here is so hard that I've actually worn out a set of carbide teeth on my auger.

 

[crackerjack222]

i started with a cheapo 3-point phd that would only dig is soft ground. Dry, hard ground and it would just spin and smoke. I bought some Danhuser (sp?) teeth and screw tip and installed them on the el-cheapo auger. Made a world of difference. Next, I bought a Lowe hydraulic phd. The standard teeth would wear out in our dry hard packed sandy soil or in our hard packed dry clay soil in about 20 holes. I then bought their carbide tips and put them on the outside of those augers that used 4 teeth per auger. All is well, they have held up. I recently bought a Shaver HD10 post pounder and that is the cats' meow, at least for putting in pipe posts. I have not tried it on a wood post yet.

 

[Fallon]

I now have 2 nice Pengo augers. On the new 12" I had to flip the teeth after an hour or 2 as the teeth had worn. They were nice & sharp when I flipped them just beveled the wrong way. My replacement teeth will either be hard faced or carbide as the base ones are wearing to fast in the abrasive ground around here.

I also had a 200lbs chunk of steel from the junkyard mounted over my PHD gearbox. That extra downpressure really helps. But down pressure is no match for sharp teeth.

150ish holes completely wore out the teeth on my Speeco 12". I had to flip the teeth on my new 12" Pengo after 50ish holes. I'm guessing I'll get 1 more flip, maybe 2 before I'm replacing them. Teeth wear out fast.

 

[Btown]

I have about 175 holes with my TSC post hole digger. The last 10 or so it has had trouble starting the hole. The teeth are well worn. I'm going to replace them in the spring. I have lots of rocks and tree roots.

 

[gwstang]

"It's supper aggressive and I've destroyed two driveshafts burying it into the ground."

Doesn't it have a shear bolt to keep from doing serious damage? Mine will snap the shear bolt first.

 

[beowulf]

Thanks guys for all the responses. I see we have many of the same experiences - with our "dirt". I too have been able to bust through a hard layer by hand and then continue with the PHD effectively at times, but at other times that does not work as the soil is just too hard (typically with DG). I have tried water in the holes at times - letting it soak and coming back - sometimes works and sometimes it doesn't. Yesterday I tried out a new auger with the same results so it is the ground here. There are some areas where I can dig easily but unfortunately those areas are not always where I need the holes. Guess I have to live with it.

I have played around with where the PHD hooks up to the tractor but it appears only one combination of hook-ups gives me sufficient lift height so I can move the tractor around without it dragging or poking the auger into the ground on backing up.