Posthole Digger Posthole Digger Preference

Timber · Feb 26, 2007

Well now that is the problem with a larger auger bit. A drill is a drill is a drill. You wouldn't drill a 3/4 hole in a piece of steal and start with a 3/4 bit would you. Now I am not saying to start with a smaller auger bit but understand the same principle applies. If your going to try to punch a hole in the earth with a large bit it is going require a larger piece of equipment. Now my tractor will drill all day long at idle with a 9 inch auger & would never be concerned about even shearing a pin. I wouldn't even consider using a 24 or 18 inch auger with my Tractor. I don't even like the 12" though many use it with no problem. You are trying to move a large volume of material at one time so something has to give. A large auger needs to really be run on a Hydraulic PHD with a clutch rather then a shear pin design depending on soil condition. Even a larger tractor with more power is only as strong as the shear-pin.

Kendall69 · Feb 26, 2007

There's a post hole digger on e-bay for 899.00
eBay: NEW Leinbach L8000 Post hole digger with FREE 18" auger (item 280087325279 end time Mar-04-07 17:15:00 PST)

wkpoor · Feb 26, 2007

[Are you saying that you'd like to run your engine speed at higher rpms to get a decent amount of torque or horsepower but have your auger still turn slowly? /QUOTE]

You've got to be kidding me! All augers have a pilot. Once you drill any sized hole your done. You can't upsize that exiting hole as you have no way to keep the auger centered. It will flop around like crazy and tear something up. That would be post hole digging 101. I've drilled hundreds of successful large diameter holes thats why I have the experience to ask the question I did. And as I will point out again, even with a small auger one can get stuck in the muck under certain conditions or at least have a tough time of it unless you have a large enough tractor to overcome and rip it up out of the earth. A geared down auger like a geared down drill will just give you the extra turning power.

A friend once told that a huge percentage of the country has nice workable sanding soil and many people don't know what clay is all about. Even tractor manufactures in the past have missunderstood what clay soil is all about in rating performance.

DrainPondDesign · Feb 26, 2007

Got some rough estimates today in the northern NYS area for a PHD & a 18" auger with replaceable cutting teeth.

JD Rotomec model PHD300 ~ $1050, 18" auger ~ $435, 3.5:1 gear ratio

Woods model PHD65 ~ $875, 18" auger ~ $450, 3.18:1 gear ratio

Bush Hog model 2102 ~ $995, 18" auger ~ $380, 3.18:1 gear ratio

These are all middle duty PHDs with 3 or 3.5 to 1 gear ratios.

Within these three brands the light duty PHDs for 9" augers are 3:1 gear ratio & the heavy duty ones for up to 30" augers are 4:1 gear ratio.

I still have until ice-out to do some more information "digging" before purchasing.

MtnViewRanch · Feb 26, 2007

wkpoor, if you fill out your profile, maybe we can help out a little better.

It sounds to me that you sure need a different setup than what you have.

Although I am not that familiar with clay, (luckily I have very little clay that I have to deal with) I do have decomposed granite to deal with, and it is like one big solid rock when it is dry. As I have posted, I have both 18" & 24" augers and have no real problems in the ground that I have. I guess that you need the right tool for your circumstances, and it sounds like you don't. But we don't know, we can only guess with the info that we have.

Good luck

wkpoor · Feb 26, 2007

Sorry, I thought I had and went back to check. Its filled out now.

Rickman · Feb 28, 2007

I have the BellTec NC-150 with skidsteer attachment on my
Kubota M7040HD with cab. Man, this Hydro digger is BAD-MAMA the best money I have spent yet. The things I like most are front mounted, reverse flow, downward pressure from the FEL, self plumbing, with a little adjustment you get pretty straight holes. I use both 9"and 12" augers. You want to make sure that your flow rate in the middle of the spec. To low or to high and it wont run efficiently. The biggest drawback is your extra +/- 50' of hydraulic hoses. I ran mine from my rear remotes forward 26' one way!!!!! I bought mine through my dealer but you could save some $$$ if you bought it straight from belltec, I am guessing around $300-$400. I was supprised how low the rpm's are on the hydro unit but it has a lot of torque.

wkpoor · Feb 28, 2007

Now that looks like the solution! Question is, was $400.00 the savings or the price?

DrainPondDesign · Feb 28, 2007

To: MtViewRanch

I'd like to piggyback a question here about if a larger auger say 12 to 18 inches in diameter will deal with a baseball size rock better than say a 9 inch auger? I have mixed glacial till of mostly mineral sand and small round stones where I'd like to plant bushes and use railroad ties for fence posts.

Thanks
Bill

MtnViewRanch · Feb 28, 2007

DrainPondDesign said:
To: MtViewRanch

I'd like to piggyback a question here about if a larger auger say 12 to 18 inches in diameter will deal with a baseball size rock better than say a 9 inch auger? I have mixed glacial till of mostly mineral sand and small round stones where I'd like to plant bushes and use railroad ties for fence posts.

Thanks
Bill

Bill, fortunately for me I can not give you a factual from experience answer. I do not seem to have any rocks of that size that I have to deal with.

Now with that said, with the flutes on my augers I would say that the larger the bit, the easier that it will deal with those rocks. So the 18" bit would most likely work best for you to dig with, but an 18" hole is pretty big for railroad ties. If it was me, I would use the 12" bit. But as I have said before, I have all the bits that I have so that I can use the size that works best for what I'm doing on a particular day.

Don't know if any of this helps you, but I hope that it does.

Good luck

PS, if you are going to need to buy an auger to do this job, play it safe and get the 18" bit.

R W · Mar 4, 2007

Seems to be a lot said about shear pins, very little mention of safety clutches most diggers are only are as powerful as the adjustment on the safety clutch. which should release before the shear bolt breaks.
A Penco head is the way to go, any PHD is only as good as the cutter, a 12"
auger is a good all round size, strainer holes usually have to be barred out,
depends on the post size.

Nuru · Mar 6, 2007

R W said:
Seems to be a lot said about shear pins, very little mention of safety clutches most diggers are only are as powerful as the adjustment on the safety clutch. which should release before the shear bolt breaks.
A Penco head is the way to go, any PHD is only as good as the cutter, a 12"
auger is a good all round size, strainer holes usually have to be barred out,
depends on the post size.

Isn't that really true based on the size of the tractor. Based on the info I have seen on the bynet, most smaller CUTs can handle a 9 inch even in tough terrain with the correct bit, but larger than that and seems like you would need a large supply of pins?

banjopkr · Mar 7, 2007

Has anyone had success with a SpeeCo brand? It is a cheapy from our local Farm & Ranch store. The company's been around for 50 years. It has the replaceable teeth on the auger & seems like it may work for our small acreage.

schiker · Mar 20, 2007

Hello this is my first post. So be easy on me. I did a search and thought I'd add to this thread. PHD have been covered a few times but I'd like to buy a new bit for my unit.

I have a Leinbach post hole driller / auger. I have a 12" diameter auger. I don't really like the tip. Its mostly flat and the center has an approximate 2" tall 2" wide at base triangle shaped flat bar that acts like a spade drill for a pilot.
My problem with the unit is that its very hard to keep on target starting a hole. The tip has no real piloting action. If on starting a hole a side of the auger tip hits a rock or clump of grass it turns off target. The center point provides no real pilot action what so ever.
I have seen some of the 6" and 9" augers with a 4-6" tall cone shaped drill point and that looks like it will stay on target better. My gear box has a round ~2" shaft connection with 2 bolts oriented 90 degree apart at ~3/4" and 2-3/4" from end. I'd like to buy a new auger bit for the gear head.
Anyone have a better auger bit that is compatiable? I am thinking about a Speeco bit (I think that is the one at The Tractor Supply Store). Opinions of quality and performance please. I'll be using it in light to medium red clayish dirt.

I think the 2" round shaft and 2 shear bolts are a fairly common connection???

I would rather not buy a whole new PHD as I only fence a little at the time. I have put in several hundred holes with the Leinbach and replaced the tip a few times. IMHO Leinbach is a an inexpensive light duty unit that digs OK especially if the soil is clean and flat to start. but the tips are soft and a margin wears on the blade pretty quick then it doesn't penetrate - just rubs a hole real slow and the above complaint about starting a hole. If I knew then what I know now I would have bought a better unit the first time.

jimgerken · Mar 21, 2007

I have the Speeco brand unit. Yes ,it is cheaper priced, and probably cheaper built than most others. But it works well. The output shaft from the gearbox is 2 inch round. Speeco sells augers for it of course. 9 inch and 12 inch. But Northern Tool also sells augers for their own powerhead, that also happen to fit the Speeco gearhead. I found that the 14 inch auger that Northern sells weighs about twice what the 12 inch Speeco auger weighs, and is more aggresive, for little more money. 14 inch gives a nice margin with setting 6x6 posts. 12 inch is about bare minimum, and leaves almost no room for error correction. I run mine on a 21 Hp tractor, drill in clay with rock. I run the tractor at just above idle, it does not take much power at all. You want to remember to pull the auger out of the hole as soon as the flighting is full, don't expect it to keep pushing the dirt out. If you dont pull it each time it fills (when diggin in clay) sooner or later you will drive it in. Once driven in, it must be turned backwards to get it out of the hole. This is no fun. One guy on this TBN described how he added a pipe section welded onto the auger shaft near the top end, so he could insert a shovel handle to get leverage to turn the auger back out of the ground when needed. This sounds like a really good idea and I plan to do this before I need the unit again. This would be the great advantage of the hydraulic unit, you could reverse it. But too much money.

Ford960 · Mar 21, 2007

I have a hydraulic auger head with a 12" bit that is powered by my Kanga mini skid steer. It has some really nice replaceable teeth and with the down force I can dig a 4-1/2' deep hole in no time. If I hit something that overpowers the hydraulics then it stops and I can reverse it to clear the stoppage. I've also had it dig faster than the down force since I have to provide a ceratin amount of down to match the digging rate. If this happens in hard red clay then the back of the machine is lifted, with me on it. More than once I've had to reverse the auger to put the machine back on the ground.
Yes, the hydraulic augers are more expensive but that ability to reverse it out of a hole sure beats barring a stuck auger out. Plus you can mount it on the side of an FEL bucket which makes it more versitile and allows downforce without any modifications.

mlauk · Mar 22, 2007

The post hole digger that Northern Tool sells is the FM5500 made by Green Mfg that ducati996 posted a link to earlier and can handle up to the 14" auger.

HayDR · Mar 30, 2007

The CCM hydraulic toplinks and side links with double piloted check valves will arrive at CCM on Monday April 2. Please give us a day to check them in before you call and place your order. We will start taking orders Tuesday April 3. ALL sizes should be available.
Thank you for your patience and support.
Mark Carter

agate · Mar 30, 2007

Gents
My L3010 came with a McMillian 12" auger that attaches to the FEL frame. Works great, but don't have any pricing info handy.

Timber · Mar 31, 2007

I can't tell you how many holes I have done but I have yet to snap a shear pin. I have had it stall the tractor if it gets into a bind. Digging soil is a low RPM task. If your cranking up your tractor to punch post holes you have other issues with you auger. dull or broken tips possibly. Some times the auger is the wrong tool for the job. You might just have to punch the 1st foot by hand. Welcome to Earth. The best of life makes you sweat