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.