Posthole Digger TSC CountyLine Post Hole Digger Success

[s219]

That's some really nice looking dirt!!!!

I was thinking the same thing!

 

[goeduck]

That property is a little over 100 acres and averages about 6 feet above high tide, stays green year around. Some clay mixed in but is still drains. At times I hit the water table at the bottom of the hole, but not this year. Sea level rise will make for good clam digging.

 

[orangetree]

how's the countryline holding up?

I'm considering it -vs- mainly the beefier, US made EA CUT PHD.

• https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/countyline-3-point-post-hole-digger-602377?cm_vc=-10005($550 + blades)
  • this model is a similar design but looks weaker than the Countryline to me - D&B $600 Behlen Country import: Behlen Country 80113000YEL | D&B Supply
• Compact Tractor Post Hole Digger 3 point hitch tall narrow arch 48'' auger length $1000 + ~$80 shipping includes 12" blade (rated to 12")
• Tractor 3 Point Post Hole Digger For Up To 18 Inch Hole $1120 + ~$80 shipping, includes 12" blade, (rated to 18")

Is the EA worth the $500 more? 50% more for made-in-usa and rated to use an 18" digger?

The 18" digger would be fantastic for planting trees (12" works - but 18" allows for a lot more easy topsoil fill, we have really poor sand/clay soil, little organic matter); but can my ~20pto HP ck2610 handle it?

 

[s219]

I have had my TSC digger since 2019 and it's worked great. 12" auger. Probably dug 20-30 holes at this point. I replied to your other post about feasibility of 18" auger on your tractor (probably not).

 

[orangetree]

I have had my TSC digger since 2019 and it's worked great. 12" auger. Probably dug 20-30 holes at this point. I replied to your other post about feasibility of 18" auger on your tractor (probably not).

Thanks - I just ordered that. For the $500 price diff, i'll use the backhoe it's not that many uses - and it does seem suspect on the 18" w/ 20hp pto (despite what the EverythingAttachements rep thought...)

 

[Bearsixty7]

One time years ago my son drilled the auger all the way to gear box in some fairly soft wet ground without even breaking the soil. It was about like a screw going into wood. We had to dig it out by hand! Wasn't much fun.

I have heard of people just taking the auger loose from the PHD and taking a long crowbar and chaining it to the top of the auger and two men can walk it around the opposite direction to unscrew it out of the ground.

 

[stuckmotor]

Application/Use

This is a 3 point tactor attachment desgined to drill 6 in., 9 in., or 12 in. holes in the ground.

The information above was copied from the URL below. After seeing it I decided against getting a landscape auger for my CountyLine digger.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/countyline-3-point-post-hole-digger-602377

 

[duramaxsky]

Where did someone find a 15" or 18" that will fit these. I want one. Mine makes 9" holes in very rocky soil very easily. I thought about getting a 12" auger but 15 or 18 would be better.

 

[SmallChange]

I've had mine for about 30 years, and I think it came from Central Tractor when those were still a thing. I have 6" and 9" augers. The 9" can be hard to make bite in and it will sometimes spin with the tip pressing the ground, the teeth on the flutes never even touching the ground; I've even used a 3/4" masonry bit to make a tiny pilot hole, used a railroad pick, watered the hole to soften the clay that holds the bank gravel in place, hung weights on the boom, ground a sharper point on the tip, etc etc.

Tree roots are also a big problem. They don't shatter or come rolling up out of the hole the way smallish rocks do. They're tough, and make the auger screw itself into the ground. I'd pay a bit extra to have a reversing gear on the auger, or on the tractor PTO itself, but have never heard of either. As a possible cheap alternative, it'd be nifty to have a little ratcheting fixture on the auger shaft that let me put a pipe handle on it to unscrew it.

If I had to use it a lot and could afford to, I'd go hydraulic to have the reversing capability.

 

[Old Guy in Tenn]

Purchased our TSC digger in 2020. Dug a few holes then without issue. 2 days ago started drilling holes for fence posts. Promptly broke the 5/16" shear bolt trying to get through our rocky clay soil. Discovered that a 3/8" bolt fits, so replaced with a 3/8" grade 2 bolt. Broke a few of those but drilled a bunch of holes.

Was drilling another batch of holes today and noticed that a weld was breaking on the arch which goes between the lower 3-point arms and the boom. drilled one more hole and the weld broke. took digger apart to fix, and saw that they had welded only one side on each of the two tabs connecting arch to boom. I expect that bouncing the auger in our rocky soil caused the half-welded tab to work back and forth until the weld broke. The other tab's weld is cracked.

Getting both tabs welded up on Monday, and will be happy to have the digger working again. Our ground is really tough with the clay and the many many rocks, and I have not been kind to the digger. It has put that 12" auger through it again and again without complaining (much). I will take my share of the blame, but doing those quarter-assed welds (when half-assed was too much trouble) certainly contributed to the failure.

Its been a good tool, even with this problem. I would buy again.

- John