Posthole Digger TSC post hole digger

[fishman]

I bought a used TSC post hole digger from Centex, who posts on this board. It came with the 6", 9", and 12" augers. I have pretty darn rocky soil, basically fractured limestone interspersed with clay.

The 12" auger does just fine in dirt, but when you get in gravel, the shear bolt will pop pretty easy. I used the 9" for the first time about 10 days ago and it digs much better. Less torque on the cutting flutes I guess. Dug 12 holes in really rocky stuff with no shear bolt replacement.

I don't think the TSC digger would work in really rocky soil, particularly gravel/cobble larger than 2" in diameter.

 

[SteveH_CT]

Thanks for the advice - I do have rocky soil like you describe, and I think it might be too much for a lighter duty post hole digger. Where I'm working now it seems like 50-50 between good size rocks and soil.

 

[adegiulio]

I, like Steve, would be interested in knowing what people sugggest for rocky soil. I was looking to use a PHD for planting trees and bushes, but I am thinking I need a backhoe. I would much prefer the PHD... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[centex]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( knowing what people sugggest for rocky soil )</font>

The problem is "rocky soil" is not a very well defined term. What works well in one piece of rocky soil may not work at all in another piece of rocky soil. I have 20 acres of rocky soil but the nature of the soil and rocks varies drastically over the land. A lot depends on the type of soil that the rocks are in. If the soil is loose and sandy, almost any auger would probably work well but if the soil is heavy clay you may have to get some heavy duty equipment. Even medium soils can pose a problem if you hit a large rock that is only partially in the hole. For solid rock, you would need to spend around $5000 plus the cost of adding hydraulic outlets on your tractor. The best information you can get would come from people who have actually dug in your area; i.e., fence builders and their suppliers. If you get it wrong, it can be very expensive as I learned the hard way.

For planting trees and shrubs, I would go for a backhoe instead of a 3PT PHD as it would be much more useful. I have a lot of implements for my tractor and I find that I use the backhoe far more than anything else. I have just about forgotten how to use a shovel. It is refreshing to go out and dig a hole or dig up a stump and not even work up a sweat. Of course for the price of a backhoe you could buy a PHD that would dig holes in solid granite or several lesser PHDs.

If you are going to go with a PHD, you first need to find out what kind of auger is required for your particular soil conditions and then buy a PHD that can handle the augers you get. When you buy the auger(s) be sure you can easily get replacement teeth for them at a reasonable price. One thing I found with rocks is that shear pins in the drive shaft can be very frustrating. I would go with a clutch option if offered with the PHD or you could possibly find yourself spending a lot of time replacing broken shear pins. I passed on this option when I upgraded my PHD and then found that it was too expensive to add on later. Another but more expensive option is a hydraulic auger which gets rid of the drive shaft altogether.

 

[djnosef]

sounds like a good buy. i was quoted a JD post digger for 876.00 brand new. I am thinking of buying it but i have seen cheaper other brands out there and considered buying unless i am going to use a lot.