Used 3pt auger

[Badasssapper67]

Need advice on brands of augers. Willing to pay for what Im getting just dont want to pay for a fancy label. Going to be digging a lot of fence post holes around the acerage.
Is reverse a helpful feature? In my thinking Id love to have it but how ofter I use it depends on my soil.
Advice on brands and features is needed

 

[Fallon]

How many holes you looking at? If you are fencing under 20 acres or so just get the cheapest one you can & it will do you fine. Just make sure you keep good cutting edges on the auger so they are the only bits that wear out. If you find a PHD & auger on Craigslist for under $400 & it's not falling apart, probably go for it. Just keep the PTO shaft, bearings & gearbox lubed. If the seals on the gearbox are shot, put grease in it & run er until she drops, it will still outlast your next several projects.

Reverse is really nice, but isnt required & doesn't exist on a PTO auger. You need hydraulics for that & if you get hydraulics a PHD doesn't belong on the 3pt. It's more adjustable & has downpressure when mounted on the loader. A cheap 3pt unit goes for $400 new and another $150-200 for a 9-12" auger. A hydraulic unit is going to be $2k+ new & $350+ for an auger (much heavier duty as the connection types, along with the whole auger, on hydraulic units are bigger & beefier than PTO units)

My PTO unit did several 1-5 acre fences fine & was the right impliment at the right price at the time. It ran off with my old machine. I replaced it with a hydraulic unit on my new machine as I do tractor work, including post holes as my side gig now.

 

[countrybumpkin]

I have to second Fallon's info, I did a few holes with a borrowed PTO digger and two bits that were in very POOR shape It was a very frustrating experience. I have several projects to do in the next few months that will need a bunch of holes drilled plus all the ones over years to follow, so I broke down and bought a hydraulic SSQA unit with two augers to start with, while not cheap, with a little proper care it should last me a very long time and make digging a much easier job. Down pressure is a HUGH help in a lot of harder soils, I looked at new and used PTO augers with down pressure kits and good bits , Price wasn't that much more for the hydraulic unit.

 

[cphilip]

Too bad your about as far away from me as one can get. I have a bush hog brand one for sale. My post hole days are over! But Bush Hog brand augers are good and this one has been a good one.

 

[Badasssapper67]

Thanks cphilip, I will look at Bush Hog units.
Fallon, what brand was your old unit and your new unit if you dont mind me asking.
So it sounds like to me that getting high quality auger bits is important. I'll have to keep my eye out for them

 

[EddieWalker]

For a three point auger, the only thing that is important is the cutting teeth. Gear boxes and other components are all the same, or close enough to not really matter. If you want to spend big money, then it's all different with hydraulic, but that's another topic. After going through three different brands, and struggling for years drilling in hard packed red clay, I finally gave Country Line a try. I'm not a fan of Tractor Supply, and I regret that now because that is the best digging auger I've ever seen by a huge margin. It doesn't matter how hard the clay is, it just digs right through it. The teeth and tip are replaceable, but so far, there hasn't been any noticeable wear.

Now for the negative. It digs "TOO GOOD" You will have to buy a very large pipe wrench and a length of pipe to slide over it because sooner or later, you will bury it into the ground and not be able to get it out. The trick is not letting it dig too fast, because once that happens, it will bury itself into the ground and you're stuck until you unscrew it with the big pipe wrench. I had a cheap 36 inch pipe wrench that I busted when this first happened, then I found out my dad had a very old 36 inch pipe wrench that is indestructible. My guess is they used better steal back then, or it's just a higher quality brand, but either way, it takes a lot to unscrew a buried auger.

 

[Fallon]

I had a Leinbach (now out of business), it was used when I got it.

Heed the warning about digging to well. If you just drop the 3pt the auger will corkscrew into the ground. As there is no reverse you need a 4' or bigger pipe wrench & cheater bar to unscrew it. Or spend a day digging with a shovel. Just inch the 3pt down 1/2" or 1" at a time. Let chew the dirt loose before feeding another inch. I haven't ever corkscrewed an auger, but got close a few times.

 

[countrybumpkin]

Yes a good bit makes a Hugh difference in performance, that was a big part of the issues I was having with the one I used. I bought one like Fallon has , Danuser EP6 with a 9" and a 15" auger.

 

[powerscol]

The TSC ones are good - made by speedco. I have no issues with mine running a 12" auger. I just go slow. TSC also has regular sales on them up to 20% off.

 

[EddieWalker]

The TSC ones are good - made by speedco. I have no issues with mine running a 12" auger. I just go slow. TSC also has regular sales on them up to 20% off.

I had a Speeco before getting the Country Line. It was OK, but would struggle on really hard compacted soil to the point that the cutting teeth would just wear away to nothing instead of digging. The Country line is a lot better!!!! Here, Speeco is sold at Atwoods and Country Line is sold at Tractor Supply. Both look very similar, but the performance difference is night and day.