Well today I learned 5 things about post hole augers

[Williy]

Many years ago a friend and I would just walk into
parties and a lawyer came over and started talking
to us he knew we were not rich like the crowd and
this guy came over and said he had a BS and the
lawyer said do you have a PHD behind it? he said
no and the lawyer said I though that your ********
was piled higher and deeper! the guy turned around
and left

 

[beowulf]

As for how to hang or store a PHD, I made a large "U" out of three sections of 3" steel pipe - connected by 90 degree elbows. Then I inverted the "U" and put the two ends into the ground about 18" or so - and added a bit of concrete. The bottom of the "U" - which is now the top is about 3 feet wide and about 4-5 feet off the ground. I hooked the PHD to that with a chain. Very maneuverable.

Now for the rest of the story - I rarely use the PHD due to the kind of ground we have here and the terrain where I seem to want to dig post holes. We have DG and rocks and such. When it is dry the dirt is too hard, when it is wet things don't work out that well. I found myself digging shallow holes, pulling out and chipping away with a pry bar, adding water, and using a post hole shovel - then reinserting the PHD and repeating. Not worth it and no longer even try to hook it up. I have since begun to use the "U" post hole hanger to hang chains and straps and have built a lean-to over it which now prevents access to the tractor anyway. I have found it is just not worth my effort to hook it up, align things, and not really be able to dig the holes efficiently. It never gets used now and I will be selling it - and the augers.

 

[neilkingent]

I'm not real fond of the phd

 

[r porter]

another shaver fanboy here!

 

[IndyJay]

42 to the pallet. He stacks them high.

Funny thing about holes... the higher you stack them the shorter it gets.

 

[Oz_Kioti]

But if you wanted different sized holes delivered, you could transport them one inside the other, yes?

 

[zzvyb6]

So, I dig an 8" hole, plop in a 6" post, and there's not enough dirt to fill in the remaining volume ????? So, I cruise our gravel road, bucket lip down a bit, scoup up some fill and redirect it to the problem at hand. Yes I move the tractor as the auger goes down. When it's all the way in, I stop the pto and gently lift the auger up. The last dirt stays on the flighting. Fence post are best installed in the spring when the ground is soft and wet. Park the digger in a hole. I have since moved on to a hydraulic motor with my auger bolted on it. Mounted on the side of the loader bucket. I can then see what I need to see without needing a neck stretcher afterwards, have the motor swiveled so I can keep it reasonably aligned, and use a big enough auger so that the post is straight up, the hole is just a hole, not a survey marker. When replacing a post, sometimes I use a battery drill to screw in a chain hook to lift out the old stub. Sometimes I just drill a new hole along side the old broken one, sometimes I just pound a steel post along side of a broken post and wire them together. To me, a fence is to keep animals in, and the rest of the neighborhood out. The real challenge is to drill a hole at an existing wire fence without wrapping the wire up in the auger. I use a tiling spade shoved in the ground to push the wire away from the new hole site. I no longer staple every wire to the new post because someday I'll be back and only want to pull out 3 staples, not 10.

 

[WRX]

I used mine to set a basketball goal for the kids. It would grab a layer of clay and pop the shear pin. I think I was trying to go too fast.

Mine has removable legs that support it for storage.

 

[michael.white]

I built a stand for my PHD out of some scrap wood, but I did buy some casters and use a ratcheting strap to hold it in place. I hooked up the PHD to the tractor then built the stand around it - lines up perfectly. I was not going to manhandle that thing into place a second time.

 

[3 Horse Ranch]

I'm not real fond of the phd

I came real close to doing that on a couple of occasions. Now I go about 6 inches to a foot then lift to clear dirt and then down again. I run it at about 250-300 rpm on the PTO shaft. Easier to control that way.

 

[rjpotts]

First; if you don't know what you are doing (read: there's gotta be an optimal order of operations) then hooking one up to the 3-point is a real beast of a job.
Second; Hanging it by a rope from a tree on sloped ground is not the best storage option.
Third; Go slow stupid. Speed is not your friend when working with powerful hydraulics and heavy equipment.
Fourth; there is a reason they put that little valve under the front of the seat.
Fifth; get yourself an old school manual post hole digger to get the loose dirt out of the last foot of the hole

I did get one post in.

I got a question for the initiated.
Do you bother making sure your angle of entry is as vertical as you can by moving the tractor as you lower the auger? I did but I sort of wonder about the wisdom of it.

I built a dolly for my 3 pt post hole auger. It's just made from dimensional lumber but holds everything in the position I need to just back up to it, connect and go. I attached steel wheeled casters to the bottom so I can wheel it out of the way when not in use.

 

[DavidL61]

I use 2 t-post to support my PHD; makes a tripod. The only thing I find my PHD useful is for marking the spots where I dig the hole with my backhoe. To many rocks where I live. Sometime I get lucky.

 

[cdaigle430]

I got my PHD four years ago

 

[Kschwennsen]

I made a bracket that comes off of a big post that hangs my post hole digger from with a chain. Things I've learned too are;
- If the teeth are worn/garbage - replace them! It will save you hours and your sanity!
- You can pull the auger out with a chain and the 3-point when drilled in the ground - most of the time.
- hit it multiple times instead of big bites.
- drive forward as you go down.
- oversized is a must!
- stop the auger in the bottom, lift out, move forward/backward and turn it back on.
- a relatively small root can ruin your afternoon!

 

[Gord Baker]

Keep lots of Shear Pins of the correct metallurgy in the Tractor tool box along with hammer and drift punch.

 

[OzarkChris]

Let me know when you come up with a good way to store the post hole

I store mine hanging from the rafters of my barn with a 2.5" ratchet strap over the rafter and through the horseshoe. With both "S" hooks at a reachable level, once attached and lifted I unhook the S-hooks and head on out. Putting away is just as easy, attach the S-hooks to each other (the length of strap is determined when you initially hang the digger) and lower the digger until it hangs then disconnect 3-point. I'm out of town today or I'd get a picture, if I remember, I'll take a photo next time I'm up there.

 

[Fxfymn413]

I remove the auger bit and place the output shaft into a section of pvc pipe that I buried in the ground. The arms that hook into the 3ph support it and I welded a couple of small tabs to the top of the arm to hold the pto shaft up off of the ground. It's still a PIA to hook/unhook, but it is doable by myself.

 

[BruceLem]

I had to put in a couple dozen posts once and a neighbor gave me a 3 point auger.

I tried using the 3 point auger setup but it was such a pita; my tractor's clutch had to be engaged for the PTO to work so the tractor had to be in neutral with the brakes applied to keep it from rolling.

After the first couple holes we just rented a small boxer machine on tracks with an auger and an extension. The extension lets you get really deep so that you don't have to use a post hole digger to manually clean out the bottom of the hole.

If we just needed to do one or two holes I'd have stuck it out with the 3 point auger but the boxer machine is small and compact and much more maneuverable.

 

[pacerron]

I remove the auger and lower the gear head into an old tire sitting on a pallet to rest and be stable. A concrete block on edge under each 3 pt side pin yoke keeps them the correct height to unmount or remount the tractor 3 pt side bars. Number of tires may very with your tractor and digger. Mine is in a barn so nothing collects water.

 

[tpcannon]

"Fourth; there is a reason they put that little valve under the front of the seat."

Do you have a hydraulic down-pressure rig on your post hole auger? If so, can you please post a picture or describe the make, model, etc.?

Also, what kind of soil are you working with?