What size auger for my post hole digger?

   / What size auger for my post hole digger? #1  

CARNEYM

Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2007
Messages
41
Location
MS
Tractor
Ford, 3000 diesel (sold), Kubota, 3130
I have a Kubota L3130 tractor and about to buy a post hole digger. I am building a fence and going to sink around forty 4" and six 6" post. My question is will one size auger be ok, let say a 9". Or would I do a better job getting a 6" and 9".

If I dig the 4" holes with a 9" auger will the post be too loose.
Thanks; Mickey
 
   / What size auger for my post hole digger? #2  
Any post that is a smaller diameter then the auger will be loose for a while until the soil becomes compressed as much as the surrounding dirt.

The most common auger sold is the nine inch! It is good to dig with that diameter, often the auger hole isn't quite straight and the larger diameter will allow you to have the room to make it vertical.
 
   / What size auger for my post hole digger?
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Thanks Art, I have done a surch and found out massive amount of info on this subject. Should have done that first.

Mickey
 
   / What size auger for my post hole digger? #4  
We built 1150' of privacy fence around our back yard over a three year period. All posts are 4" and 8' apart. Our soil type varied from dense clay to wet sand.

The first year we used a 6" auger and found it was very difficult to keep the fence in line. The 6" holes did not allow for much if any adjustment of the post and if the bit wandered during boring any adjustment to the hole had to be done with post hole diggers. This was a pain.

The next year we used a 9" and it was great. The hole was big enough to allow the posts to be set in a nice straight line and the backfill/compaction around the post was much easier too.

We used blast furmace slag for backfill and a 5' by 1.5" solid steel pry bar used like a ram rod to compact the slag around the post. We left the slag down about 8" and topped the hole with the clay spoils.

6" may be a little tight in the 9" hole but if most are 4" posts a little extra hand work with a few 6" posts in 9" holes would not be too bad.

Good Luck
 
   / What size auger for my post hole digger? #5  
I'd say it has a lot to do with how well you can align your holes in order to get a nice straight fence. You get more wiggle room with a larger auger. Also, some 6" posts may be larger than 6"...
I started off with a 9 inch and ended up buying a 12 inch. The backfilled holes in either size didn't seem overly loose, but then there are tricks to backfilling...
 
   / What size auger for my post hole digger? #6  
I use a 12" auger.
 
   / What size auger for my post hole digger? #7  
There are some educational and informative videos on YouTube. Most recently I have been putting # 57 gravel (3/4 to 1" rock) around my post and in the bottom of the hole for drainage and stability , a little more work and expense -I believe it's worth the extra effort.

YouTube - tractor post hole digging

YouTube - Post Installation
 
   / What size auger for my post hole digger? #8  
richardbro said everything I was going to say, I personally went with the 12" auger. I started off with the 9" that came with my Leinbach PHD but quickly went to TSC and purchased a 12". The 12" gave me more room for placement of my posts since I'm not a pro yet on digging straight holes. Backfilling wasn't a problem and long as you tamp as you backfill.

As you can see in the attached picture, I didn't dig a very straight hole. Looked straight from the seat but not when I got off the tractor.
 

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   / What size auger for my post hole digger? #9  
For those size of posts, I would go with 9" auger. It will work with both 4" or 6" posts. A 12" auger is going to create a lot of tamping for a 4" post. You may have to use hand diggers to widen the hole on the 6" posts, if you are off the mark.
 
   / What size auger for my post hole digger? #10  
FWIW, If the hole left around the post isn't big enough, you can't tamp it good. For a fence I just put the dirt back in, tamping as I fill the hole.
 
   / What size auger for my post hole digger? #11  
i owned a fence company for a few years and we used 8" for 4x4 and 12" for 6x6.
 
   / What size auger for my post hole digger? #12  
got to thinking about this more . . . draw a 9" circle and them put a 6" square in it, you will see that you won't have that much room from the corner of the square to the edge of the circle. now if you are off just an inch when you drill or if your drill goes in at an angle your post won't line up unless you hand dig:mad: i can tell you that that won't be that much fun. for what little money a second bit ($300 plus or min.) will cost you i'd just get a second one.
 
   / What size auger for my post hole digger? #13  
I use a 12" auger. Allows me to align post for a straight fence line. Lots of rocks and clay in our soil. Also use it to plant shrubs and small tree's.
 
   / What size auger for my post hole digger? #14  
If I dig the 4" holes with a 9" auger will the post be too loose.

As others have said, I used a 9" auger to install 4" x 4" x 8' posts.

However, after just a few, I quickly realized it was going to take a very long time to install almost 300 posts, what with broken shear bolts, some hand digging, tamping, etc. I bought a 3ph post driver which turns a tiring, 2 step process into a 1 step process. With a post driver I averaged 15 minutes/post.
 
   / What size auger for my post hole digger? #15  
I came close to buying a Auger for my fencing projects, until I learned about the post pounder i could rent for $75 a day.

I can pound, 90 posts a day, they are 4" to 8" Diamiter, 8' long

they are solid as a rock as soon as your done.

takes about 6 minutes per post.

last year I pounded aprox 300 posts (between June and November).

broke 3 posts, hit 1 rock.

see it here, if you can rent one of these, well worth it

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/157448-fall-project-post-pounding-more.html
 
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   / What size auger for my post hole digger? #16  
takse about 6 minutes per post.
My 15 minute/post included everything to get a post in the ground, e.g., positioning the tractor at the spot you want the post, leveling and positioning the post. The actual driving of the post once this is done is only minutes. Working alone increase the time as well. Two people saves a lot of time getting on and off the tractor when positioning the driver. Even so, it took me about 2 months of evening and weekend work to drive both wooden and metal T posts.


The one I have is a 3ph version. Although, either a 3ph or tow behind beats an auger, hands down, for installing a lot of fence posts.

Also note, you do not need a large tractor to use a 3ph post driver. My NH TC25D, with its hydraulic flow, was more than enough tractor to handle it.
 
   / What size auger for my post hole digger? #17  
Mike, agree, having 2 people made the task much much faster for me too. No way I could have done 5-6 minutes per post alone Not to mention the guy I hired to help, owns the Pounder and know's how to use it really well..
 
   / What size auger for my post hole digger? #18  
Mike, agree, having 2 people made the task much much faster for me too. No way I could have done 5-6 minutes per post alone Not to mention the guy I hired to help, owns the Pounder and know's how to use it really well..

For each 'work session', I marked the spot for each post using orange spray paint and laid a post at each location. Some places I could simply drive the tractor down the fence line while other places, because of the terrain, I had to back into the location. Having a hydrostatic drive tractor allowed me to make the final location adjustments without getting back on the tractor. I stood next to the tractor where I could see the orange X and reach the treadle. NOTE: Since this was certainly a safety violation, I was glad the Safety Police didn't catch me. :D Once it was located, I dropped the 3ph to set the driver on the ground. Then I used the 2 cranks (one for left/right, one for fore/aft) on the driver to get things vertical. Though this description sounds lengthy, even working alone I average 15 minutes per post. A far cry from how long it would have taken using an auger. Of the 250 wooden posts I drove, I think I had one split, but that was caused by a knot near the top of the post. I had one or two T-Posts start to bend when they hit a large rock which caused me to have to relocate the post. Some of the wooden posts are not perfectly vertical because they go off track when they encounter a rock, but because I was using electric tape and not boards, this was not an issue.
 
   / What size auger for my post hole digger? #19  
15 min/ post is fast working alone !! :eek:

I pounded 50-60 T posts by hand (with a pipe hammer) :(

I found thier tendancy to bend was too high when i pushed them in with the FEL (any timer after June when the ground is so Hard)...never used the post pounder on the T Posts.
 
   / What size auger for my post hole digger? #20  
..never used the post pounder on the T Posts.
My post driver came with an accessory for driving T-posts. It looks just like the manual T-post driver (a pipe that's closed on one end with handles on each side), except instead of handles it has 2 plates set at 90 degrees to each other that allow it to fit securely in the channel. The ram drops down on this instead of directly on the T-post. Hard to describe, but it worked.
 

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