BX24 digging postholes

[Tom_H]

Mine will dig in the clay when it is moist, but not when dry and hard. When it hits hardpan, it just spins around. The tips of my auger bits are blunt. To dig in harder soils is possible by using downpressure units and special tips and teeth.

Downpressure units for PHDs are made by Land Pride, and I think Gearmore has them now too. You can also weld a big bushing sleeve on top of the U-bar and use barbell weights on a very short bar for the same effects.

Pengo makes augers, teeth, and tips for drilling into hard soils and rock. These have carbide teeth and sharp bit tips. They carry even more agressive stuff for skid steers, excavator mounted drilling heads, etc., stuff that is too agressive for a tractor (too much resistance) to handle.

Having downpressure AND Pengo flight body, teeth, and tip make a big difference when trying to auger in dense ancient soils that are partway through the process of becoming sedimentary rock.

 

[richardbro]

Please tell me you don't clear dirt from the auger while it is spinning.

No, I let my kids do that for me...

 

[richardbro]

Mine will dig in the clay when it is moist, but not when dry and hard. When it hits hardpan, it just spins around. The tips of my auger bits are blunt. To dig in harder soils is possible by using downpressure units and special tips and teeth.

I had problems with hardpan too, so what I do is stop and raise the auger, get off and clear out the teeth (no, it is not spinning...), and use a shovel to 'bite' into the hole left by the auger one shovel-full. The bitemark leaves an irregular surface in the hole for the newly-cleaned teeth to catch onto and dig into the hardpan.
This usually works pretty well but sometimes I just have to let the auger run for a bit (for 2-3 minutes). I get to watch the scenery and the clouds go by...

I'm putting this fence up alone so there's no sucker I can coax to hang off the digger as its going

I did do the water thing once when I was within reach of a hose - that works well too.