What size auger do you use?

[Fallon]

Personally I'm stuck with hanging a gallon bucket full of scrap fencing, concrete & a bit of chain off the back. Probably around 50lbs & I need to make at least another one. Hanging weight over the augur will be a 1 to 1 ratio of down force. Between the 3pt & augur will be less, further away more.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

Have and use 6,9,12,18 & 24" Land Pride augers, all with Pengo teeth. Actually I have never used the 9" bit, and the 18" & 24" bits are what get used the most.

As far as the down pressure kits, they work, doesn't matter if someone thinks that they do or don't, they do work.:thumbsup: If you use it properly, there is a constant downward pressure being exerted the entire time, not just at the top. You keep the lever pulled putting a constant flow to the ram. All excess bleeds off through the bypass, that's what it's there for.

Our ground can get so hard that even with water it can take literally days to soak in. So it use to take days to drill a hole. With the down pressure kit on my PHD I can now drill that same hole in that rock hard ground in less than 3 minutes, dry. In fact since I bought and the reason that I bought the down pressure unit, it has not taken longer than 3 minutes to drill ANY hole. I believe that my Land Pride unit exerts 500lbs of down pressure.

I am only a weekender and when I need to do something, it needs to get done then, not in a few days.

So if someone is having problems with their down pressure unit on their equipment, either it is installed wrong or it is being used incorrectly, because they do work.

 

[AGRIMAN]

When we need some down pressure, we just use the bucket on the SS or backhoe to apply it.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

When we need some down pressure, we just use the bucket on the SS or backhoe to apply it.

That's sort of hard to do by yourself though, isn't it?:confused3:

 

[AGRIMAN]

That's sort of hard to do by yourself though, isn't it?:confused3:

Yes sir, you would have to be quick.

 

[powerscol]

We have never used smaller than a 12 inch. More room to get the post in just the right position, especially if rocks have to be worked around. Small line posts usually get pounded in where possible.

Same here - larger hole gives room fore adjustment, and also getting the man bar in to compact when setting

 

[woodlandfarms]

We have a 12 and it works for most of our needs, which include fence posts (4X and 6X) as well as small 5 gallon plants. I would love a 30" for larger trees, but we use the back hoe which is just OK.

 

[JKR]

I have a 12" auger and use it for most of my needs. I would get a 9" if I have enough smaller holes to dig. For now 75 holes drilled with my 12" auger.

 

[brown40]

I have used mine fairly little, but it's definitely easier to backfill a too-large hole than enlarge a too-small and claw out material from the bottom of the hole... as mentioned, a larger hole gives you wiggle room if the hole is angled or obstructed. I only bought the 12" one, and its worked well for 6x6's & tree planting (small fruit trees).
For tree planting you have to be careful that you don't smear a "hard pan" the roots & water will have difficulty penetrating once they get going if you have a lot of clay. I've felt compelled to "dress up" some of the holes when they look nice & smooth on the edges to (hopefully) give the roots an unencumbered entrance to the virgin soil.
I may feel differently backfilling every cedar post next spring, but I know I don't like trying to scrape & paw out extra from the bottom & edges of a hole!

 

[tmc_31]

I have a Bobcat C15 auger drive for my skidsteer. I have a 12" and a 36" auger to go with it. I use the 12" way more than I use the 36". My neighbor has asked me to drill 114 holes for 4X4 steel fence posts in his 4 acre back yard. He asked me to use a 9" auger to which I replied that I had a 12" if that would work. We worked through the pros and cons and found that among other things, if we used the 9" auger, he would need only half the concrete. Less money for sakrete and less labor to mix it. He offered to buy and give me an auger plus pay something for the holes drilled. This project is going to span a few months so renting a 9" auger is not quite as attractive an option as it would have been if all the holes were to be drilled at the same time.

Tim

 

[cletus99]

I ended up getting the 9 inch auger and it worked just fine. I can see where a 12 inch may come in handy, but it worked good. Spent the last 2 weeks digging hole and putting up field fence. Worth every penny. I had also read the pros and cons on different threads about driving Tpost with the FEL and thought I'd give it a try. Worked pretty good for about 90% of my post. The ones that didn't my son pounded in by hand. He was thankful for the FEL this time.

 

[bigcut]

I have used mine fairly little, but it's definitely easier to backfill a too-large hole than enlarge a too-small and claw out material from the bottom of the hole... as mentioned, a larger hole gives you wiggle room if the hole is angled or obstructed. I only bought the 12" one, and its worked well for 6x6's & tree planting (small fruit trees).
For tree planting you have to be careful that you don't smear a "hard pan" the roots & water will have difficulty penetrating once they get going if you have a lot of clay. I've felt compelled to "dress up" some of the holes when they look nice & smooth on the edges to (hopefully) give the roots an unencumbered entrance to the virgin soil.
I may feel differently backfilling every cedar post next spring, but I know I don't like trying to scrape & paw out extra from the bottom & edges of a hole!

Brown,
What adjustment steps or measures do you take when you smear the hole in planting trees ?
Any advice appreciated.
John

 

[quadpa1911]

9,12, and 24 the 12 gets the most work

 

[brown40]

Hi John,
It seems to me when I planted the fruit trees I grabbed the claw hammer off the back of the tractor and used the claws to scrape off the smooth areas, but anything to get the smooth smear off so the roots have an "in", and don't turn away. Anything would work... just want to be able to see some soil structure on the hole sides instead of looking like it's been spackled.

 

[FatTire]

Seems to me you have to discuss ground conditions along with bit size. I can imagine a 12 or 15 inch hole would be nice, but around here you have close to zero chance of digging a hole that size without hitting rock. Tough to squeeze a 9 inch bit between rocks. Would like to get a 6 inch bit and try that.

 

[logan97]

I'm thinking about purchasing a post hole digger soon and I was wondering what size auger you all use? I don't need a 12 inch for sure. So I'm torn between a 6 inch or 9 inch. I usually buy the 4/5 x 8 post from Tractor Supply for my fence so I was really just wondering how well a 6 inch auger would work. Thinking I should go with a 9 inch.

I got a 12" for a B7800 Kubota to large for this tractor in hard or rocky soil.