21" Post Hole Auger

   / 21" Post Hole Auger #1  

saxon11

Bronze Member
Joined
Nov 19, 2021
Messages
59
Location
Minnesota
Tractor
TYM T474
I have a TYM T474 and looking to use post hole digger for 21" hole to plant large trees. For a tractor my size, is there too much for it or has anyone else tried large post hole digger? Attached is picture of any tree farmer doing similar like I'd be trying.
Screen Shot 2022-12-11 at 7.58.21 AM.png
 
   / 21" Post Hole Auger #2  
It should handle it fine. It has the Hp and the lift capacity to lift it out of the ground.
Just curious, who makes a 21” auger? 18 or 24” are pretty standard. It should be able to handle a 24” auger too.
 
   / 21" Post Hole Auger #3  
I have a TYM T474 and looking to use post hole digger for 21" hole to plant large trees. For a tractor my size, is there too much for it or has anyone else tried large post hole digger? Attached is picture of any tree farmer doing similar like I'd be trying.
View attachment 774147
Are you planting an orchard using the Espalier method of cultivation??

You need to have the ability to penetrate the ground easily all the way to the
bottom of the hole and a tapered tree transplanting auger will do that for you.

The tapered design of the auger allows the auger to enter the ground slowly
without binding or rocking after impacting a rock as they are bound to do and to create
The tapered round hole you need.


tree auger.jpg
 
   / 21" Post Hole Auger #4  
Leonz - I could have used one of these this year - planted 40 5-6' Norway spruce root balls - used an 18" auger on a Bobcat CTL with down pressure as we have a lot of rocks and the 18" auger did a good job clearing rocks and loosening the soil.

Worked fine to get the holes "roughed in" but needed to clean up each hole with the BH - wasn't wide enough on the top.
 
   / 21" Post Hole Auger #7  
Yes Saxon - you will find the PHD (Post Hole Digger) on your tractor will do a decent job "if" your soil is not too rocky or hard pan.

If you have rocks, ledge, or roots it will shear pins, and without down pressure you won't be able to apply force to the PHD.

If you have a lot of trees to plant (20-50 or more) with root balls 18-20" in diameter renting a Bobcat Mini Track Loaders with an auger https://www.bobcat.com/na/en/equipment/loaders/mini-track-loaders. They are small and easy to use but pack a punch when drilling in rocky soil.

They are $250 a day or $1000 a week here with a 18-24" auger, and you can easily put in 10 holes an hour, but depending on your soil, you will need to do cleanout with a shovel or BH prior to planting. I rented one for a week as we did 80+ fence posts and 40 trees and needed to get the fence posts in as we went along. Rocks are the biggest challenge, we got 8 + yards of rock from our project.

But if you have time and decent soil to dig in the tractor mounted PHD do fine.
 
   / 21" Post Hole Auger #8  
Where I live on South Whidbey Island we have tons of rocks and a mix of soils. Sandy loam to hard pan. And stuff that is in between. My tractor doesn't have down pressure on the 3 point hitch so I have found that getting Slim Pickens to ride the post hole digger for extra weight helps getting it to dig. When he is not available, and since he has been dead for many years, I have found that raising and lowering the auger will get it to drill. I don't have an atom bomb for him to ride anyway.
I use a 9 inch auger, because that's what I have, and my Yanmar YM2310 to spin it, because that's what I have, which is supposed to have 23 HP available at the PTO according to some sources. I have lots of rocks. That tractor just pulls that auger between the rocks and then screws them to the surface. It has, a couple times, gotten stuck on a large root. So I had to shut the tractor down and unscrew the auger. But then, after dealing with the large root, I run the auger back into the hole. With success. Every time. So it seems like 23 HP is good enough for hard pan with rocks.
Generally I use the auger for planting trees and bushes. Posts too, up to 24 inches in diameter. Because of the variable soil I drill holes 3 feet deep. This way the soil is broken up and will drain well. For 3 feet at least. If I need a larger diameter hole it is pretty easy to enlarge the existing hole, especially since the larger hole usually doesn't need to be 3 feet deep, so the soil enlarging the hole just falls into to the deeper hole. It generally takes about 3 minutes to drill a 3 foot hole. That's average. With no rocks I can drill a hole 3 feet deep in a minute. Which leaves me more time to enlarge holes if need be.
The 9 inch diameter auger makes a hole almost 12 inches in diameter because it hits rocks and so does not run true. I don't mind. So maybe you don't need a 21 inch diameter auger if you are only drilling a few holes. Like 10. Augers are expensive so maybe 10 is the breaking point. Maybe your back is ruined, like mine, so maybe 3 is the breaking point. Maybe you don't mind spending the money and you can buy the bigger auger and won't care. If that's the case an 18 inch auger will probably get you a 21 inch hole.
Anyway, have fun drilling holes. I like it. My back is fusing itself and shovel work doesn't make it feel better. That auger is fun to watch, it does such a good and fast job. I have to get out of the tractor seat and sit sideways on the fender to watch the auger because I can no longer twist enough to see it work. So I do. It makes holes way faster than I ever could.
Cheers,
Eric
 
   / 21" Post Hole Auger #9  
With lots of rocks and no down force I have doubts.

Five years ago we rented a CTL with a 36" (overkill) and it was like butter, drilled 50 tree holes in plenty of time to make it a half-day rental
 
   / 21" Post Hole Auger #10  
Years ago rented a 24 inch auger from the local renta center intended for a skid steer to save a few bucks.

Fabbed an adapter for the Leinbach PHD and used the Ford 3000. As posted above it was necessary to drop the PHD to get the auger to "bite" at times, but it dug all 30 some holes.

There were a few times catching remnant pine tree roots that took all the power the tractor had since the engine needed to be running "slowly" and I did slip the PTO hydraulic clutch a couple times when hitting a really large root or two.
No rocks to speak of.

It was a rewarding feeling when we had them all dug.
 
 

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