Auger, or dig 'em by hand?? What I've learned so far ...

[Rustyiron]

I'm not really giving you an answer here but, I used to drill a 4" pilot hole and then pound in the post (6"-8") but then I have a skidsteer and a 3pt. post pounder. Hey if you got the equip, run it. I do know what you mean though, sometimes if you have decent soils, elbo grease gets it done just as easy!

 

[gwjd]

i will predict that 1-15 with the hand digger will go great

then the tractor will look good

also hand dig from one end tractor from another?

 

[Alan L.]

Well....I guess that depends on where you are. Here on my property with a pick axe and a couple of days you might get one hole dug. I remember when I put in a fence about 10 years ago, my 240 pound son in law and myself (195) grabbed ahold of all 4 handles of a 2-man post hole digger I rented. The head went around and around (with us on it) while the auger stuck in the ground. Thats when I bought the PHD for my B2710 Kubota and wow was that alot easier!!!!

 

[Grayson Klassen]

I live in northern BC and the land around here is a lot of clay. We use a post pounder here but the stipulation is you need to get them in as soon as the frost is out of the ground because once the clay dries out you just bust the posts.


They actually go in pretty easy early in the year. Once it dries out we use and undersize auger and then knock em in.

How deep do you set your 8 footers?

 

[TheGoose]

I can push up to 4" posts in with my L3400 FEL, especially if I sharpen them first. Best way to do it, no tamping etc.

 

[Ken45101]

Wow! Some of you guys must have great soil!

The clay hear goes from sticky muck to rock hard in summer

I remember as a teen digging a ditch for a 4" drain line. A full overhead swing with a mattock only penetrated a half inch

 

[beppington]

Speed being the issue the tractor does seem faster but I really don't think so in most cases. I know I got pretty fast using these and one without the other is not good.
View attachment 205107 View attachment 205108

We using those as well as hedge clippers to cut small-medium roots near the surface, and:


Fiskars Pruning Stik to cut small-medium roots further down in the hole:

A sharpened chopping scraper to cut bigger roots anywhere in the hole:

... and anything else we can come up with to make the job (seem) easier (kitchen sink?) :laughing:

 

[Grayson Klassen]

Wow! Some of you guys must have great soil!

The clay hear goes from sticky muck to rock hard in summer

I remember as a teen digging a ditch for a 4" drain line. A full overhead swing with a mattock only penetrated a half inch

Ken,
thats why we can pound them in as soon as the frost comes out, however we cannot string them until about a month later once the ground has set up some. We also have to use much longer posts for gates so we can have them sitting below the frost line or the following year at break up they sag too much even with bracing.

 

[scoutcub]

we use and undersize auger and then knock em in.

This sounds like a great idea.....get an auger (if possible) just under the size of the post, and use the loader to push em in?


Also, you mentioned the 3-pt moving around 6-8".......have you adjusted your tension links on the 3-pt? I had this problem with an implement, but tightened everything up, and it doesn't move now. Course, it wasn't an auger......

 

[wvpolekat]

Also, you mentioned the 3-pt moving around 6-8".......have you adjusted your tension links on the 3-pt? I had this problem with an implement, but tightened everything up, and it doesn't move now. Course, it wasn't an auger......

I agree. It should not move that much if properly adjusted. Mine doesn't move at all either side to side or fore and aft.