One Man Gas Auger

[ustmd]

If I ever even think about another project using one of these, you all have my permission to smack me upside the head and say " Stop being cheap--rent the bigger equipment".

Last time I used one was 9 years ago for some poles for the dog run and it kicked my *****. Since then, I have hired out all of the post hole digging to local guy (Sam) who has a skid steer.

Stupid me, I am putting in some field fencing to keep my dogs on my property and decided to use the one man auger to dig 17 holes. Didn't call Sam because of the timing and concerned about whether he would be able to get his equipment in without ripping up the yard.

My black gumbo clay soil and 1 man augers just don't get along...

Six hours later and I am a whipped puppy. Already took 800 mg of ibuprofen in anticipation of how sore I will be tomorrow.

Never again.

 

[sseelhoff]

If I ever even think about another project using one of these, you all have my permission to smack me upside the head and say " Stop being cheap--rent the bigger equipment".

Last time I used one was 9 years ago for some poles for the dog run and it kicked my *****. Since then, I have hired out all of the post hole digging to local guy (Sam) who has a skid steer.

Stupid me, I am putting in some field fencing to keep my dogs on my property and decided to use the one man auger to dig 17 holes. Didn't call Sam because of the timing and concerned about whether he would be able to get his equipment in without ripping up the yard.

My black gumbo clay soil and 1 man augers just don't get along...

Six hours later and I am a whipped puppy. Already took 800 mg of ibuprofen in anticipation of how sore I will be tomorrow.

Never again.

You're just up the road from me. You should have borrowed my 3pt PHD.

Know why they call it a PHD? It works smarter, not harder. :laughing:

 

[KiotiKowboy]

I'm not even sure why these things are legal - lol. I thought I had shattered both wrists the last time I used one. Never again. If I have to punch anymore holes, you'll see me buying a 3pt.

 

[sld]

My brother and I rented a 2 man years ago to install his new fence. His wet clay was so bad the auger would screw into the ground and kill the engine. It was like screwing in a deck screw! We would have to put 10 foot long cheater bar on to unscrew the auger from the ground and start over. What a job!

 

[gwstang]

" Never again. If I have to punch anymore holes, you'll see me buying a 3pt. "

I got tired of swmbo asking (decoding that means "ordered me") to dig more holes for her flowers/shrubs. I went and got a PHD from TSC when they were on sale and had a 15% off coupon. Used it on the old 8N but I'm just sitting on go to get the new kabota out...when she asks me again.

 

[DT86]

I had the displeasure of using a two man auger. I'm not a little guy, over 6' tall, my buddy on the other side of the auger makes me look like a midget. That stupid thing kicked both of our a**es.

Never again.

 

[dragoneggs]

Long ago I rented a two man and my buddy and I dug 80 holes. Ground was actually fairly soft for the first foot or so then sandy loam with various rock sizes. But it wasn't the rocks that kicked our behinds... we were fencing around my property line that was through a lot of second growth cedar and fir trees. When the auger bit hit an unexpected root the auger would hip check us both hard and it was all we could do to stay standing. I was sore for a week!

 

[square1]

TTIWWOP (video preferred)

 

[Alan L.]

I rented a one man, then a two man, the bought a 3pt PHD. If you have loose dirt they might work, but here they spin the men, not the auger.

 

[chad22]

I've been thinking about buying one of those. But now I don't think I will. lol

 

[weldingisfun]

Gee whiz, if the wife and I had known how difficult it is to use one of those one man gas augers, we never would have bought one to use putting up the 3,000+ feet of fence around our property 15+ years ago.

 

[todd walker]

I have the one man, and like it, use for fence where no room for tractor, fruit tree's, hole for dog poop.
Never had any problems, other then hard ground so might dig 6'' to 12'' then fill with water, come back next day
dig more, works great if no hurry.

 

[tow653]

Have owned one for years. Yeah they don't like roots or rocks,but sure beats the alternative.

 

[bindian]

Ustmd,
I have a hyd. auger on my backhoe. This weekend, my son and I will be putting 10 post holes in at my Daughter's house outside of your town, Manor. But I can't use the tractor and hyd. auger, as I can't get around to the back of her property and the sides are fenced. So I am borrowing my neighbor's E43 one man Earthquake auger. At least I will have my son there to manhandle the auger.
hugs, Brandi

 

[aczlan]

Our local rental place has one like this: Easy Auger Hydraulic Earth Auger with Self Propulsion System— 270cc Engine, 350 Ft.-Lbs. of Torque, Model# EA93HSPT | Auger Powerheads, Bits Extensions| Northern Tool + Equipment seems that it would be easier on the operator for one person to use.

Aaron Z

 

[DrRod]

I have a Stihl one-man auger. I've used it to drill hundreds a season for Christmas trees and for posts, other trees, shrubs, et al. It beats using a digging bar and manual post holer but I will admit it is a work out. You have to lean into it to offset the torque and about every tenth hole it will catch a rock and the cut-off arm will snap into your leg. I started wearing a rubber knee pad on my thigh to absorb the shock and that worked well. But at a recent medical exam they noted I had hard-to-explain scarring on the inner wall of my abdomen. I have to think that leaning into that machine could be the source. I mentioned it to my city doctors but they had no idea what I was talking about. In any case, its real handy but not a tool for the meek.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

I have a one man auger, Little Beaver Hydraulic. At 66 I can still dig a six foot deep hole in the worst clay on the planet by myself when I have to. I've only had it almost thirty years and used it just last week on a job a two man or a tractor would never have got into. I have 35' hoses for those special occasions when I can't get the power plant next to the hole. I had three laborers working with me, one with a death grip on the torque bar which is usually attached to the power unit.

The secret to digging in clay is a little bit of water. I've found a 32 ounce cup full is usually all I need for a 12" X 3' hole, standard post hole. I figured that out real quick on my own. I was fighting the auger binding up and thought of maybe using some WD to lube the flights when I remembered that when the clay is wet you can't stand on it without falling down. Haven't fought it since.

 

[KiwiBro]

Anyone made a FEL or 3PH bracket to hold a rental auger? Could get all techy and have a side-shift on the brackets to help position the auger better.

 

[dragoneggs]

I have a one man auger, Little Beaver Hydraulic. At 66 I can still dig a six foot deep hole in the worst clay on the planet by myself when I have to. I've only had it almost thirty years and used it just last week on a job a two man or a tractor would never have got into. I have 35' hoses for those special occasions when I can't get the power plant next to the hole. I had three laborers working with me, one with a death grip on the torque bar which is usually attached to the power unit. The secret to digging in clay is a little bit of water. I've found a 32 ounce cup full is usually all I need for a 12" X 3' hole, standard post hole. I figured that out real quick on my own. I was fighting the auger binding up and thought of maybe using some WD to lube the flights when I remembered that when the clay is wet you can't stand on it without falling down. Haven't fought it since.

Clay would be a dream for me but only talking about drilling holes though. Hitting roots or large rocks is not fun.

 

[newbury]

Have owned one for years. Yeah they don't like roots or rocks,but sure beats the alternative.

I used one once, they can be a torture. The only good use I could see for them was digging holes for ice fishing - no rocks, no roots, no sudden stops.