PHD / augers in rocky soil

[gpurp]

Hi all. I just bought a nice M5140 with low hours and would like to get an auger. I've got my eye on a Landpride PD25 as it appears to be a good match for the tractor in size and weight. I'm wondering how well it works in rocky soil. I have a few acres in north Texas and the soil has a lot of clay and sedimentary rock. The property was previously unfenced so I need to set some corner posts. There's no way I could dig them by hand. Just wondering what others experiences were in soil like this.

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[bearskinner]

My little BX PHD and auger can only put a 6x6" post 30" down, but I am totally amazed with how it digs in extremely rocky soil. That auger pulls softballs out and works great.

 

[SkylineAcres16]

It will be a lot better than digging by hand, however, don't expect a miracle. Have a digging bar with you......

 

[John Corey]

Like Skyline says, don't expect miracles. Clay is the 'natural enemy' of the auger. I have 5 acres on the Gold Coast of Australia and the soil is mostly clay. I always have a good digging bar with me as sometimes the auger will go straight down for me to 600ml (which is what I want) and other times it wont make a dent. So I have to break away the clay/rock with the digging bar first.

I also upgraded my auger blades/teeth to tungsten which has made a big difference to the standard teeth that came with the auger.

 

[Bulldog]

Don't forget to get a sack full of shear pins. Some of my ground is rocky and I go thru them fast.

 

[gpurp]

Thanks for the replies and advice. If it hits a big rock then I don't expect to bore through it. Landpride does make a hydraulic attachment that applies up to 500lbs down pressure. I'd be curious to see how that worked.

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[Bulldog]

if I was buying a new one it would have the hyd down pressure. That extra 500 lbs of force Most of the time means digging or not in hard ground. I used a Bushhog brand with down pressure, it worked great.