Post hole auger

[Jack Iverstine]

Any recommendations for a 3 point post hole auger attachment?

 

[69 SS]

After searching and looking for several months and physically looking at local Craigslist FB marketplace, I bought an Everything Attachments EA 6900 Heavy Duty PHD. Posted same question as you on here with very little replies. Most everything I looked at was used/abused so I bought EA. Looking at new ones wasn't impressed by anything I saw Tractor Supply, Land Pride, couple other brands . Spend money and don't look back. Buy once,cry once. I only use mine couple times and am happy. And all the talk of of storing it/building a frame to hold it, I have the grandkids swing set that they no longer use,I use it to hang PHD, and parts to be spray painted. Just my experience. I bought this for a paying job to dig 48 holes and it paid for itself. Assembled and mounted it by myself. Good luck on all your projects.

 

[UpNorthMI]

If you are running on your M70, I suggest you consider a heavy unit, there are lots of lighter units for sale in the market place. You have not stated what your planned use is, how often used, auger size etc.

I run a Land Pride 25 HP unit on my L series but only use up to a 12" auger. Tree planting augers need a heavier unit. If buying new consider round or hex output shaft decision.

 

[GeoHorn]

I went the opposite direction. I don’t expect to use my PHD ”professionally” ....or very-often even. I’ve drilled exactly 8 holes with it and store it on a rolling-frame I built for it so I can store it indoors but move it out of my way when necessary.

I first rented one to drill 10 holes for plants my wife wanted...but when I decided to build a boat-shed ... I decided not to rent anymore....didn’t want to drive to rent-it... leave a deposit on it.... be under a time-restraint to return-it..... I decided to own one which would be here anytime I needed it.

So I bought one at TSC and a 12” auger on-sale for $500. If I thought I was going to drill miles of fence-line I might be willing to spend $1K for a PHD.... but I doubt I’ll ever wear-out this $500 unit....it does everything one costing much more will....has what appears to be the same quality gearbox and drive-line... is just as “easy” to mount/dismount in exactly the same manner as the expensive ones are ...(tongue-in-cheek on that)..... and will get my money back anytime I want to sell it.

If the expensive ones had some Real Reason to be more expensive.... such as a better mounting system or other feature..... (they don’t).... then I’d have considered it. This is a stone-simple tool and doesn’t rise to the $1K level in my opinion. YMMV

 

[ctfjr]

I agree (again) with Geohorn. I don't use a PHD a whole lot. 10 years ago I needed to sink 100 4X4's for a dog fence. I picked up a 'no-name' pretty beat looking PHD on Craigslist for about $300. It worked fine on my project with a 6" flight. When I was done I sold it - I honestly don't remember whether I made a few bucks or lost a few bucks on it. I got basically what I paid for it.
Time moves on. A few months ago I decided to do a lot of plantings in the spring. As much as I like buying toys I couldn't bring myself to buying new. Back to Craigslist. Found a hardly used Landpride PD15. Perfect for my needs and $600. I used it for the first time yesterday. In a couple of months I'll be through using it and if my son doesn't want it for his B3030 I'll sell it.

 

[69 SS]

Also the EA has a hex output shaft, and replaceable tip, and replaceable teeth on the auger itself. Will I ever wear them out? Who knows. But I may get a job that will require me to dig a lot of holes. Most of the used stuff I looked at had a bad tip or the auger was excessively worn, and everybody wanted nearly new price. BTW am 63 yrs old and have peace of mind about spending the money on a quality piece of equipment. Good luck on all your projects.

 

[Tim Horton]

I have had both a well used and new PHD...
The used one got a much needed amount of attention and TLC to make work like new.. Brother in law needed a phd, so made a deal with him for this unit.. I was more than happy with it, he is happy also..

Now have a new Speeco on sale from our local auto, farm supply chain store.. Have a 9 and 12" augers with it..

I have repaired fence with the 9" I use the 12" to make holes for Sweetie to plant fruit and berry bushes and trees.. She being the green thumb of the family..

 

[TBush]

I agree (again) with Geohorn. I don't use a PHD a whole lot. 10 years ago I needed to sink 100 4X4's for a dog fence. I picked up a 'no-name' pretty beat looking PHD on Craigslist for about $300. It worked fine on my project with a 6" flight. When I was done I sold it - I honestly don't remember whether I made a few bucks or lost a few bucks on it. I got basically what I paid for it.
Time moves on. A few months ago I decided to do a lot of plantings in the spring. As much as I like buying toys I couldn't bring myself to buying new. Back to Craigslist. Found a hardly used Landpride PD15. Perfect for my needs and $600. I used it for the first time yesterday. In a couple of months I'll be through using it and if my son doesn't want it for his B3030 I'll sell it.

I may be interested in buying it if you decide to sell. Just got my tractor for newly purchased property, and sooner rather than later my daughter is going to need a fence for a horse.

 

[ctfjr]

I may be interested in buying it if you decide to sell. Just got my tractor for newly purchased property, and sooner rather than later my daughter is going to need a fence for a horse.

Thanks TBush - I plan to be done with it in a couple of months. If my son doesn't want it it's yours. You really want to ship from CT to GA/FL?

 

[bearskinner]

I don’t use my PHD very often, but it is a god send when I do. I’ve used mine on two big fencing projects, but it sure is nice to poke holes in the ground for planting trees! I’ve planted many rows of small trees, just go down 18” to install 1 gallon pots or 24” for bare root trees. Planted well over 100 little ones, I would still be digging if I was doing it by hand.

 

[mcmxi]

If I were to buy one it'd be a FEL mounted model with the skid steer interface but it's just hard to justify the cost for a tool that won't be used that often, particularly when I can rent a one-man PHD for around $200 for the weekend. Still, a PHD is on my wish list even if one would make little sense.

 

[NHSleddog]

I have drilled at least a thousand holes (no exaggeration) with my hydraulic auger.

I never used to use my pto auger after using it a couple times. It was just always getting stuck, or not drilling the hole. More trouble than it was worth up here in this ground.

I was convinced that I needed an auger though. With down force, a ton of height (compared to the 3pt.) and REVERSE, I would never go back from the QA hydraulic.

 

[mcmxi]

I have drilled at least a thousand holes (no exaggeration) with my hydraulic auger.

I never used to use my pto auger after using it a couple times. It was just always getting stuck, or not drilling the hole. More trouble than it was worth up here in this ground.

I was convinced that I needed an auger though. With down force, a ton of height (compared to the 3pt.) and REVERSE, I would never go back from the QA hydraulic.

There are two "skid steer" hydraulic direct drive augers on Craigslist up here for $3,000 and $3,200. The more expensive one is an HH Fabrication model with a 12" auger bit. Very tempting if I hadn't already spent way too much money on three implements for the MX in the past few weeks. I could use one for my barn and deck builds but not sure what I'd do with it after that.

 

[NHSleddog]

There are two "skid steer" hydraulic direct drive augers on Craigslist up here for $3,000 and $3,200. The more expensive one is an HH Fabrication model with a 12" auger bit. Very tempting if I hadn't already spent way too much money on three implements for the MX in the past few weeks. I could use one for my barn and deck builds but not sure what I'd do with it after that.

I ended up fabing my own. I wanted to be able to use it mixing/dumping cement as well.

 

[mcmxi]

I ended up fabing my own. I wanted to be able to use it mixing/dumping cement as well.

View attachment 57140

View attachment 57138

Wow! That's awesome! Using it for the auger and mixer is genius!

 

[GeoHorn]

Also the EA has a hex output shaft, and replaceable tip, and replaceable teeth on the auger itself. Will I ever wear them out? Who knows. But I may get a job that will require me to dig a lot of holes. Most of the used stuff I looked at had a bad tip or the auger was excessively worn, and everybody wanted nearly new price. BTW am 63 yrs old and have peace of mind about spending the money on a quality piece of equipment. Good luck on all your projects.

The TSC unit also has replaceable tip and teeth. And a hex output shaft? (Don’t see that at their website where they specify “The heavy duty gearbox has tapered roller bearings, which run in oil, the output shaft is 2" round.”...or on their replacement gerboxes) has zero advantage, IMO, since by-design the weak-link-shear-bolt protects the shafts anyway. (If their chineese gearboxes (their own video admits that) are so sturdy...why do they offer 3 different replacements?). YMMV

Not really picking on EA...they clearly have good products and enthusiastic support... only expressing opinion on spending excessively on a PHD.