Recommendations on post hole digger

[IronRyan]

I'm going to need to drill alot of holes this fall, looking for a recommendation on brand, etc. I probably need a couple different augers, 9 inch and 18 inch probably. After shopping i see there is quite a variation in price. Any brands better or worse than others? Thanks

 

[Code]

I have the landpride with 9” and 12” last fall i dug 110 fence posts and had no issues at all. It just ran and dug holes. Clay with a good bit of rocks in it and no issues. 3ft holes.

 

[Russell King]

I would get one like the Beltec (if you have hydraulic power to use)

TM-48 Post Hole Digger w/ Leveling Cylinders - Belltec Industries Inc.

The legendary TM-48 Belltec Digger helps tractor owners dig post holes quickly and accurately by transforming their three-point tractors into complete drilling machines. The TM-48 models are available for category 1, 2, and 3 hitch systems.

www.belltec.net

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

i have made thousands of holes with my Speeco phd bought from tractor supply.
never a problem and works flawlessly.
Biggest auger I have I think is a 16" and couple smaller.
That being said though I am in very sandy soil / no rocks so ymmv.
HD model??? probably not but more than adequate for me.
No regrets and would buy same again.

hard for anyone to give good advice as we don't know what your soil conditions or depth targets are.

 

[IronRyan]

i have made thousands of holes with my Speeco phd bought from tractor supply.
never a problem and works flawlessly.
Biggest auger I have I think is a 16" and couple smaller.
That being said though I am in very sandy soil / no rocks so ymmv.
HD model??? probably not but more than adequate for me.
No regrets and would buy same again.

hard for anyone to give good advice as we don't know what your soil conditions or depth targets are.

Good point, i have rocky sandy loam type soil. pretty rocky actually. Depth is depending on if I'm doing trellis posts which would probably be a 9 inch auger, but for grapes i'm thinking an 18 inch auger would be appropriate to get the soil loosened up for root esablishment.

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

Good point, i have rocky sandy loam type soil. pretty rocky actually. Depth is depending on if I'm doing trellis posts which would probably be a 9 inch auger, but for grapes i'm thinking an 18 inch auger would be appropriate to get the soil loosened up for root esablishment.

hmmm... not sure I would recommend speeco for pretty rocky soils.
I think my gearbox and the cutting edges maybe too weak / not up for the task on rocks.

 

[Steamer Pete]

Weird as it may sound, keep the cutting edges sharp. They do dig much easier.

 

[Runs With Scissors]

I also have a Land Pride with a 9 and 12 inch augers. Honestly,

I picked LP because thats what the dealer had at the time.

I just dug about 100 holes for a guy, and it worked great. However, about 20 of those holes were a PITA do to the ground being crazy hard.

Unfortunately I don't have any long term results for you.

I may have to get one of those augers with the "rock teeth" for my cottage though.

 

[Code]

I also have a Land Pride with a 9 and 12 inch augers. Honestly,

I picked LP because thats what the dealer had at the time.

I just dug about 100 holes for a guy, and it worked great. However, about 20 of those holes were a PITA do to the ground being crazy hard.

Unfortunately I don't have any long term results for you.

I may have to get one of those augers with the "rock teeth" for my cottage though.

I have rock teeth on all of mine. Works pretty well for me

 

[GreensvilleJay]

possible option...
find out what a local dude charges for drilling post holes.
If you can get all ,or most of them done at one time, it may be cheaper than buying a PHD.

 

[GeoHorn]

I only need to dig a few holes every once in a while…but I’m in very rocky ”soil” (if that’s what it’s called) here in central Tx hill (if that’s what it’s called) country.

TSC had theirs on-sale so I bought it. It has done very well with 12” and 9” augurs…but I keep a handful of spare “shear” bolts (Grade 2 or 5) on the tractor. Do not think you will do “better” by using stronger bolts such as Grade 8…. all you’ll do is risk damaging your PHD or PTO.

The most likely and most expensive part of a PHD is the gear-box….and regardless of what brand you buy….most use similar quality gear-boxes…. so in most cases you waste money buying “premium” PHDs if all you’re buying is the name.

Don’t waste your time with THIS video…LOLOL….:

Here’s a guy that’s actually USED a PHD extensively and is very helpful:

Here’s a very likable fellow who is proud of their product, which I’m certain is a good one…just don’t know if it’s worth the price…only you can decide that. My TSC PHD is fine for me and I’m in tough “soil” conditions.

 

[Foxrunfarms]

A few weeks ago I helped my neighbor add onto his pasture. I don't recall the brand of the auger but with a John Deere 4000 farm tractor in rocky hard soil there were some tough spots.

Instead of using t posts he used smaller wooden posts. The tractor
auger was too big. He ended up renting a skidloader and small auger from the local hardware store. He said he should've done that right away.

I'm in the same boat. You can find older augers for 100 to 400 on auction. I like to have items I need " just in case" . For rental prices I could buy one and have it sit. At the same time the rental store is storing it, and maintaining it. Sometimes it's just easier to rent or hire a neighbor.

 

[Smokeydog]

Have a Ford 3pt auger with 12” bit. Used to set many RR crossties and plants. Good digger for my rocky clay. Sitting outside unused for past 20 years. $350 East Tennessee

 

[ctfjr]

Years ago I picked up a no name beater that I used to drill over 100 holes for a dog containment fence. Our soil was rocky plus I was deep in the woods so plenty of roots. Went thru a load to shear bolts but it did the job fine. Sold it after my project was done.
Fast forward. . . a few years ago I picked up a PD-15 to do a lot of plantings. Worked great with a 12" auger. Still have it as I intend to do more plantings at our new house.
As a GeoHorn mentioned above, the gearbox is the most important thing. On both my used purchases I emptied out the old gear old and replaced it with new.

 

[B737]

possible option...
find out what a local dude charges for drilling post holes.
If you can get all ,or most of them done at one time, it may be cheaper than buying a PHD.

I love this... guy owns a tractor, asks for input for purchasing PSD, you chime in and tell him to rent one sub it out... WTAF of the day.

Anyways, to the OP,
I have not seen it mentioned here yet... I have used hydraulic PSD for a fence company to install commercial fencing (family business), and the advantage is they can be reversed out. A PTO powered PSD you cant back out like one operated by 3rd function on the loader. Beltec is a reputable manufacturer. So is "Auger Torque", both companies make low flow versions suitable for tractors. I dont know who makes the land pride one, and have heard mixed opinions on the "digga" sold by everything attachments.

Only have experience with Beltec, have never used the others. There was a former member of our community who has dug thousands of holes with his auger torque head on his B2650.

 

[Runs With Scissors]

I have rock teeth on all of mine. Works pretty well for me

What brand are your rock augers?

My cottage needs some post holes dug and from my initial "test hole" I might need get one, we are a "stones throw" from the local rock quarry.

 

[b1pig]

A few weeks ago I helped my neighbor add onto his pasture. I don't recall the brand of the auger but with a John Deere 4000 farm tractor in rocky hard soil there were some tough spots.
View attachment 105484

Instead of using t posts he used smaller wooden posts. The tractor
auger too big. He ended up renting a skidloader and small auger from the local hardware store. He said he should've done that right away.

I'm in the same boat. You can find older augers for 100 to 400 on auction. I like to have items I need " just in case" . For rental prices I could buy one and have it sit. At the same time the rental store is storing it, and maintaining it. Sometimes it's just easier to rent or hire a neighbor.

Old is often good in my experience. If it's old and shows signs of use and survived, it should be good.

We have one on the farm from my in-laws. It is very similar to the one pictured above. Our M6060 has no issues powering it where we are. "Dirt" and clay with a mix of rocks at varying depths. One of my wife's uncles was digging with it once and hit "something" with enough force that the mounting bar on top bent. Still works. Just once the hole is started, you have to cut the wheels hard left and roll back a little to straighten the auger up closer to verticle. LOL.... But it survived and works so we make do. One day I'll replace that bar at the top.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

I did NOT tell him to rent one, offered him an option instead of having a local guy drill the holes. Please reread my post #10 again. Hopefully you read NOTAMs better.
He didn't say he had 10 holes or 1000 holes he needed done or when they were to be done.
I found out years ago it was cheaper to have a guy drill the holes than for me to BUY a PHD for any of the 4 tractors I owned back then. Also ZERO 'learning curve'. YOU buy the PHD and it'll take a few holes to figure it all out...time you might not want to waste,especially if only a few holes.
What most don't figure out ,is that while someone else is doing the drilling ,YOU have 'free' time to place the poles,so the job actually goes faster.
The huge problem with 3PH PHD is NOT having reverse. That omission can be a real PITA. Hydraulic PHD should have reverse, but will cost more money.

 

[bbxlr8]

Here is my 2 cents - I have an older TSC Countyline PHD with a normal 9" auger. It's been a while and this post made me curious so I went out to check and it only says Speeco on the back of the manual nowhere I can see on the unit (knew their splitters were also Speeco- have one of those also).

I have used it a lot for fencing and planting and have notoriously rocky soil with glacial bolder deposits so you never know what you are going to hit (a rock edge would not help then). I have generally been very happy with it but did acquire a stash of shear bolts with about 8 in the canister that I forgot about.

A couple of additional points to consider

• It is not that hard to use and will teach you real quick what works
• Each area can be different (at least around my place)
• I have only used it with my smaller Ford 1210 and it worked fine. Never felt the need to remove BH for just the PHD since getting the L.
• The 9" was a good compromise, especially with the original smaller tractor.
• Workaround for larger holes is to do 2 side by side or 3 in a triangle (not ideal but gets me by) Figured I could get a bigger (or smaller ) auger down the road but never felt the need so far.

 

[Foxrunfarms]

Old is often good in my experience. If it's old and shows signs of use and survived, it should be good.

We have one on the farm from my in-laws. It is very similar to the one pictured above. Our M6060 has no issues powering it where we are. "Dirt" and clay with a mix of rocks at varying depths. One of my wife's uncles was digging with it once and hit "something" with enough force that the mounting bar on top bent. Still works. Just once the hole is started, you have to cut the wheels hard left and roll back a little to straighten the auger up closer to verticle. LOL.... But it survived and works so we make do. One day I'll replace that bar at the top.

A lot of my equipment I bought for 100.00 in a fence line or corner of a shed. With some tlc, some diesel fuel soaking and a pipe wrench I get stuff moving again. It feels great to bring the stuff back to life and it's crazy how strong they are yet being from the 1920's to 1970s.

When I bought my Kubota there was a 3 implement limit on the attachments.

I went hunting online and auctions for a rear blade and brush hog with in my budget. It was crazy seeing stuff just a couple years old, bent, banged up, rusted.....granted who knows how well ot was taken care of but being something newer should hold up better I think.

I found a heavy duty Danuser blade and jd brush hog very reasonable. Both are built like tanks and should outlast me.