One Man Earth Augers

[KomaToast]

Anybody here have any experience with the one man earth augers?

My fence is in bad shape and will need to be replaced soon.
It was all new 7 years ago when I moved here but parts of it are about to fall down now.
The wooden posts need to be replaced, I'm going with new steel posts this time.

Just wondering how useful the one man augers are or should I go with a bigger two man auger?
The only problem I see with the two man auger is finding someone to hang onto the other side.

The dirt here is terrible, they call it gray gumbo clay. It expands a lot when wet then contracts and cracks a lot when it drys out.
Really bad for foundations and fence posts that are only two feet deep in the ground.
The dirt gets loose around the concrete and the posts can wobble around and start to lean.

The rule of thumb is that a third of the post should be in the ground.
By that rule a six foot fence should have the posts three feet in the ground.
Posts are only available in eight or ten foot lengths, not nine feet.
If I'm going to have to purchase ten foot posts to get the one third length in the ground I might as well bury them four feet deep.
There's a fence not far from here that's done that way and it's still as straight as the day it was installed.

I live on a corner lot so I have more fence than most and only one neighbor to split the cost of one side.
The material alone will cost around $2K and having it done will be at least twice that much, not an option for me.

Keith

[parnelli]

I've used both and they're both pretty straightforward to use. The hard clay though adds an angle that I didn't have to contend with before.

My initial thought would be that the one man might be easier to control if it were to bog down in the clay(the drive bar would keep it from rotating, I'd think)

That said, it's an awful lot of weight that you're picking up and down, up and down- you get the idea.

If you can find help, I'd go with the one man auger, but with two people.

Perhaps someone else can chime in too.

[KomaToast]

That's why renting an auger is not an option. I figure I will be taking many breaks along the way.
It would be cheaper to purchase an auger and sell it after I'm done than rent one.

Also the old posts will need to be removed. Some of the new posts will go in the same hole as the old posts but most of them wont.

I thought about using a couple of these farm jacks, one on each side of the post to pull them out of the ground.
Bore a hole through the post and place a metal shaft through the hole with a jack on each side.

Keith

[DUD]

I have a friend he in Jonesboro that loaned me His Earthquake one man auger. It was amazing. The ground here is clay and ? but it cut like butter. I came close to buying one on Ebay as they are not real expensive. Bi8ll

[parnelli]

I thought about using a couple of these farm jacks, one on each side of the post to pull them out of the ground.
Bore a hole through the post and place a metal shaft through the hole with a jack on each side.

The old-timer that used to live next to me taught me this trick-

He'd take a 2x6, or 2x10, maybe 10ft long and nail/bolt/screw it into the fence post near the ground. Longer is better within reason.

Then he'd put something next to the post- a pile of wood, big rock, whatever, and then just use that as a fulcrum for his 2x10. Here higher is better within reason.

For posts that aren't in concrete- as fast as you can pull on the end, out pops the fence post.

If yours' are in concrete but wobbly, I think they'll still pull out pretty easy. Give one a shot and see what happens.

[guhor]

I would recommend renting a one-man auger built on wheels that you pull with your pick-up. It took me about two and a half hours to dig eleven holes about three feet deep in very hard and dry clay, and three of those were on an incline. The good thing about this type of auger is that you can choose the exact size auger you need depending on the diameter of the posts. I had expected it to take much longer but travel time and all from the rental store was under 4 hours and I believe it cost $28. Good luck.
Tom J

[Wood_workur]

For the posts- put them in concrete with rebar. The rebar is really needed, because it adds needed strength to concrete, and it is fairly cheap. And also, because they type of dirt you describe, make sure that you make extra space at the bottom for concrete, so that the bottom is bigger in diameter thatn the top. That will really help keep your fence solid, and make it last for years.

[crokett]

I've used both 1 and 2 man. You want a 2 man auger or you want to find a friend with a tractor and rent an auger for the PTO. I also have clay in NC and the 1 man was next to useless.

[Deadhead]

See if you can rent one of these:
http://www.toro.com/professional/sws...400/index.html

Click the "Attachments" link in the left column and you'll find augers.

I used one of these (not with an auger) last summer. Made quick work out of tilling and moving dirt.

[KomaToast]

Renting is too costly. I can buy then resell cheaper than I can rent.
The one man augers rent for $50 per day and the two man augers rent for $80 per day.
Way too much, I used to rent a Bobcat for $80 a day in the mid 90's.

I don't plan on doing it all in one day, too much to do in a single day.
I would have to punch a hole every 15 minutes to get the holes done in 10 hours without a single break.
That would have been possible when I was 30 but that was long ago.
I'll probably end up taking a break after every hole.
The temp will probably be near or over 100 degrees here soon too.
Too much for an old man. I'll have to take my time.

Keith

[cgallery]

One more thought, depending on the # of posts you have to dig, is to have someone else dig the posts and then you can do the rest yourself. Here (in Milwaukee, WI) there are a couple of firms advertising that only dig the holes. I can't remember their prices off the top of my head, but I remember thinking they were very reasonable. Then I realized that, with the equipment they have, they probably go pretty fast.

Thanks,
Phil

[Wood_workur]

Okay, I calculated 40 post holes. That is butt load. Maybe some nearby bt3'rs can help him out???

[KomaToast]

I'm only going to do one side first. The side between my only neighbor's yard and mine.
It's in much worse condition than the rest of my fence.
The posts are really bad and two of the posts on her front fence between her house and that fence line are broken and propped up with 2x4s.
I think that fence is older than the rest of my fence which was installed in '99.
It's 12 posts and 11 panels on that side, about 88 feet of fence then another 8 foot panel and another post to go to the corner of my house.

The rest of my fence can wait a while, the posts aren't near as bad but the panels are not real great.
My back fence has another newer fence 5 feet away on the other side of it.
My back fence can't be seen from the other side of the lot and my side of it is hidden with tall thick bushes the entire length.
There's also a lot of trees on the other side of the back fence so getting to it will be a real job. I'll save that for last.

Keith

[jAngiel]

We have some crappy soil here in SW Oklahoma, lots of sticky nasty clay. I rented a one man machine and had someone help me and we knocked out 77 holes in less than a day. We even had some time left to start setting the posts. With a helper it's easy to switch off on the easy parts of the yard and still have two people for the difficult holes. Out the 77 there were probably only 10 to 15 that really required the two of us. If you want to try to rent or if you purchase a used unit, make sure the bit isn't beat all to ****, having a newer bit made the holes a lot easier.

[KomaToast]

This isn't a bad deal here, has a 90 day warranty.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=7765468059

I wished I would have been looking when they were listed.
All 5 of them sold in a 3 hour period. The shipping to here is less than $17.
Add $100 for a new auger bit and you've spent about the same as the price of a new powerhead at Lowes.

Keith