A post hole digger is any tool used to dig holes into the ground for various purposes, such as setting signposts, building fences, or planting saplings.
Whether manual or mechanic, all post diggers perform the same primary function. It jabs into the ground with its blades, grabs a portion of the soil, pulls itself out, and deposits the soil to the side.
A post hole auger is any drilling tool or machine used for boring holes into the ground. All post hole augers have similar basic features, such as rotating metal, pipe, or rod with one or more blades attached to the lower end that scrape or cut the soil.
Post hole diggers focus on one task – digging holes into the soil. Post hole augers, on the other hand, are suited to do various tasks. Depending on the type, they can even cut through rock, concrete, frozen ground, or ice.
Applications of post hole diggers and post hole augers
Small-scale use – For example, in smaller private farms or ranches, they need to put in a fence for horses or cattle and want to use 6-inch peeler cores to do that. In this case, a 9-inch post hole auger should be used for either standard dirt or a more aggressive auger for rocky soils.
Large-scale use – Vast lands planning to put in trees for orchard would need a 24-inch-diameter auger and a post hole digger (PTO- or hydraulically-driven) rated for 50-80 horsepower (hp) tractors.
Vineyards putting in end pipes for the grape wires would need a 4-to-6-inch auger and no more than 25 to 30 hp. Some applications require heavy-duty rock augers intended for challenging ground, and those augers could range from 9 to 24 inches or bigger.
Post hole diggers and augers from Shaver
Solex offers a wide range of farming tools and equipment, including post hole diggers from Shaver.
PTO-powered post hole diggers (some with orchard augers)Model 101:
- Arch (yoke) -- 1/2”-thick steel to Cat. 0 & I, 3-pt. hitch
- Boom/3-point mount – Standard
- Bearings – Deep and grooved ball bearing with needle bearing
- Input shaft – 1 ¼” diameter
- Shear pin – ¼”, grade 2 on input shaft with a roll pin to hold PTO shaft
- Standard auger diameters – 4”, 6”, and 9” semi-double plus 4” double fight
- Orchard augers – N/A
- Cutting teeth – Bolted on forged steel, replaceable on 6” and 9” augers
- Down pressure kit – 500 lbs. additional pressure, 2”-diameter cylinder, 8” stroke, 2-way valve for use with boom/3-pt. mount.
Model 301H:
- Arch (yoke) – 3” OD tubing with reversible steel pins to fit Cat. I & II, 3-pt. hitch
- Boom/3-point mount – Standard
- Bearings – Tapered roller straddle mounted, one on each side of the gear with needle bearing for rigidity, strength, and compact design
- Input shaft – 1 ¼” diameter
- Shear pin – 3/8”, grade 2 on input shaft with a roll pin to hold PTO shaft
- Standard auger diameters – 4”, 6”, 9”, 12”, and 14” semi-double or double fight
- Orchard augers – N/A
- Cutting teeth – Bolted on forged steel, replaceable on 6”, 9”, 12”, and 14” augers
- Down pressure kit – 500 lbs. additional pressure, 2”-diameter cylinder, 8” stroke, 2-way valve for use with boom/3-pt. mount.
Model 601H
- Arch (yoke) – 3” OD tubing with reversible steel pins to fit Cat. I & II, 3-pt. hitch
- Boom/3-point mount – Standard
- Bearings – Tapered roller straddle mounted, one on each side of the gear with needle bearing for rigidity, strength, and compact design
- Input shaft – 1 ¼” diameter
- Shear pin – 3/8”, grade 2 on input shaft with a roll pin to hold PTO shaft
- Standard auger diameters – 4”, 6”, 9”, 12”, and 14” semi-double or double fight and 16”, 18”, and 24”
- Orchard augers – 16”, 18”, and 24” double flight
- Cutting teeth – Bolted on forged steel, replaceable on 6” to 24” augers
- Down pressure kit – 500 lbs. additional pressure, 2”-diameter cylinder, 8” stroke, 2-way valve for use with boom/3-pt. mount.
Model 901:
- Arch (yoke) – 3” OD tubing with reversible steel pins to fit Cat. I & II, 3-pt. hitch
- Boom/3-point mount – Standard
- Bearings – Tapered roller straddle mounted, one on each side of the gear with needle bearing for rigidity, strength, and compact design
- Input shaft – 1 3/8” diameter
- Shear pin – Two ½” grade 2 bolts on the output shaft
- Standard auger diameters – 4”, 6”, 9”, 12”, and 14” semi-double or double fight and 16”, 18”, 24” and 30” double flight
- Orchard augers – 16”, 18”, 24”, and 30” double flight
- Cutting teeth – Bolted on forged steel, replaceable on 6” to 30” augers
- Down pressure kit – 500 lbs. additional pressure, 2”-diameter cylinder, 8” stroke, 2-way valve for use with boom/3-pt. mount.
Orchard augers: Designed for the needs of the orchard and nursery industry, orchard augers come in standard diameters of 16”, 18”, 24”, and 30” with a standard length of 30”.
Rock augers: Designed for extremely rugged conditions in loose rock, solid rock, dirt, and clay. Rock augers come in diameters ranging from 4 ½” to 30”. Depending on the size, they can be used on any Shaver post hole digger model.
Down pressure kit: Designed for heavier-duty digging power, it supplies an additional 500 pounds of downward force on the unit. It is used as an attachment to Shaver’s PTO and hydraulic diggers and is powered using the hydraulics from your tractor or skid steer loader, so it doesn’t interfere with the digger’s normal operations. Ideal for working on compact soil, rocky areas, or semi-frozen ground.
“Aggressor Augers” from Pengo
The PTO Aggressor line of augers provides longer wear and exceptional performance in various soil conditions. These augers offer superior performance and reliability in a wide range of agricultural and construction applications. The augers come in four sizes:
- 9” Aggressor Auger
- 12” Aggressor Auger
- 18” Aggressor Auger
- 24” Aggressor Auger
Farmers and building contractors will find these professional-grade post hole diggers and augers durable and reliable, as they are made for the most demanding jobs, from tough soils to concrete to solid rock.
Manufacturers such as Shaver and Pengo specialize in earth drilling and augering solutions. You can find their comprehensive selection of post hole diggers and post hole augers here at Solex, one of the Western US’s most established and trusted farming and light construction equipment distributors. Whatever your hole drilling equipment needs are, contact us at Solex to see how we can help. You may reach us by calling (707) 678-5533 or by emailing us at Sales@solexcorp.com.
We look forward to hearing from you.