Tried a pull-through post hole digger on a clay job last month, total disaster

I rented one of those hydraulic pull-through diggers for a 150-foot fence line in Austin where the soil is pure clay. It got stuck three times and took me twice as long as just using my two-man auger. Has anyone else had bad luck with those things on heavy soil?

2 comments

2 Comments

grant90121d ago

My neighbor runs a fencing crew and he told me the same thing about those pull-through diggers on clay. He said they work great in sandy loam but just ball up in heavy clay like you've got there. I read somewhere that the clay gets packed into the flutes and creates a mud log that won't spin anymore. Sounds like you fought that same problem. Probably would have been better off with a PTO driven auger or even a manual clam shell digger for that soil type.

elizabeththomas21d ago

Haven't you ever used a PTO auger in clay though? I mean sure those pull through diggers ball up something awful in heavy clay, no argument there. But a PTO driven auger can be just as bad if you hit a wet clay layer, it'll spin and polish that hole until it's basically a smooth sided glass tube with zero grip left for the fence post. A manual clam shell digger is slow but at least you can feel when the clay is getting too sticky and stop before you make a mess.