earth auger
August 3, 2024 10:09 AM Subscribe
I'm in the market for an earth auger, something like this this. What do you know?
Not gas. Not battery powered.
Corded electric.
Not gas. Not battery powered.
Corded electric.
Best answer: What's your earth like? I got one and promptly discovered it was no match for the rocky clay sitting just a few inches below the soil.
posted by cocoagirl at 12:13 PM on August 3 [1 favorite]
posted by cocoagirl at 12:13 PM on August 3 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I have no personal experience with this particular auger, but:
I've been happy enough with every Vevor tool I've purchased. Which isn't a lot, but it's still batting 1.000. They're not contractor-grade by any stretch, but they're good enough for me as a capable DIY homeowner.
I look at this type of tool purchase like this: What's the daily rental cost, how many days do I think I'd need to rent the tool, plus a day so I'm not busing my ass trying to get it done "in time"... usually buying something of this grade winds up being about the same as the rental cost. They're almost always built well enough to last the job, in which case, great. I perhaps saved some on the rental cost, had no time pressure, and got the job done. More often, it still is plenty functional for my purposes long after the initial job is done, and I get a couple more years of intermittent use out of it. Maybe I find other things that I've been putting off, or hadn't considered, and now I can Do The Thing.
posted by xedrik at 1:23 PM on August 3 [2 favorites]
I've been happy enough with every Vevor tool I've purchased. Which isn't a lot, but it's still batting 1.000. They're not contractor-grade by any stretch, but they're good enough for me as a capable DIY homeowner.
I look at this type of tool purchase like this: What's the daily rental cost, how many days do I think I'd need to rent the tool, plus a day so I'm not busing my ass trying to get it done "in time"... usually buying something of this grade winds up being about the same as the rental cost. They're almost always built well enough to last the job, in which case, great. I perhaps saved some on the rental cost, had no time pressure, and got the job done. More often, it still is plenty functional for my purposes long after the initial job is done, and I get a couple more years of intermittent use out of it. Maybe I find other things that I've been putting off, or hadn't considered, and now I can Do The Thing.
posted by xedrik at 1:23 PM on August 3 [2 favorites]
I looked into the VEVOR corded auger last summer and chose to go cordless instead. I determined that I didn't need 90 ft-lb of torque, and less was actually better to reduce risk of injury. Battery augers either include an anti-kickback clutch in the powerhead (Makita, Ryobi) or a shock coil on the bit (Greenworks). The VEVOR and other corded earth augers in that price range are designed to bind up and wreck your shoulder or wrist rather than disengaging safely. Battery augers also include a reverse to free the bit when it gets caught on a large root or rock; the VEVOR and its imitators strangely do not. If you're working in a tilled field or silt plain, you might not need these features, but here in the woods, I sure do. There are also cord management issues if you have trees or other obstructions between the work area and the electrical outlet.
For installing T-posts or similar, I would recommend a garden auger and a cordless hammer drill. For installing 4x4s or lodgepole posts, I would recommend a 36+V battery auger with kickback protection. I would not consider using the VEVOR with its standard bit in stony soil or under the dripline of trees. When you add a proper bit with a torque coil (like Thunder Bay or Earthquake) and a 7/8" adapter onto the VEVOR, it's no longer a bargain compared to battery augers which include kickback protection and a reverse. If your use case is anything like mine, I would not recommend this product.
posted by backwoods at 4:34 PM on August 3 [3 favorites]
For installing T-posts or similar, I would recommend a garden auger and a cordless hammer drill. For installing 4x4s or lodgepole posts, I would recommend a 36+V battery auger with kickback protection. I would not consider using the VEVOR with its standard bit in stony soil or under the dripline of trees. When you add a proper bit with a torque coil (like Thunder Bay or Earthquake) and a 7/8" adapter onto the VEVOR, it's no longer a bargain compared to battery augers which include kickback protection and a reverse. If your use case is anything like mine, I would not recommend this product.
posted by backwoods at 4:34 PM on August 3 [3 favorites]
On the other hand a Vevor drill got very close to breaking my arm. Soft start failed, as did the safety clutch, and 1800w of core drill went from zero to full power instantly, pinning my arm between drill handle and trench. That was on use number two. On disassembly I found the soft start switch was rated for about half the current of the tool and fails to dangerous mode. The clutch seemed to only exist in marketing bullshit. I got my money back and the drill went in the bin, it was a lot worse than useless.
posted by deadwax at 4:38 PM on August 3 [1 favorite]
posted by deadwax at 4:38 PM on August 3 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks for the replies. They are helpful. Some points:
- A drill will not do
- Yes rocks
- I want electric because I don't want to deal with a finicky small engines. And gas. I just got rid of a Stihl weed whacker because half the time it wouldn't start.
- I didn't want cordless because: 1. I don't think a battery will last long (i.e. maybe an hour at a time) and 2. Battery wise I'm invested in Dewalt and they don't seem to make one of these
- I see the point about the Vevor not having anti-kickback whereas the battery powered ones do. Good point.
posted by falsedmitri at 6:45 PM on August 3
- A drill will not do
- Yes rocks
- I want electric because I don't want to deal with a finicky small engines. And gas. I just got rid of a Stihl weed whacker because half the time it wouldn't start.
- I didn't want cordless because: 1. I don't think a battery will last long (i.e. maybe an hour at a time) and 2. Battery wise I'm invested in Dewalt and they don't seem to make one of these
- I see the point about the Vevor not having anti-kickback whereas the battery powered ones do. Good point.
posted by falsedmitri at 6:45 PM on August 3
Best answer: I've used a Makita battery-powered auger (DDG461Z LXT 2x18v) a few times last week, and it's a tool that does the job with little risk to life and limb and without complaint. The only downside is the initial outlay would need to include batteries and a charger; we're already knee-deep in Makita battery tools so that didn't apply to us.
Specs state that with a 6" auger and 2 6Ah batteries it does 150 holes, 90 with an 8" auger. I think those are numbers where your own endurance will become a factor.
posted by Stoneshop at 2:26 AM on August 4 [1 favorite]
Specs state that with a 6" auger and 2 6Ah batteries it does 150 holes, 90 with an 8" auger. I think those are numbers where your own endurance will become a factor.
posted by Stoneshop at 2:26 AM on August 4 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: @Stoneshop: Those are impressive numbers so I guess yeah the machine is not the limitation but rather the human.
Do you think this could be the Dewalt equivalent?
posted by falsedmitri at 7:25 AM on August 4
Do you think this could be the Dewalt equivalent?
posted by falsedmitri at 7:25 AM on August 4
Best answer: The thing about "drill as auger" is that portable drill motors (as in, not a drill press) are always a sort of compromise on speed vs control. They need to be fast enough to be usable for drilling wood, but also have some degree of variable speed so you can slow it down a bit for drilling harder materials. You don't want a human-held earth auger to be hucking about at 400-600rpm or more; you want it nice and slow, for safety and control. The problem with a drill motor is trying to safely maintain a slow, controllable speed, often while using a variable-speed trigger. What happens if the auger bit meets resistance and you happen to squeeze a little harder on the trigger as a reflex?
A purpose-built earth auger, whether corded electric, gas, or battery, is going to be designed from the ground up to run at a lower rpm, and designed with handles and operator controls suited to the job, to maximize control and minimize risk of injury.
If you already had a gutsy drill that you could attach a T-handle to (better yet, use a longer length of threaded pipe, or two if it will allow), it'd be one thing to just buy an auger bit and have at it, as a pinch hitter. But if you're going to be buying a tool anyway, I really think you'd be a lot happier and a lot safer with one built specifically for the task.
posted by xedrik at 9:16 AM on August 4 [1 favorite]
A purpose-built earth auger, whether corded electric, gas, or battery, is going to be designed from the ground up to run at a lower rpm, and designed with handles and operator controls suited to the job, to maximize control and minimize risk of injury.
If you already had a gutsy drill that you could attach a T-handle to (better yet, use a longer length of threaded pipe, or two if it will allow), it'd be one thing to just buy an auger bit and have at it, as a pinch hitter. But if you're going to be buying a tool anyway, I really think you'd be a lot happier and a lot safer with one built specifically for the task.
posted by xedrik at 9:16 AM on August 4 [1 favorite]
Best answer: You can just buy the Makita auger and use your Dewalt batteries with cheap adapters from Amazon. A right angle drill is not going to be the same at all.
posted by ssg at 9:36 AM on August 4 [1 favorite]
posted by ssg at 9:36 AM on August 4 [1 favorite]
Do you think this could be the Dewalt equivalent?
Same RPM speeds, two gears, same power, auger fitting looks similar: I'd say yes.
Whether there's an adapter so that you can use the DeWalt batteries you already have on this machine is something that you would want to look into; that's something I don't know.
posted by Stoneshop at 2:19 PM on August 4
Same RPM speeds, two gears, same power, auger fitting looks similar: I'd say yes.
Whether there's an adapter so that you can use the DeWalt batteries you already have on this machine is something that you would want to look into; that's something I don't know.
posted by Stoneshop at 2:19 PM on August 4
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Because you might be able to get away with a big auger bit for your drill. And if you don't steady own a beefy plug-in electric drill, that might be something more versatile to consider buying instead of a single-purpose auger. I do fine with an auger bit, but I'm not trying to install hundreds of feet of fencing.
posted by SaltySalticid at 11:04 AM on August 3