How To Use An Auger To Dig A Hole

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An auger is a tool used to bore holes, and has a threaded shank and handle. Augers bore holes in the ground, through materials like wood or ice, and even in packed material clogging water pipes. This article gives instruction in using the ii nearly mutual kinds of augers: post-hole augers and drain augers.

i
Choose the right auger for the job. Y'all demand to consider what kind of soil you'll be digging in, how many holes y'all will dig and whether yous take someone to help you lot run the auger.
- A hand auger tin be operated by ane or 2 people. This is best if you only take 1 or 2 holes to dig, because information technology takes a lot of piece of work to plough the handle.^[1]
- A power auger uses a gasoline engine to turn the auger, but it can be dangerous if it runs into a rock or other obstacle. The auger will stop all of a sudden, which tin can crusade the tiptop to jerk, knocking yous off your feet or fifty-fifty breaking your arm.^[2]
- A wheeled auger is a power auger mounted on a wheeled frame, so at that place is less take a chance you lot'll be injured if it stops.
- A tractor auger is safest because you operate it from the tractor seat. If something goes wrong, you are at safe distance.^[3]
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Don steel-toes boots and leather gloves. If yous employ a ability auger, y'all also demand hearing and center protection. Don't article of clothing loose clothing that can exist defenseless in the auger.^[4]

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Pause up the soil if it's especially hard. Your auger will work all-time if the commencement few inches or centimeters is like shooting fish in a barrel to dig into. Use a spade, digging tool or clamshell post-hole digger. If the ground is all the same likewise hard, soak the area with water.
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Hold the auger upright past the handle, with the shank perpendicular to the ground. Begin turning the handle or start the motor.^[5]
- If a powered auger stops of a sudden, immediately release the throttle or hitting the kill switch terminate the motor.
5

Dig down about 12 inches (30 cm). Raise the auger out of the hole and dump the dirt off the blades. If you don't regularly dump off the dirt, the auger will become too heavy to raise easily. Information technology may even become stuck in the hole.^[6]
six

Render the auger to the hole and continue excavation and dumping the dirt. Most post-holes are about 3 feet (one meter) deep. Augers can dig much deeper, however, if you employ extension rods.

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Choose an auger, too called a pipe serpent. Consider factors such every bit the age of the business firm and what plumbing problems you've had before. While a simple auger may non exist adequate for every situation, a power auger requires you to lug a heavy spool around to articulate the smallest drain clogs.^[7]
- A paw-cranked auger is a long cablevision with a threaded chip that pushes down into the bleed until it contacts the obstruction. A hand-crank turns the bit, which bores into the obstruction
- A power auger may come up with its own motor or it may be fastened to a drill that uses a motor to spin the bit. The motor makes getting through the obstruction easier and faster. Yous can contrary the motor to help pull the obstruction out of the pipe.
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Push the cable into the bleed until it hits the obstacle and stops. Exit half-dozen to 8 inches (15 to 20 cm) betwixt the drain and the crank so you can operate it easily. If you have too much cable between the drain and the crank, information technology may kink.^[viii]
three

Plow the crank or utilise the motor to turn the bit clockwise. The bit will push button against the obstruction, which may be enough to articulate information technology. If not, the flake will bore into the obstruction.^[9]
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End cranking when the scrap stops turning. If yous are using a ability auger, stop when the motor slows down.
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Push on the auger to see if it pushes the obstacle through. If that doesn't work, pull to see if you can break up the obstruction. If you lot are using a power auger, reverse the motor a few times to run across if the obstacle breaks up.
half-dozen

Watch to see if the drain becomes unclogged. If it doesn't, use the auger once more to bore into more of the obstruction. Keep working until the obstacle is completely broken upward and the water drains well.
7

Consider working on large or stubborn obstructions from the other side. Detect the clean-out pipe, which may exist close to the house on the outside or in the basement or crawlspace. Thread the auger through the clean-out pipe and work as before.

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If you are using a post-pigsty auger to dig holes more than 3 feet (one meter) deep, drill to 3 feet (one meter) first, then add the extension rods and drill deeper. It's far more than difficult to drill if yous beginning with the extensions fastened.
You can get rid of accumulated dirt past slowly spinning a ability auger and letting the dirt fly off. However, if you want to backfill with the dirt you lot're removing, you don't want to besprinkle information technology.

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Always telephone call the utility companies before you lot brainstorm digging so a representative tin can mark where the underground cables and pipes are. If you break a utility line, you volition be financially responsible for the repairs.^[10]