52cc Petrol Earth Auger / Fence Post Hole Borer + 3 Auger Bits + Extension Bit + More

I was so tempted to buy one of these for the past year, but I just kept backing out. Finally a few days ago I bit the bullet and made the purchase !! It arrived a lot sooner than expected and it took all my might to leave it in the shed last night and not open it! First thing this morning I went out and got stuck in ! Its very well packaged , in one big box with plenty of styrofoam to prevent damage in shipping. It comes with a handy tool kit, bottle of 2 stroke oil , bottle for mixing petrol and also a detailed user manual.I attached the smallest auger (4 inch) and also the extension bar as I was feeling brave. It seems to be very well made and not just thrown together on a conveyor line. I put a 40:1 mix in and primed the bulb. On the 2nd pull it fired right up. I was delighted 🙄I brought it out to a rough part of the garden where I knew the ground wasn't just pure soil. A little nervous at first until I got the feel for the machine , it started to dig like a knife through butter. It's very very powerful , if I were to give one single piece of advice it would be- respect the power of this machine!!I dug a half dozen holes and it did try throw me around when it struck big stones and roots , but all I had to do was let go of the throttle and pull the auger out. You soon get the hang of it !!I dug down further than I'll ever need to dig, but it's great to know that if I need to get down to 4ft then I can with ease !The reason I bought this machine is not to be used every day or every week even, but for the few times a year we get those demanding jobs and a machine like this becomes a life saver! When we need it, we really need it if you get me . All in all I'm over the moon with this auger. The tests I carried out on it today surpassed my expectations in every way. I'll be using this in the near future and should my impression change or if I encounter any problems then I'll be back to change this review. For anyone on the fence about whether to buy one - I'd happily recommend it !Edit on 14th Feb 2018- just an update to let people know how the machine has faired out after a few months. Since my original review I was able to take on a large job from a landowner to plant 2200 thorn trees. We planted every single tree and a few hundred extra (approx 450 ) . So this machine has drilled a little over 2600 holes approximately 10 inches deep with the 4 inch auger and I can't fault it. We encountered all sorts of ground conditions throughout this job and it just kept going and going !! This is probably the best investment I have made in the past 18 months.

I looked at a LOT of these and read reviews before I bought this auger. This machine is really the best. Has 3 usable diameters, an extension piece which stops your back breaking after the 10th hole. Is 'light' enough to handle BUT really has the grunt to do the work. Can be used with 2 people when the going gets tough. At circa £160 this is the best piece of plant I have bought in years. I am 72 and I am thinking of going into fencing :)Instructions are simple - took 3 pulls to start first time, after that went first pull every time, all day. If you have virgin, hard ground, a good tip; dig a small depression first and chuck a bucket of water in the depression to soak over night; it the goes through like cutting butter. Can't wait for the next job!

Very good value considering you get a set of augers and an extension bar. 2 stroke engine so make sure you get the oil mix right. Starts fine in a few pulls and has enough torque for the job. A bit noisy and heavy but that's expected.

This item is easy to use and does exactly what it says however a great deal of care needs to be taken when digging in rocky ground as this machine will happily remove your arms from their sockets if the blade encounters a large stone at full blast. Actually, with care, you can tell when there is a rock and then simply fish it out by hand or attack it with a pry bar before continuing with the post hole digger. It can be used by two people at once which is what we did (much safer). Unfortunately mine arrived with a broken switch/control handle but I could not wait for a replacement and have taped it back together and seems to be holding up. All in all - a good purchase.

After deciding to do the fence myself I thought I’d better get the right tools. Was going to hire one but based o fitting it in around work a months hire would have been immense, so I decided to buy one. The premium make ones are £600 plus and I don’t plan on doing this for a living so I started to look at budget ones somewhat more dubiously as sometimes these are low quality.I have to say this tool was fantastic it made mincemeat of the ground when it was stone free, cut through any roots I discovered and started very reliably. Only down side of this type of tool is if you max the speed your going to be landing in next doors garden with two sore wrists if you hit a stone! Found it easier to go slow and steady picking out any stones with a post spade.Thoroughly recommended

Arrived damagedStarted once, started to bore hole, no clutch so snaps at your wrists (get a clutched version instead).They did initiate a return, however, due to containing fuel / 2 stroke, the courier refused to take the item.Can't really comment on customer service, but the product is poor quality. Amazon had to step in

ProsIts a good value auger with 3 different size bitsEasy to get going and assembleI'm post and railing 100s of metres of fencing and it's still going although I think the bits are becoming bluntConsHard to penetrate compacted ground and needs additional weight of another person to digWhen hits a stone can jerk violently - I have a few bruises - need to be careful with itAs above, its digging capacity does seem to be reducing, but i've worked it very hard to be fair.Not much weight to it, can be a pro/con. Easy to move around, but limits its digging capacity unless you have some weight behind you. At 11 stone I struggled a bit.Throttle got stuck with dirt and one point. When I started the engine the whole machine revolved violently. Again need to be careful.