What Is a Skid Steer Auger?
A skid steer auger is an attachment that uses your skid steers auxiliary hydraulic power to “auger” or dig holes in the earth.
Like many other skid steer attachments, a skid steer auger turns hydraulic power into high torque rotational force. The rotational force turns an auger with specially designed cutting teeth. The teeth loosen the earth beneath it, so the “auger flight” can move the earth upwards and out of the whole it is digging.
This is one of the most popular skid steer attachments, with its popularity only growing through the last few years.
What Types of Skid Steer Auger Drives Are Available?
Skid steer attachments need to be sized properly, and an auger drive is no exception. When choosing the correct auger drive unit for your skid steer, your first consideration should be hydraulic flow.
Each drive unit is designed for specific gallons per minute of hydraulic flow. Running too high of a flow through your drive unit could result in a damaged drive unit, while not being able to run enough flow through the drive unit will result in an underpowered auger.
Drive units will be rated for a gallon per minute range. For example, if your skid steer auxiliary hydraulics produce 16 GPM, purchasing an auger drive unit rated at 10 - 20 GPM would result in the best performance.
How Do I Choose an Auger For My Skid Steer?
Firstly, ensure that your auger is compatible with your skid steers auger drive unit.
Auger drives will come with several different sizes of final drives. Most commonly for skid steers is 2” hex, 2 1/2” hex and 2 9/16” Round. The auger you select to use with your drive must have the same size head on it to be compatible.
The size of the head on the drive unit is usually a matter of how much torque the auger drive has. The higher the torque, the larger the diameter of the final drive.
High torque drive units must be paired with heavier built augers. Likewise, a drive unit with less torque will struggle to work efficiently with too large of an auger.
With that said, you should also know that it is possible to purchase adapters to use different size augers with your auger drive.
What Is The “Flight” on a Skid Steer Auger?
The flight on an auger is the spiralling ribbon that is welded onto the augers shaft that lifts the augured material out of the hole.
Knowing the weakest point on any of your skid steer attachments is essential when shopping around. On an auger, this is the weld connecting the flight to the augers shaft. A weak weld in this area will result in premature failure of the auger.
As an additional note, skid steer augers are engineered with single or double flights. A single flight is all that is needed to manage loose soil.
How Long is a Skid Steer Auger?
Most skid steer augers are built to be 48" in length, but will have varying diameters depending on the customers needs.
There are exceptions to this. For example, Star Industries sells a 30" t-post auger which increases the speed and efficiency of drilling t-posts.
How Deep Can a Skid Steer Auger Dig?
There are accessories available to allow your machine to dig deeper than the standard 48". For example, various lengths of auger extensions are available. An auger extensions mounts directly to your auger drive and adds anywhere from 24" to 72" of depth.
What Types Of Augers Are Available?
Augers are often built to serve specific purposes. Popular categories are regular dirt augers for post holes, heavy duty rock augers, and even heavy duty augers to grind stumps.
Auger bits will have different styles and arrangements of teeth to perform different functions. This is largely what makes a standard auger different than a rock auger.
The diameter of augers are variable so be sure to buy one that will work for your application.
If you need assistance determining which auger bit is right for your skid steer, contact out customers support today.
How Much does a Skid Steer Auger Cost?
Pricing of a new drive is around $3500. Bit prices vary considerably more, between $200 and $2000. It can range from $300 to $780 per piece.
The price of a shaft extension ranges from $200 to $600 depending on the length.
Be sure to buy equipment that works great with your Bobcat. Talk to your dealer, ensure you are happy with the service, and buy a great product from reputable brands such as Star Industries and Blue Diamond.
Want To Know More About Skid Steer Attachments?
Give us a phone call today, we can help you get set up for your next project. We know you will be impressed with our customer support. 1-866-990-7543
