Spoons/ post hole diggers - single vs double hinged

daivid

I have a few poles I want to install, these will require holes of 900-1000mm. I am going to buy a set of post hole diggers to use in conjunction with a heavy digging bar I could either get traditional straight handled https://www.toolstation.com/roughneck-post-hole-digger/p55706 or for about £20 more double hinged https://www.toolstation.com/roughneck-heavy-duty-post-hole-digger/p14312 . Looking through the reviews some say the double hinged are essential for deeper holes, whilst others say the straight handled are fine. Does anyone have any experience of these for digging straight holes down to about 1m?

Thanks in advance.

Edited as the opening sentence had lost a word somehow.

Sky_

I haven't used those but we recently dug 1m post holes using a fence post auger like this https://www.toolstation.com/draper-fence-post-auger/p75571 (ours is a wider version, still Draper brand, from @mazon) and we found it very easy and quick to use.  Our soil is sandy loam, but the lawn we dug in is very compacted and has a lot of tree and shrub roots going through it.  

Tomc

The single post hole digger is used to dig the hole and loosen the dirt.  The spoons are normally just used to remove the loose earth in the hole. The spoons would not normally be as strong as a post hole digging bar or a fencers graft (long spade). You could get down to a metre but might have to make the diameter of the hole a bit larger.

shinytop

I have done a lot of posts with the single hinged version and if I'd know the double hinged ones existed, I would have got them. I haven't tried the double ones but it is quite awkward lifting the dirt out whilst pulling the handles apart with my single ones. 

daivid

Sky_ said:

I haven't used those but we recently dug 1m post holes using a fence post auger like this https://www.toolstation.com/draper-fence-post-auger/p75571 (ours is a wider version, still Draper brand, from @mazon) and we found it very easy and quick to use.  Our soil is sandy loam, but the lawn we dug in is very compacted and has a lot of tree and shrub roots going through it.  

They looked interesting, I'm not sure about keeping the hole straight, and what happens in rocky ground? Possibly the same as with spoons - bash the stone to pieces with the heavy bar them remove? The straightness of the hole would be my main concern though, with 2.6m above any lean will be obvious and with manual digging there is more opportunity to adjust as you go.

gamston

I agree with Sky_ auger is the way to go for posts easy to use

Ganga

You could always hire a petrol powered auger machine from your local tool hire company ,easy to use and so so easy to obtain deep holes.

daivid

Thanks all, I've ordered a hand auger and will give it a go, it's by far the cheapest possibility so worth trying first. I should have been clearer than 'a few posts' just 4 and not in any rush so don't think I need a powered auger.