Customer Reviews

Ardisam Earthquake Earth Auger Powerhead - 43cc, Model# E43

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I live in an area with a lot of trees and my soil is mostly roots and rocks. I literally could not get a pick into the ground, much less a shovel.

I looked at some inexpensive auger bits that go in drills, but they all seem to require that you have good soil to begin with, so I bit the bullet and bought the 43CC. It was money well spent. Work that was simply impossible before with a pick and shovel is done easily with the 43CC in a matter of minutes.

I got a 2" auger bit because the bits are pretty price at $100+ (but again, well worth it) and the 2" bit can do many jobs. I use it for putting in poles for bird feeders/houses, for drilling holes for tree fertilizer spikes, and for breaking up the ground down a foot or two to make flower beds.

For making the beds, I just dig a bunch of holes across the area, pour on some compost, and mix it in with a shovel, break up the spaces between holes, then the bed is ready for planting. I can prepare a 6'x3' bed in less than 15 minutes where, again, I could not get a pick in the ground before.

Well. I have owned 2 of these, Both ending up in the same situation. Broken pull rope assemblies, split primer bulbs & dissolving gas lines and grommets. I have spent more money on replacement items than one should have to. A primer bulb that weighs an ounce, cost $3.40 to buy and $10.31 to ship it.

Don't get started with this machine, it won't get past 6 months of use. All the good engineering in the world won't make up for poor quality materials used in the parts.

I own lots of gas powered equipment and most all operate for years without any major problems. But not this product.

Solution, buy another brand.

DO NOT buy this product. I bought it to put some fence posts in the ground at my house. It worked Ok for about 3 days of use. Then the pull cord broke (without misuse) and when I went to fix it I discovered the whole pull cord mechanism is not repairable. The wheel the cord wraps around was merely plastic and has no chance of standing up to much use at all. The plastic is warped (probably due to the heat put off by the engine which is about 1/2" away from the recoil assembly!!!)and there is no way to get the spring to go back into place again due to the wheel warpage. It should be made of metal, nothing else will work in a situation like this. Even if they stand by their product and take it back the same plastic part being replaced will only fail time and again and so I simply could not in good concience recommend buying this item. Pathetic to even market something like this with plastic parts!!! I have a cement mixer with a Honda engine with a similar pull start recoil assembly which has lasted me 20 YEARS (used commercially) because the parts within ARE MADE OF METAL.

If you need to put posts into sand...and less than 2 feet into the ground...then this might be right for you. In normal topsoil...this unit is a total waste of money...useless. Hit one small tree root...and it stops. Sever the root with a bar...and it still stops. Hit a small stone...and it stops. As I said...useless. This is severely underpowered. Don't even consider getting this for any real job. Go to a rental center and rent a real post hole digger...this is essentially useless.

The extension is also a waste of time...as it is unable to go beyond one foot of any real topsoil...and less than a foot into clay soils.

I ordered this unit with a 8" auger bit. I had no trouble with any starting issues ( both cold starts and warm starts ) as I read

in other reviews. Maybe I just got lucky. Only used for about one hour so far because of the bad weather. Boring 8" holes in wet

and sticky soil is a challange, but I just had to try it out. Just beware, because you better hang on went you hit a large rock.

In this part of the country (Northest PA ) we have plenty of rocks, and I mean plenty. So, I will say So Far So Good. I wish it

had a reverse gearing setup like some of the 4 cycle larger units. As the weather improves, I will give an updated review.

I bought this machine to help loosen the ground prior to planting a hedge. The depths of holes were about 18 inches in soils not too hard.The machine did OK for the first 20 holes and then,it seems that the clutch is stuck.This means,as soon as the engine starts,and even with the throttle at the lowest,the machine starts to spin,making it impossible to use.This is only the first day of usage.I am planing to return it.

The auger and bit arrived on time. It runs well so far. I expected it to dig a bit better but it does a good job until it hits a rock in the soil. Then it jams. It's good if you have lots of plants to plant and soil that is not too rocky.

I drill several holes with this machine for fencing posts. Works very nice and starts with no difficulty.

Its very easy to use.

I received this with a 10" auger and set it up eagerly. I'd seen online videos of augers that drilled in seconds... so I get is powered and head out to a spot I needed to bore and 5 minutes later my heart sank. I barely got 2 inch deep. Maybe I wasn't throtling enough being my first time to use, but am I mean to rev it to super hi like with a chain saw? Most chains saws cut when revved up to full. So maybe I was being too delicate. But if not, then the engine is rather weak.

I'll try it again tomorrow. This time I'll rev it up real good and it had better work or else the rating remains the same or goes down one.

Otherwise the engine is nice, small enough to carry around, but requires a second 'man' to hold it while you start it up.

UPDATED REVIEW:

Managed to rev the engine to max and that seems to be the point where it gets it's power. So rev it up good. Then avoid clay or black cotton soils. Those can be hard to drill. Managed to get a large hole dug in a few minutes, but the soil is not lifted out, so I have to scoop it. I blame it on the soil. So this is a great tool... but more power needed to handle clay and black cotton.