Customer Reviews

Yard Butler REA-4 Roto Auger 18-Inch Long 1-1/4-Inch Diameter

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

 

 

Yard Butler Roto Auger 18-Inch Long 1.25-Inch Diameter #REA-4 Great for easily digging just the right size holes for inserting tree fertilizer spikes. Be Careful, to NO fault of the tool, if the tool encounters hard clay or rocks, the electric drill will twist quickly. You should hold the drill with both hands to prevent wrist injury.

The 30 inch auger -

It was quite a surprise to get the auger and find it
wasn't grooved to stop slipping in the drill chuck.
I also noticed there was no warranty to cover untempered
cheap metal. I work from a wheelchair and it is hard to
pick up when it falls out of the chuck.
Hope this helps someone.

Billy Mays Augers are way out front compared to Yard Butler

This bit will require you to grind a couple of sides FLAT before it will hold in your drill without slipping. You should use caution in rocky soil or area of roots. It is great to loosen the soil for planting of bulbs, it could do a better job of removing the dirt as you drill but look at the price. It is handy, and easy to use once you modify it.

The auger arrived with the end of the shaft crooked. It looked like a attempted cut off point but who knows. The metal is cheap and as others have pointed out the shaft is round and slips in the chuck. I corrected the problem by cutting off the crooked part with a hacksaw (how I know the metal is cheap). I thought QC was the initials of two words in Chinese that mean "Check Cleared" but this was made in Mexico. WTB, program that works with Amazon and keeps a list of shoddy companies to prevent buying from them again.

Auger works fine, however, the quality is poor compared to previous ones I have or have owned. The guage of the auger is about half what I have been accustomed to in previous augers. Unfortunately, there is very little choice in the market and if you want it you have to buy it. Typical "made overseas" quality.

Got the auger quickly and it works great for making the wholes to plant my annuals -- great investment.

After reading other reviews, I decided to give it a try. First thing out of the package I ground three flats on the shaft with my bench grinder to prevent it from slipping in the drill chuck. That done, it works fine for making small holes appropriate for fertilizer or other soil amendments. In areas thick with tree roots, it will twist the drill in your hands, and I had to repeatedly switch from forward to reverse to remove soil and root chips. All in all, an inexpensive tool that can work well if you're careful while drilling and have the capability of grinding flats on the shaft. Build quality nothing to write home about, but what the heck, it's an auger probably designed for one or two years service.

Other reviewers have mentioned the round shaft as a problem, and I also found this to be true. The manufacturer needs to take this seriously - the simple step of grinding three flats on the end of the shaft would have made this a five-star product. With a lot of fussing and trial-and-error, I was able to use my bench grinder and a file to turn the augur into a usable device. Unless you have very soft soil, it is not usable as shipped.

If you want to dig a small straight hole fast into hard ground to plant a pole- this is the tool for you.

I use this auger with a 18V drill to dig a 12" deep by 1-1/4 hole for a PVC flag receiver in the front lawn. It dig a hole so fast, it virtually twist the drill out of my hand.

After a couple of forward & reverse I got the hole made in less than a minute with much less effort than trying to pound the PVC pipe into the ground with a sledge hammer.

I like it.

Purchased this to help drive stakes into the ground. We were framing a 80X50 foot area, for a volleyball court, and each stake needed to go 15-18 inches into the ground. Using this augur cut the time per stake by about 80 %. Driving 30 stakes took maybe 15 minutes, instead of two hours.
Easy to use, did the job well. You should be cautioned to use a two hand grip. If the drill hits a patch of hard soil, it will twist in your hands.