Features:

  • Manual recoil easy start fuel delivery system
  • Includes Gas Powerhead with 8” Auger Bit; 6-inch bit available and sold separately
  • Direct gear with solid steel drive shaft
  • Wide detachable butterfly handles for better balance and convenient storage
  • Please refer to owner's manual for directions on proper use
The little Auger that could!

Purchased this to do a DYI privacy fence project and what a pleasant suprise! Our ground has been dry and hard as we have been in a drought not to mention we have a lot of red clay in our soil. This dude cut thru the hard ground like butter. Dug 2 foot deep with no problem. Easy to operate with one person, though after about the tenth straight hole, you may be worn out and need a second set of hands on the grips. I held one side and the wife held onto the other side of the grips. After she got tired, my teenage son jumped in to help. He operated it by his self with no problems. Only difficulty we encountered was when we hit some small rocks. Unit is slow or locks up but that is expected. Cant cut thru rock, right? So we pulled up slightly, up and down until rock was dislodged and digging commenced full speed. GREAT PRODUCT, EXCELLENT PRICE, EXCEPTIONAL VALUE! Unit cranked right up, started engine quickly and easily. Could not even imagine digging fence posts by hand without this little piece of equipment! Worth every penny and then some for any hole digging needs.

Excellent tool and CAUTION - do not use ether

This is an excellent tool and a great value. It is not magic. I think it is the best possible value for a manual auger used by a newbie. I researched dozens of powerheads and auger combos before getting this. (OK, perhaps it is a little obsessive, but that's the way I research.) I drove 50 8" diameter holes through sand, clay, earth with rocks, and many thick and thin roots. After that experience I would not use a manual auger with a larger CC unless it had a torque arm (some long metal or wood to absorb the shock if it hits an obstruction) CAUTION - DO NOT USE ETHER (starting fluid). The ether dissolves the glue of the air filter and the paper element falls away. The round air filter is NOT available from Southland for this model - you must order a whole cover and filter assembly for another auger model that is compatible with this unit. I got some filter foam and cut it with scissors to replace the dissolved air filter. RTFM - I used ether because it did not start quickly. Finally I read the manual and pushed the priming bulb before starting. That worked. This auger performs extremely well IF you respect its limitations. 1. it is a one-person manual tool. If it gets stuck, it can torque and hammer on your leg mercilessly. 2. When it got stuck, I rocked it back-and-forth until the root broke. If I could not break the root, I disconnected the power head and unscrewed the auger with a wrench. Unless you have clean , sandy soil, get a long 3/8 bolt or rod to help unscrew the stuck auger. 3. This auger can cut through roots up to 3/4 inch. The two halves of the cut root remain in the way, and the auger can suck itself down and get stuck. 4. Same if you cut through many smaller 1/4 inch diameter roots - if it stops augering, then clear the hole and cut the roots with a shear or reciprocating saw.

amazing

Just finished using this for about 45 post holes for a wood fence. It only took about 3 hours with this this that is with us taking breaks. If I didn't have this it would have taken days to complete love this thing

Does great digging holes. Beats a post hole digger.

This device works well. Best to have 2 people on it, for reasons that you will catch a rock eventually and your arms will take a jolt, even with the spring attachment to the auger which eases the trauma but not completely. It digs well in stages in my hard soil. I usually end up using the 6 inch bit to full depth, then the 8" bit, then the 10 inch bit if needed to full depth. Going straight to 8" seems to be a little much for this device in my soil, but if I went slower, it may not be an issue. Overall, I'm happy with my purchase. Start up was not difficult, and I plan to maintain the engine and keep it gas-free in the winter time to prolong the life. There is some energy spent lifting the device out of the ground with dirt on it, but holes are dug much quicker and with less energy with this auger. The only thing better would be an auger attachment on your skid steer, but that is over $1000.

Cost less than 2 days rental and works like I hoped it would

I had 22 cedar fence posts to replace. I went to our local equipment rental shop and discovered that for the price of 2 days rental I could buy this auger. So I decided to give this Southland auger a try. I was skeptical because I was not sure how the little 2 cycle engine could provide enough power to actually dig the post-holes. With 10 post-holes completed, I can assure you that it has more than enough power to do the job! In fact, I use it with a tie down strap attached to the hitch on the back of my 4 wheeler (a good suggestion by another reviewer) which really helps stabilize the auger and reduce the 'kick-back' when you hit a root or rock. This Southland auger really works, it's well build to stand up to hard drilling and as I said earlier, it has more than enough power to drill new post-holes in our hard clay and rocky soil. I had no problem with the fuel tank leaking as reported by a few other reviewers. It starts, runs, and works like you expected it should. Southland SEA438 One Man Auger with 43cc, 2 Cycle, Full Crankshaft Engine

Works great! Easy to use. Drills holes in the Earth!!

This worked very well in my application. I used it in a wooded area and compacted clay soil. I researched a lot of different post hole augers and was looking for something economical to do a couple of small projects. This one fit the bill and I have no complaints. I even encountered some tree roots about the size of a man's thumb and it chewed right through them. At first, it didn't start well or idle well but I'm certain that it was because it wasn't broken in. After the first few holes, it ran and idled very well. To get it started the first time, I did cheat and poured a little gas straight in the spark plug hole. It started right up after that and I had to feather the throttle to keep it running until it got broke in. Do yourself a favor and use a high quality two stroke oil and not the oil provided with it. I run a lot of two stroke machines (KTM motorcycles, leaf blowers, weed eaters, chainsaws, etc) and I only use Amsoil synthetic two stroke oil and have had great success and never a fouled plug. Good oil lubricates well, burns clean, no plug fouling, runs better and overall just makes good sense to minimize your headaches. I sound like a saleman for Amsoil but I'm not. I'm just a true believer and faithful user. There are other good two stroke oils out there.

Shocked at the power!

I wanted to spruce up my yard with some arborvitae trees for some privacy. Due to having multiple back surgeries, I am unable to dig so I recruited my buddy to shovel 20 holes in my yard. I thought it would only take 3-4 hours to finish the project. Unfortunately, I was wrong. My buddy, a Marine, was unable to get through it (along with multiple other projects I had going on in the yard), in an afternoon. He asked if I could rent an auger from Home Depot for the next weekend. I totally forgot about tool rentals. As I was pricing out the rental, it would have been around $70 for 4 hours for rental time. I thought that was a bit steep so I looked online if I could buy one instead for a little bit more money. After doing some pricing and researching, I came across this auger. At first, I was hesitant to buy because it had less power than most of the other ones I saw. I was going to buy more powerful augers but I needed one quickly and they would have arrived a week later than I needed them. This auger, the Southland SEA438, had Prime tagged to it and would arrive in time. Putting it together was easy and took about 2 minutes. My buddy came over and knocked out the rest of the holes within an hour. We were both impressed at the price point and the power that this auger demonstrated. The only con with this is when he was using the auger, he initially had the engine pointing towards him. The engine got so hot that it burned his sweatshirt through two layers (the pocket in the front and the sweatshirt)! Other than that, the auger is perfect for backyard projects.

Great Auger For The Price!

I've used this now to dig about 25 holes ranging from hard clay, very "rooty" soil and sandy/rock soil and have been extremely impressed with the unit thus far. The instructions were easy to understand and putting the unit together took about 5 minutes. I added fuel (I buy high quality 2 cycle synthetic oil for my Stihl saws and such so didn't use the stuff that came with it), pressed the primer bulb about 6 times and it started on the second pull and has started on the first or second pull every-time since then (even after heavy use and being stopped for a few minutes). It has plenty of power for a 1 man unit (any more and risk of injury goes up!) and given my soil conditions are less than ideal, I believe it's a safe unit to operate in that it does stop when it hits a large rock it can't dislodge. I had rented a 2 man Stihl for about 50 holes before I purchased this unit and the Stihl literally threw two people off it when it hit a large rock so I like the safety of this one. That said, you really need to hold on to the unit and don't go full throttle until you can tell it's having a easy time digging in the soil. The throttle location I found to be in an uncomfortable position and it also felt like it could get stuck but hasn't thus far but nothing I would deduct a star for given the price. I do wish it had a "reverse" but it seems like most of them don't.

Perfect! Simply Perfect! A+++

The unit comes well boxed for shipping. Arrived undamaged. Assembly was easy. Even came with the wrenches. A+ Starting the unit was easy too. Much easier then my gas powered weed Wacker. Once running it purrs like a kitten. Once get use to using it, you will love it. I found you let the unit dig by itself d I wn and pull it up once in a while and git it a little gas and spin off the dirt. Then let it back in the hole and dig some more. To start the unit just push the primer bulb a few times and pull. Started right up.

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