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Auger Carrier Eases Tree Planting Chore
Tree nursery and Christmas tree farm workers spend a lot of time digging holes for transplanting trees. Many have found a hand auger speeds up the process, but hand augers generally take two people and it's still tiring work.
Lewis Bowser, Lititz, Pennsylvania, has a better idea. Bowser operates a small manufac
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Auger Carrier Eases Tree Planting Chore AUGERS Augers (29B) 25-1-11 Tree nursery and Christmas tree farm workers spend a lot of time digging holes for transplanting trees. Many have found a hand auger speeds up the process, but hand augers generally take two people and it's still tiring work.
Lewis Bowser, Lititz, Pennsylvania, has a better idea. Bowser operates a small manufacturing company called Christmas Tree Equipment Manufacturing. He's developed a carrier that turns a two-person auger into something one person can handle.
His patented Auger Transporter consists of a wishbone-shaped frame, hinged at the front. The base has three wheels with a 12-in. wheel in front and two small wheels behind. The auger mounts on the upper section of the frame, which is hinged just above and in front of the front wheel so it can move up and down. The hinged section is mounted on heavy springs, so unless you put pressure on it, the auger bit is held high enough so it's above the ground.
The carrier drills holes as deep as 19 in. That's more than deep enough for most small trees.
Bowser says his auger carrier is constructed of 7/8-in. solid round steel bars and heavy round tubing. It's topped off with a double powder coat finish - one red and one clear.
The Transporter folds for storage or transporting by simply releasing the lift springs and removing the auger bit.
After testing several options, Bowser chose a Tanaka 2-cycle engine and transmission for the unit. He notes that this engine/transmission combination gives high torque for digging with a low rpm so soil isn't thrown away from the hole.
He does have access to other engines, if you'd prefer something besides the Tanaka. And Bowser sells the Transporter without an engine or auger for people who already own a power auger.
With the Tanaka power plant, the current price on the Auger Transporter is $1,285 plus shipping. Without the engine and transmission, the price is $893.75. The unit comes with an extra cutting blade and shear pin, a bottle of engine oil and proper measuring device, as well as tools and safety and operating manuals.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Christmas Tree Equipment (CTE) Manufacturing, 551 Stauffer Road, Lititz, Penn. 17543 (ph 717 627-7071; fax 717 626-8557; E-mail: ctebowser@hotmail.com; Web site: www.christmas-tree-equipment.com.html).
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