Auger drill bits and FROZEN ground

[Clarence Martin]

Any idea if a 2 inch Auger bit can drill through FROZEN ground?

If it can, about how long might the cordless drill battery work doing that, till it needs to be recharged

[Ole Anderson]

Can't answer that, but the 2" auger on a cordless drill is the tool of choice for the beach umbrella rental guys in Florida. No frozen ground there though...

[John C Bush]

same for ski race course pole placement. Ice on top and compact snow but no soil. I bet there is a "soil" auger made specifically for that purpose. Cable anchors have auger drive but would need to pull back to extract spoils as you drill.

[Rod Sheridan]

It sure can, however I used a heavy duty 1/2" drill to drive it.............Rod.

[Lee Schierer]

I imagine it would drill some holes, but how well and how long is going to depend on soil composition. Any rock content is certainly going to cause problems.

[Greg R Bradley]

My non-frozen but rocky SoCal soil requires a huge drill to bore 2". If you are using cordless, I would suggest only the big Makita or Milwaukee 1000+ in/lb units with the 12" long side handle.
If you are trying to pull dirt out of a deep hole, it will be frustrating as the drill bit just keeps drilling deeper until it pulls the drill into the dirt, leaving you to pull up hard to extract dirt. Kills you back quickly.

[Clarence Martin]

Thanks for the replys . Just looking to drill 10 holes along the edge of the driveway, in the lawn for driveway markers. 1 Foot of snow on the ground now, and the ground is frozen solid ! I figure if I can just drill the holes a few inches deep, that ought to hold the driveway markers in place for the snow plow driver to see. Might try just a plain 1 1/2 inch auger bit.

[Jim Laumann]

I teach snowmobile safety, and have to set up a driving range for my students (youth most the time) to navigate. On years w/ lots of snow, I just drive a wooden stick in to the snow. On years w/ not enough snow to hold the sticks, I've had success using a 5/16 or 3/8" (round) electric fence post w/ a 2-3# black smith hammer. Not easy but it can be done.

My guess is that while you do have frozen ground, the frost hasn't penetrated terribly deep yet. The snow you have will provide some insulation value to the soil.

[Tim Bueler]

Post hole augers are nothing more than giant drill bits. I used a 1-1/2" bit years ago in desperation. Had to dig under a footing with no room to work a digging bar. Drilled a series of holes under with the auger bit, cleaned that out and just kept going until the hole was large enough. I've also used it for digging post holes in hard pan and hard, rocky ground. Pretty hard on the bit though. Depending on your ground consistency your auger bit may never cut wood again. I keep my old 1-1/2" bit for just these occasions and find I use it once a year or so.
Tim

[Rick Moyer]

A more Neander way would be to pound a horseshoe/quoit stake in the ground, pound side to side and remove. May not get you your two inches though.
Or, you could have done what I did and put the markers in the ground before it froze! ;)

[Steve Demuth]

In NY, it's highly unlikely that the ground is frozen more than an inch or so deep, if it's frozen at all, under 10" of snow. You might well be able to take a short length of re-rod and hammer and bash through the veneer of frost with a couple of whacks. I've driven a lot of fence posts in the winter - if there is significant early snow, it's rarely hard.

[Brian Backner]

I don't know what kind of markers you plan to use, but several years ago I switched to something that is impossible to miss and is very cheap. After using fiberglass rods, and having delivery trucks trash a good dozen every winter (at several bucks a pop), I was wondering through a closeout store one day and saw the perfect driveway marker.

First, get a bunch of old 1/2" or 5/8" rebar 5' or so long and drive them at least a foot deep with a 3# hand sledge along the edge of your driveway. Then slip a 3" diameter foam swimming pool "noodle" over them. Done.

They are so fat, and so bright (I got florescent orange!), they are impossible to miss. You can get them for about 50 cents each after Labor Day.

The one disadvantage is if someone succeeds in running one over. The rebar will be bent and if the driver tries to back up, it can puncture the floor pan of the car, the gas tank, etc. If that is a concern for you, you could use wooden or fiberglass stakes instead. To get the fiberglass into the ground, I used to preform a hole for them by driving a piece of 1/4" steel rod to depth first.

The noodles I'm using are currently on their fifth winter and while their color is a little less vibrant, none of them show any signs of degrading.

[sullivan mcgriff]

I used to set up slalom ski courses with a 9.6v MaKita drill with a 1 inch auger I jokingly tried ito on the ground at home in January, it just spun and polished the ground, this is in northern alberta though so we get a bit colder was minus 29 c this am