Digger derricks efficiently bore holes in the ground for construction projects and for industries such as telecommunication. Every digger derrick truck relies on the correct auger to bore holes into the ground.

Just like with any tool, choosing the right auger can make your project go smoothly. Choosing the wrong auger results in wasted time and can damage equipment. Know the things to consider when choosing a digger derrick auger.

First, the type of ground influences what kind of auger you should use. Ground hardness can range from very soft to extremely hard conditions. And the soil can have low abrasive qualities or be highly abrasive to tooling.

The ground qualities can change depending on shifting water levels, too. Understanding the site conditions is an important consideration for selecting an auger.

The second thing to consider when choosing a digger derrick auger is the type of teeth you need. The end of the auger is crowned with teeth you can switch out for the ground conditions.

For soft ground including dirt, sand, and silt, it’s best to use dirt augers with flat teeth. Middle-hardness ground including clay, gravel, and fracturable rock can use a wider variety of teeth. And bullet-shaped teeth can bore through non-fracturable rock, the hardest ground.

An auger’s flighting is the twisted blade. The flight length is the length between either end of the spiral. The longer the flight, the more soil the auger can pull out in one go.

The pitch is the distance between two parallel sections of the spiral. When the spiral edges have less space between them, they have a flatter pitch. Augers with a flatter pitch are better for digging into loose soil.

More space between the spiral edges means a steeper pitch. Steeper pitches are better for digging into wet ground because the clumped material is easier to remove from the auger once it finishes digging.