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Landscaping with Little Beaver

Landscaping with Little Beaver

Jul 13, 2022

How Earth Drills and Mini-Trenchers Can Streamline Yard Projects

Landscaping keeps your lawn protected, healthy and looking great. Whether you’re doing a full landscaping project or just adding a sprinkler system, Little Beaver haMechanical Earth Drill horizontal borings tools that can help speed up your work. Keep reading to learn how our Mechanical earth drills and Kwik-Trench mini-trenchers can help your next project go quickly and smoothly.

Mechanical Earth Drills

Mechanical earth drills cut down on the time you spend digging holes. If you’ll be planting trees or shrubs, or installing mailboxes or fence posts, you’ll find that using an earth drill significantly speeds up the process while creating consistent holes that meet the size requirements of your project.

Little Beaver Mechanical earth drills combine a compact, lightweight design with additional safety features to allow safe and efficient one-man operation. Our torque tube reroutes kickback from the drill away from the operator, making it one of the safest drills for single person operation. One-man drilling projects can be dangerous, but Little Beaver earth drills help ensure your project is done efficiently and safely.

Kwik-Trench Mini-Trencher

Traditionally, landscapers have used shovels and other gardening tools to break up soil to dig trenches for edging or underground wiring or sprinkler lines. This process is time-consuming and physically grueling. That’s why Little Beaver offers a mini-trencher.

The Kwik-Trench features a simple, push-forward design for easy operation and enhanced operator safety compared to competitive pull-back models. This mini-trencher cuts trenches up to 12 inches deep and 4 inches wide, neatly depositing the soil on one side of the trench to make backfill quick and easy.

Kwik-Trench mini-trencher

Horizontal Boring Kit

When installing underground wiring or sprinklers, you might need to run a portion of the line underneath a driveway or sidewalk. To do so, you’ll need a reliable, safe equipment option to easily bore underneath the concrete or asphalt. Little Beaver’s horizontal boring kits attach to our Mechanical earth drill providing both dry and wet boring opportunities.

The sidewalk boring kit includes a 5-foot auger with a 3-inch diameter bit, a horizontal drill key and a 5-foot extension with a universal wiggle joint. Once connected to a drill, the horizontal boring kit can bore underneath a standard sidewalk. If you need to bore a longer distance, we also offer the driveway boring kit. The driveway boring kit includes a 2-, 3-, or 4-inch water drill bit with a swivel adapter that connects through swivel assembly and a horizontal drill key. This kit can bore up to 50 feet under driveways or parking lots.

No matter what landscaping project you have planned Little Beaver can help. Let us help you choose the best Little Beaver product for your landscaping project. Contact us today!

Earth Drills for Beginners

Earth Drills for Beginners

May 26, 2022

Using an Earth Drill to Safely Speed up Your Do-it-Yourself Projects

If you’re working on do-it-yourself (DIY) projects that require digging holes, earth drills exist to make your life easier. Instead of manually digging a hole, earth drills use a rotating spiral auger or pipe with blades attached at the lower end to cut through the soil easily and efficiently.

Whether you’ve rented before or you’re looking into tackling your first project with an earth drill, there are a few factors to consider that can help make the job easier and improve safety during your project.

Why Use an Earth Drill?

Earth drills can be a great solution for DIY projects because of their ability to dig a hole in a matter of minutes without wearing down your body. If you’ve got deep digging projects for backyard fences, decks or even installing a mailbox post, an earth drill will be a valuable asset. Since all drills from Little Beaver are designed for safe one-man operation, you can truly do it all yourself — no reluctant family members needed!

Mechanical Earth Drill 101

A mechanical earth drill is one of the most common models offered from rental centers because of its tried-and-true performance and user-friendly design. Mechanical earth drills from Little Beaver can take on everything from soft soils to dense, rockier applications and drill small to medium diameter holes. The high auger speeds on mechanical drills make for fast project completion while the lightweight design maximizes mobility. If you’re working on a deck, fence or landscaping project such as planting trees, the mechanical earth drill is a perfect choice!

Hydraulic Earth Drill 101

Hydraulic earth drills are a good choice for clay, rock or frozen ground. The durable body and high torque of these drills make them perfect for powerful drilling of larger diameter holes. An added benefit of renting a hydraulic drill from Little Beaver is the reversible drive for easily removing the drill from holes. Although a hydraulic drill can be used for fence building and landscaping just like a mechanical drill, it is also strong enough to handle work with post holes for pole barns, anchoring projects for mobile homes or industrial fencing.

Towable and UN-Towable Earth Drills

Some rental centers might offer more variety in their hydraulic drill selection with the addition of our Towable and UN-Towable models. These units are perfect for those who need the power of a hydraulic earth drill without the operating weight and transportation challenges that can be associated with traditional hydraulic drills.

The Towable earth drill can be transported behind any vehicle with a standard hitch using a removable “no-tools” towing hitch, which also saves valuable truck or trailer space. The UN-Towable drill has a removable power pack that reduces the overall weight of the drill by 50 percent. This drill can still be transported on the back of a vehicle, but the wheels hover above the ground during transportation for faster travel speeds and reduced wear and tear on the drill.

Both the Towable and the UN-Towable drill are designed so their frame bears the brunt of the operating weight, not the operator. The “teeter-totter” design allows the weight of the auger to be offset by the engine, lessening the impact on the worker during operation.

Customize Your Drill

With a variety of earth drills available, you can also easily customize the drill you rent based on soil type, hole size and auger speed requirements to make sure you have the best tool to tackle the job ahead. Little Beaver offers several different auger widths to fit a variety of drilling applications and to make your job easier than ever. This can be a good tip to keep in mind as you’re working with your local rental center to determine what you need for your project.

Is it Worth the Risk?

Over the years, earth drills have gained a reputation for being both powerful and dangerous. Stories of operators being thrown from the drill are enough to make some DIYers question if it’s worth the risk. Little Beaver has been focused on safety from the start and took extra steps to design a system with features to protect the operator, like torque tubes to absorb shock on both mechanical and hydraulic earth drills. These torque tubes work by distributing heavy vibrations and force to the engine carriage instead of the handles so one person can safely and comfortably operate the drill. An additional bonus is that the torque tube reduces effort and fatigue while drilling so you can easily complete a project while hardly breaking a sweat.

Be sure to ask your rental center about proper operation. Earth drills are meant to make your DIY project as easy as possible so you can stay safe and be confident as you drill.

The Do-It-All Earth Drill

The Do-It-All Earth Drill

Sep 28, 2021

How Little Beaver Earth Drills bring versatility and efficiency to municipalities

Municipalities have their work cut out for them. Whether it’s city maintenance workers or general contractors hired to sustain parks in a city, town or borough, a day’s work can involve several industries’ skills rolled into one crew. They can be installing fence posts in the morning, replacing sprinkler lines mid-day and find themselves planting trees in the afternoon.

With this much variety, working smarter, not harder, is paramount to overall productivity. And having versatile tools that allow crews to better utilize labor, safely, while also outperforming other methods, can have a major impact on efficiency. Little Beaver Earth Drills can do just that. Our full line of earth drills enables safe one-man operation with nearly two times the productivity of other units. It’s just a matter of finding the Little Beaver earth drill that best meets your municipality’s needs.

Here are our two most popular earth drills for municipalities and how they can streamline work for grounds crews.

Mechanical Drills + Boring

Earth drill horizontal boring kitsIf your town or city plants a lot of small greenery, installs several fences or other tasks that require crews to dig numerous footings quickly throughout the year, our Mechanical Earth Drills may be right for you. Perfect for horizontal boring or fast, narrow hole drilling, these drills, like all our drills, allow for safe, one-man operation and have the speed to help crews excel.

With our mechanical drills, users can choose from augers ranging from 1.5 to 16 inches in diameter with 36- or 42-inch lengths. And with multiple gear reduction ratio options, crews can choose a mechanical drill with 360 RPM for loose, soft soils or one with a lower speed that is better suited for dense, rockier formations. With a mechanical drill, crews can quickly install a long row of shrubs and then shift to setting a pole for a basketball hoop in denser soil — all without missing a beat.

To further increase municipal staffs’ versatility, we make Horizontal Boring Kits for our Little Beaver Mechanical Earth Drills. These are available in a sidewalk kit, for boring short distances up to five feet long, and a driveway kit, for boring up to 50 feet. The horizontal boring attachment allows grounds crews to install everything from sprinkler systems and lighting wire to drainage pipes and more, all with an easy-to-connect attachment.

Whether horizontal boring or planting a row of shrubs, these tasks, and everything in between, can be accomplished with one crew member thanks to our industry-leading design. A centrifugal clutch and torque tube eliminate dangerous operator kickback and prevent jarring stops when encountering an obstacle. Additionally, the innovative torque tube redirects torque to the engine carriage instead of the drill’s handles. These features make for a winning combination that spares drill components and protects the operator’s safety, allowing crews to better utilize their labor.

But, if heavy-duty applications and anchoring are abundant and soil types are consistently rocky and dense, hydraulic drills might be a better choice.

Hydraulic Drills + Anchoring

Hydraulic earth drill installing - anchors for mobile homesOur Hydraulic Earth Drills, with their powerful torque, are perfect for installing anchors or digging holes for large playground equipment, awning supports, sizable landscaping and other tasks that require deep, wide footings.

These earth drills accommodate augers up to 16 inches in diameter with drilling depths of up to 35 feet depending on the auger. The seemingly endless auger options combined with rugged drill construction and increased torque allow crews to take on lighter tasks like planting landscaping and then quickly shift to heavy-duty construction, like installing support beams for a sunshade. This gives crews the flexibility to divide and conquer whatever their municipality throws at them.

And with the hydraulic drill line, crews don’t have to look elsewhere for anchoring needs.  Thanks to our innovative torque tube and precise auger rotation at low speeds, our hydraulic drills are perfect for anchoring. Our Anchor Adapters are available for various applications from anchoring poles and beams to installing tent stakes, making them a perfect, versatile solution for municipalities. By quickly snapping an adapter onto our earth drill’s high torque anchor handle, crews have a one-man anchoring machine to secure footbridges, large playground equipment and more — a much safer and more efficient option than anchor crankers.

The extensive tasks that await city maintenance crews and contractors every morning don’t also have to mean an extensive set of tools. With a little knowledge about the applications, crews can choose one Little Beaver Earth Drill to carry them through the day — safely and efficiently.

Little Beaver Mourns Loss of Sales Manager Mike Hale

Little Beaver Mourns Loss of Sales Manager Mike Hale

Sep 8, 2021

Mike Hale, long-time sales and marketing manager at Little Beaver, passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, September 4, 2021.

Hale’s influence on the fencing and drilling industries spanned decades. He began working in fencing as a summer job in high school. After learning the industry as a teenager, he continued installing fences across southern California, eventually owning his own fencing company for more than 20 years.

After experiencing first-hand the safety and efficiency of Little Beaver’s earth drills, Hale joined the company in 1996. For the past 25 years, he has been the voice behind sales and quote inquiries, using his expertise to help customers select the drilling products to bring that same safety and efficiency to their own companies.

“Mike’s impact on our company and industry has been tremendous,” said Little Beaver president Joe Haynes. “He understood the challenges our customers faced and was really able to help them find the solutions they needed. He will be greatly missed by all of us at Little Beaver, not only for the work he did but also for the person he was. We have lost a dear friend and industry advocate.”

A complete obituary and service information will be posted with Cochran Funeral Home at cochranfh.com.

Mike Hale

Mike Hale, Sales and Marketing Manager at Little Beaver

Mike Hale experienced the benefits of Little Beaver drills over his many years in the fencing industry.

4 Drills for Fence Installation

4 Drills for Fence Installation

Jun 30, 2021

Which Should You Choose?

With all the earth drills on the market that are capable of installing a fence, how do you sort through the options to find the best drill for your specific needs? Little Beaver offers multiple options that appeal to fencers looking for the labor-saving benefits of safe, one-man drilling. While any drill may do the trick, different drills have different strengths depending on the job, and a drill that consistently gives you great performance can help you land more jobs and increase your profitability. Here’s a breakdown of our most popular options for fencing and the jobs they’re best suited for:

Mechanical Earth Drill

Mechanical Earth DrillIf the majority of your jobs require speedy, one-man drilling, look to our mechanical earth drill series.

Little Beaver mechanical earth drills combine a compact, lightweight design with unbeatable speed and precision. These transmission-equipped units feature high-speed auger rotations and excel in situations requiring numerous posts in very little time. And with optional 13:1 or 20:1 gear ratios, they can take on everything from soft soils to dense, rockier applications.

If you’re looking for more ways to expand your business, Little Beaver mechanical earth drills are compatible with horizontal boring kits, enabling expansion into landscape lighting installation and running sprinkler lines or cable under driveways and sidewalks.

A centrifugal clutch and torque tube truly enables safe, efficient one-man drilling, eliminating dangerous operator kickback and preventing jarring stops when an obstacle is encountered. Additionally, the innovative torque tube redirects torque kickback to the engine carriage instead of the drill’s handles. Other brands of drills reduce performance to accommodate one-man hole digging. But not Little Beaver. We feature all of the power without the inherent risks of other drills.

Hydraulic Earth Drill

Hydraulic Earth DrillDespite all the advantages of mechanical earth drills, a season full of drilling a large auger through hard packed clay and soft rock formations may leave mechanical drill owners envying their hydraulic-equipped competitors.

Hydraulic earth drills are your go-to drill for the most challenging soils because of their rugged bodies and powerful torque. Their high torque and precise operation at low speeds allows operators to drill clean, accurate holes, even in the most difficult applications. Hydraulic drills are ideal for drilling wide holes because they have the torque to drive large-diameter augers — some as wide as 16 inches — making them perfect for installing large fence posts, gate posts and any large-scale decorative fencing. Additionally, our hydraulic earth drills have a reverse position so you can safely back-out the auger if it becomes lodged under a rock or tree root.

While hydraulic drills don’t have a clutch to worry about, the operator could be at even greater risk of injury due to the large amounts of torque from these drills. This is where our torque tube is more important than ever as it allows a single operator to safely handle high levels of torque that would be an unthinkable risk with any other design. 

Towable

Towable Hydraulic Earth DrillDo the advantages of our hydraulic earth drills sound appealing for your fencing crew, but you need easier maneuverability and transportation while still maintaining high torque? If so, look no further than our Towable Hydraulic Earth Drill.

Our Towable drill consists of a T-shaped steel frame with highway-rated tires in the center, an 11-horsepower Honda engine located on one end and the auger and controls on the other. The frame balances the weight of the drill over the wheels, making it easy for one person to move, pivot into place and manage when drilling. The wide tires also prevent damage to delicate turf or landscapes.

The design reduces operating weight by roughly 50% compared to traditional hydraulic drills, and it requires less than 20 pounds of force to pivot into digging position. The frame also eliminates torque for safe one-person drilling. The rig can be conveniently towed using a removable “no tools” towing hitch, saving valuable truck or trailer space and making it an economical tool for fencing contractors of any size.

UN-Towable

UN-Towable Hydraulic Earth DrillIf the maneuverability of the Towable is just what your fencing operation needs but you require more transportation options and a lighter package, our UN-Towable Hydraulic Earth Drill is the workhorse you’re looking for.

Like the Towable, our UN-Towable operates with a balanced design that makes maneuvering and operation a breeze, but it comes in a smaller package with greater transportability and still achieves drilling specs similar to that of the Towable.

Unlike the Towable, which must be towed behind a truck or loaded onto a trailer, the UN-Towable can be easily moved to the jobsite in the back of a pickup truck or SUV. Alternatively, an optional slide-in receiver hitch offers an additional transportation method. The user-friendly E-Z load bracket is designed to fit in any two-inch receiver, commonly found on most pickup trucks and SUVs. Simply secure the unit in the hitch, crank up the machine until it stops, and insert the pin to lock it in place. This allows fencing crews to carry more and do more without worrying about transportation logistics or expanding their fleet.

Additionally, smaller fencing crews or those needing more flexible transportation will benefit from the UN-Towable’s removable power pack. By detaching the power pack, the overall weight of the drill is reduced by 50%, allowing the machine to be easily transported in two parts.

Fencing can be tough work; don’t make it harder with an ill-suited drill. Consider your crew’s size, typical jobs and future needs to pick a drill that will help you excel at jobs today and give you a greater return on your investment down the road.

Common Soil Sampling Mistakes to Avoid

Common Soil Sampling Mistakes to Avoid

Mar 8, 2021

Split Spoon Soil Sampler

Pitfalls that Impact Projects Success

Soil sampling is a crucial first step in everything from construction and mining to agricultural applications. Sampling requires accuracy and attention to detail in order to avoid costly mistakes. Whether testing for soil strength, contaminants or nutrients, avoiding these most common pitfalls are vital to the overall success of the exploration.

Incorrect Depth and Sample Size

Testing at the incorrect depth or over too large of an area can provide an inaccurate soil representation as soil nutrient content and strength can vary greatly depending on the depth and location within a site. To ensure accuracy, grid off large sites into more manageable sections that match the specifications of the test order. Next, take multiple samples from each section to compile a thorough soil profile. Pay close attention to the depth at which samples are taken, making sure to match the specs and document the depths.

Big Beaver foundation soil sampling drillEnsuring accurate and consistent sample depth can be done manually or with drills capable of automatic options. Manually measuring and marking the depth with each blow or sample can help ensure you’re reaching a consistent specified depth. With manual methods, Little Beaver’s Cathead Kit and weighted hammer are an excellent option, especially when sampling in confined spaces. Additionally, drills equipped with an automatic hammer option combine maneuverability and precise depth control into one package, making it easy to access and accurately sample large areas with varying soil types that require multiple samples. 

Cross Contamination

Soil cross contamination is often caused by failing to thoroughly clean equipment between samples, leading to inaccurate readings of the soil. Avoid cross contamination by wiping down and inspecting the auger and sampling tools between each sample. Equipment selection can also help minimize risk of contamination. A Hollow Stem Auger allows removal of the center rod and plug for insertion of a soil sampler The auger provides a natural casing inside the hole to keep out surrounding soil that could compromise the sample.

Not Accounting for Site History

Failure to account for the history of a future construction or agricultural site can result in a soil profile that raises more questions than it answers. A site that has largely been left untouched may have more consistent soil attributes than a site that has been home to various construction projects or agricultural applications. This history can greatly impact how land is divided into sampling areas and where higher soil strength or nutrients are more likely to be found. Take out the guess work by researching before sampling.

Neglecting Site Restoration

Soil sampling often calls for the site to be returned to its original condition once drilling is complete. This can prove to be a time consuming and costly task if improper sampling equipment is used. Compact equipment can be handy and cause minimal disturbance in adverse weather conditions, hard-to-reach sites and sites with limited rig access. The method used to restore a site will vary depending on the environment. At a minimum, holes must be refilled and compacted, asphalt patched if necessary and the surrounding area cleaned of debris. Consideration should also be taken for buried materials such as pipes and underground cables within the sample area.  Leaving the site clean and damage free will protect the contractor’s reputation and lead to increased business opportunities.

The first steps in large construction and agricultural projects can set the tone for years to come, making initial and ongoing soil sampling crucial. Whether testing for soil strength, nutrient content or any other critical aspect to your industry, remember that informed and thorough soil sampling is the foundation on which future successes and savings are built.

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