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Learn how to efficiently cut clean, narrow trenches with your Kwik-Trench mini trencher. The unit’s push-forward design makes it a safe, easy-to-operate solution for installing sprinkler lines, low-voltage wiring and landscape edging.
Mechanical drills’ high operating speeds and compact sizes make them a popular choice for contractors and rental centers — and ideal for drilling holes quickly. Although these transmission-powered machines have significantly more moving parts than their more costly hydraulic counterparts, simple knowledge of how to prevent and diagnose common problems will keep your drill running efficiently. Below are answers to questions we get often and some tips to help you achieve better ROI.
Start by choosing a unit with the correct gear ratio and auger for your soil. For soil with minimal rocks and few roots, a 10:1 gear ratio with a standard auger will provide fast and efficient results. For drilling in clay or other difficult conditions, a 10:1 gear ratio will still work, but switch from a standard to carbide blade to effectively cut through the soil. If you’re working in an area with rocks exceeding 3 inches in diameter, choose a drill with a 20:1 gear ratio reduction and a heavy-duty auger. The gear reduction slows the auger from 360 to 180 rpm and will pop the rocks out of the soil and continue spinning.
The gearbox will always be hot to the touch when the drill is operating. However, if the transmission is extremely hot, smells like burned oil or starts making unusual sounds, check the oil level. Oil leaks can occur around the seal, lower output shaft or the top of the transmission, and will lead to drill damage if ignored. Low oil also increases the risk of premature bearing wear, which can result in excessive heat and unusual sounds. To prevent early wear, check the transmission oil level and condition monthly or every 40 hours of operation.
It’s important to clean, examine and grease the flex shaft every 50 hours of operation to prevent damage.
A problem with the drivetrain, most likely along the flexible drive shaft, is to blame. To pinpoint the issue, start by inspecting the end fittings for cracks or breaks. If there are broken wires or sharp kinks, it’s time to replace the shaft housing. If things appear fine from the outside, remove the flex shaft for further inspection. To prevent flex shaft damage, clean, examine and grease the flex shaft every 50 hours of operation. Check your owner’s manual to determine the correct procedure for greasing the flex shaft.
Over time, a drill’s clutch padding wears, resulting in reduced performance when engaging the auger or accelerating the engine from idle to full speed. The clutch will continue to run, even if the padding is completely gone, leading to easily detectable problems. It’s best to inspect the clutch every 30 days or any time you lubricate the flexible drive shaft. Regular checks will help you track the wear so you can replace the clutch pads before the drill loses performance.
Spring damage can cause the clutch to overheat and may result in the auger spinning when the engine is idling. If this occurs, replace the springs immediately.
Too often, operators allow the points and blades to wear beyond the point of being effective. The drill can run perfectly and spin all day, but if the blades and points are worn, the unit will become less and less effective.
Information is always available at your fingertips, including comprehensive maintenance brochures and video tutorials. These helpful tools are excellent resources and often include visuals as well as step-by-step instructions.
Knowing your drill, keeping up with maintenance and accessing additional resources when questions arise will go a long way toward successful drilling.
Matching the ideal point and blade to the soil and digging project can eliminate premature wear while reducing maintenance and boosting satisfaction for rental customers.
Unlike many manufacturers that only make one auger, Little Beaver offers a variety of augers, points and blades designed to optimize cutting in any soil for any project. Here’s a quick guide for setting your customers up for success.
Standard augers are excellent for a majority of projects and excel in soft soils. Little Beaver’s standard augers can also be used in clay, frozen ground and for drilling through hardpan soil. However, the tips and blades should be changed to match the conditions.
For drilling in rocky soils, always recommend heavy-duty augers to avoid damage. These augers are equipped with a more durable tooth and side cutting blades as well as heavy-duty flighting.
Little Beaver offers 13 different auger diameters, from 1.5-inch diameter augers used for soil sampling, to large 16-inch nursery augers. As the diameter increases, more power is required from the drill. Setting customers up with a drill that has a gear reduction will result in more efficient drilling when using large diameter augers.
For projects that require digging deeper than standard augers allow, Little Beaver offers snap-on extensions available in both full-flighted and tube versions.
Six different blade options are available to meet any drilling condition. The standard blades and points are ideally suited for loamy soils or areas with few rocks. They are made with cold-rolled steel and hard surfacing to their edges.
To drill through hard clay or frozen ground, Little Beaver’s carbide blades are more effective. For abrasive soils and compacted rock, Little Beaver’s heavy-duty augers are specially designed with heavy-duty steel and carbide blades and tips.
Little Beaver’s snap-on augers and extensions use convenient spring-loaded snap buttons, allowing customers to switch augers quickly without needing tools.
Most Little Beaver points and blades attach to the auger with two easy-to-remove steel bolts. Little Beaver points and blades can easily dig more than 100 holes before requiring maintenance. Reversible blades are also available. These can be flipped over for a fresh cutting edge to last twice as long as regular blades.
Need help picking the right augers, points and blades for your jobs? Connect with our Little Beaver experts today.
View our full line of augers, points and blades.
Learn how to properly set up the Little Beaver mechanical earth drill for fast success starting your projects, whether it’s installing a fence, building a deck or planting a row of trees. Follow along as Randy VanWagner, our engineering manager, demonstrates the step-by-step process for setting up the drill as well as disassembling it for transportation or storage.
Looks matter — especially in the golf course industry. Maintenance and landscaping improvements are ongoing, but finding an equipment solution that provides maximum efficiency with minimal disruption to the green is key to maintaining that country club appearance. Little Beaver’s Kwik-Trench mini trenchers — the KT 200B and KT 2400B — are the ideal solution for boosting productivity without tearing up your greens.
Little Beaver understands that your golf course requires:
Save yourself from backbreaking and time-consuming work. The Kwik-Trench effortlessly cuts 30 feet of trench per minute. Powered by a 5.5-horsepower Honda engine, the KT 200B achieves 8-inch depths and its carbide-tipped teeth produce a trench from 1 to 3 inches wide. An 8-horsepower Honda engine powers the KT 2400B for cutting trenches as deep as 12 inches while its carbide tipped teeth produce a trench 1 to 4 inches wide. Both models make backfill 50 percent faster by directing soil to one side of the trench, instead of both sides.
Protect your course’s beauty against soil cupping that can occur after backfilling wide trenches. The narrow trenches created by the Kwik-Trench require minimal backfill, which reduces the chance of cupping and helps ensure consistent grass growth. Designed with your turf’s appearance in mind, mini trenchers also feature pneumatic tires that virtually eliminate damage caused by tracked machine or skid-steer type trenchers.
Its compact body and push-forward capability allow greenskeepers to maneuver easily in tight spaces while pruning tree roots as thick as 10 inches in diameter. The push-forward operation also enhances safety by giving the operator a clear view of what’s ahead. By contrast, trenchers that require the operator to pull it while walking backwards add the risk of tripping and falls, which might cause costly workers’ compensation cases.
Little Beaver designs the Kwik-Trench for minimal maintenance by protecting key components. Its built-in slip clutch, for example, protects the drive train from shock if the trencher hits a rock or other obstacle. Maintenance is further reduced with blades that are quick and easy to replace. The Kwik-Trench also features Little Beaver’s Super Blade Plus and Super Xtra Rock Teeth, which bolt on to the cutting wheel making replacing the teeth simple and inexpensive. Other manufactures weld teeth directly on the cutting wheel causing the entire wheel to need replacement when a single tooth is damaged. The Kwik-Trench also features a triple V-belt system that maintains positive traction if the trencher encounters an obstruction. This reduces wear on belts as well as need for frequent belt replacements.
Improve your course’s quality in minutes with a Little Beaver Kwik-Trench. Contact us for questions.
You’ve become an expert in landscaping throughout the region. From planting trees and flowers to installing decks and curb edging, you’ve completed many projects for satisfied customers. Now it’s time to step up your game and add fence installation to your services.
Let these fence-building tips lead you to success.
1. Get Answers.
Start like you would with any project, by working with the homeowner or business owner to establish the size, scope and specifics of the project. To do this, always have a set of questions ready that will get to the heart of the project. What kind of fence does the customer want? What will the layout be? Where do they want gates? How high should you build it?
Check with city building codes and, if applicable, neighborhood association rules, so that the fence specs meet all of the codes. If the city assessor has not surveyed the property recently, you’ll want to coordinate that to ensure the fence is built in the proper location and, depending on the area, you may need a permit. Call 811 a few days prior to digging to have utility companies mark underground utility lines, gas pipes and sprinkler systems.
2. Get Your Tools.
Selecting the right hole digging equipment will help you finish on time and on budget. If it’s a small project, you might use a hand-held posthole digger. If you’re doing more than a dozen holes, though, it will be slow work to muscle each hole clean. To tackle bigger or multiple projects, you’ll want the speed and ease-of-use that comes with an earth drill. A Little Beaver mechanical one-man or hydraulic drill can bore each hole in less than a minute with little effort. It’s equally important is to make sure you select the correct auger, points and blades for the soil type you’re working in. This will help you dig holes faster with less pain.
3. Get it Straight.
You can’t get a straight fence without evenly spaced holes and firmly set posts. Set the spacing by marking and digging all corner and gate post holes first. Run a string from corner to corner and then measure the post spacing along the line.
For chain link fences, space postholes no more than 10 feet apart. For wooden fences, posts usually stand 6 to 8 feet apart. If installing posts in soft soils or windy areas, use a hand posthole digger to flare out the hole, creating a bell shape for more stability. The hole diameter needed is based on the size of the post used. For instance, a 4-by-4 post requires an 8-inch diameter hole. This can be easily achieved with Little Beaver’s snap-on augers that range in diameter from 1.5 to 16 inches. Holes are typically 24 inches deep, but you’ll need to ensure the depth is 3 inches below the frost line to prevent posts from cracking in the frozen ground. In some parts of the northern U.S. and into Canada, that means going as deep as 4 feet. If you’re in windy areas or sandy soil, you may want to dig your posts even deeper.
4. Get the Concrete.
Position the posts so that they are the correct height and plumb; even the slightest lean can create a slanted and potentially unstable fence. Next, shovel concrete into each hole. Avoid touching the post, which could cause it to move. Choosing concrete rather than a dirt and gravel mix will give the fence better stability. Allow 24 hours for the concrete to set, and then attach the chain link fabric or wood framing and face boards. With both types of fences, complete the gates last.
Once you’re done, it’s an ideal time to touch base with your customer on fence maintenance and landscaping recommendations. A job well done here can translate to more work, whether from this customer or referrals, as you continue to expand your landscaping services.
Feel free to contact us for further fence-building tips; or general questions on our full line of augers, one-man earth drills and two-man earth drills. We’re always happy to provide the tools and assistance you need.