Tanaka TIA305 Ground Auger

[carhartt]

I picked up a Tanaka TIA 305 post hole digger power head. With a little tlc it is back running fine. I am looking to put an auger on it. Are augers brand specific or do a few brands match each other in shaft size and bolt hole line up? I don't have a pic of the shaft. It is just a straight shaft 1 in or maybe a little more. I believe it has 2 holes in the shaft for pins or bolts to mount the auger bit. id be more interested in a used auger but if I have to buy new I could go that route. 6in or possibly 8 in.

 

[Conquistador3]

Augers can be either brand specific or (more commonly) universal. The latter tend to use 20mm shafts with an 8mm mounting pin. There are literally countless Chinese augers with that attachment on the market in sizes up to 30cm.

That Tanaka is still sold here in Europe and usually comes with a 20cm (8") auger, so that may be the route to go.

 

[carhartt]

I cant order Tanaka augers anymore, but I can order Efco brand auger bits. Do you think they would match up on shat size and pin holes?

 

[Conquistador3]

I cant order Tanaka augers anymore, but I can order Efco brand auger bits. Do you think they would match up on shat size and pin holes?

I don't know about Efco products, but Hitachi/Tanaka augers have an internal shaft 25.4mm (1") wide. Anything that size should do but as I said remember pretty much all Chinese drill bits are considerably smaller (20mm).

Should you need spares for it, remember it's also sold as Hitachi DA200E: exactly the same thing bar the color. For whatever reason Hitachi branded spares tend to be considerably cheaper than Tanaka branded ones.

 

[carhartt]

Ive seen the Hitachi name attached to the Tanaka name. That's good to know and will give me more search options to finding an auger attachment. What would you think would be the largest size the 305 could handle? 8 inch? Softer grnd with occasional rock.

 

[Conquistador3]

Yes, Hitachi bought Tanaka a few years back. Apart from a few Tanaka products left over from before the buyout, all products are the same.

I think 8" (20cm) is about the largest auger that engine can handle in most soils. Larger (12"/30cm) augers are usually handled by considerably larger machines, around 50cc.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Must have really soft dirt. We have an 8" and 10" auger for the skid steer and it drills pretty hard. No way I'd use an old school widow maker!

 

[ironman_gq]

Not too familiar with earth augers but a very similar tanaka powerhead was commonly used on ice augers (Nilsmaster specifically). Might have to not only watch the shaft size but the direction of rotation on the auger depending on if they use single or double gear reduction.

 

[carhartt]

I am sure this wld work fine as an ice auger. I have no use for an ice auger, ice fishing is not for me and yes ive tried it. Good point on the direction of rotation. The rotation is not fast b any means so I assume it is double gear reduced. I do have a question about the gear box. Should there be any type of lubrication in the housing, like a gear oil? Is it possible they just cover the gears with a heavy grease on assembly? I pulled what I thought was a gear case drain and nothing came out and screw is dry.

 

[Conquistador3]

The "drain bolt" you pulled is most likely what old Tanaka manuals called "Grease Hole": they recommended filling the transmission for three quarters with a "multipurpose grease", meaning whatever you have available at the moment.

 

[carhartt]

I put some gear oil in it and it just leaked out over night. So I am guessing it is for a heavy tack grease like a bearing grease. Still looking for a bit and leaning towards 6 inch.

 

[hseII]

I put some gear oil in it and it just leaked out over night. So I am guessing it is for a heavy tack grease like a bearing grease. Still looking for a bit and leaning towards 6 inch.

Grease Gun Grease.