Earthquake 9800K 2-Person Earth Auger Powerhead with 173cc 4-Cycle Kohler Engine (CARB Compliant)

The Kohler motor is seriously flawed. They tried to make it a "smart" motor - there is no choke, no direct gas flow control. Instead everything is controlled by an elaborate system of springs and temperature sensitive coils.It barely worked at first, and then something just died hard. The motor will start and run "kind of" while warming up, then it dies hard and won't start at all.Here's the worst part: I chose this because of the supposed "5 year warranty" offered - but...get this, it DOESN'T COVER THE KOHLER MOTOR!!! Instead you have to try to work through Kohler. Well, as it turns out, they don't offer warranty support either!!! They claim they do, but make it almost impossible to actually get support. After speaking to almost a dozen people, the best I got was: - I could pay a specific certified small engine repair company to "inspect" the unit. - That company would then submit a warranty claim to Kohler. - After several weeks, maybe Kohler would do something, but the reps I spoke to did not sound confident.I bought this for a specific job with a timeline, and the "warranty" would have required more than a month. As I was still in my Amazon return window, I'm just returning this piece of junk and switching to a different brand.DO NOT BUY. and DO NOT BELIEVE the WARRANTY CLAIMS!!

I replaced the smaller 43cc Earthquake Auger with is madel.The 43cc worked hard for years (and still works), but in the hard, red clay that I have been putting post in just would not cut it. It fairly easily will did a 4 foot deep hole in hard, red clay with a 6 inch auger and an 18 inch extension (which probably isn't needed but it keeps you from having to pull if back out from ground level.After 6 months of use it still starts on either the first or second pull.The only problem which developed was the plastic bracket which holds the air filter brok, but I wired it back on and have not stopped using it long enough to check on a replacement. But this should be used by two people, that's the downside if you are used to doing everything yourself.

I own a 2-stroke one-man posthole digger which works OK for smaller holes, but I needed something for heavier work. I ordered the Earthquake 9800K with 8" auger bit and extension and couldn't be happier. The 4-stroke engine has plenty of torque to handle 8" holes, even through some rocks (it chews-up rocks pretty well). I suspect it would perform equally well with larger bits. I drill 3' deep holes for setting fence posts and it does this depth just fine without the extension if you run it all the way down. The only suggestion I have is that you not lay the powerhead down with the auger attached for any extended period of time (even with throttle handle at the highest point, as recommended by manual): this will cause fuel to leak into the breather and cause flooding and a difficult restart until the breather is dried out.

We tested this with an 8" auger bit a few days after receiving it. It had oil all in the box and all over the unit, but apparently that is how they arrive sometimes. It was easy to assemble (the handles) and follow the instructions for use. A 2.5' depth hole was almost effortless with this machine. The ground where we dug is mostly wet clay with a few dozen pencil size roots, and there was very little resistance. There is no reverse on this model, which may become important if we encounter larger roots.I will update this review if heavy use of it in the spring changes our opinion.

Excellent construction and has a centrifugal clutch that is a huge safety issue..Much more power than the less expensive augers - 173cc versus 40 - 60ccAlso, its a 2-man auger which is another safety issue.The augers have a spring that smooths out the rotation.Nothing negative except it's heaver than less expensive augersI'm glad I spent the additional money.

We used it to drill 250 10” holes and it didnt sweat.be careful , if it grabs the buttom, it will send the two people flying and everybody around them.It is heavy, need two very strong men, with good backs to operate.Now will start another 500 holes project soon.

I have used this several times in hard pack clay soil and it chews through it well. Some reviews said it won't start and I ran into a similar issue but found out that if the unit is upright it starts first pull every time. Not sure if that would correct others problem but worked for me. Strong light unit makes easy work of a tough job.

I used a 10" Auger Blade and had 3 Holes dug out to 36" depth in less than 5 minutes. I told my wife I felt cheated without the sweat and back ache. My wife and I are in our 60's, and we were able to handle this 2 person Auger with a little struggle, but much better than a shoulder breaking Post Hole digging implement. We live in Arizona with Hard Clay beneath the ground surface. We took it slow and the weight of the machine bored straight through the hardened soil. The Auger came out of the whole with most the soil and a bit of strength. I will admit, I did use the post hole digger to remove the loose dirt that was left in the hole. My only complaint so far is one of the shipping carriers did not keep the machine upright during shipping, which caused oil to leak out the Carburetor which destroyed the filter.

Awesome product ! Drills post holes in 4 seconds opposed to digging for 10 minutes. Easy to start and operate. Well made machine.