Your favourite soil auger

August 8, 2013

There is some confusion around the term ‘favourite’ – starting with the spelling! For Americans it is spelt ‘favorite’ but in true British fashion – to be awkward – we prefer ‘favourite’!

I always thought a favourite was something positive. Take for example the betting analogy ‘odds on favourite’ meaning a horse/greyhound is more likely to win than not i.e. the odds are better than one to one (greater than 50%). So in this context a favourite is positive – if you are a betting man!

However, Wikipedia describes the term as having an inbuilt element of disapproval and is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as “One who stands unduly high in the favour of a prince”, citing Shakespeare: “Like favourites/ Made proud by Princes”. And the rise and fall of favourites has an entire paragraph relating to the envy and loathing of others if a noble/king/colleague/parent/grandparent demonstrates undue favouritism to an individual.

But when it comes to your favourite soil auger then neither of the above applies! Every day we take numerous telephone calls asking us for prices for a hand auger but, inevitably, it’s not as simple as that. We supply an entire range of hand augering equipment, from single augers on which you can add extension rods to ergonomic auger handles, Edelman augers, auger sets – comprehensive or standard. The list is extensive, an auger for stony soils, for clay, coarse sand or a combination auger that covers all soil types; a riverside auger, a soft soil auger, a spiral auger or a stone catcher (used to remove loose stones from your augered hole). A gouge auger or a piston sampler (not an auger but a sampler for collecting less cohesive soil layers – so it does the same thing as an auger!). Bi-partite augers or augers for prospecting for geological surveys; an auger set or an individual auger and we haven’t even thought about the extension rod connection type: conical screw thread or bayonet connection – do you know the difference?

Other considerations – how far will you have to carry your auger(s), do you want to take a set weighing 33 kilos too far up an incline when perhaps you only need a single auger or a customised set to suit the soil type and depth you need to go to? Do you know what diameter soil sample you need? What are you sampling? Will you need a non-toxic auger type so you don’t contaminate your samples?

Those of you who have been taking soil samples for years will know what your favourite auger is – for the rest of us the message is your favourite auger will depend on the soil type you are augering, where the sample site is located, how deep you are sampling, how quickly you need to connect extension rods, what size sample do you need, will you need to hammer your auger into place and how many samples you will be taking because, rest assured, if you know the answers to these questions the auger you use will be your new favourite soil auger! Why because you will obtain exactly the sample you require, easily, simple and safely.

For advice and help in selecting your favourite auger email us or call on 01428 661660.

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