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One man or two man post hole borer

Updated: 21.10.2026

The product title will not settle whether you should be alone. One man on a petrol earth auger is a hire category, a marketing line, and sometimes still a sheet that asks for two people. A two-man post hole borer, in the catalogues, is a heavier machine with a second stop. This page separates those meanings. The grip and the jam are on [how to use a petrol earth auger](/hub/garden-tools/petrol-earth-auger/sub/petrol-earth-auger-how-to-use). The six amazon.co.uk files are on the [petrol earth auger comparison](/hub/garden-tools/petrol-earth-auger). The Products Compared editorial team compared those listings with UK hire pages on 20 October 2026. A purchase through our links may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

The product title will not settle whether you should be alone. One man on a petrol earth auger is a hire category, a marketing line, and sometimes still a sheet that asks for two people.

Our top picks

Draper Draper 51.7 cc petrol earth auger

Best overall

Draper Draper 51.7 cc petrol earth auger
7.4/10about £214.79
View offer
Donened Donened 52 cc powerhead

Best value

Donened Donened 52 cc powerhead
4.0/10about £60.50
View offer
Generic Generic 63 cc petrol earth auger

Alternative

Generic Generic 63 cc petrol earth auger
2.8/10about £145.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Three different meanings
  2. 2.What the one-person machines claim
  3. 3.What a two-person hire machine adds
  4. 4.A condition, not a slogan

Three different meanings

The first meaning is a one-person machine: twin handles, a domestic bit, a weight one adult can carry to the hole, and a stop you can reach without letting go. The second is that same machine with a helper. The third is a purpose-built two-person borer, which hire desks list separately, often with a larger bit and a second switch. A bullet that says 1–2 users, or a title that says four handles, is not automatically the third meaning. Hire lists we read put a one-man petrol auger in a class from about 200 mm to over 600 mm deep, and a two-man machine from about 350 mm. On one hire table the STIHL BT 131 appears as the one-man model at about 10 kg for the machine only, with a maximum of 200 mm in that table. STIHL's own UK page lists the BT 131 up to 300 mm, at £1,019 including VAT, with a QuickStop brake.

What the one-person machines claim

The Draper 30278 bullets say one person can use it, and they describe twin handles. That is the clearest one-person line in our set. It does not remove kickback. If the bit stops in a root, the handles try to spin the person holding them. One person there is a layout claim. It is not a test that you will finish a clay run alone. The Donened 44F-A at £60.50 says one or two people can complete tasks. It does not say the machine has four handles. The Generic listing at £145.99 claims four handles for one or two users, and the same page says 63 cc in the title and 52 cc on the colour line, so it is a weak example of a two-person layout. No listing we kept publishes a second stop switch. A Doncaster hire sheet titled as a one-man auger still instructs two able-bodied adults.
Draper Draper 51.7 cc petrol earth auger

Testsieger

Draper Draper 51.7 cc petrol earth auger
7.4/10about £214.79
View offer

What a two-person hire machine adds

A two-person unit is heavier, and the second person is part of the controls. GAP Group's catalogue line for the STIHL BT 360 lists it as the two-man borer, at 28.8 kg, with a 350 mm class bit and an additional stop for the second user. HSS describes its two-person petrol post hole borer with an extra stop either person can use, and a centrifugal clutch that slips if the bit jams. That package is what you are not buying when a bullet says four handles. The mass is different, the diameter band starts where our 200 mm kits stop, and the second switch is a part our six files never name. If the hole is wide and deep, hire the two-person class. The petrol auger for fence posts page is where a 200 mm kit already falls short of a three times the post chart.

A condition, not a slogan

Use one person on a one-person layout you can stop, in ground you have checked, with a bit in the 150–200 mm range and soil that is not throwing the handles. You still release the throttle the moment the bit stalls. Call a second adult when the soil is clay, the run is long, or the first hole has already twitched the handles. They do not turn a twin-handle kit into a BT 360. Hire the two-person machine when the bit you need is in the 350 mm class, or when you want both people able to stop the engine. Alone is a condition of layout, ground and a stop you can reach.

Common questions

Can I run a twin-handle auger on my own?
You can, on a one-person layout, in ground you have checked, if you can hold both handles and release the throttle the instant the bit stops. A hire sheet in the same nickname still wants two able-bodied adults.
What is a two-man borer actually different in?
Weight, bit class and a second stop. The GAP line for the STIHL BT 360 gives 28.8 kg, a 350 mm class bit and an extra stop for the second person. HSS describes a clutch that slips when the bit jams, plus a stop either user can reach.
Do four handles make it a two-man machine?
They make a claim about grip points. The £145.99 Generic page says four handles and one or two users, and it also prints 63 cc against 52 cc. Four handles on that unresolved listing are not a second stop switch.
Is a second person a legal requirement in a garden?
Not as a householder rule on these listings. The Doncaster sheet's two able-bodied adults line is the hire company's instruction for its one-man auger. The practical limit is whether you can stop the twist. If you cannot, the second adult is the control you actually have.
When is hire of a two-man borer the better idea?
When the hole is in the 350 mm class, the post is a heavy support, or two adults will be there and you want both able to stop the engine. That is the HSS and GAP description, not the £60.50 to £360 amazon.co.uk set.
Does the Draper listing claim one person?
Yes. The bullets say one person can use the 30278, and they describe twin handles. The sentence does not settle Amazon's 20.3 kg against 12.5 kg with a bit on the manufacturer page.

Related pages

Petrol earth auger buying guide

Petrol earth auger

Best petrol earth auger on these amazon.co.uk files

Petrol auger for fence posts: depth and hole width

How to use a petrol earth auger: start, drill, stop

Sources

Public UK sources used for this comparison. Listing prices, stars, and review counts are the six kept amazon.co.uk files. Scores were updated on 20 October 2026.

  1. HSE — Control of Vibration at Work Regulations (retrieved 20.10.2026)
  2. HSE — INDG480, vibration in horticulture (retrieved 20.10.2026)
  3. Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 (retrieved 20.10.2026)
  4. GOV.UK — E10 petrol explained (retrieved 20.10.2026)
  5. HSE — Underground cables (retrieved 20.10.2026)
  6. LSBUD — UK utility-map search (retrieved 20.10.2026)
  7. Draper Tools — petrol earth auger 30278 (retrieved 20.10.2026)
  8. Ron Smith — choosing an earth auger (retrieved 20.10.2026)