problem that I see with the plastic is that the edge is still flat and takes all the wear as the grain tries to go around causing it to round off. With a 3_8" or so rod welded on the edge, the auger not only has more than double the wear surface but also now has been built to an angle causing grain to want to go to the middle instead of rolling over the edge. Kind of like the corners of a semi U blade on a dozer, which boils the load to the middle so as to carry more and lose less around the sides. Anyhow, when the plastic is shot, you still will have to take apart the whole auger assembly to bolt on some new. Weld the rod on there once, and you may never do it again. No brainer for me. I have done every auger in my combine except the tailings, and the 12" horizontal unloading auger. The fountain auger is probably sees the quickest destruction especially if a large grain bin extension is used, and it has to push grain against itself for quite a while. This is still a very cheap and easy fix which will outlast anything I have ever seen. Good luck.. gs