Post Driver Hydraulic Hook-Up?

[reasley]

I just bought a Shaver HD-10 post driver to be used with a John Deere 4300 CUT that presently does not have power beyond, but does have a FEL.

With a post driver only "one-way" pressure is needed, correct? In other words, you only need pressure to raise the cylinder, and the return is just a big dump into the sump.

If this is the case, do I really need power beyond? If it is not needed in this application, couldn't I simply "T" into the existing hydraulic system for the one pressure line that I need?

Related, if I am not using the FEL, what are the potential problems with using one of the feeds to the FEL for my pressure line?

Thanks in advance.

 

[CATMAN]

Do you have a single hydraulic remote at the back of the tractor? If so, you should be able to attach the smaller, single hyd. pressure hose to it and then bunge cord/tie that hydraulic lever to the position which constantly supplies hydraulic pressure to the Shaver post driver(sends constant pressure to the hyd. spool valve on the post driver itself).

My Dad has a HD-8 Shaver post driver(front mount) on a older JD 4020, and we just wire tie the hyd. lever downward on the tractor control.​

No power beyond needed. Is your HD-10 rear or front mount? If it is rear mount, will the front loader stay on the tractor during post driving? I'll let someone else give advise about teeing into that system.

 

[reasley]

Thanks for the reply, Catman.

No, I do not have any connections at the rear -- there is a power beyond kit available but I don't think that I need it for this application since I only have one "pressure input."

Yes, it is rear mount and the FEL (with forklift attachment) will stay on to hold posts.

 

[Neil L]

I must be lucky, to have this subject come up now.

I am looking into a post driver and have a NH 29 D.

Is this enough tractor for an H-8, and if you don't mind what range in price should I expect?

Can this unit drive T-post without a bending problem (will it support a "T" post somewhere in the middle)?

I will be on hilly ground, can it be easily adjusted to plumb? Any one in southern WV have one of these and been happy? I think Shaver has been around sometime so they must stand behind their products?

Thanks to all,
Neil

 

[CATMAN]

Neil L: My dad's HD-8 is old(+30 years) and you can put in steel posts with it in Iowa's soil. It is a little scary, Dad would only give the driver about 6"-8" off "drop" on the first pound, because your hand/fingers/gloves are still gripping the steel post to hold it vertical. He never gives a steel post the entire drop of the driver(maybe 1/2-3/4 of the drop at most). It is too easy to overshot your final desired height, more important if the ground is moist. And yes, Shavers do have hand cranks(2) that adjust in two planes.{Tilt forward/back AND tilt the top left/right}.

 

[MikePA]

I must be lucky, to have this subject come up now. I am looking into a post driver and have a NH 29 D. Is this enough tractor for an H-8, and if you don't mind what range in price should I expect? Can this unit drive T-post without a bending problem (will it support a "T" post somewhere in the middle)?
I will be on hilly ground, can it be easily adjusted to plumb? Any one in southern WV have one of these and been happy? I think Shaver has been around sometime so they must stand behind their products?

The issue is not the weight (the driver sits on the ground when in use) or hp of the tractor, it's the hydraulic flow that's the issue. More flow, driver rises faster. I run one on a TC25D.

I have a Worksaver and it comes with an attachment that looks like a manual T post driver for use when driving T posts. There's no way I'd hold a T post to drive them. This adapter fits in the channel so the driver hits it, not the post.

The Worksaver has 2 adjusting cranks for plumbing the driver. Expect to pay about $2,500.

 

[RickB]

An important requirement for a Shaver hookup is a direct (zero pressure) return for the oil from the post driver's valve to the tractor's hyd reservoir (rear end housing). The oil HAS to get away from the cylinder fast. Flow requirements INTO the valve are somewhat overstated due to the small diameter of the lift cylinder. Lower flow = longer lift times with no other downside.

 

[CATMAN]

reasley; RickB brings up a good point about the return "dump" hose. Does a 4300 have that large of a hyd oil filler neck to be able to stick that return hose into? I mention the hyd. oil filler neck because that is where my dad's HD-8 return line dumps into. His return hose has probably at least a 1" I.D..

Did the salesman know that this Shaver HD-10 was going to be installed on a small CUT tractor?​

I have some "jerry-rigged" ideas to make it work(pressure line), but I want to see if the JD guys on this site will reply with a better solution, first. Meanwhile, you might want to investigate that return "dump" line situation(as RickB mentioned).

 

[reasley]

I must be lucky, to have this subject come up now.

Neil, see comments interspersed . . .

I am looking into a post driver and have a NH 29 D.

Is this enough tractor for an H-8, and if you don't mind what range in price should I expect?

I am unsure about your tractor's hydraulic system but an important point to note is that you can use a Shaver on your tractor as long as your tractor's PSI is 1500 or more. If your gallons per minute is below Shaver's stated requirement, the driver will still work on your tractor, but the ram will rise a bit slower.

Price new for the HD-8 is around $2400 here in Central Texas and around $3500 for the HD-10. Main differences are 1) down force (30,000 v. 71,500) and maximum post diameter (7 and 1/8" v. 8 and 3/4").

Can this unit drive T-post without a bending problem (will it support a "T" post somewhere in the middle)?

To me, if all you are doing is driving t-posts, any of the Shavers or similar drivers are overkill for the application. TSC, for example, has a t-post only driver for around $1200 that probably will work fine for your application. If, on the other hand, you are driving t-posts in addition to other type posts, then you can get a t-post driver attachment for the Shaver.

I will be on hilly ground, can it be easily adjusted to plumb? Any one in southern WV have one of these and been happy? I think Shaver has been around sometime so they must stand behind their products?

The one that I have (HD-10) has 15 degrees of adjustment in two directions. Additionally, you could adjust with your top link but it probably won't be necessary.

Neil

reasley

 

[reasley]

reasley; RickB brings up a good point about the return "dump" hose. Does a 4300 have that large of a hyd oil filler neck to be able to stick that return hose into? I mention the hyd. oil filler neck because that is where my dad's HD-8 return line dumps into. His return hose has probably at least a 1" I.D..

Did the salesman know that this Shaver HD-10 was going to be installed on a small CUT tractor?​

I have some "jerry-rigged" ideas to make it work(pressure line), but I want to see if the JD guys on this site will reply with a better solution, first. Meanwhile, you might want to investigate that return "dump" line situation(as RickB mentioned).

Good evening, Catman --

Didn't see your post until I just replied to Neil.

On the return line, the HD-10 that I bought was used and had been used on a Kubota. The return line fitting is regular pipe thread I think and is the same diameter (at least 1") as the hydraulic fill on my 4300, though the threads areen't the same. I have the line in my car and will have a new fitting installed tomorrow for my application.

Since I bought it used, I took the liberty of calling Shaver's tech support guys (those guys are extremely nice and helpful) prior to going to look at the unit (2 hours away). I knew that the HD-10 had a stated GPM of 12 and had a Cat 2 attachment (my 4300 is 8.8 GPM and a Cat I). They told me that the GPM was not a problem at all -- that the ram would just rise a bit slower and I probably wouldn't even notice it. They also said that the Cat 2 attachment could be easily modified to work with Cat 1 tractors, so I spent a couple of hours today making some Cat 1 brackets and welded them to the attachment -- works great and the Cat 2 pins are still intact if needed.

If I've researched it correctly (and all 3 are viable options) then here's what I've found as options for the pressure line for the post driver:

1. Add a power beyond kit at around $300 for parts.
2. Disconnect one of the FEL's pressure ports and plug in there, and tie the SCV lever to activate just that port (unsure if this causes problems).
3. Connect the third valve on my current FEL SCV block and use one of those ports in a dedicated fashion (i.e., always on).

If your jerry-rigged solution is 2 or a derivation of 3, I'd love to hear about the potential problems, if any with that alternative.