Post driver

[Feydakin]

We are finally moving to Tennessee for good next week and I have a 'lot' of fence to put up. My wife wants a wood fence around most of it so I'm thinking that a post driver would be a better solution than using the auger and digging all those holes and leaving the posts loose for the horses to push against.

We have a Kubota L2900 and I was thinking that buying a post driver would make my life a lot easier when it comes time to set a few hundred wooden posts.. The question is, which driver, and more importantly, how hard are they to use? I'd hate to drive all those posts in crooked..

I'm thinking 7' round posts, pointed if need be.. drive them about 3' deep giving me a 4' fence.

 

[zzvyb6]

In my experience, a driver works best with wire fence because you have more freedom with where they need to or can go. It depends on your buried rock situation. It takes a lot of work to sharpen the posts, too. Board fencing needs posts spaced pretty uniformly, both for looks and for minimizing board waste and cutting.

For a new fence, I take a 200' or so rope and wind it so that the loops make about an 8 - 10 foot circumference. Then I spray paint a line on all the loops gathered in one place. Then stretch the rope across the fence line and march the tractor down the line with the digger where the paint markers are. Dropping them into holes is no big deal, but tamping them sure is a lot of work.

I can do a few hundred posts in a 1/2 day this way, stretch the wire, set a gate and then retire to a bench with a brewski to admire my work. The horses are best contained this way too, although I've been known to set boards at the top of a wire fence for looks. My horses look at boards as chew bait and neck stretchers. Not so with wire. The local deer population is a bit hard on board fences, too. Crash, bang, splinter. And, the rough boards I bought sagged like a hammock after a few years.

I planted a lot of evergreen trees a while back so rather than trim the trees (which get into the fence) I retreat the fence every so often. This avoids having to cut grass in between the fence and the trees.

 

[Verticaltrx]

What is your budget for a post driver? If you want post to be good and straight, plan on spending 5-10K on a driver. The only post drivers I can recommend are from overseas. The Munro Digger Driver, Vector, and King Hitter are some good options. They are all full hydraulic control, have a heavy driving weight, and have either a pilot auger or post cap for assuring straight posts. The stuff from this country is sub-par compared to that from Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

For a bottom end American made unit you can spend as little as $2500, but you'll have a tough time getting all the posts straight. Also if the ground is hard or rocky it will be a nightmare. Furthermore most of the ones built in this country use springs to provide driving force which really jars the tractor.

The only downside to those that I listed are that they are quite expensive, and probably at the top limit of what your tractor could handle (both weight and hyd. capacity wise.) Maybe if your soil is really good and you are very patient you could get by with one of the cheaper units, just depends on your budget and level of perfectionism.

 

[Feydakin]

So far with all the holes we have dug for the barn and other areas, we have only hit one rock.. And the auger spit it out.. Everything appears to be clay as deep as the auger will go..

Wifey is 100% set on a wooden fence.. After it's up then I get to paint it dark barn red..

I originally started thinking about a post driver after seeing an ad for one in a newsletter from here I think.. Kencove Post Driver PD8 Each

 

[Verticaltrx]

So far with all the holes we have dug for the barn and other areas, we have only hit one rock.. And the auger spit it out.. Everything appears to be clay as deep as the auger will go..

Wifey is 100% set on a wooden fence.. After it's up then I get to paint it dark barn red..

I originally started thinking about a post driver after seeing an ad for one in a newsletter from here I think.. Kencove Post Driver PD8 Each

That's about the bottom of the line as far as post drivers go. I know many people that use them, but they are mediocre at best. I highly doubt you would be able to drive posts accurately enough with one of those for board fencing.

 

[Feydakin]

Good to know - thanks

 

[Verticaltrx]

This is one of the smaller Vector models, which that company also sells: Vector Post Driver Model 2 Plus Each Something like this is about the minimum you could get by with for setting posts for board fencing. Sure, you could use the cheap driver, but you would have to shim a lot of posts, cut a lot of boards shorter, or get longer boards when the span ends up too long.

On that Vector, notice the all hydraulic controls and almost 4 times the impact force as the model you were looking at. Also has a post cap which is a key part. It holds the post as you drive it so you can hydraulically position the post to keep it completely straight/plumb. There are some smaller models with similar features, that start around $5K, but unfortunately I haven't found anyone that is importing them into this country.

 

[zonta223]

The Munro Digger Driver, Vector, and King Hitter are some good options. They are all full hydraulic control, have a heavy driving weight, and have either a pilot auger or post cap for assuring straight posts. The stuff from this country is sub-par compared to that from Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

I have used most of these post drivers and I do like the King Hitter.
But the new trend here is to percussion drivers like this
Get An Amazing 89 Series Power Head Driver From ELGRA Today!.
Safer...... drives the posts in as far..........easier to keep the post on correct alignment....and breaks less posts........and less strain and shock on the tractor.
But all of these are worth big $ which makes the fence a big $ fence unless the OP can hire one

Don't know if something like this is available were you are.
Post Drivers by FARMFORCE
Sure it does not have all the fancy hydraulic stuff.......but fits on to smaller tractors which the BIG post drivers can't.....Still drives up to 10 inch posts.....you don't need hydraulic remotes.....and they are cheap compared to the big models and very reliable.
I installed all the posts in 2 vineyards with one similar to this and it did a great job.

Just an option