Anyone have a post driver

[Barnbuilder]

Stopped by the Deere dealership to see what they offer. They can get a Danuser with tilt for $8200. I'm tired of boring and packing posts.

 

[Fallon]

They dont work here in Colorado. Ground is clay & to hard when dry. 2nd hand info, but was enough for me to understand why they are so scared here. Different story for places with softer ground or more moisture.

 

[DJ54]

I have a Shaver HD-8 driver, and love it..!! If you get one, definitely get the hydraulic tilt, you'll thank yourself.

I drove posts by myself back in '12. A lot of trips on & off the tractor, but sure beat tamping in that many posts by hand. I did it through the winter when the ground was damp, it makes a world of difference. I used 5" for line posts,and 6" for corners. 6 incher's went in a little slower, driving them in 4'. But rock solid when you're done.

Don't sharpen posts, because if they hit a rock, and start of sideways, after getting down 2' or so, there is no way you can bring it back to plumb.

It would have gone a lot faster to have a driver, and get lined up to drive,as I'm pretty particular about how straight it is. I carried a small torpedo level in my pocket to keep the posts plumb both ways. With the hydraulic tilt, you can get them back in plumb pretty easy, just check it often, if it looks like it's starting to drive crooked.

 

[Barnbuilder]

My concern is with hard ground. I found a driver I liked with an auger but it was $20k. If I could find a 4" auger I could predrill the hole.

 

[morningwood]

Depending on the amount of posts you want to drive it might be cheaper to have someone do it. There is a local guy that charges $5 per post. We are in the process of fencing it 5.5 acres and it was going to cost around $400 to have all of the posts driven. If you are fencing in hundreds of acres then I agree that it would be more economical to buy a driver. I see them come up at auction pretty frequently too.

 

[Barnbuilder]

Well I've been building barns and fencing for 30 years.

 

[Sysop]

My concern is with hard ground. I found a driver I liked with an auger but it was $20k. If I could find a 4" auger I could predrill the hole.

Depending on the soil there, I've seen 6"x7' posts set 24" down by pre-drilling a 4" auger hole and shoving the sharpened posts into the hole with the FEL of a heavy tractor.

 

[ruffdog]

Some neighbors of mine have a big post pounder but it is hard to move.

 

[PRCWI]

We just bought a shaver for our skid steer. Around 2.5k I think. I really like than Danuser vids but no way I could swallow that price tag.

 

[aczlan]

The Orchards around me are all switching to using a vibrating attachment on an excavator to put in posts. They say that it breaks less posts and it's easier on the operator then a traditional post pounder.

Aaron Z