Newbie with a post hole digger- tractor mounted.

[Cormac]

Any guidance? I will be doing corner posts with 4.5" OD pipe. Is 9" auger OK or should I also invest in a 12"? North Texas sandy soil will be involved?

 

[beenthere]

9" should be good, as long as you can keep the sand from falling back into the hole before the post is in there. I like to keep as little soil disturbed as possible when setting posts. Backfilling and tamping soil around the post or pouring concrete?

 

[Cormac]

I plan to set posts in concrete.

 

[ALABAMA_KID]

I would go with a 12" auger..
4.5" pipe, 9" hole, 2.25" of cement around the pipe.
Not a lot of strength in such thin cement..
A big Pain to place the cement in the hole..

 

[Farwell]

If the sand falls back into the post hole keep some water handy and wet the hole as it is being dug. Works great for loose sand. I like the larger hole but 9 inch should be fine for most applications.
Farwell

 

[5030]

I set many posts as well as plant trees with a post hole digger (3 point). We have sandy loam here in S.E. Michigan and I never put water in the hole as the sand is abrasive enough when dry.

What I do is run the PHD to just about the bottom of the hole, disengage the PTO and pull the PHD from the hole. The sand will stay on the flites. The I move away from the hole, engage the PTO and fling the sand off. Back up to the hole again and run in the PHD to the required depth, shut off the PTO and pull the PHD. That way, very little material falls back into the hole and you are good to go. I have done this literally hundreds of times and it always works.

 

[LarryD]

<font color="blue"> A big Pain to place the cement in the hole..
</font>

Who says the post has to be in the hole when the concrete is placed. We had to set 15,000' of fence posts and all the posts were placed after the 'crete was in the hole. That was over two years ago and no sign of any weak posts.

 

[ALABAMA_KID]

Just my opinion from past experience..

We don't know if it is for a fence, shed, or flag pole.

I would not want to fight with a 4.5" pipe that is of any length into a hole with cement in place.

Not a lot of time to square and level.

Thin wall fence post. ok...

Just my opinion.

Doug

 

[jimmysisson]

Another way that only works with sufficient soil moisture is to place the post, jam a rock or two in to hold it plumb, then dump concrete mix in the hole dry. In a day or two it's set up with no mixing or trying to shovel it in around the post. Some guys around here use that system for building pole barns and it seems to work.
Jim

 

[gabby]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I set many posts as well as plant trees with a post hole digger (3 point). We have sandy loam here in S.E. Michigan and I never put water in the hole as the sand is abrasive enough when dry.

What I do is run the PHD to just about the bottom of the hole, disengage the PTO and pull the PHD from the hole. The sand will stay on the flites. The I move away from the hole, engage the PTO and fling the sand off. Back up to the hole again and run in the PHD to the required depth, shut off the PTO and pull the PHD. That way, very little material falls back into the hole and you are good to go. I have done this literally hundreds of times and it always works. )</font>

How do you gather up the flung-off dirt for tamping?

If it's powdery dry sand it will have to be wetted to get it out of the hole.

If it's moist dirt I just carry it to the next hole on the flutes and it falls off as the next hole is dug. Then it's right there around the hole to put back in for tamping.
gabby

 

[5030]

Gabby:

I do the concrete thing (80# quick crete) so I don't need much sand/dirt for tamping. I love Quick-Crete, it says on the bag "Just add water and mix"....haha. If you have a cement mixer like I do it's okay. Wheelbarrow and hoe method will give you blisters right away. That's neither here nor there as I just dump the bag in the posthole with the post and in about a week the ground moisture sets the Quick-Crete.

I have never had the sand fall off the flites and I never wet it. As I said previously, wet sand is extremely abrasive...very hard on the PHD flites and cutter.

 

[gabby]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Gabby:

I do the concrete thing (80# quick crete) so I don't need much sand/dirt for tamping. I love Quick-Crete, it says on the bag "Just add water and mix"....haha. If you have a cement mixer like I do it's okay. Wheelbarrow and hoe method will give you blisters right away. That's neither here nor there as I just dump the bag in the posthole with the post and in about a week the ground moisture sets the Quick-Crete.

I have never had the sand fall off the flites and I never wet it. As I said previously, wet sand is extremely abrasive...very hard on the PHD flites and cutter. )</font>


Why do you set fence posts in concrete?
gabby

 

[5030]

Gabby:

You are sitting one one. My wife raises Percheron draft horses and if the lean on a post without it being real secure, in our sand, it gets pushed over. Concrete keeps them firm. Besides, the end posts where we swing our gates from need support. Yes, we do have a hot wire but the only time it's on is when the mares are being settled.

 

[gabby]

Old-timer's saying: Set the post 6 inches deeper and it will be twice as strong.

I don't like to set line posts in concrete because it's much more expensive and it's a b***h to replace them if they break off.

I set my line posts 30 to 36 inches deep and backfill with dirt. My soil is sandy too.
gabby