Post Driver

[Charlie_Iliff]

I usedf to really like my PT auger, but today we finally gave the post driver I got last year a genuine workout. We set 37 5-6" x 8' posts in just under two hours. The last seven or eight went at about one every minute and a half. They aren't all exactly vertical, but they're in there to stay, and nobody had to touch a hand posthole digger or tamping iron. We did find that peeling 2" of sod off before placing the post made the first few whacks a lot more effective.
I know that Blackwell and some others have infinitely more experience than I, but my opinion of the PT post driver goes up each time I use it. The problem is that now the various horse women think that running a few hundred feet of new fence is a walk in the park, and can't we put a line here, and replace the one that's sagging a bit over there.....? /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[rivulet]

Does this have a bubble to line things up?
How do you line it up side to side?
Does it shake the PT around to where you wish it had stabilizing legs?
I have seen the Worksaver HPD-16 and wonder how it compares.

Here is the PT Post Driver

 

[rivulet]

And here is a picture of the Worksaver HPD-16

 

[outridder]

Does anyone point the posts before driving them in? I would think the part of Maryland that you are in would be on the sandy side and the driving would go fairly easy.

 

[Charlie_Iliff]

<font color="red"> Does this have a bubble to line things up? </font>
No bubble. I had two people giving me conflicting and confusing hand signals /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif but after the first few, with my view from the seat and the handle man's view from beside it, we could do pretty well.

<font color="red"> How do you line it up side to side? </font>
I have a diverter valve on the curl circuit on my 1845. The driver has a cylinder controlling side-to-side tilt. I push the button on top of the joystick and tilt the joystick left or right and the driver follows -- suddenly, so light and quick movements of the joystick. Without the diverter valve, you would do side-to-side tilt with the aux PTO. While driving a post, you can make fine adjustments side to side by turning the wheel. Since the foot is on the ground, this tilts the driver a bit before the foot drags.

<font color="red"> Does it shake the PT around to where you wish it had stabilizing legs? </font>
It doesn't shake it that badly. With stabilizer legs, you couldn't make the fine adjustments often needed during the driving of a post, and the placement and alignment would be slowed. The only real instability is when you change the tilt with the weight up high. That rocks you around, so you learn to do very quick taps on the joystick to keep the movement small. Once set, while driving, there's almost no shaking of the machine, except a little bounce when the weight hits the top.

<font color="red"> I have seen the Worksaver HPD-16 and wonder how it compares. </font>
I haven't ever seen other post drivers in action. I reviewed a lot of posts on TBN, and pictures and specs on several machines. I bought the PT because it fit without any adapters, and when I saw it work I liked it. I have no doubt that several of the others are also good. There are also vibrating rather than drop-weight drivers. One of those might be a great adaptation, as well.

 

[Charlie_Iliff]

<font color="red"> Does anyone point the posts before driving them in? I would think the part of Maryland that you are in would be on the sandy side and the driving would go fairly easy.</font>

My soil is sand and clay. We have a few rocks and a few roots, but I doubt there are many easier areas to put in posts.

I haven't pointed any posts. Some posts had very slow stages, so were in rocks or roots, but ultimately they went down. I haven't pulled any to see what they look like after driving.
There are a lot of discussions about various 3-point carried post drivers, and as I recall, most people thought points weren't necessary. If you search the other forums you'll come across them.

 

[MossRoad]

<font color="blue"> There are also vibrating rather than drop-weight drivers. One of those might be a great adaptation, as well. </font>

There has been some discussion as to why they don't have a post driver for the 400 series. The reasoning was that the weight of the hammer was so much and had to be carried so high that it could make the little green monsters tippy. Do vibrating units also have a large weight at the top? If not, I'd think this could be a solution for the smaller tractors.

Any thoughts?

 

[Charlie_Iliff]

When i looked at a 1430, before I got the 1845, Terry told me that someone had turned a 1430 over with the post driver. I think I could do that with the 1845 if I weren't careful. The 4xx machines might not even be able to lift it.
There are hand-held vibrating post setters, used at least for pipe posts for chain link fence. I haven't looked on the web in a while, but someone may make an intermediate size. (The one I saw in person was on a track hoe, and weighed a lot)

 

[Charlie_Iliff]

Or mount an air compressor and:

CLICK

 

[MossRoad]

That's what I'm thinking. If it could be run by air, you think it could be run by hydraulics. Just a matter of time before someone makes one.