coobie
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Depends what type of soil conditions you have.If you have a lot of rocks forget it.
Post Hole Digger on a Sub-compact Tractor
- Thread starter plowhog
- Start date
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rustyshakelford
Veteran Member
I vote for renting a little badger or whatever they are called. You stand on them to drive and they have all the down pressure you need. They used one when I built my shop and it was slick. Not much to rent for the day either.
Brett
Brett
radioman
Super Member
I dont see a problem using a subcompact with regular sized phd and 9 and 12 inch auger. I use one one mine. I use it to dig holes for deck concrete footings. The only time i had a problem is when i hit rocks so buy a box of grade 5 bolts and box of nuts. I usually have no problems when hitting rocks as its softball size or bit bigger in dirt and clay. I have occasionally had to dig out by hand or my bh boulders size of basketball to tire sized ones as it smack in middle of hole where the post have to be. For those holes i use sonotube if it going to take more then 3 bags of 80lb concrete to fill the space.
For your fence if you have very few rocks or smaller then baseball size you should be able to use a 6 or 9 depending on your soild type inch auger and just back fill the dirt. If you are drilling in clay.. Hopefully you are able to do so when its not dried out completely... Can act like concrete and need downforce.. But just plan around soil concditions if you can
For your fence if you have very few rocks or smaller then baseball size you should be able to use a 6 or 9 depending on your soild type inch auger and just back fill the dirt. If you are drilling in clay.. Hopefully you are able to do so when its not dried out completely... Can act like concrete and need downforce.. But just plan around soil concditions if you can
Redlands Okie
Veteran Member
I don't have a compactor other than driving over dirt with the tractor tire. So if I drill a hole twice as wide as I would otherwise need, I'm mixing lots of extra concrete to fill it.
Hey guys there are very few times when you need to MIX concrete to put in a post for fence or deck.
When you mix it and pour it into the hole wet you often have to brace the the post up plumb. Then you really need to keep in mind that concrete takes about 27 days or so to cure. So when you wet mix concrete and pour it into the hole then set your deck or fence your banging and vibrating around on fresh uncured WEAK concrete. Now you have cracks and loose post at the beginning of your project.
Dig the hole, put in the post, pour in about 6 to 9 inches of DRY concrete mix out of your sack into the hole. Take a rod, shovel handle or whatever and tamp the DRY mix down. You do not need to bang it or tamp it with your strength. Your just trying to compact it. Pour in another 6 to 9 inches and keep repeating till the hole is full. If you wish and you have water available then pour in a CUP of water at each layer so it compacts better. You do NOT want your mix to be pliable or real wet at all. The post should be darn firm and have little movement.
Now set your deck up or picket fence or start stringing your barbwire fence. Your good to get busy.
I am not trying to get into a engineering discussion or haggle over a few PSI of finished Concrete strength results. The concrete mix will absorb water from the surrounding soil over the next few days and will set up firm and cure as normal. I and many others have done this even in dry areas like southern New Mexico sand or West Texas drought conditions. The concrete mix will attract moisture and it will cure. In wet creek bottoms and such areas its still not a issue if you keep in mind that concrete will cure under water just fine. While all this is happening your fence is done or your setting on your deck drinking you beverage of choice.
For a 4 x 4 post I usually use a 9 inch Aulger. I will use a 12 inch Aulger if I am worried about the exact location of the post in the hole and there are issuse getting it planed out just right. So if your post hole is a little off then widen one side. If your hole is a little big then just pour in a bit more dry mix. Save that stress over getting the holes exactly in line. Save all that effort of mixing and pouring and bracing and cleanup of tools. I suspect your or the significant others todo list has plenty more you can be doing instead
powerscol
Veteran Member
I second this. Have about 4 sheets of cheep plywood around to drive on so lawn does not get torn up. These stand on machines are a breeze to work with and I have used both. I currently have a TSC one and while good, the stand on bobcat was faster and more precise.
Same here. Standard Speeco PHD from Tractor Supply has done dozens if not hundreds of holes on my BX. It helps to drill one additional hole in the PHD arm so the 3 pt geometry works better with the tractor's small links but other than that it has been perfectly OK. The short lower links on an SCUT mean the PHD swings in a greater arc as it goes up or down, resulting in more forward/backward displacement of the implement. In the case of a PHD, it can result in the auger starting out in a vertical position and skewing forward or backward as it goes into the ground. You may need to compensate by moving the tractor slightly so the auger stays vertical as it goes in. If it's shifting from side to side, the lower links need to be tightened.
6thgpSF
Gold Member
I've drilled a few hundred holes w/my little 1610d Yanmar and a TSC post hole digger. It's easier to get it stuck but you soon learn.I also invested in a large aluminum pipewrench to unstick the auger. russ
s219
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Hey guys there are very few times when you need to MIX concrete to put in a post for fence or deck.
When you mix it and pour it into the hole wet you often have to brace the the post up plumb. Then you really need to keep in mind that concrete takes about 27 days or so to cure. So when you wet mix concrete and pour it into the hole then set your deck or fence your banging and vibrating around on fresh uncured WEAK concrete. Now you have cracks and loose post at the beginning of your project.
Dig the hole, put in the post, pour in about 6 to 9 inches of DRY concrete mix out of your sack into the hole. Take a rod, shovel handle or whatever and tamp the DRY mix down. You do not need to bang it or tamp it with your strength. Your just trying to compact it. Pour in another 6 to 9 inches and keep repeating till the hole is full. If you wish and you have water available then pour in a CUP of water at each layer so it compacts better. You do NOT want your mix to be pliable or real wet at all. The post should be darn firm and have little movement.
Now set your deck up or picket fence or start stringing your barbwire fence. Your good to get busy.
I am not trying to get into a engineering discussion or haggle over a few PSI of finished Concrete strength results. The concrete mix will absorb water from the surrounding soil over the next few days and will set up firm and cure as normal. I and many others have done this even in dry areas like southern New Mexico sand or West Texas drought conditions. The concrete mix will attract moisture and it will cure. In wet creek bottoms and such areas its still not a issue if you keep in mind that concrete will cure under water just fine. While all this is happening your fence is done or your setting on your deck drinking you beverage of choice.
For a 4 x 4 post I usually use a 9 inch Aulger. I will use a 12 inch Aulger if I am worried about the exact location of the post in the hole and there are issuse getting it planed out just right. So if your post hole is a little off then widen one side. If your hole is a little big then just pour in a bit more dry mix. Save that stress over getting the holes exactly in line. Save all that effort of mixing and pouring and bracing and cleanup of tools. I suspect your or the significant others todo list has plenty more you can be doing instead
Yep, I use dry mix in post holes for all sorts of projects and it has worked fantastic. A farmer told me about this trick years ago and it has really been great.
I normally use a piece of rebar to poke/stir the mix and help it settle around the post. Ends up making the post super solid by the time I am done.
TheMan419
Veteran Member
This is exactly what we did setting posts for 6 foot gates for the horse pasture. Worked like a charm. Hung the gates on the posts less than an hour later. Post are still plumb and level.
