Fencing Land Has Anyone...

[TomSeller]

Seems to me the solution would be to dip the steel T posts into that plastic and coat the part that goes into the ground. Mine rust off.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I have pulled up T-post that have been in the ground 20 years and other than some bad surface oxidation, they were still solid. White PVC is not going to work for long in sunlight. It will be brittle in a few years and start to turn to powder a few years later. I don't know how you could drive them as they claim unless you have mud or soft sand. Around my area, you have to really pound on a steel post. NO WAY would I try to use that setup for corner post. PVC is just too flexible to use for anchoring a long stretch of fence.
You seem determined to use them, so have at it but be prepared to replace them in a few years and buy some extra for when a rabbit runs into your fence in winter and pops off a post.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Oh , if you are looking at the white post for aesthetic reasons, buy a couple gallons of white enamel paint and paint the steel post, it will last much longer than those cheap (cheap made recycled plastic that is) junk that cost double what a good steel T post cost.

We have used some of the plastic post with a steel tip on the end for electric fence wire and they break very easily and I doubt the plastic T post are any stronger, however the main drawback on white plastic is sunlight deterioration. Any plastic that is exposed to UV light needs to have a color UV blocker in it. White plastic can only be used underground or under roof as it becomes extremely brittle is 2-3 years which is what happens to the plastic electric fence post. After a couple years of exposure, they get really brittle and break when even a little bend is put on them.

There is a good reason that you don't see a lot of reviews on plastic post, either square hollow or even the T post, that is because 1) they chalk up and don't last in UV light and 2) they are too expensive.
The theory of no rot is good, but they do rot. Just not in the traditional sense of wood. They rot (oxidize) from UV light just like all other plastic. Bury them in the ground and they last a millennium or more but not above ground.

 

[flusher]

The reason I was looking at this option is the coloration (white). Real steal T-POST rust and look horrible in my opinion. All the fencing I have done on our land previously is done with wood post and wood corner braces. I use Hi-Tensile wire (electrical). So with a fire, even real post will burn. Thank you for the comment.

Railroad ties will scorch a little, but are pretty difficult to burn completely in a grass fire. The fencing (metal T-posts, farm fencing, barbed wire)on my place used railroad ties that are scorched near the bottom 12-18 inches--evidence that one of the previous owners experienced a grass fire. I took all that crappy, old fencing down years ago since the wire was pretty much shot. Pulled the old T-posts out of the ground and gave them to a neighbor to cross fence her place.

My place is a corner parcel, 10 acres perfectly square (660 ft, one furlong per side). I have fencing on two sides thanks to my neighbors. On the South side my new neighbor put up real nice goat fencing for his herd. And on the West side, my neighbor has strung a couple of strands of electric wire to keep her horses (actually large pets) from straying. The North and East sides front on the road so there is no reason for fencing there since I don't graze any animals on my place.

 

[bravo2zero]

I am not adamant on purchasing this product. The last thing I want is to be out on the land in a couple years replacing post. I more or less was trying to get input and to see if anyone has used this product. I have always used wood and it last for several years.

You are right about the corner post. I wouldn't try it, not with the tension that I put on the lines and I wanted to thank everyone that posted it was appreciated.

I am going to stick with what I know best. Wood works and it looks nice too!

 

[oldnslo]

My only experience was with the vinyl picket fence products. I put up a 4 foot high by 200 feet long picket fence around my yard at my old house 9 years ago. Fence still looks good today. I live there for 5 years and never replaced ay components. Talked to the current owner this winter and he has not replaced any components yet either.

 

[stuckmotor]

:laughing:

Pics

Had to include a pic of the quarter horse too lest she read this and get jealous.

The quarter horse in the third photo is mighty handsome.

 

[AGRIMAN]

I agree with Gary, I can't see a PVC corner post holding much on anything and I wouldn't try it. I mainly use an H brace with one large pole cut from the butt end of an old utility pole. The sizes range from 12 to 20 in, I put them 3 ft in the ground and pack them with a mixture of concrete (dry) and dry sand. I try to let them settle for a few days before pulling wire, but I still get a little movement after the first pull.

 

[TomSeller]

I am going to experiment with concrete corner posts similar but larger than this old reference.

http://mngrapegrowers.com/Websites/mgga/images/Resources/How_to_Make_Concrete_Posts.PDF

I am going to notch the tops for an upper rail and wrap the wire tight around the corner and back wrap onto itself on the other side. No staples if it works out.

 

[TomSeller]

And no, this is not my concrete fence post. But it does look like it has been there a long time. It looks like they ran the rebar too close to the ends where it rusted and the concrete spalled off.