Post Driver - how many PTO HP?

[Luremaker]

I have been looking at a few Post Drivers and the manufacturer specks say minimum 25 PTO HP required. These drivers have a PTO driven Hydraulic pump. I know vey little else about them. A Post driver will probably be my best option for installing fence posts because of our rocky soil conditions. Next summer I will be installing over 600 new fence posts. I am going to the International Plowing Match in Meaford on the weekend and hope to speak to a few reps and learn more about them. Anyone have experience with post drivers?

I do not have a tractor yet but am seriouly considering the Kubota L3130HST (24 PTO HP) or the L3830HST (30.5 PTO HP).

 

[MicroPilot]

Haven't used a post driver......but it would seem that based on your need for a post driver the L3130 is eliminated from consideration (not enough HP). Something else to think about is that post drivers are heavy and a larger/heavier tractor would be beneficial for this application.

 

[Jackrabbit_Slim]

I use an EZEE-ON 1400 pounder on a B2710. I believe the tractor is rated at 20 PTO hp, and it's more than enough for this particular model.

I'd offer a world of caution. These rascals are fairly heavy and you really want to pay attention to how your machine is operated and situated. Lots of ballast on the front end, keep things as low as you can and think about where your center of gravity is at all times.

Slim

 

[cowboydoc]

I run my post driver on a JD 4600. I wouldn't want to go too much smaller than that. If you do you won't have much driving power, especially in rocks. I don't know how good of an idea that the post driver will be in rocks. When you hit a rock the post will go crooked and it's very hard to get it back straight. Usually you need to pull the post and start over.

 

[Jim_Fisher]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I have been looking at a few Post Drivers and the manufacturer specks say minimum 25 PTO HP required. These drivers have a PTO driven Hydraulic pump. I know vey little else about them. A Post driver will probably be my best option for installing fence posts because of our rocky soil conditions. )</font>

I have owned a Shaver HD-8, which uses the tractor hydraulics, since 1999. I believe it requires around 4 gpm. It mounts on the three point hitch of my John Deere 4300.

I have driven several hundred posts with only one problem The original return line ruptured and was replaced under warranty. Looked to me like a bad piece of hose.

 

[slowrev]

My friend has a couple of Shafer post drivers, we tried one on his IH444 4000 lbs and it worked but not too well. was a little tippy too. Put it on his Ford 5000 and it works good, still shakes the heck out of it when driving 9 inch posts, but works fine. The best way to do posts in my opinion. We have driven several hundred posts so far this year.
The hydraulic requirements are not great for the shafer drivers, just requires hydraulics to raise it up and a big return hose to let it down fast with spring assist. btw one of the springs broke and we never did find it, think it got hung in a treetop about 150 ft away /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
Ben

 

[BGL990]

We've got an old Shafer post driver mounted to the front of a Farmall M. The bushings on all the tilt adjustments are worn out and the thing wobbles around a bit, and the M is not quite as cushy to drive as my 990, but it can't be beat for getting in tight places, especially with the narrow front end.

It is the red one in the attached picture.

 

[MikePA]

I run a Worksaver HPD-16 post driver and the minimum pto hp recommendation is 30 hp. At least with this Worksaver model, there's no connection to the PTO, so why they list a minimum PTO hp is beyond me. The important number is capacity of your pump, i.e., how many gpms it has. Even then, the gpm of the tractor hyd pump determines how fast the driving ram goes up. Once it's at the top and you push down on the joy stick, the hydraulic fluid is dumped back into the sump and ram drops, by gravity.

I've never used a driver that has it's own pump, but the Worksaver is pretty simple device to hook up (one rear remote connection) and use. I wouldn't mess around with a driver with a separate pump and a PTO shaft, but that's just me. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

You also have to consider the weight of the driver and make sure that you have enough weight on the front of the tractor. So, if my TC25D (with loader) can handle the HPD-16, the 24 hp Kubota L3130 should too. My opinion. Your Mileage May Vary. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Note, with the Worksaver, the weight is only an issue when lifting the driver for moving it to a new spot. When driving in a post, the driver sits on the ground. However, the tractor gets shaken a bit every time the ram hits the post so a heavier tractor will get shaken less.

As cowboydoc said, a larger driver will not help you drive posts in rocky soil, at least no driver that will fit on a CUT. If there's a big rock directly in the way of the post, the driver will just kinda bounce off the post. If the rock is off to one side, the post will go in crooked. Depending on how crooked, you might be able to use the post as a fence post, sometimes, like doc said, you have to pull the post and try another spot.

This past summer I pounded in 187, 4" x 4" x 8' posts. Put them 3 feet into the ground. I also drove in 40 T Posts. I got to the point where setting up the tractor and driving the post took about 10 - 15 minutes per post. I had laid out where I wanted each post, marked the ground with marking paint and had a post pre-positioned at each mark. I was working alone as well. Some posts took 40 - 50 pounds to go in. The larger Worksaver drivers can handle larger posts, have a heavier ram and could accomplish the same task with less hits.

600 posts is a lot of posts to set, even with a driver. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Feel free to ask away. I'm not an expert, but I spent a large part of this summer driving posts. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[Luremaker]

Thank's again for everyone's input. I have exactly 549 slightly rotten and a few broken 35 to 40 year old cedar fence posts which I hope to pull out and replace next summer as well as build a new page wire fence line around our creek. I am hoping that I will be able to pull the old posts out and drive the new post in the same hole. That way I should be able to avoid hitting too many large rocks. Most of the posts are 5" and corner posts are 6" or 7" in diameter.

In the spring I was watching one of the commercial fence installers drive posts into the ground and saw one cedar post virtually explode when the post hit a large rock. What a sight.

Steve

 

[MikePA]

That'd be great if you can drive the new posts in the same hole that the old ones were in. That should make the job a lot less onerous, both for driving the post as well as not having the mark the post location. Also, put a new post in right after you pull the old one out otherwise there's a good chance the hole will fill in if it sits empty for too long. I made the mistake of thinking it'd be a good idea to drill a number of holes (before I got the driver) then set the posts. I couldn't get to setting the posts right away (rain) and many of the holes filled in.