Post driver questions

[sidboswell]

I have a John Deere 4052R with 4th and 5th SCVs on back as well as Power Beyond and a down force kit.

I have compact dry soil with more silt than clay and very little sand. It's glacial moraine so lots of rocks 2-6" in diameter about 6-12" below grade. Ground, when dry, is pretty hard. It takes a good 20-25 pounds on manual t-post driver to get one set.

I've got about 3 years of fence building as the 20 acre property was not cross fenced and the perimeter fence is crap. I am looking at a Shaver HD-8 or HD-10. I'll be driving mostly 4" pointed and capped line posts with a few 5" pointed and capped corner and H posts. In fact, my farm store had a great sale so I purchased 2 bundles of 90 each 4" 6.5' line posts and a dozen 5" 7' corner posts.

I see a lot of posts recommending the HD-10 (as with most things, get the bigger and your job will go faster), but it's a Cat II implement. I do have an iMatch which I'm pretty sure is Cat II as I need 1.25" bushings on all my implements.

I also have an auger and a back hoe so digging really big corner posts like a cross-tie I will just dig. My dealer also was concerned with a post driver on my tractor due to the vibration that it sends into the tractor.

Given that what would you recommend and why? I most likely will fence the heck out of the property and then sell the driver.

 

[r porter]

since i dont have a john deer i wont comment on its ability.

but the shaver is awesome. mine is old, real old. i have driven 21 ft long light posts by bolting a stub on the side of the pole.

dig a 4 in diameter hole and drive a rail road tie in it for corners. by the time the ground dries out you will split posts.

but do it now cause the ground needs to be damp.

 

[RickB]

If you are driving steel T posts an HD8 will either drive them or fold them up, you don’t need an HD10.
Your dealer must not sell tractors to do actual work.

 

[DJ54]

My HD8, on my little '65 Ford 2000 drove 5", and 6" blunt end posts just fine. BUT, it was through the winter, when the ground had high moisture content, but not frozen ground. Go for the full hydraulic model, for the tilt, I did, and I love it after watching my neighbor using his, with the manual crank for the tilt.

The main thing is, you need a wide open port, like back into the oil reservoir fill hole, to return oil as fast as possible, on the drive stroke. Going back through a return sode of your remotes, through a quick coupler, will cause restriction, and you'll lose force on the drive stroke. My 2000 fill port is pipe thread, so I just bought pipe reducer bushings, from the port, down to the, I'm thinking 3/4" return line.

I did a little studying before I bought mine, and most say not to use pointed posts, or sharpen a point on them. If they hit a rock just right, it will make the post go sideway a little, going in crooked. If you're in 24" or so, there is no way you'll bring that post back, to going in straight. I don't have many large rocks under the surface here, but I do have 3 posts that apparently did catch the edge on some, and started going crooked, after being driven in 24" - 30" inches. I tilted the driver to try an bring them back, but it didn't work.

I know they sure beat using an auger, hand diggers, and a spud bar to tamp them back in, forallof the other fence I've built. I did buy mine used, but it was in excellent condition, and was worth every penny.