Hydraulic post pounders?
 

We got a quote (finally) from a local fence contractor. We have 50 acres and wanted to at least put up a perimeter fence. The quote was per-foot and had separate prices for corners, braces and such. The prices ranged from $1.85 per foot to $3.80 per foot depending on whether we want six-strand or woven wire.

It turns out that if we wanted to put up a complete perimeter fence with the necessary corners, braces and gates that it would cost us either around $12,000 or around $25,000 to fence.

Needless to say, that makes me say 'ouch'.

Also needless to say, I'm looking at other options - one of which is simply buying a hydraulic post pounder and doing the work ourselves as time and cash flow permit.

Anybody have any suggestions or recommendations on hydraulic post pounders? I've started looking around the web and it looks like we'd be able to use a Shaver PD-8 on our Kubota L3400:

http://www.postdriver.com/articles/s...pecifications/

I'm sure there are others out there but I wanted to see if the good people here had any real-world experience and recommendations...thanks!

You could look for a quote just for purchasing and setting the posts. The rest of the fence installationis relatively easy DIY, if it is HT

Also, substituting wood line posts, with metal T post (at least some), will save some time and labor.

I have this setup in high tensile and it works fine. The only place I used wood line posts is in low spots and sharp turns. We drilled holes and set the wood corner posts.

Check out this thread:

http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/sho...ost+pounder%22

There's a lot of details we don't know. Does the quote invlove clearing any trees or heavy brush? We had lmost a half mile of fencing put in on our southern property line and it was well worth the money.

If we had tried it ourselves it probably taken a good chunk of the year doing it spare time as you are thinking. It involved about 1200 feet of clearing heavy woods (large diameter trees) for a 10 foot width and steep slopes.

The fence contractor came in with 3 semi loads of equipment and completed the whole job from start to finish in 3 days. This was 48" woven topped with one strand of barb.

Our North pasture we bought the locust posts and paid for them to be pounded. The rest being DIY.

So I guess my comment is that you can mix and match how you do it.

Mike

They're pretty common on the used market, often with very little use. I picked mine up at a farm auction for under $1k if I recal correctly:

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...tdriver001.jpg

Thanks, Plowjockey - that's what I'm going to do when I call the guy back. He and I didn't talk about that when we were walking the property a couple of weeks ago, but that seems like a logical alternative.

Stephen - that's good to hear. What kind did you get? I can't tell from the photo. Any advice on what to look for or avoid on the used market?

Thanks!

Mike - there would be some clearing involved, but it's mostly small trees and not-very-dense brush. When he and I were walking the property he didn't seem to care one way or another who did the clearing.

Having someone come in and do a professional job in a matter of days is very appealing to me, and that's why we got the quote in the first place. I just didn't realize it would be so high; I thought the amount would come in closer to two-thirds the amount it did.

Thanks, Lisa - I take it from this and other posts you've made that you have a hydraulic post pounder, but I didn't see a reference to which one. Could you tell me what kind you have and what you like or don't like about it? Would you get the same one if you were starting over?

Thanks!

Farm stores or Farmer's Co-Ops will rent hydraulic post pounders. Plenty of used farm equipment for sale, something like a post pounder just sits once your fence is built.

What type of posts are you wanting to pound? No idea what your soil is like but a hydraulic post pounder around here would just bend T posts and splinter wood p[osts with all of the rock we have.
I would research and learn how a corner should be built. Know this whether you're doing the work or hiring it done as that's where the strength is and what will make your fence last. I would start by building 1 corner, you will quickly learn if you want to build much fence.

Thanks, Beeman - I'll check out the co-op in town. Hadn't thought of that.

We're planning on using wooden posts, 4 - 6 inches in diameter, probably eight feet long pounded halfway into the ground. Our soil is pretty rocky, but it's a sedimentary rock that busts apart pretty easily. Very little granite or other really hard stuff, but *plenty* of the sedimentary stuff.

I've put in a bit of fencing already - including corners - and it's not something I *can't* do, it's something I don't *wan't* to do. And the older I get, the less I want to do it! ;-)

Another thought: My driver is one of, if not the least productive piece of equipment I own. If a neighbor offered to pay me a per post driving fee, I'd seriously consider it. Especially if they had the posts dropped, line strung and were there to help. Especially in the slow time of the year. Perhaps you have a neighbor with a driver that would be interested as well?

I don't actually use it..my husband uses it for our fencing company, but he seems happy with it and it pounds a lot of posts. Its a Shaver HD 12 I think.
We use it on a skid steer.

Good point. There's a guy a couple miles away who has one tucked in a corner of his barn - or, at least, he did two years ago - and I've reached out to him, too. He might let me rent it if he doesn't want to sell it outright. Hopefully he's still got it and is interested!

Thanks, Lisa.

Does your husband have any tips on using the postpounder? I've watched a few videos on line and I can't for the life of me figure out how they got the posts in straight - the pile driver part was moving around all over the place. Any tips on how to set the posts right would be most appreciated!

Use blunt end posts. It's hard to get the pointed posts to drive straight. Keep adjusting as you go, and by all that's holy...keep your fingers out of the way.

Shaver brand makes sense in Lisa's case, but they're always more expensive than the off brands. For something an individual will use very little, I've never understood the extra expense. Mine's a "Driv'n Driv'r" that I've driven thousands of 4" rounds with and shows no mechanical wear:

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...tdriver008.jpg

Each brand will be set up differently, but all will have 2 adjustments. I use a magnetic level to quickly set up on each post:

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...tdriver006.jpg

ETA: In the last photo you can see my post holder hanging on the levers, I hold the post in the corner with the holder, stand on the side and drive away.

A couple other comments PACrofter,

We use 8 and a half foot posts with 3 foot in the ground. For field fence it gives us the option of running a second strand of barb or hot wire at the top.

The other thing is you can never make your gates to large. I like a 20 foot opening and 2 10 foot gates to ensure I can easily get large equipment through without any problems (think large round balers, etc). This is especially important for an access drive.

I also recommend the beefiest posts you can for corners and other points that take stress. When we bought our locust posts (semi-load) the guy who cut them had some that were logs not posts (better than 14 inch diameter). He was like "you can quarter them to get extra posts". My response was that those corner posts were going to last a lifetime.

Mike

Lisa - Good to know. I had assumed the pointy-ended ones would be easier to drive...but I guess if you've got 30,000 to 100,000 pounds of pressure working for you, you don't need that edge!

And *thanks* for the words of wisdom on the fingers! :hysterical:

Thanks, Stephen - never heard of a "Driv'n Driv'r" but I'll be on the lookout!

Mike - Good points, all. I was thinking about using 10' posts so I could have six feet to play with - perhaps four feet of woven wire with two strands of electric above? Probably overkill that wouldn't even keep out the coyotes and deer, but imagination is cheap...

Your point about making the gates bigger is well taken. I have a gate that's almost too small and I've clipped one side of it more times than I care to mention.

If I could find 14" locust logs I'd be all set! There are some ads for locust posts in our area and I'll have to start collecting a pile.

Ditto that part about bending the posts.

I have a New Holland medium duty 3 point auger that I used to put up a pasture fence last summer. Several times I hit rocks that I could not drill, break or budge less than 2 feet below the surface.

When I got the quote from a local installer I asked him how the pounder deals with this and he explained that the wooden post will 'mushroom' underground as it is driven in.

My project was not as large as yours but did involve tree felling and brush clearing along fence lines. It took me just about all summer to complete.

The fence is Gallagher 4 strand High Tensile. I saw mention of keeping out small critters, now that is another story and would be pretty ambitious on a 50 acre scale.

Use the 'good stuff' and you will be glad you did.

If there is snow on the ground now you may want to evaluate the different areas to see what changes with the season. I found that I needed a cut off switch on the bottom TWO strands instead of just the ONE that I had installed. The snow was drifting almost 3 feet deep along one stretch.

Waiting for spring.....

I don't know much about it, but two summers ago my ex husband (yup he was the ex then!) helped me put in a mile of fence. It was single strand electric. Just a fence for rotational grazing type of thing so it didn't need to be real great.

Posts were $2 each, renting a post pounder that you pulled with a truck was $150 for the whole weekend from the local ag store, wire was a couple hundred. I think I did the whole thing for under $500 (including pounder rental) and I had lots of posts left. It only took us a couple hours. IN a weekend you could pound in enough posts for 50 acres I am sure. Fencing is easy. I am half dumb and I can do it.

Six years ago a friend invested $12,000 in a hydraulic fence post setting machine to fence his property and after completing the job sold the machine for $14,000 and set his BIL up in business for himself.

The hydraulic post setter he purchased was a wheel lift wrecker and he used the wheel lift stinger to set his posts and the winch to stretch the fabric. His BIL now uses the wrecker to run tows for a couple mechanics and do repos with.

I think geography definetly has something to do with the difficulty factor.

On one of the fence building sites I visited the installer was a Missouri fence builder helping out a new farmer in Iowa City, Iowa. His comments were 'Wow, they have some nice dirt up there compared to the Ozarks of Missouri' and 'The holes dug easily to Ozark standards', working with black dirt was a special treat'.

I know I had a few corners where I could not get the full three foot deep hole but I figured that since the last 4 to six inches of the hole were chiseled into solid stone it would be ok.

Now I know where those tractor sized rocks off to the side of the pasture came from....

There are numerous ways to accomplish the same task as we all know. On a property where the perimeter boundaries are not clean and needs to be cleared I strongly suggest making hiring a tracked front end loader to clear a swath. When the perimeter is ready the tracked front end loader can push the post in the ground. I can force a post into position about as fast as a helper can move on foot from post location to post location. At a $125 per hour I believe I can beat the price of a person on a tractor with a post driver. PS...I also have a Shaver post driver for small jobs. When you install the fence leave it a off the ground at the bottom as there will be a time when you need to cut debris from under the fence. A sacrificial strand of barb wire near ground is a good investment and the woven wire off the ground will not rust as quickly.

if you are pushing t-posts like that, it is very dangerous. I had one bow and pop loose from the bucket, hit me in the temple and knock me silly.

Qhorseman

No tee posts. Used guard rail or treated wood here.