What size auger flight ?

[Vinpetrol]

I need to put in a good few strainers and posts on my plot . The posts are 175-200mm I've got an auger on my Volvo ec 18c it's a Digga PDX3 with a 200mm flight.
would I be able to make this work or should I buy a bigger flight and if so what size?

 

[Stroppymonkey]

Bigger... you want 300mm I would have thought to allow for plumb and full surround of postcrete or whatever. Or a post knocker!

 

[6feetdown]

Bigger... you want 300mm I would have thought to allow for plumb and full surround of postcrete or whatever. Or a post knocker!

Yeah say same unless your perfect with plumb and no wandering due to stones etc have some wiggle room

 

[Storrsy]

I need to put in a good few strainers and posts on my plot . The posts are 175-200mm I've got an auger on my Volvo ec 18c it's a Digga PDX3 with a 200mm flight.
would I be able to make this work or should I buy a bigger flight and if so what size?

Is this stock fencing? Trouble with 200mm is that it doesn't leave much room to tam them back in, 300mm gives more wiggle room. could use postcrete but will make them rot quicker. Before I had the post rammer I used to put loads of strainers in with an auger. If backfilling and tamping I'd always put a foot on the bottom of the strainer to stop it twisting or pulling out the ground when pulling the netting tight.

 

[Storrsy]

If you have quite a few to do- perhaps easier just to get a tractor and banger in for a few hours knock them straight in and be done with itif there's one local that is...

 

[Vinpetrol]

If you have quite a few to do- perhaps easier just to get a tractor and banger in for a few hours knock them straight in and be done with itif there's one local that is...

I’ve already got the auger and the fencing will need to be done a bit at a time so I’m going to do it myself . I think I will go for 300 flight

 

[doobin]

I’ve already got the auger and the fencing will need to be done a bit at a time so I’m going to do it myself . I think I will go for 300 flight

You’ll soon get bored of tamping, trust me.And if you’re on wet clay, you’ll never get a good enough job unless you do it in summer. Or bring in suitable backfill- I’ve had very good results using crushed chalk in wet clay conditions, and it really improved the longevity of the posts too!!

Backfilling and tamping is one of those jobs that soul destroying. You need to auger out enough extra earth to have clearance to use a tamping bar, and then it’s a good twenty minutes of hard graft to do it properly.

It’s on of those jobs that everyone tries to cheat on, fill it in quick and then when they discover it’s still wobbly as they get to the top, give it a really good tamp to try to sort it. Guess what- that doesn’t do s**t. Just displaces the softer topsoil. The bottom is the most important when backfilling and tamping.


Honestly, either get yourself a post knocker or hire someone in. If you like doing that kind of fencing a digger and knocker along with a pilot auger for tough ground can be very profitable for small runs in gardens or paddocks. But it will cost you way more in your labour tamping them than just getting a local contractor to pop by for a morning.

 

[Vinpetrol]

You’ll soon get bored of tamping, trust me.And if you’re on wet clay, you’ll never get a good enough job unless you do it in summer. Or bring in suitable backfill- I’ve had very good results using crushed chalk in wet clay conditions, and it really improved the longevity of the posts too!!

Backfilling and tamping is one of those jobs that soul destroying. You need to auger out enough extra earth to have clearance to use a tamping bar, and then it’s a good twenty minutes of hard graft to do it properly.

It’s on of those jobs that everyone tries to cheat on, fill it in quick and then when they discover it’s still wobbly as they get to the top, give it a really good tamp to try to sort it. Guess what- that doesn’t do s**t. Just displaces the softer topsoil. The bottom is the most important when backfilling and tamping.


Honestly, either get yourself a post knocker or hire someone in. If you like doing that kind of fencing a digger and knocker along with a pilot auger for tough ground can be very profitable for small runs in gardens or paddocks. But it will cost you way more in your labour tamping them than just getting a local contractor to pop by for a morning.

I've put a few in in my time when I needed to do a bit of fencing but always by hand with the post hole shufflers. I always went very deep with them and packed with stones when backfilling and always had good results . I did need to use postcrete a few times when the ground was really soft .
I've got to many to do now though so I need an easier process. What post knocker do you use ? What machine do you use it on ?

 

[Storrsy]

I've put a few in in my time when I needed to do a bit of fencing but always by hand with the post hole shufflers. I always went very deep with them and packed with stones when backfilling and always had good results . I did need to use postcrete a few times when the ground was really soft .
I've got to many to do now though so I need an easier process. What post knocker do you use ? What machine do you use it on ?

I've got a Protech P18, superb machine. It's the one thing I'd never get rid of even though I don't do masses of fencing anymore. But gateposts, retaining walls, all sorts of awkward jobs. Really good machine.

 

[Vinpetrol]

I've got a Protech P18, superb machine. It's the one thing I'd never get rid of even though I don't do masses of fencing anymore. But gateposts, retaining walls, all sorts of awkward jobs. Really good machine.

That’s a handy looking bit of kit . Will it cope with big stones etc?

 

[Storrsy]

It's got a fair smack. But yeah all depends on ground conditions. My rule of thumb. If I can get a pinch bar into the ground without too much problem then it will knock a strainer in. If there's rocks in amongst soil then it will push them aside but compact shillet or really dense ground where the bar bounces of it then it will struggle. I've done plenty of agri fencing all over Dartmoor and usually manage fine- obviously if you hit a bloody great lump of granite then nothing is going to get a post through that.

 

[Vinpetrol]

It's got a fair smack. But yeah all depends on ground conditions. My rule of thumb. If I can get a pinch bar into the ground without too much problem then it will knock a strainer in. If there's rocks in amongst soil then it will push them aside but compact shillet or really dense ground where the bar bounces of it then it will struggle. I've done plenty of agri fencing all over Dartmoor and usually manage fine- obviously if you hit a bloody great lump of granite then nothing is going to get a post through that.

Do you thump the small posts in with it as well ? What weight is on yours ?

 

[Vinpetrol]

I've got a Protech P18, superb machine. It's the one thing I'd never get rid of even though I don't do masses of fencing anymore. But gateposts, retaining walls, all sorts of awkward jobs. Really good machine.

Will you sell it to me ? Couldn’t be any harder than trying to get you to sell a digger

 

[Storrsy]

Do you thump the small posts in with it as well ? What weight is on yours ?

Oh yeah do the whole lot with it- if you get one I can give you some handy tips/minor adaptions to get the best from it. It's a 180kg weight (350kg all up weight with hitch bracket), but importantly the way I use it means it gets the full length of the mast to drop from. Tak handles it fine even with the 60 kg thumb on. You have to think a bit can't just go swinging it out downhill as will end up faceplanting, but a cautious and steady operator will get most places with it and can always use your blade if you really need to go down steep stuff

 

[Storrsy]

Will you sell it to me ? Couldn’t be any harder than trying to get you to sell a digger

To keep with tradition I'll say no I won't sell but keep your eye on the classifieds.
To be honest I think alot of people buy them and perhaps don't get the best from them resulting in frustration and ebay- so keep an out as often used once examples come up for sale.
Think they're around £2500 for a brand new one. Perhaps a little more ...

 

[Vinpetrol]

Oh yeah do the whole lot with it- if you get one I can give you some handy tips/minor adaptions to get the best from it. It's a 180kg weight (350kg all up weight with hitch bracket), but importantly the way I use it means it gets the full length of the mast to drop from. Tak handles it fine even with the 60 kg thumb on. You have to think a bit can't just go swinging it out downhill as will end up faceplanting, but a cautious and steady operator will get most places with it and can always use your blade if you really need to go down steep stuff

I'm seriously considering it. I've got a hell of a lot of fencing to do around my plot and field so it makes sense to buy one then do it myself at my leisure rather than pay a contractor as I will then have the use of it whenever I need it. what weight is your tak ? Will it put a 8inch 8ft strainer 4 ft into ground ?

 

[hiluxman]

I'm not a fencer, have no interest in it whatsoever. I will only do it if specifically asked for and I can't palm it off onto anyone else.

So last year i had been asked to put som fencing up to keep horses off a banking. 5x3 posts required and no concrete. Ive not got a post knocker (nor do i want to buy one) so a call to Dr pecker and a 4inch flight was ordered for my auger. Augered hole, post offered up, few bashes with manual post knocker and jobs a gooden. Literally an easy job, with the least effort using kit I've got and they are still set firm today.

 

[Storrsy]

I'm seriously considering it. I've got a hell of a lot of fencing to do around my plot and field so it makes sense to buy one then do it myself at my leisure rather than pay a contractor as I will then have the use of it whenever I need it. what weight is your tak ? Will it put a 8inch 8ft strainer 4 ft into ground ?

It really depends on your ground conditions. Decent soil and it will knock more or less anything in to 3-4ft no probs. I'm generally impressed with it's performance though rather than disappointed, as Doobin alluded to anything which removes the need for tamping and tennis elbow is a good thing. There is a bit of a knack to getting a good job out of it. But I've done plenty with mine and feel like the quality of erection is just as good as any I've seen done by a dedicated tracked knocker- not quite as quick for sure but the ability to get into awkward corners down bankings over ditches makes it so versatile.
I'd pick up 350kg with your Kubota and see how it handles it at far reach baring in mind the weight is out beyond the bucket pins you generally use it at about 2/3rds reach to get the height onto strainers etc- the Tak is 2.8t but has a really solid counterweight, I've seen plenty on a Kubota 027 and kx 61 so sure they will be ok. Could get a lesser weight like 150kg worse case...

Another option- perhaps for your Volvo and how i started out with it all is to have a smaller knocker for the 1.8t (cheaper). I used to pre drill the strainers with a 4" auger bit as a pilot hole and then generally it'd knock strainers in and intermediate stakes were fine- but tbh as you have the kubota or hitachi best to put it on one of them with a decent hammer weight- i had the protech p220 with a 300kg weight on my old 5 tonner and that thing was a beast!

 

[Smiffy]

You’ll soon get bored of tamping, trust me.And if you’re on wet clay, you’ll never get a good enough job unless you do it in summer. Or bring in suitable backfill- I’ve had very good results using crushed chalk in wet clay conditions, and it really improved the longevity of the posts too!!

Backfilling and tamping is one of those jobs that soul destroying. You need to auger out enough extra earth to have clearance to use a tamping bar, and then it’s a good twenty minutes of hard graft to do it properly.

It’s on of those jobs that everyone tries to cheat on, fill it in quick and then when they discover it’s still wobbly as they get to the top, give it a really good tamp to try to sort it. Guess what- that doesn’t do s**t. Just displaces the softer topsoil. The bottom is the most important when backfilling and tamping.


Honestly, either get yourself a post knocker or hire someone in. If you like doing that kind of fencing a digger and knocker along with a pilot auger for tough ground can be very profitable for small runs in gardens or paddocks. But it will cost you way more in your labour tamping them than just getting a local contractor to pop by for a morning.

I thought you had a pneumatic tamper?? Or is it still the case even with it.
Watched some old boys fencing with the skidsteer version of your Sherpa once. Auger and forks on it and a hand held hydraulic tamper for setting them. And a pair of folding chairs to sit on for most the day and smoke. Looked a really relaxing day tbh.

 

[Storrsy]

Here's the one on my 1.8t (130kg weight) if you look at the chains from the bottom of the mast to the post cap what happens is the weight of the knocker is transferred to the post when you lightly press on the post with the digger. Makes the whole thing more steady when your knocking it in and you just follow the post in as you knock it much like you would with a breaker driver etc