How to drive posts into dry or hard ground

The searing heat of last week may have put paid to some jobs in and around your farm, yet replacing fence posts that are rotten, or damaged from escaped cattle, is one you are unable to simply ‘do tomorrow’. A stumbling block faced by all, especially during the summer, is the relentless effort required to manually hammer a post into dry, hard ground. Or if you’re using your tractor mounted post driver, actually finding a moment where this is available within these hectic months is arguably harder than finding a winning lottery ticket! It’s a nightmare, we know, we’ve been there! When a new customer purchases our Easy Petrol Post Driver, it surprises us how many just assume the machine isn’t powerful enough to drive 4” (or smaller) posts into dry and hard ground (because it is powerful enough!) Incredibly, it’s only when we talk through the process with them do they recognise just how easy the job can be. As a result, we thought we would share with you the process of driving a fence post into dry or hard ground. Bonus: this also works for heavy clay or chalk ground as well! Equipment required: Easy Petrol Post Driver and Pilot Core Tool What is the Pilot Core Tool first of all? The Pilot Core Tool is a 1 meter bar that enables you to remove a core of earth out of the ground prior to driving in your stakes. Precisely designed to work on bone dry and hard ground, the cutting head has been heat treated, making it more durable and hardwearing. Step 1 Fit the 107mm adapter to the Easy Petrol Post Driver and slide the space collar onto the Pilot Core Tool Step 2 Using the Easy Petrol Post Driver, drive the Pilot Core Tool in the required location to around a depth of 150mm (6”) less than the required post depth. Pro tip: wrap some tape around the core tool to show exactly where you need to drive to! Step 3 Once complete you can set the post driver down (don’t worry you can leave the Honda engine ticking over in idle mode it’s not fuel thirsty!) Then insert the T-Bar (included) horizontally into the Pilot Core Tool. Using your stake as the lever, release the core tool from the ground. Twist and pull with the T-Bar when you’re just about out! Step 4 Your ground is all set! You can tip the contents of the core tool away and crack on with driving in your posts. Pro tip: fill the hole with water and leave to set, this makes the soil soft and moist which adds to the ease of driving in your stakes! Step 5 Remove the Space Collar from the 107mm adapter for driving 4” posts (or switch to whichever adapter is required for your post size). Then drive your post into the hole you’ve just created! Yes, it really is that simple! Now we could finish this blog by trying to promote the products even further, and if we did do that we’d probably say something like: thanks to the high-quality Australian engineering we are able to offer a 3-year commercial machine warranty and the reliable Honda engine speaks for itself etc. However, we’re not going to do that. Instead, we’re going to leave you with a video from one of our customers, who faced the exact problem of driving 4” round timber posts into hard ground… If you wish to speak to our team about your requirements please call us on 0114 269 9119 or email info@petrolpostdriver.com