Six Figs Farm LLC

written by Mike

Adding fencing will from time to time be necessary on most homesteads. Mainly because of a fairly large deer population, we have chosen, with good results so far, 7′ tall deer fencing on metal t-posts. Our first fence was roughly 100’x100′ square, and recently we decided to add another 500′ of fence.

For the initial fence we pounded in the posts manually with a $30 post driver from TSC. A labor intensive job that certainly will put calluses on your hands in short order. For this larger job we looked at the cost of machinery to help us. The tractor implements were far too expensive for our occasional use. For hand held units you can either go commercial grade, for best results, which will run you in the thousands, or consumer grade to get the cost lower. Consumer drivers come in two basic versions; pneumatic and gas powered. Initially we looked at the pneumatic. They seemed simpler, less parts to break and with it possibly better longevity. But the least expensive one was $359.99 at the orange box store.

There are Honda powered ones available, but at over $800 they were not an option for us. The most affordable option turned out to be a two cycle, 33 cc handheld unit. Being that the pneumatic drivers weighs 20 some pounds, and need to be pushed down to drive better, this one coming in just short of 40 lbs sounded promising. After all, the driver uses its own weight in hammering the post in.

We bought our Yescom Two Stroke 32.7 cc Gas Powered T Post Driver on Amazon for $288.99, and it arrived promptly in good order. The packaging was adequate, all parts were there including a manual in decently translated English. It even included a tool kit and a gas mixing container. This seemed very small to me, but turned out to be fine since the fuel consumption really is too small to even worry about.

One note, when starting it for the first time. Even though I had watched a youtube video on it, it took me a while to figure out the choke. They have attached a label, with on – off printed, which doesn’t make sense. If you instead look on the plastic fairing, there’s an imprint of the butterfly valve position. When the butterfly valve is closed, you are choking it for cold starting. When the butterfly valve is open, in line with the venturi, you are in the run position.

Using the post driver turned out to be fun. This little machine just kept hammering the posts in. We are on old pasture, with established shallow rooted grass on red Georgia clay. We have had rain lately, but the ground certainly wasn’t soggy, and offered a fair amount of resistance. At times the progress slowed, probably when hitting rocks, but after a bit it continued driving in the posts.

A word of caution. For those of us no longer in our 20s, 30s or even 40s. The machine does weigh almost 40 lbs with full fuel. The ergonomics of lifting this first up a ladder, then up on top of the t-post which is likely around chest height, balancing it while operating, off the post and then back down the ladder, takes a bit of effort and is less than ideal. Now multiply this with 30-40-50 or more posts, and you have yourself a real workout, no matter how good shape you are in. My abdominal muscles were good and sore for several days after this 😂😊 .

What we learned from this: There is absolutely no way that we could have accomplished this task in an afternoon without the mechanical advantage. Could we have done it if we spaced it out over several days? Sure. But at some point the time spent on each project becomes an issue. This driver is not a commercial crew tool, but should do well for us. So far it appears to be sturdy, it started promptly (once I figured out the Choke), and ran without issues. To us this was a very good investment.