Hand Packer for Post

[vanheugten199]

Hey guys,
I have been trying to find a hand packer to pack the dirt after I set the posts in the ground for a fence or pole barn. I have seen big steel bars with a sphere shaped bottom to pack the dirt after we backfill the holes.
Does anyone know where i could purchase one of these?

 

[CreekRat]

I'm not taking a picture of it but I use a 3lb coffee can filled with concrete and a 2x4 set in it. Don't laugh; it was free, doesn't weigh too much and packs a decent area.

 

[rburke65]

Tractor Supply, Home Depot, Lowes, etc. They are called "spud bars".

 

[CreekRat]

I'm not taking a picture of it but I use a 3lb coffee can filled with concrete and a 2x4 set in it. Don't laugh; it was free, doesn't weigh too much and packs a decent area.

OK, I re-read the the original post and he's looking for something smaller but I still recommend the coffee can solution for you all around packing needs.

 

[larry_g]

You don't need anything fancy to tamp the dirt back in the hole. I've built miles of fence and most times use a2x2 or 2x4 or whatever is handy. The secret here is to only put ~3" of dirt in the hole and then tamp. Repete with another 3" dirt and tamp. A spud bar will do the job but unless your in good shape it will wear you out quick. A lighter bar is just as effective and a bit easier to use. Didja ever notice how you dig a post hole, put the post in and then fill and tamp and you don't have enough dirt to refill the hole? Says to me that your getting a good tamp and probably a denser pack that the surrounding soil.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[83Earnhardt]

Here in Florida we use water once we fill the hole with dirt, with hard soil like clay that may not work. Using a heavy bar will flat wear you out. I use broken shovel handles, sizes along that line work well and I keep them light.

 

[koditten]

We just turn a shovel around and use the handle to poke the dirt down. Like stated above, 3" of soil, pack with shovel handle and repeat. No extra tools to lug around.

 

[Chloe Taylor]

I'm not taking a picture of it but I use a 3lb coffee can filled with concrete and a 2x4 set in it. Don't laugh; it was free, doesn't weigh too much and packs a decent area.

Nice one, like the design........

 

[GoodoleBoy]

A tpost driver, flip it over and tamp..Ive built 10 miles of fence and tamped every corner post amd support wood post 36-48" in the ground with it..Bought every gadget tractor supply said was made for tamping in the same thing your doing, no go..It fits in a hole as handles to quickly pickup and repeatedly tamp withut slowing down..
Odds are yu already own one if you got a barb wire fence.

T-posts drivers and tamps that fit in holes are basically a 2-4" pipe with one end capped off(welded) and handles added..Its what the guy whop built my pole building used to tamp with but he oddifed his and it was 6 ft long..

coffee can is a good idea for larger areas, if your in a hole with no clerance suggest the driver/pipe..

 

[KEH]

About 60 years ago, Daddy got a piece of driveshaft from a 1920s truck. Small splined shaft about 3/4 by 6 inches on one end. then about five feet of 2 inch diameter light shaft with female splines on the end. Use the small end when starting to pack the dirt, use the large end to finish up at the top. Not too heavy, I have a spud bar which is too heavy for packing but is great for using the sharp end to break up or pry out small rocks. The packer bar I described coul be easily duplicated with a little welding.

KEH

 

[ihredo4]

I bought one at auction years ago that nobody could figure out. 3" pipe about 3 feet long with the ends closed with flat plate. Inside someone put a slug of some sort with a spring on each end. When you drop the pipe on one of the flat ends the weight slams against the spring and when it rebounds it jumps back up to your hands. Kind of a cool item and you don't work to hard with it.

 

[Thruxton]

Spud bar if you are talking wooden posts with hand-dug or auger-drilled holes. Yes they are heavy, but you learn how to use them efficiently. My wife and I take turns when we have to hand set posts (for repair, when we run a line we use a hydraulic post ram- you just about CAN'T tap the dirt around a post driven like that).

 

[CADPoint]

First off your dealing with dirt and depending on the moon and or other conditions this will determine which will prevail. The DOT trick locally is to mix concrete and soil and throw it back in together, your miles will vary! Frankly you can pour a puddle at the base and use the same mixture as mentioned.

It's not just compacting the top of the fill it's what down under that counts, and much like many things... I'd both rod and stump the soil...

Set the object in a held fast position if you can and if you go with concrete !

 

[Thruxton]

First off your dealing with dirt and depending on the moon and or other conditions this will determine which will prevail. The DOT trick locally is to mix concrete and soil and throw it back in together, your miles will vary! Frankly you can pour a puddle at the base and use the same mixture as mentioned.

It's not just compacting the top of the fill it's what down under that counts, and much like many things... I'd both rod and stump the soil...

Set the object in a held fast position if you can and if you go with concrete !

Fence posts and boards are a maintenance item on a farm with stock. Concrete makes that I really big problem. I use concrete, but only where I have hit a stone too big to remove and too shallow to allow adequate tamping of the soil, fortunately rare here. YMMV.

 

[onemore]

Harbor fright, Depot, etc. sells those bars. I have had luck with a 2x4 and a 3 lb sledge hammer pounding it in.

 

[c/o say]

The one I use is a 2 1/2 inch dia by 5 foot long tree I found that a beaver had cut down and removed the bark for me all I had to do was square up the ends. He had it nice and smooth.

 

[Deltarat]

An old guy told me years ago while building a pole barn that the main thing to remember is "there ain't no eggs in the bottom of that hole, so don't worry about breaking them."