Gasoline Pile Driver

Ok I read all the reviews for several machines. All had good and bad so I took a chance with this. I had about 40 2” pipe for a vinyl fence. I rented a post pounder from my local rental. It was only $20 less than the price for this FOR ONE DAY!!! I have sandy soil but a lot of rocks. The rental had trouble getting past the rocks. I only got ten pipes in one day so I said nuts with this and bought this unit. It came in two days and has performed just as well as the rental and perhaps better. When a rock is encountered perhaps the rental was slightly better but not by much. What ever was encountered it made it through with time. all in all it has worked fine and I have found other jobs to use it on like steel fence posts for wire fence. What has astounded me is it IS THE EASIEST 2 CYCLE ENGINE TO START I HAVE EVER SEEN. IT SITS FOR MONTHS AND FIRES UP WITH TWO PULLS. This means a lot if you are at the top of a ladder. All in all I highly recommend this unit.

After reading the one two and three star reviews, I was reluctant to purchase this t-post driver. Problems with my shoulders helped me overcome my concerns and I'm glad I purchased it thus far. I followed the directions to go slow and was rewarded with a much easier job in driving in the t-posts compared to the slamming of my old manual driver. It is heavier than the manual one, but just pulling the trigger and letting it do all the work is so nice. The directions are confusing in places and their instructions to use the tightening rod to drive the steel puck onto the shaft of the driver will not work, but just sliding the puck into the shaft as you slide the shaft over the first t-post and slowly advance the throttle and the puck connected and stayed in place thereafter. The little gas container is useful, but the 20:1 gas to oil ration recommended for the break in period is not listed on the side, although it does have 50:1, 40:1, 30:1 and 25:1 (the normal recommended mix) so just estimated the 20:1. Hopefully it will work long enough to finish the 55 additional 6 1/2; posts I still need to install. By that time can probably increase the throttle up to medium speed.

Product arrived on time. Simple setup, but the small piling head is defective and won’t stay attached, even when installed without the sleeve. As soon as the driver is placed upright, the head falls off. This the head I need for pounding T-posts. Several contacts with Customer Sercice. First, they want a description of the problem. Several days later, they want photos of the piece. Two days after that, and now they want a video showing that the head doesn’t lock in place and just falls off. I am by myself and have no way to hold a phone or camera while using two hands to show what appears, based on other reviews, to be a common problem. I needed the driver for a project this week, and will now be forced to hire someone to do it for me, because the only driver available for rent (50 miles away) is too heavy for me to handle.Update: After several more contacts, including one in which they wanted photos of the box that was damaged and opened when I received it (the box was undamaged and intact, so I don’t know where they got that idea), they stated the part that needs to be replaced is not available in their US warehouse, and offered either a replacement or refund. I am still waiting to hear back from them as of this writing. Because t appears the issue might be resolved, I have upgraded my rating to two stars. I will provide another update once I actually have an opportunity to use the tool.Update 10 Jan 23: Replacement unit was received today. I immediately opened the box and installed the small sleeve and head, only to discover that this one has the same issue as the one I returned. The small driver head does not lock into place. I verified that it won’t secure even with the sleeve off. The large head seems to work fine, but I have no need for it. I have not fueled the tool or tried to start it. Vendor contacted for return and refund.Update #2, 1/20/23: Received a response from the vendor, and getting another runaround. They want a photo of the “broken rivet.” I never mentioned a broken rivet, just that the head does not lock in place like it’s supposed to. A photo won’ypt show anything. Based on the condition of the box, it looks like they may have just sent the original tool back to me. DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM THIS VENDOR!I eventually received a full refund, and ended up buying something similar from a big box hardware store. The product they sold doesn’t need the pancake attachment for t-posts and uses standard 50:1 fuel just like the rest of my 2-cycle tools, so I can use ethanol-free pre-mixed fuel and not worry about using the wrong can. The one I ended up getting is still underpowered, but gets the job done.

Instructions are poorly written and the flat chisel was missing from the box. But the delivery was fast and the product works great for what we ordered it for--driving ground anchors for portable buildings. The hammer hits plenty hard and the tool is easy to handle. The motor starts first pull practically every time. Most American made two-stroke tools use a 50:1 ratio but this tool calls for 20:1 for the break-in period and then 25:1 after that. The 25:1 is simple enough, just use two of the small bottles (that are intended for a one gallon mix) instead of one when mixing a gallon of fuel. If you want to do the 20:1 during break-in just use a little less fuel than the one gallon. I like this tool for our purpose because of the handle placement. They make a T-post driver that is basically the same thing from what i can tell, but the handle placement for T-post is not as easy to use for our purpose. I hope this review helps someone. I wouldn't be afraid to buy another one or to buy their T-Post driver if it works this well.

I was honestly a bit surprised to see this tool actually worked, started up easy enough (with a little bit of starting fluid spray) and it ran great. It is easy enough to use but might be a bit heavy for a petite person, for me it seemed very light weight. Now, this IS NOT a full sized 90 pound or even a 60 pound pneumatic jack hammer, it does not have nearly that impact strength, but it IS a jack hammer of sorts and it WILL do most easy jobs, just takes a little longer to do them. I WOULD NOT want to use this for breaking up large concrete slabs but I think it is GREAT for digging into hard ground and can break up some rocks, so I am very happy with my purchase overall, but I also would tell anyone who has used a real pneumatic jack hammer that this is nowhere near that powerful and some jobs will take a lot longer to complete.