Digging in North / Central Texas

caliche soil is a PITA. I use a demo hammer a lot of times. (MINI Jackhammer). I did make an extended chisel bit from a whore out bit. I can bust it up to 30 inches deep, plenty for post and panel.

 

We have about 15 jackhammers for the drivers when the ground is frozen solid in the winter. (not this year)
We either have a 2000-4000 w gas generator on the truck or a power inverter hooked up to a deep cycle battery and also the vehicle battery for charging.

Amazon has cheap demo hammers for around $125.
Link
I Am not recommending this one in particular, just an example.

I do recommend this generator. It gets as cheap as $249.
Link

 

correct,
caliche and/or shelf rocks are a PITA!!!
we currently use a combo of tools
* electric demo jackhammer, we then fabricated long neck bits to get deeper
* A 2-man gas auger
Have been looking at a mini-skid steer to help reduce manual labor.


It is called "black gumbo" or "gumbo", depends on what part of TX, and yes once it gets wet you are done.
have seen/been stuck too many times to count even in 4x4
the bad part is the surface will look dry and have cracks in it, go walking or driving onto it and you will INSTANTLY regret your actions

 

SDS plus is too small. You'll want SDS Max with a clay spade for the "dirt" and a chisel bit for the rock.

Below is what I use if I only have a couple of holes, otherwise I rent a tow-behind auger. i still bring the demo hammer and bits though in case I hit rock that won't give in to the auger.

 

Moze
good choice for staying "hydrated"
prefer the original or black label



for the demo jackhammer, we use
* https://www.amazon.com/XtremepowerU...jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

for the generator
* https://www.amazon.com/WEN-56475-47...11&sprefix=gas+generator,aps,200&sr=8-13&th=1

 

My wife liked that Cream Ale, unfortunately they stopped making it. Agreed on the original, it's good stuff!

I had a Bosch jackhammer and didn't like lugging the generator (and cord) around....and frankly the weight of the tool can be pretty tiring. The Flexvolt DeWalt works really well and it's comparatively light. I can easily dig a 12" x 24" ± hole or two on one battery.

 

If you have enough time you could go organic - carbon neutral:

 

Well, if nothing else, at least I have one reason to be thankful that I live in Illinois. The worst problems we encounter here is clay loam, tree roots, and maybe an occasional buried brick.

 

"mini" jackhammer?
go with a full size one
i keep one, and a weka drill in my garage (the neighbors all know where to come when they want to borrow)

always better to have a little more power than you need...

 

That sounds like a nightmare... I think I would get some Home Depot rental help.

 

Caliche -Let us see how many blisters we can get while using the rock bar
https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Caliche#/overview


Gumbo- Looks dry until you drive onto it.....
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/83/b0/c9/83b0c931a8c99145d57703827421f4df.jpg

 

You won't be digging any holes with an SDS Plus (too weak and no attachments). You'll need to move up to an SDS Max or hex shank.

 

Ah.....why the post then? I guess I'm missing something.

 

We use that demo hammer whenever we have to go down to Homestead or Florida City along with a generator in the truck bed. The ground down there is pretty much like concrete. As a matter of fact, there are several quarries where they dig up the rock, crush it, and use it in concrete.

First few times I installed signs down there using a breaker bar and posthole diggers (1) 24" deep hole took me well over an hour. I actually gave up installing down there but my biggest customer basically begged me to take up the work again as they could not find anyone reliable in that area. We currently drive 150 miles EACH WAY for them whenever they have something to install down there. I could not dream of doing so without that demo hammer. The ground is so bad, we bought Razorback Post Hole digger at Home Depot with the lifetime guarantee. I believe we are on at least our 10th one now, having only bought two or three

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Razor-Back-48-in-Fiberglass-Handle-Post-Hole-Digger-78006/100163896