“I almost docked a star b/c I got no instructions for this (even after contacting Kencove who said they'd try to get them to me. I guess a $3500 hammer doesn't warrant getting instructions with). The instructions wih it are chinese, and for 10 different models with no models matching the numbers on this one... But, it does work really well once you figure it out. I was using a bobcat hammer on my bobcat e42 excavator and a bit that I had welded up to drive posts. After many iterations, we got something that held up to the vibrations for 30 posts before breaking. To have a bit machined and heat treated cost half as much as this entire setup, so I figured I'd try. Went to bobcat to get the arm to hammer attachment ($550) and had my buddy attach it to the hammer - took him a couple of hours (he had to cut holes in the bobcat plate to get them to match) I had it hooked up within 2 days of getting the hammer, and with a helper can easily drive 15 posts an hour. It also drives in my corner posts - 8" diam and I'm going down 3-4 feet. It works really well, and seems like it will hold up.”
“This is a follow-up to my previous post. After finally getting it attached to the excavator, we took it to a field to drive in about 35 posts over a 1,000 foot perimeter. To my amazement, it took us only an hour and a half, or about 3 minutes per post. We were driving in 6" posts about 2 feet deep, and even put in an 8" gate post 3 feet deep. It was so effortless that I kick myself for buying a tractor post driver, where it took us 10-15 minutes per post. It requires two people to do it right -- one to stand up the post and the other to operate the excavator.”
“The Nitro DOES NOT come with a means of attaching to the excavator. I had to pay $400 for brackets for my Kubota excavator and then $750 to have them attached to a plate. It took about 3 weeks in total. There is no useful manual provided and the nitrogen tank needs to be filled before use. How one uses it is (1) be careful to not tip over the excavator, (2) press down about 2 inches with the excavator arm to release the safety mechanism, (3) use the LHS thumb button to drive it in. We still are wondering how to keep the post from falling over.”
