Move a dish about 15 feet...

[HipKat]

Yes, it sets that quickly but takes about 4 hours to cure enough to put weight on the post. That could be a lot of dead time for the installer.

No one waits that long. Once it's firm enough, they'd set the dish on it. The foam is ready in 10 minutes

 

[NYDutch]

The problem is with a 3' hole, even a 4' hole, using even a quarter of the bag it does much more than a small amount. It's crazy how much it expands - and then the other 3/4's of the bag gets thrown away

Well, there's the difference I guess. My power post hole digger has a 6" bit. Between that and going down the extra foot, there isn't much left over.

 

[HipKat]

Well, there's the difference I guess. My power post hole digger has a 6" bit. Between that and going down the extra foot, there isn't much left over.

Yeah, that's not what we use, sadly. They gave the guy augers that are about 3" wide, but I still use a regular post hole digger and even so, a half bag will blow foam way out of the hole, if you use the Post Hole foam.

 

[ClarkGable]

The gentleman that did my post in the yard install over 15 years ago used a post hole digger, then he flattened the end of the mast going into the ground with an engineers hammer and then poured cement into the hole. He filled it back in with dirt. That thing has never moved, despite me hitting it with the riding mower more than once, high winds including the 2012 derecho, etc.

 

[dishdude]

The gentleman that did my post in the yard install over 15 years ago used a post hole digger, then he flattened the end of the mast going into the ground with an engineers hammer and then poured cement into the hole. He filled it back in with dirt. That thing has never moved, despite me hitting it with the riding mower more than once, high winds including the 2012 derecho, etc.

I used to take the foot off the J-mount and use the through bolt to clamp it around the pole.

 

[telstar_1]

But then what's actually holding the post? Just this expanded foam? At least with my method, there is direct contact with tight soil. Granted my method wouldn't work where there's a lot of sand or rock. But I grew up driving fence posts with a post driver- if that's good enough to hold cattle, well....

 

[HipKat]

But then what's actually holding the post? Just this expanded foam? At least with my method, there is direct contact with tight soil. Granted my method wouldn't work where there's a lot of sand or rock. But I grew up driving fence posts with a post driver- if that's good enough to hold cattle, well....

You understand the foam expands, right?? hence the name, expanding foam?? It expands into every nook and cranny of the hole, locking the pole in place

 

[arlo]

The MSDS points to urethane foam. If you don't know. Expanding urethane goes in every direction and not just the easiest path out. Pretty dense stuff. And unlike concrete, no tamping and tapping air pockets to get it to fill voids.
Looks like cool stuff and gets an installer in and out faster. Something magical and fun though with mortar and concrete, hustling with hydraulic mortar and concrete. Bad thing with foam? The spawn doesn't get to scratch "Bobby" in it or plant a palm print when nobody's looking. Yeah.

 

[tjboston5676]

But then what's actually holding the post? Just this expanded foam? At least with my method, there is direct contact with tight soil. Granted my method wouldn't work where there's a lot of sand or rock. But I grew up driving fence posts with a post driver- if that's good enough to hold cattle, well....

Fence post don't have a wind catcher on them that creates rotational force.

 

[telstar_1]

But does the foam collapse when pressured...? I don't know of any approaching a lateral-force strength of concrete, despite claims. If it could give way whatsoever, once there would become any freeplay it would soon be all over. Have been any cases of failed foam posts?

Fence post don't have a wind catcher on them that creates rotational force.

By flattening out the base of the round post it becomes anti-rotational in cured cement. Also it's anti-rotational when directly driven into soil. Commercial direct-drive steel fence posts are the most anti-rotational of all, usually being of both 3-D cross-section and having a large flat tab attached near the base. If you could drive this and properly attach a regular dish mount to it, it should hold quite well.

 

[NYDutch]

Commercial direct-drive steel fence posts are the most anti-rotational of all, usually being of both 3-D cross-section and having a large flat tab attached near the base. If you could drive this and properly attach a regular dish mount to it, it should hold quite well.

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Direct drive posts work quite well for wire fencing, since the multiple posts provide lateral stability. But as stand-alone posts, they're very soil dependent on how well they hold. I've taken down a few fences that used this style post in my life, and in most cases, simply rocking the posts side to side loosened them enough to pull them out by hand once the wire was removed. I wouldn't recommend them for dish installations.

 

[HipKat]

But does the foam collapse when pressured...? I don't know of any approaching a lateral-force strength of concrete, despite claims. If it could give way whatsoever, once there would become any freeplay it would soon be all over. Have been any cases of failed foam posts?


By flattening out the base of the round post it becomes anti-rotational in cured cement. Also it's anti-rotational when directly driven into soil. Commercial direct-drive steel fence posts are the most anti-rotational of all, usually being of both 3-D cross-section and having a large flat tab attached near the base. If you could drive this and properly attach a regular dish mount to it, it should hold quite well.

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First, no, there are no instances of the foam collapsing. This isn't Styrofoam. Second of all you're showing a picture of a fence post not the poes we use for satellite dishes. There's a difference.