How to Dig with a Turbo Nozzle 

Thanks for showing how bad that concrete set.

"See this is hard cemenet." Right after you broke some with your hands, lol.

Thanks for taking the time to post this hydro-drilling. This saves buying or renting equipment. As an engineer, I've used hydro-drilling to undermine an 8' x 40' x 5" deep concrete patio to remove and replace a broken sewer pipe followed by flooding the dig with a low psi slurry mix of concrete to permit future digs if something goes wrong. This saved me from ripping out the patio or having a patched surface. With that said, I was planning to install a privacy fence in the method you demonstrate. My plan will be to use a tube to create the hole shape as I hydro-drill the dirt past my needed depth. I will bore all 18 holes and allow them to dry. The next step will be to fill the bottom with stone to allow water drainage to extend the post life and set the elevations. I will then place the post, fill hole 1/3 or so full of water, pour in Fast Set concrete, stir and add water as needed. I will have a removable ring or frame above ground to help elevate the concrete to keep surface water off the post as well. Thanks again for the post. I hope our suggestions will help others in their tasks.

A 60 Liter (16 gallon), 6.5 H.P. ShopVac can be used to suck the water out of the hole for a dryer hole to work with or to reduce the mud slurry around finished landscape. The ShopVac will usually be adequate for one 4 ft. deep fence post hole, without emptying the vac. The City of Toronto has a campaign to replace all the electrical/utility poles with 100 foot poles, which are buried 12 feet deep, throughout the city. The City has HydroVac Excavator Trucks that utilize a combination water jet nozzle and vacuum to remove the slurry as it digs. They complete a 12 foot deep X 30 inch diameter, almost dry hole, in about 5 minutes. The pole is then positioned and plumed into the hole and the surrounding voids are backfilled with a yard of fine limestone screenings from a bulk bag. One crew can replace poles for a 1,000 feet of street in a single day and the linemen are installing the new lines and wiring the next morning. My six year old grandson sat and watched the crew and the machines work for 8 hours. lol.

Put a 18"x18" foam block on the shaft so that it doesn't blow dirt into your eyes.

It’s like a plasma cutter for soil

Wow! This is the way to go. Thank you for this info.

Could you imagine the mess you would make doing an entire fence.

Whoa, perfect ! Thanks

Try using a 20 gallon shop vac with a length of galvanized pipe of the size you want attached to the hose (duct tape or hvac tape). It's a bit slower than water, but leaves the hole empty and workable.

Wow this is really going to help in replacing my mailbox post. Thanks!

Brilliant 👏

I'd love how well it works in a rockier environment. Here in my area, it's rocks, rocks, and more rocks.

Great in some situations but empty the hole. That "concrete" was mud mixed with cement. Read the instructions on a bag of cement, it tells you to use clean water.

When removing a post, I'm sure you don't have to go all the way around. Half should be sufficient, and maybe 1/4 is enough to loosen it. AND the reason you were able to blast the concrete off the post is that you used very dirty water to create that concrete. All considered, I've used this method even for digging trenches. The problem for me is I'm in rural Arizona and water is far too expensive here. I have to have it hauled to me.

This could be a huge time saver in removing old fence post from chain link fence. Thank you for the demo. What ball gate valve are you using in your demo ??

Very cool info. 👍👍👍

Thank you .

Good stuff!

This guy has no problem with mud haha. And he definitely sells turbo nozzles

Thank you

If that truly works that is the most fantastical idea ever. Why didn’t I know about this

I like where you head is at , kind of a flamethrower vs snow shovel mindset

I've been using a garden hose and flush nozzle to do this kind of work since the early 90's. No one else on the job back then would give it the time of day. Now I see that professionals use this technique.

fine for that type of soil which I could easily dig in same amount of time without the mess. Unfortunately my place is nothing but DG and rocks but I do use this technique when I can.

Nice in sandy soil, how is it in rocky soil?

That’s fracking cool

29 seconds and he’s pulling out. New record. 😂😂

Never seen that method before. Much easier an simpler. That's what its all about!

Amazing

Love it... for digging

U can also take a 3 foot piece of galvanized water pipe attach a hose to it w/ gate valve Blast away..we dug many post holes this way.

Wow, that's "what the Pro's do". I wish I was a pro'. They must be really cool.

I've used a low pressure washer to dig/prepare soil for planting. It's quick and easy.

I prefer the vacuum digger. Quicker and less mess

Thats great if its fairly soft dirt...

brilliant

I live in PA ground is mostly rock. But looks like nice idea.

Good vid

interesting idea i wonder how it would be for digging trench through roots and rocks to put in drainpipe across yard might have to cut out roots with a sawzall but it seems a lot easier than a shovel.

I use my pressure washer to clean my vehicles, trailer, yard equipment and driveway. Also cleans my rugs and blows the leaves out of my boat. I use it to clean my gutters with the zero degree nozzle and to clean my planters of leaves and sticks. Also use it with my air compressor in winter to make snow. One channel was hydro forming aluminum using a pressure washer. Now also it digs very quickly, is there no end to what a pressure washer can do?

I's like to see that in the coral rock soil we have in south florida!

Great demo. I thought they would have a pump pumping out the water out of the hole. I like the idea of the power washer, with a pump pumping out the water best, and the mix the concrete in a concrete mixer and pour it into the hole. The concrete would be better, but that would be a lot more work, and I think just pouring the dry concrete mix into the hole would be good enough for a fence post. To make my fence, the drilled the holes with the big hand held machine that was a beast to control. It was fast and clean, but hard work, and you have to buy that machine, and maintain it. Plus you have to breath all of those gasoline fumes and exhaust. I like the water idea, but I think you could do it with just a spray hose, but the power washer was a lot faster.

Now that is a great approach. Never thought about doing it like that. You used a gas 3GPM pressure washer but could this also be accomplished with like a 1500PSI pressure washer with 1.2-1.4 GPM?

Oh, I've heard of people "drilling water wells" this way. Now I see how this works in concept

this whole video is wild lol

i might try that digging up trees and bushes to relocate

Hydro's the way to go, but I find it hard to believe that posts set like that (without removing the mud) will stay firm very long.....I dug mine with curb water pressure (appx.150 lbs. of water pressure), 2' deep, connected to a five foot 3/8" galvanized steel plumbing pipe; cleared out all the mud and dirt debris the next day and set galv. fence posts in the holes with mixed concrete......that was back in 1986-1987, and the posts are as firm now as they were then, the modifying adverb to describe how firm being "very". But I will try the pressure washer method to dig the hole.

When I was young we would get a hose, turn the water on and make holes in the ground saying we were drilling for oil.

I been doing this for years, nothing new here!lol. Works well, messy as hell!

Hi, how do you take the mud out? With a pump? Thanks

Dug a 3ft wide 8 ft deep under my deck that only has 2,5 clearance. Just used 2 shop vacs ti pull all the mud and water. I should have bought a mucker that artached ro press washer. Oh I was installing an out door sump pump. Fyi. Ezpeezy

Wonder how much tougher the concrete would have been had you mixed it before pouring.

Didn’t you just say to not let go of the trigger while the nozzle is in the mud? And the you did exactly that around 7:20? Or am I missing something?

Giving the hole a day to dry would be a good idea vs dumping a bag of concrete into muddy water immediately

Anybody used this technique for trenching? I need to dig a narrow (~1-2") trench to run underground-rated electrical and networking cables between my house and man-cave/shed). I was considering starting with a lawn edger to mark the route about 2-4" deep, then coming back with the powerwasher to dig it out to the proper depth.

What kink of pump did you use? Thanks

I wonder if you could dig a 10m deep bore with extensions bits?

I looked up whiskey pop and could not find it.

Works well in soft sand or soft soils. Absolutely no chance of being efficient in anything else. There's a reason why you can buy a 200k hydro unit to do this work.

I looked up the "whiskey pop" method for removing a post and found nothing. Would you embellish a bit on the whiskey pop please?

This is thow the electric company drills holes to expose utility lines. Just learned this todah be they’re in my backyard. Also used by plumbers to shred blockages in pipes.

What are rits?

My pressure washer is only 3100 PSI. Is there a nozzle made for this?

wow.......my mailbox remake just got bumped up on my list

Soft, sandy soil?

Sorry if I missed it, how deep were you able to go? I need to go 36 inches and there is some rock, just curious how far you were able to go.

Ritz in there

I never pull out.

So why do professional fence builders still use power auger to dig holes?

Ideal way to remove an old post but never mix concrete with dirty muddy water and plant roots. Clean out the hole first and use clean water to mix

Why not just dig the holes, wait a few days to let everything dry, then mount the posts normally in a dry hole? Not only would that prevent the post from sucking in so much water but it would allow you to use clean water to set the concrete, achieving a better bonding result. Not to mention much less mess than having to erect all the posts in a mud puddle. Interesting video and probably useful in certain soil conditions.

I did this about 20+ years ago. Blew mud and muddy water all over me.

What pressure washer and nozzle size/rating are you using?

I am asuming it doesnt work without a huge power unit in heavy clay soils?

The boots, OMG, the boots, theyre freaking me out.

Effective in compacted clay?

Just looks like mostly sand?

Whiskey pop it? Searched, no results. Turbo-dig last of my Bud-Lite stash - no problem. She'll never know.

Your likely to trigger a sink hole in Florida using that method. 😂😂

use the same method to plant trees and see how fast you can plant 100 trees

Well the reason the concrete was " destroyed" by the 4000psi....is because you didn't mix it properly....dumping dry concrete into muddy water is not a recipe for a strong footing. ....

Save my back, Now you tell me! Lol, yeah, i wish i had that back in the day.

A well done how to that ensures your fence post rots as quickly as possible, while doing a crap job of providing structural support.

How does this do against hard clay subsoil?

Wil this work on heavy clay ground?

What brand of turbo nozzle are you using. I bought one and it worked for like 10 minutes washing the car and stopped spinning. Thanks

Would this dig through caliche soil?

It's all good until you hit that birdbath sized rock. Takes pressure washer, shopvac and inevitably a jackhammer then finally a post hole digger to retrieve the rock chunks. Grab a bunch of GFIs and your patience. A by code footing by me, at three feet deep, is all day job and slow at the end. But this combination will work at least. One downside is your backfill is a slurry unusable clay silt and rocks.

That’ll work in sandy parts of the country but don’t even think about trying it in central Texas… 😂

I use my pressure washer and a turbo nozzle to dig up blackberry roots.

What's the pressure washer you are using? Got a link?

Oh to live somewhere without the rocks of New England!

I’ll stick to post digger and keep clean

You could probably rig up a shallow well digger like this.

I am hoping to use this method to expose tree roots for cutting, under my veg garden.

Would this work in hard clay?

Great holes, concrete was mixed badly

using post hole diggers build muscles, burns calories, increases health, saves money, no electricity of gas, NOPE, give me that pressure washer...nice video

Assume you need a 2.5'x8'x6' hole, would this work?