What Is a Stake Puller and How Do They Work?

Pulling stakes are usually risky jobs for a person to pull off.

According to the BLS, about 53.5% of all worker injuries are to the back and neck. This is almost always because of lifting injuries, and pulling a stake from the ground (no matter the material) is no exception.

The perfect way to do this difficult task is to employ a stake puller.

What are stake pullers, and how do stake pullers work?

Keep scrolling to find out!

What Types of Stake Pullers Are there?

Instead of answering only, “what is a stake puller,” it’s more beneficial to go over some popular types of stake pullers while we’re at it.

Stakes are meant to go in the ground and not come out, so you need a pretty robust tool to remove them. Sometimes they’re just in the way or placed improperly, after all. Without the right tool to pull them out of the ground, it can prove difficult and dangerous.

There are concrete stake pullers, tent-stake pullers, stake pullers for steel rods, flat-bottomed stake pullers, and even ones with cams on the bottom.

Most stake pullers are named after what they remove, making it easy. Some even have a 16-to-1 mechanical advantage, making you 16 times stronger than you would be by yourself.

No matter the material, whether it’s wood, concrete, or steel in the form of U-channels, signposts, or tubes, there’s a stake puller to match your needs.

How Do Stake Pullers Work?

Most of the stake puller devices you’ll see use simple leverage. Don’t let the simplicity of the method fool you, some stake pullers are masterfully designed for maximum leverage while making them lightweight and easy to use.

For most stake pullers, what really changes is the size of the mouth of the puller or the shape. As you pull toward you and down, the stake puller redirects the force upward.

For example, on rebar stake pullers, the mouth is usually circular and bites into the steel as you pull down. Lifting back up on the lever handle disengages the bite and lowers the mouth back to the initial position, ready for another pull.

In general, the motion requires little effort and works on all but soft earth like sand. In which case, you’ll have to use some wood or sheet metal up to the task to distribute the force.

All-in-all, it’s less expensive or complicated than hiring a bobcat or other heavy machinery to pull a simple stake out of the ground.

All You Need to Know About Stake Pullers

Stake pullers will save your back or the backs of your laborers. Enjoy quick and easy stake removal. Not only that, but it’s quite entertaining to watch.

Something else that’s entertaining and useful is reading our articles at our site. No matter what kind of engineering or construction knowledge you might need, our blog is keeping you up to date.

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