How dry does the ground need to be in order to use postcret? I'm in norcal and we've had tons of rain. The ground is real saturated at 1 1/2 to 2ft.
Concrete – use dry concrete mix to set a post in saturated soil
concrete
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Actually, now that I think about it, I've seen pros pour posts that were worse than that, and it didn't rain! lol. Don't think you're in bad shape. You can certainly use them. Try packing the downward leaning side hard with a dirt tamp, you just might get that 1/4" back. Don't be afraid to use the pull and grunt method. Brute strength. Being only 30" deep, you may be able to force them back to plumb and compact the voided side with a tamp and some fill.
Check the manufacturer's specs on the thinset you are using (or just call their tech support to verify).
Generally, if the variation in the floor is 1/4" or more then using your thinset mortar is usually not recommended for fixing it.
Even though you say it is 3/16", in my opinion, it would make life easier to just use an SLC
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Best Answer
You should not put dry concrete mix into a hole. The wetness is really not the big thing it is the fact that you may not mix it properly meaning you will have pockets of dust as things settle. These small pockets of unmixed mix will make the concrete extremely weak and will crack or crumble apart - "a buddy had this issue one time" haha.
You mix the concrete as normal (maybe shy on the side of drier mix) and simply dump it in the hole. It will displace the water since it is heavier. I have also dammed up holes and pumped out the water while filling - this just takes a few minutes a hole and keeps the hole integrity better and keeps from getting concrete slopped everywhere.
For wet conditions I use Quickcrete fast setting. It won't cure/set in 40 mins under water but it does harden enough to hold a post and move on. Others may have personal favorites for wet conditions but I can say that using the right type is a big deal.