The green & white boom is part of the concrete pump that I mentioned in the first post of this thread. They’re now pouring on the fourth floor. Was the ground floor when I opened this thread. It still boggles my mind that concrete can be pumped.

BTW, in that first post I said that the pump was mobile. I was probably wrong about that. It’s certainly not mobile now. I go by this construction site most days on my early morning walk that starts at sunrise. Very interesting to see its progress. The tall yellow structure is the lower part of a crane. Its height suggests that this’ll be a 15 or 20 story building.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Pipe Smoker,

quote:

Originally posted by Bulldog7972:
I use to drive a concrete truck part time to pay the kids tuition. The most important thing with these pumpers is to not let the hopper go dry. We used to back up after waiting in line, lower the chute and dump the load as fast as you can. We usually had two trucks at the hopper so one was constantly filling the hopper up.

Isn't it fun when the hopper goes dry (sarcasm). Just don't be near it when it shots out like a volcano. I've also have seen the elbow out of the hopper disconnect and break a laborers leg. When I was young, I drove a mixer for 18 years before going to college full time. I did a lot of the casinos in Atlantic City. The pours went from a few hours to over 24 hours. Great overtime, just flip the chute and discharge rapidly. At the time, beside union rate, we rec 75 cents a yard. On these pours we could make $100 extra.

I asked a concrete pump operator how they clean the inside of the tube. He said he runs a Nerf soccer ball through.

quote:

Originally posted by BigWhup:
Wow, a concrete thread in which anyone is yet to call it "cement".

There IS a difference.

More like an epoxy with water as the hardener.
Nobody asked about it drying too soon either.

I still remember in my former life in Architecture, back in th 90's we had a project in Pudong, China that was equivalent to a 40 story high rise. They were pumping concrete that high which for even us in the US was pretty damn high tech. The irony, a picture of the jobsite showed a never ending string of wheelbarrows, pushed by laborers to feed it. yes, they were less expensive than trucks.

quote:

Originally posted by chellim1:
Schwing!

Putzmeister!

quote:

Originally posted by BigWhup:
Wow, a concrete thread in which anyone is yet to call it "cement".

There IS a difference.

So was the ceeeee-ment pond on the Beverly Hillbillies actually concrete?
Say it ain't so...........

quote:

Originally posted by BigWhup:
Wow, a concrete thread in which anyone is yet to call it "cement".

There IS a difference.

Yes. Concrete is cement + aggregate + water.

flashguy

An airless paint pump is the same idea in miniature.

I have used one to pour foundations and flat work, it takes a little bit to get the slurry lubricate thru the hose along with the usual glob of concrete that plugs up the system, but man does it make life easier, one thing you never want to do is kink the hose, as it will straighten itself out along with everything in its path. lots of people have been killed from the hose whipping around.

I kinked the hose during clean out once and shot concrete 60 feet down the side of a house like a fire hose pretty scary.

quote:

Originally posted by Pipe Smoker:
BTW, in that first post I said that the pump was mobile. I was probably wrong about that.

Most of the ones I've seen around here (both Schwing and Putzmeister) have been large trucks with outriggers/stabilizers like one sees on a truck crane or those mondo tow trucks shown in the thread a few months ago. They are quite mobile. I've seen a few smaller ones too, that are just a trailer with the hopper, pump, and hose, but I've seen them less often, and they are also quite mobile.

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:

quote:

Originally posted by BigWhup:
Wow, a concrete thread in which anyone is yet to call it "cement".

There IS a difference.

So was the ceeeee-ment pond on the Beverly Hillbillies actually concrete?
Say it ain't so...........

I would guess it is gunite. Gunite is a dryer mix with no stone that gets shot out of a hose from a pump. It is sprayed in formed rebar in the shape of a pool then trowled. I have also heard it called shotcrete.