Concrete Pump

[arsenix2001]

I was a concrete contractor... Rent a service, trust me. If there is no spec mix then use peagravel mix with 3 inch system on the pump...easy to move around under the crawlspace. Probably a trailer style. Should cost around 400 for the whole job, maybe less.

 

[nuffer460]

I've been around concrete most of my life. I have to agree with arsenix2001. Hire it out to a small contractor. If they don't already have the small pump they will have the resoarces to get one. They would be in and out quickly. It would be cheaper than building a unit that may or may not work in the time you need.

 

[tommu56]

Like nuffer460 said the contractors know the tricks like priming the pump with a concrete (no stone) slurry and have the pigs if needed to wipe the pipe.

All tricks of the trade that I've notice in my life time and many more I've missed.

tom

 

[BHD]

here is a picture of the basic hydraulic concrete pump,

I realize it is much simplified,

 

[Mudmuckandgrease]

This is an old post, but I just happened upon it. This is a subject that I have become quite interested in, recently as the cost of moving concrete has become overly expensive. This seems to throw in a challenge with some tantalizing prospects.
I was thinking of a couple of cylinder/pistons powered by two way hydraulic cylinders which would be powered by solenoid valves that would be controlled by some kind of relay timing device such as PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) which is a computer that comes in various sizes … specifically for controlling things like solenoids .. Some of these can be had with little expense. What I am trying to describe is a kind of digital crankshaft with hydraulic power.
My concern is how I would introduce concrete into the cylinder without binding its port with an errant piece of aggregate.

 

[jaotguy]

a 2 part , drop a smaller load , into a larger lower unit , thru "ports" as in a 2 stroke engine ... ( tapered edges and a rounded dome piston )

 

[/pine]

It's a small one time project.

Sounds like renting one is a "no brainer" for this project...

good luck...

 

[Mudmuckandgrease]

a 2 part , drop a smaller load , into a larger lower unit , thru "ports" as in a 2 stroke engine ... ( tapered edges and a rounded dome piston )

--Domed piston, plus an opening, like the port of a two cycle engine, and with the port’s edge that tapers out – yes! The piston wall could be elongated to seal off the cylinder chamber from the hopper during the compression stroke. I need to do some figuring with a given length of stroke from the hydraulic cylinder to see if I can do that.
On the delivery side of the cylinder, a flap valve can be made to keep the concrete from sucking back into the cylinder when the piston retracts.