let me start by telling you we are a small redi mix company with a pump our drivers generaly load themselves.(we only have 4) one of the drivers, the one with most experience (30 + years) gets a bunch of canonballs (like 20 or 40) in a load and will not pull them off the grate.  He pushes them threw the grate and about 50% of the time when he leaves the job I start pumping the next load I plug in my 5-3 reducer.  we heve had the conversation numerous times asking him to not push the threw the grate. He responds by telling me that I am the only one that has this complaint he has seen pumps for 30 years and no one else has had this problem.  I know i could use a 4 or 5 inch hose but most of our work is grade beams and walls so the contractors like the 3 inch. 

Question does any one else have this problem or how do i get this guy to stop plugging me.  Should I refuse to pump his load. (although we are working for the same company)

I run a 2000 putz 32 for the past 4 years an old thompson.  At first I thought it was a charactoristic of the old pump but the same is happening with the new pump.

It sounds like the driver is not batching correctly or his fins are worn or not cleaned. I deal with this in the winter. cannon balls are a pain and it will be easier on him and you if he gets it figured out although its hard to teach and old dog new tricks

I know the problem is in the batching but he wont change that either.  (he 's been doing it that way for 30 years)

Then next time let him take off your reducer and bang out the dry pack besides the fact that it can be dangerous if that pack releases under pressure.

a couple footballs is fine if you are pumping away. do you need to remove them for the RM driver or yea i know tell him to get his purse its time for him to leave now. ha ha

I don't know how to deal with the problem you have with the driver BUT, I do have a suggestion as to the "Pushiong the cannonball through the grate". Get your self a small peice of Chain link fence made to fit down over the hopper grate with the frame work and everything,Then when he does push it through it will be plenty small enough to get through the reducer with out any resistance....Just an idea!!

You are going to have a hose whipping accident. The question is not if you are going to have one, but when. The law of averages and that driver, working together, are going to put your company in the legal spotlight before it is over. It is going to be ugly; you have prior knowledge that it is going to happen and your company did not do anything to avert it. I hope your bloody co-worker is not hurt very badly when it happens. You, for damn sure need to be the guy with the single ended tip hose.

Your boss, the company owner, is setting himself up for a bad ride and a big fall.

Too bad that someone will need to be injured before your company changes the way that it does business.

I just hope that this "old guy" retires before he is the cause of grief and pain.

Please pay extra attention when you know that he is there.

I would suggest that you download the ACPA "hose whipping" bulletin and make enough coppies to hand out to all of your customers. Let them know, in no uncertain terms how dangerous that the situation is.

Forewarned is forearmed. ;~)

blow him up ;~)

We have the same problem here but it only happens on our high strength mixes. My typical solution is to make the driver clean out the plug ( I have 3 drivers who do the exact same thing ) if they refuse then I just shutdown and let the contractor start bitchin and usually in about 30 seconds the dispatcher is calling givin the driver shit or the contractor is tearin a big ole strip off him.

I know its bad to say but dont trust a mixer driver and relly dont trust them if they dont care , i had this problem today didnt block but i stood there breaking the balls up or throwing them out , its a royal pain in the arse but it is your arse ! Most mixer drivers dont care about pumping all they worry about is getting unloaded a leaving and to be honset they dont need to care its not there job to!

I sent 2 trucks away today both had about half a meter left , i belive from experience batching wet causes this!

most of the time that I have experianced these meat balls has been from loading the cement too fast.  The problem is that you are associated with the ready mix company and you are in the middle of the situation.  If you bitch to the customer, you are bitching about your own company.  The way it needs to be delt with is internally because not only is there a safey issue here, but also a strength issue with your concrete.  When you put a bunch of cement balls into these grade beams or whatever you are pumping, the quality and strength of the product goes to hell.  It is no different than the guy that sprays 2 gallons of water in there drum then shoots it into your hopper before they pull away because they are so f*#$ing lazy and wont scrape their chute before they drive away.

If You can stand and see him do that STOP the pump and go and pic them up and put them in his cab ! After a few time he will stop doing that .

try this pour his mud till you see a ball stop the pump have him mix his drum at full charge and half throttle let it mix for atleast 30 revs that should fix the problem for the most part.

elkhunterz  

You are right on target. The person that is paying for the building is NOT getting what he paid for.

 art, You've got to realize that concrete is different in every area, here in the NW 3" hose is used on all sizes of pumps on a daily basis.

 Theo, I go through the same thing quite often. Most of the RM drivers know better than to stuff any meatballs through my grate and if they do... "Pump off & lets have a chat"

  Without disrespecting the guy explain to him why you dont want the cannonballs in the hopper, set a bucket by the hopper or a piece of plastic and ask him to toss the balls in the bucket. Remind him that it's easier to remove them than it is to smash them into the pump. If he's a 30 year vetran, being a prick will get you no where. Joke around with him and tell him he has the biggest balls of any driver you know, then offer him your rubber gloves incase he does'nt have a pair of his own. Then stay where you can see the hopper and when the balls come roll'n out turn the pump off and help him remove them...

 If that dont work grab a couple cannonballs and bounce them off the side of his drum! (Last resort?)

Yup.  Even in small cement mixers, balls are the result of the order that materials are introduced into a mixer.

balls usually appear in readymix when the batcher adds water and cement at same time. so quite easy to cure