Hello Concrete Pumpers,

At Fritz-Pak Corporation, we're currently working on a new product to keep concrete from sticking to pumps while working on the job.  It would be a concentrate that you would dilute in a sprayer, and apply to the pump in the morning, and then wash off at the end of the day like you normally would. 

To get a better feel for the market, we’d like to ask you all the following questions:

1)       What products/methods are you currently using to prevent concrete from sticking to your equipment?  Any problems with it?

2)       If you aren’t using anything now, why not? 

3)       Is your current solution environmentally safe?  No VOCs, hazardous materials, mineral oils, etc.

4)       How important is cleanliness to you as a pumper, on a scale of 1 to 10?  1 being not important at all, 10 being a high priority.

5)       How important is using an environmentally safe product, on a scale of 1 to 10?

If you have any other comments or suggestions as we develop this new product, please feel free to post them here.  Thank you.

David Ojeda

tried some of these sprays, never worked for me power washer and elbow grease, that works just fine

I use my used hydraulic oil. Work awesome!! Probly an 8 on the clean scale and a 1 on the environment. This environment and global warming stuff is crazy! The little oil that drips off couldn't hurt a flea and 50 years ago people thought the world was gonna freeze! Its all politics!!!!

spatter-cote sprays on like oil but its not, turns white when you wash it off with water so its water-soluable ,dont know about the enviromental stuff,10 on the cleanliness scale, if you come up with something better id like to try it

Hydraulic oil, new and old. 10 for clean, 1 for environment. Something better sure I'd try it. Always wondered about putting some sort of teflon coating on the grate like a kitchen pan has.

Power washer and sometimes soap.  Then oil mist of WD40 and hyd. Back-Set to shine wheels and aluminum fenders. Back-Set and putty knife on difficult splatter.

10 clean and 5 enviro , I use hyd oil and deisel at the moment we go no old hyd oil so im stuck with deisel , not good for the paint ... but it does keep the concrete from sticking ....... 

David,

Think one of the major factors everyone looks at now is cost. To stop people totally using products which are not enviromentally friendly your product has to be on par or below the existing product

I am A poured wall contractor so I always have access to decent form release I buy it in a 275 gal. tote It works well and is suposed to be envio. friendly. It smells like cherries. Clean a 10 enviroment 5or 6 my 2 cents worth.

"The little oil that drips off couldn't hurt a flea"-PrariePumper. The jury may still be out on Global Warming, but we as an industry need to be environmentally friendly. I'd use the vegetable based form oils over hydraulic/diesel any time. I've used it and it's a 10-10. Better than any mineral based oil or mixture I've used. (25 yrs worth of various witches brews). Non-toxic to operators, fish and birds. What's not to like? Go Green. We like clean beaches in California.

"50 years ago people thought the world was gonna freeze" And people thought smoking was good for you then too!!!

No wonder the worlds coming to an end with all us environmentally friendly pump operators out there. I always get a kick out of the mixer drivers washing up with their special cans that pump the water back into the drum then we back in and dump our hoppers all over the ground.Oh well, we won't be around forever and then the world can return back to it's pristine self.

DavidO is not from fritz-pac he's from the E.P.A. you will be getting a nice big fine in the mail........... just jokein around form oil  9 clean 9 enviro.its not water based so it does'nt  wash off

i'm a ro-mix man its great kind of costly and environmentally friendly but the spray on wax mineral oil is useless just as soon not sprat anything at aall

Thank you everyone for your honest feedback. 

Our goal first and foremost is to make a product that works, and that is easy-to-use for concrete pumpers.  Our other goal was to make a product that was environmentally safe/friendly.

We are aware of the fact that most concrete pumpers probably don't use anything to keep the concrete off their pumps.  Furthermore, the ones that do use something are probably using diesel fuel/hydraulic oil.

There are pros to using this combo.  It's cheap, it's available, and it works.  However, it's environmentally hazardous (even in small amounts), it does damage to the paint job and also to rubber hoses (even in small amounts), and it's arguably a safety risk.

For many pumpers, these concerns are minimal.  But as we begin to see more work go from the private sector to the public sector, there might be some unforeseen issues with inspectors, engineers, GCs etc. 

Anyways, that's just our thinking behind the whole thing.  And obviously, we're going to try and price this product competitively, but it won't be cheaper than diesel fuel.  Hopefully, it will perform much better though.

Keep the comments coming.  It will help us make a better product.

Thanks again,

David Ojeda

prairiepumper,

I was like you at one point , but when you hunt and fish or just enjoy the outdoors you begin to realize everything we do, ex. smoking,oil spills,aerosol spray cans,etc. does as minimal as it may seem does have a negative effect, now I am no tree hugger but I have realized that all I can do is make sure I minimize my negative effects , ex before I spray down I always lay a tarp on the ground, now washing out, what can you do? we recommend washout containers but cannot require them or we are out of business , is the world ending I myself do not think so,is global warming just another phase the earth and our atmosphere is going thru I do not know, but I do know I truly love the outdoors and all its creatures and I try to do my part to keep it clean, when every where you fish has advisories about the consumptions of its fish things have gotten out of hand,is environmentally safe spray oil gonna save the world, NO, but it is one small part we as pump operators can do to help, just my opinion 

Ever own a Detroit Diesel in anything?  We called em road oilers back in the 70s. What about a backhoe or farm tractor that bursts a hyd hose. Hate to bring up concrete pump hyd leak or failure. Maybe I can get a job with the EPA.

40 year or so ago it was common for farmers to do oil changes on sand or gravel to settle the dust. Being an Ex farm kid

As long as i'm the only operator 8 I do like a clean pump .The stuff that works the best so far is spater coat you mix it with water its white and the nats just love it  I think its like a vege oil

I wasn't able to edit my original post, so hopefully this doesn't get lost.

We now have an online survey for people to participate in about the new product.  Please follow the link below and answer the questions.  We do not capture any information about you, and your answers are completely anonymous.

TAKE THE SURVEY

Thanks for your support of this product development.

David Ojeda