hey guys i,ve heard 2 different storys on this subject.

1. pump in high gear. why wouldn't you?

2. drop down 1 gear always. So you don't turn pump to fast.

this was in reference to schwing boom pumps.

read the operators manual

i hardly ever drop down a gear but one of my pumps won't slow down less than about 80 cy an hour . when boomed out all the way while trying to main up swing and drop the tip on housing tract work you have to shut the pump off for a sec to catch up so in this instance or maybe filling icf it is advisable to drop down a gear. my pumps are kinda old not as easily dialed down like the new stuff. save fuel in a taller gear though , can't let fuel cost get in the way of doing it the way it should be done.

I agree with super pumper. go by the tag by the pto switch. most are 7th gear.

As our mechanic says "Its on there for a reason"

tag on doghouse says 5th. see  i new there was a difference of opinion. yes i know what schwing says is supposed to go. took 6 months to get parts manual, was expecting a operation manual too guess I should check on that.

The hydrualic pumps on a concrete pump are designed to spin between 2100-2200 RPM when under a load (pumping,booming) running them slower or faster than that will decrease their life dramatically.  This causes cavitation, when overrevving because the oil can't fill the pump fast enough and when underrevving because the pump can not build enough interal pressure to keep everything lubricated.  The tag on the doghouse tells you what gear to operate the PTO in because someone has calculated the required RPM of the driveline to keep the Hyd. pumps within the 2100-2200 window and have the engine creating it's peak H.P.  Older E7 Mack's (early 97 and back) made peak H.P. at 2150 RPM's, the newer E-Tech and ASET engines make it at 1650.  When running at a lower RPM causes the engine to lug, which increases oil consumption and carbon deposits and could cause the engine to stall. Or on the older trucks the engine would bog down almost stall and then fire back off but it would be running backwards (the intake becomes the exhaust and exhaust the intake).  Which you had better be close enough to get it shut down or you would have bigger problems. Be kind to your equipment, operate it as it was designed, service it regularly, keep it greased, drain the water off the bottom of the H. tank daily, clean the waterbox daily and it will give you years of trouble free service.  Remember, it pays your salary.

u never wanna deviate from what schwing says run the stieble box and gears r geared together so runing in either gear highier or lower will adventually ruinin the gears in the stible and the squash plates in the hydro pumps and rather they be a10s or a11s they r not cheap if u need sloer volume try slowing the strkoe and the idle but keep the same gera which with schwing its usually one lower than the highest gear