Pumped 43 yds of wall mix. Vibrator not working on grate. I told the rm drivers if the crete does not go through the grate easily, Stop me an add water. Last one did not.  There was about 8 inches of crete on 30% of my grate. After he was done washing, I asked him for his water to wash the crete into the hopper. I would say about 25 gallons is what it took to get the job done. Pumped out hopper as always. Seen smoke an A little gravel come out of hopper.. Set down boom next to truck an removed the hose an 5-4 reducer. Installed bullet, air cap an air hose. Stroked pump in reverse 4 strokes and turned air on about 1/4 of the way as always. Got up on deck with hammer and bullet never came back. Called boss, He said when I added the extra water, I washed all the sand out of the crete an caused A plug. He sent his best man out to the site with an industrial , Pull behind type air compressor. Its now 630 PM. He could not blow back the bullet. Said we were screwed. His pressure on compressor not known, Gauge broken. We had to take off 90s till we could blow out the bullet. It was in section 3. Sent it into section 2 an it would not go..Took off another 90 an cleaned #3. Then to #4 an it hit the board at the end, Just before the Taper bend. Its now 845 Pm. Pull in out riggers an turn truck around, Hopper an pump cleaned out great. Its now 905 PM. Question,, If I seperated the sand from the crete, Then why didint I plug when I emptied the hopper instead of when I tried to suck the bullet back? All the sand an gravel was in the hopper. I prime with water only, No problems. The crete had 1/2% calcium per yard added to it, As per the last 15 pumps. Money for the Vib is not an issue. We are busy, Its the down time.  This was job # 82 for me, With less than 6 months experience. Any advice would be apreceiated. Thanks for the site, Todd.

In my experience:

If you are able to dump and wash the hopper on-site do so then stick a go-devil with sponge behind it into the 6" elbow coming off of the hopper, fill the hopper with water and proceed to pump the water through the boom (you'll need enough water on board to fill the hopper a couple times over) pushing out the dry/segregated mud. Air=120psi and potentially explosive, Pump pushing water=1000-1200 PSI and does not compress like air. If it will not push out the entire boom in one go, start knocking elbows off and do one section at a time progressively. Works great for purging a boom full of hot mud also... has saved our asses many times.

To avoid the segregation/plugging in boom all together: bring the boom back around to the hopper and while recirculating add whatever water is needed for cleaning the hopper/slumping up the mud in the pump before pumping out and sucking your sponge back. The idea is to gradually introduce water to the dry mud thus avoiding a segregation plug.

I am sure there are many other (and potentially better) ways to deal with situations like this. Just sharing what has worked for me.

water-washers chime in.... now! :

Don't water wash period!! Bud, you simply made a rookie mistake! I agree with 16 cell as far as intrucing the water AS your recirculating. When your doing so, don't shoot a full stream in at once, just mildly fan the water into even if it takes an extra few minutes! What happened is what was in your hopper pushed what was in your boom out so that means all that water you put in is now in your boom and seperated!. You maybe experienced with the whole air thing but I hope you understand how dangerous that is!!

Best thing to have done was probably take a shovel to get that stuff off your grate or simply recirculate while adding low amounts of water at a time and that would've cleaned your grate if thats what you were worried about. Otherwise, depending on how dry your mud was, I would've left the grate alone, pumped out, sucked a ball back and washed the hopper as normal.

You live and learn, now learn from this on what not to do and move on.

Just putting in my opinion!

you are not alone,years ago, i had a redymix driver help me out by cleaning my truck before i pumped down my hopper, and it jammed up hard. Mine wasnt a boom party, but it taught me a lesson. Good to hear you got out of it ok, sounds like a few nervous hours. If there is a bright side, its that when someone has a problem and has the guts to post it, then others can learn something from it. myself included, thanks todd

hey take all the advice you can. i dont even carry a sponge or a ball. been pumping 38 years .water washing never ever pluged .so for whom ever dont like water wash just keep buying those expensive balls.LOL.recycle before you wash is ok but messy.

Come on x-force: Just because you are not comfortable with waterwashing doesn't mean it's wrong! It is a way out of a tight spot, it's a PROVEN way to clean your boom, and you don't need to scare the rookies( not meant in a mean sense, Willie ) out of any technical resource! Other than that I agree with you! Willie, you just put too much water in the hopper at once! Then when you went to blow your hopper our, you seperated it! OK , don't do it again! Anymore than 3 gallons of water in your hopper at any one time is pushing the limits! I really don't like spraying water in my hopper because it washes the oil off, and makes it hard to clean! When I recirculate, I fill a 5 gallon bucket with water and pour about 1/2 in to the hopper,then go about 7 strokes, pour the other half in then go another 10! Think of it...5 gallons of water to the yard is ALOT of water! 25 gallons...well!? And NO WATER goes in the hopper unless you OK it!! !!EVER!! Mixerdrivers don't get it!!!  And thats the key to this job... There is a common sense way of thinking you'll develop as you go along... If you want to learn how to waterwash, it is something you want to learn from experts at it! Simple things like not having a FRESH battery in your remote before you start is a easy way to screw the pooch, so if you can find someone who does it regularly, by all means learn how! It's an asset to know how, even if you chose not to do it everyday! Flexibility... 

well said mudslinger!!!!

Sorry, didn't mean for it to sound wrong to water wash! Like mudslinger said, learn from a highly experienced person if you wish to do so. The ball works for us and water washing works for others, it's simply what were comfortable of doing. I don't mean to dis water washing and I apologize for my begining comment in my first post. When we train operators, we don't bring up water washing for simple reason rookies have enough to learn. I know balls can be a pain to, but IMHO they are easier to teach. That's what works for us! I think you've learned a valueable lesson here if nothing else!

Learned how to water wash when I was training from another op. Depends on what part of the country you are in and how regions view it. Lots of guys my way in the northest think it's stupid. Some companies will fire you if you do it. I can get away with it cause I was taught well from a 12+ yr vet and my dad is my boss and I'm the only operator. 

when I water wash and if it's the last job of the day I always suck a ball back. I know some guys don't, but I like to make sure I don't leave any segregated aggregate. 

Seems biggest worry about water washing is jamming in turret from aggregate segregation. Way to get a better water wash is to "A" frame boom as close as possible. Jack up front of pump as much as possible with outriggers. Jacking cab gives you a better flow/rush of water back to hopper when you put pump into reverse full throttle, once you have seen water come out at tip hose. 

Knowing how to waterwash is a great tool to know. But always have a ball on board

maybe putzman1975 can describe waterwashing techniques a little better. 

Well Willie, you added way way to much water to your hopper cleaning all the concrete down through your grate. You did mention it took 25 gallons of the mixer driver's water to wash all the piled concrete down through your grate right? That's way to much. Use a shovel and push the concrete through your grate with that. 25 gallons of water will separate the concrete in your hopper and cause plug(s). 

As for the rest of you guys. Water washing is the cleanest fastest way there is to clean a boom. You just need to know how to do it. I did it for the 15-17 years I've pumped concrete. 

Hey

it always happens on a Friday night usually of a long weekend but you learned from this so it was not all bad and some of the replays are from guys who know there stuff. Personally I do both water wash and suck a ball it all depends on where you are working plus a pump is only as good as when it washed prior and there are the hot shot pumpers who know everything and suck back a ball at light speed why I don't know but hey they know everything... No matter how tired or cold and wet you are always take those few extra minutes because it will bite you in the ass one day. We all have had bad days/nights but that is what makes us the professionals we are... If you learn from a mistake then you just became that much better...

Willie, welcome to the wolf pack. Nothing wrong with washing fudgey concrete off your grate into the hopper, or just scraping it off either. Just take that advice about stroking in reverse to bleed the water over top your hopper onto the road. Sounds like you were on a residential site.(just make sure you clean the road up nice after) Be weary when adding water to yor hopper though. Sometimes, if your in a situation where the mixers have to give their shute a little rinse in the hopper, blend it in a bit by stroking a couple forward then a couple in reverse..and so on... When concrete is dry, or possibly setting up on you, it's important to take some of everyone's advice and get the concrete in your hopper looking like a decent mix before proceeding with your clean out.(Slowly fan water into hopper while recirculating always worked best for me too) When you charge the pipeline with air while pumping in reverse(due to this type of blockage/segregation) you're setting the stage for a dangerous situation.(possibly trapping air in another section along the way) It is best to try and recognize where you are most likely plugged first. In this situation, if your hopper was way too wet, you should have been plugged closer to the back end. If you managed to get 3, or 4 good strokes forward before bogging down, you're likely plugged midway-to-end of the boom pipe. Work on trying to figure out where you got plugged, and then make a decision on how to go about dealing with it. When you pumped out with a hopper full of water, you likely didn't make it past your 6"to 5" reducer and first deck pipe before it segregated. When you put the air to that type of a blockage (due to segregation), you may just end up blowing more cream past the blockage and making matters worse(even in reverse) Blow out caps(in my opinion) are nice if you mechanically break down and you need to get the concrete out of your pipes, or if you've dealt with the main blockage first by hand. Always stroke 1, or 2 times in reverse before pulling off the clamps. I think you got some real good advice from everyone and a few good options on how to safely deal with this type of situation. Next rain day a good idea would be; go check, clean, and possibly replace any of the gaskets you pulled off. Have a look at the inside of some of your elbows and pipeline too. Good luck brother, and safe pumping.

You clearly destroyed the concrete with all that water. You should have never pumped that shit in to your boom.. Recirculating in the hopper and carefully adding water would have been a good solution. When you finaly have a nice slump pump back in the mixer and suck a ball. 100% safe system.

No mess. No stress..

Why do you use air to get your ball back?? It should work with just sucking. Sometimes the air just get you in trouble because you comprimise the concrete..

Thanks for all the great comments an advice. I was not trying to water wash, Dont know anything about that yet. I washed all the crete off the grate into the hopper an destroyed the mix. I thought if I kept all the ingredients in the hopper, I would be OK. I was wrong. We put elbows together this morning an she plugged again tonight, On washout,,, After pumping 47 yds. I found the Go Devil,,, Or what I call A bullet, Cause thats what it looks like,, Just before section 2. There was hard crete built up in the elbow. If we sent the bullet through all the pipes on Friday night, Then how could there be old crete in an elbow? I think like Mudgator says, I need to check all my pipes an elbows. The bullet might be wearing out an not cleaning the pipes properly. Dipstick,,,,, I like all your comments an I watch for your next one!! You seem to speak my language. To the rest of you, I hope thats A good thing, Cause I dont know him. But Dipstick, Boss will not let me use A ball to clean out unless Im going to another job with A full hopper of crete. He says the go devil cleans better. I have to use air pressure cause the pump will not suck it back without it, I have tried, Just dont tell my Boss. My mud cups have less than 5000 yds of crete on them. Still new. Pump will suck back A ball easily with no air pressuer, But not the go devil or bullet, What ever it is called. Thanks to eveybody for your comments, Please keep the advice coming, Ive had two boom parties in less than 6 months,,,, Back to back,,,,Not good !

I realy wonder what pump you are driving. Sounds a bit BS to me with the go devil. 99% of us use balls (or square sponge is also good) in normal boom pumps. Our favourite method is to put 1 ball in the pipes. Suck it a bit in and fill some water in the pipe/endhose. (just a bit NOT TO MUCH) and then an other ball. Suck back slowly untill your deck pipes sound clean. You can also check if the water has come up in the hoper. Very nice when you can not wash out on location to! The water will enter the hoper at the lowest point and comes up so it will make the concrete nice and wet

I can't even remember the last time I had a boom party. Change your method is my opinion also !!

An other thing I learned is that when you are finnished pumping out your hopper you should give a few strokes back before you put any ball in. I always give 3 strokes back. And let the sections that that stand down drain propperly before you start the procedure.

Let us know how things go!!

Ok Willie. Here is my opinion on the whole affair. Your first mistake was not taking the time to fix the vibrator no matter how busy you are chancing a vibrator takes only a half hour.

Then about sucking a go devil, that needs more suction then a ball. So if your gaskets are leaking or you have dry concrete in your hopper you are screwed.

And about water wash I have tried it once and it was not a success but a learning experience that got me out of trouble more than once, because it is always better to go back to the shop whit a boom full of sand and rocks than a boom full of concrete.  So next time you can’t suck a ball dump your hopper fill it whit water and pump it out, go to a place whit plenty of water and do it again  then suck up a ball if it still don’t come back it means there is buildup concrete in the boom.

Respectfully sir,a concrete pump is not a she,a boat is............sir,you will be a better operator by all these misgivings happening to you............the two most important things when pumping concrete.....your life.....and anyone else's life who may be involved in the process or onlookers gaulking at your machine.   Keep looking up,literally,and stay safe

I run a 40 meter z putz,this is what I do,I put a sponge in lift the boom up straight up let gravity help you get the ball back when I here it's back I pull it out wash it off and send it back through with about 5gals of water, if your getting build up in the elbos your sucking to fast,double suck every time it will make your life much easier .

Why not 'double suck' at once like I do? What I do is basicly the same as what you do only I do it in one round, you use 2 rounds..

Its an 04 Mack with A 32 M Schwing. Same problem tonight, But Air compressor was on the job so I used it. There is crete in A pipe somewere. When I folded up, 5 of us could hear gravel in A pipe. Going to shop in the morning, If they give me enough time. Pump speed when I clean out. Same as I pump crete. About 1500 rpm an 4 to 5 on the pump speed. If this is wrong please tell me. NOW comes the stupid rookie question. I used to be able to go to the front of the deck an chase the go devil through the pipe. Smack the pipe with A hammer and out run it if I wanted. Cant do that now. Cant hear the difference of an empty pipe to A full one on the deck. I ask another to smack the pipe an all 5 of us said it was full. We took off the 45 at the end of the deck an an could look up the pipe an see it all was clean. When I set the boom down we got on deck an hit the pipe on section 1. I thought thats where the go devil had to be stuck. We found A  short piece of pipe, About 4 feet long to ring. The next pipe closer to the turret sounded like it was full. We took out the short one an found  all the pipe was clean. I think the weather has changed. Its A lot colder now than last week. I think some of the clamps are lose that hold the pipes an with the cold weather, They cannot ring. I think I need to tighten up some clamps. Something has changed. Its not just me, Ask the guys on our job that was forced to stay late tonight. I will try this an keep you posted. Thanks for all the help, Willie

Is your back end adjusted and closed up tight?Is the o-ring in good shape?

I agree, check your o-ring at the transition elbow! While pumping, do you see any grout dripping anywhere? Ask your boss for a ball but you still need to check of your pipe. If your using air all the time (which I HIGHLY disagree with) you could be forcing your bullet rite past concrete. It's not uncommon to hear a couple rocks fall through the boom while folding up. 1st place I think I would check for build up is by taking the elbow off that turns into your tower and looking into the tower base. That bullet your using, every gasket would have to be sealed perfectly for it to work, (I've never used one but thats my opinion). Don't give up, it's something simple that's reaking havic for you! If I have any advice at all, PLEASE, STOP USING AIR! Air is for catastophic failure so when you lose a pump like an accumulator or main or blow a pipe that duct tape can't fix, thats when you stick a ball in, MOVE EVERYONE to a far away place and push out your mud. Air is VERY dangerous and I hope you don't ever experience what can happen.

O boy Willie do I read this good smaking a twinwall pipe whit a hammer is a no no no. I don't think your problem is a buildup but it is your inner line comming lose. Next time suck up a new bal and if it come back as an old one than your bos can order new pipes.

Have to agree with the above guys. Don't HIT these pipes. Tap very gently with the wooden end of your hammer. A pipe that sais 'bling' before should still say 'bling' now unless there is old concrete in it or something like the inner liner is dammaged. I hope you didn't destroy these pipes..

These bullits you use are not made for this purpous. Sorry to say but it sounds to me your boss is wrong. If there is buildup in your pipes that is only a proof that the bulit doesn't work.   

There other ways to check if your ball has come.

1- keep your hands on the endhose while sucking. Just keep a smal opening. You feel it sucking all the way. When the ball reach the hopper you will feel a slight push instead of sucking after every stroke.

2- you can also hear it in the hopper. While sucking back only at the end of a stroke there will be air bubbles in the hopper. Once the ball has come the bubbles will come more like almost continuously..

3- Do the thing with the ball-water-ball.. The water will come up in your hopper when the 2nd ball comes back..

4- Continue messing around with your old system and remove your deck pipes to figure out if your bullit is back

If it is true that your inner line is coming loose then you actualy should be very carefull or maybe not even pump at all. We had an inner line on a deck pipe come loos. It scrambled inside the pipe and the pipe exploded like a bomb. Concrete went 20 meters up in the air. Lucky no one got hurt..

If your pipes are OK and clean do as we told you and your life will be easy  You should be alowed to develope your own system. Its you that has to do the job, not your boss. If you take good care of your balls they should last a Looooong time.

Just one thing to remember.  It takes a lot of money to train an operator!

hoooooo it's a boom party... and a beer fine... when that happen you have to buy a biggest box of beer to your helper :)  and have fun 

Pumping concrete is cake when it goes good.  The real measure of an operator is how he handles adversity on the job.

Thanks for all of the great comments, I am learning A lot. Keep them coming. 

Are all my pipes double walled or have A liner in them? I see no dents in them but some ring an some dont. From the deck pipe to the end of the boom. I will be much more careful with the hammer.

 The O ring at the back of the hopper does not leak but I think its the wrong one. It gets crete behind it an I have to clean it out after about 20 pumps. Then glue it back in.  The groove in the hopper is for an O ring that has square shoulders an the O  ring that Im using has round shoulders. Crete gets behind it on the bottom an starts to push it out. It can be A pain in the rear,,, Literary.

Boss came to job today. I had requested the air compressor to be there, It was not. I knew that I could not suck back the bullet with pump an truck air alone. After pumping the job, I brought in the boom an took off the end hose, Set down the boom an stood up the reducer pipe. He got A ball out of my toolbox an said thats what we are going to use today. He said to pull off the reducer pipe an rinse out the elbow then install the ball and the air cap. I said I have sucked back A ball from the end of the hose pipe to the hopper without any air pressure. He said no we are going to use air. So we did. He said thats how I am to clean out the boom untill we get time to clean out the pipes.

It is normal that the O ring on the schwing back gets pushed out. I found it didn't help glueing it. Better just like that. Then its easiere to take it away and clean behind it.. Good luck with your boss. Look forward to the day that you can make your own calls

GET YOUR PIPES CHECKED!

This has been a good thread!!! You've heard everyone's opinion that basically says the same thing!

I can see by your post that there is one thing that I don't think your paying attention to.

PLEASE!! STOP STOP STOP USING AIR BUD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You are facing injury or death everytime you hook up!!

IT WILL HAPPEN its the matter of when.

If nothing else, it's not just your life that will be at risk or changed!

I don't like to harp or critisize but nor I or anyone else on here wants to see or hear about a traggic accident that could've been avoided.

Air is not an option on a plug in any shape or form! Next to powerlines, I'd have to say this is next.

No pumps on Thursday. Got some little repairs done. Friday morning I sat down with the Schwing manual an read the part on washing out. It says nothing about using air to suck back the ball. It says nothing about A bullet. It says NOT to use air to blow out A plug. The pump can make more pressure than an air compressor. It did say not to suck the ball through anything less than 5 inches. I have sucked it through the 4 inch ID end hose after pushing it up inside first. The ball is A 6 inch ball. There is one smaller on the truck. Pumped A 35 yd footer job this afternoon. Set the boom down, Took off the end hose an the reducer pipe. Dropped in ball an put on air cap an hose. I know I am not supposed to use air but the Boss owns the checkbook, An I like him. I should do what he says or look for another job. I would like to try clean out other ways. After reading all these comments, I know there are better ways than what Im doing. I think two balls with water in between would be the best. With no air. 

 Stroked pump in reverse 4 times an turned air on. Got on deck an GENTLY tapped pipe. Ball came through an stroked pump 5 more times. Found ball about 1 foot before the tapper bend. Boss wants me to come in early Monday morning an open up pipes to see if there is any crete in them. After reading all these comments,,, I think there will be. The bullet is much more solid than the ball. If it hits crete in the pipe, It will EGG SHAPE,  Allowing the pump to suck air past it. The truck has no volume to push the bullet on through, So there we are with A plug. Thats why the Boss sent out the big compressor, It makes lots of volume an pressure an this is very dangerous, But will push the bullet on through. The ball is larger in diameter but will collapse an roll over the crete. Im gonna guess thats why the boss will always make me use the bullet, Except for on short in between jobs when I take A hopper full of crete with me.

I will keep you all posted an let you know what I find in the pipes on Monday. It helps when you can see the person you are trying to help,,,,, Hopefully,,, Here is A pic of me at work. 

Willie:  After sucking a ball or sponge, you are going to find a wet paste in your pipe! After 3 days! After a week! So long as the system stays closed, the fine paste that remains will not dry out. If you remove an elbow, the paste will dry, but not become cement surface (build-up) because when you prime out and pump, the concrete will scour the pipe! To create enough build up in the pipe to cause problems you have to be doing something MAJOR wrong! #2-cause...Pulling the sponge or ball too fast! #1 cause... Dry balling- Not using water before your sponge or ball! When you talk to your boss, there is one undisputable fact about the way we clean out our booms... It works ! ...Every day ! Safely !! Or we wouldn't have our jobs !! Have him call owners of pump companys across the country and see what they say about your current method of cleaning your boom and what they recommend! If ten people tell you you're a horse, it's time to buy a saddle!

Question: are you using the Conforms black, or blue go-devil? We routinely suck back a blue (blue is softer and designed for boom systems) on our Putz 58 meter. From what I understand the black go-devil is made from a much harder material and will not easily pass through elbows of a radius tighter than the sweeps used for placing boom systems.

I first like to pull back a 5" round ball-water-5" round ball all the way then a second round with the go-devil only. The first round of sponges is very unlikely to give you problems providing that you add ZERO WATER in front of the fist sponge (to prevent seggregation), this way at least if the go-devil gives you issues your boom is already "clean enough" from pulling round one.

I agree with your boss encouraging you to use the go devil... not so much with air. We formerly swore by the sponge-water-sponge method but with some of todays chemical fueled high MPA mix designs we were having issues with buildup in pipes and elbows on our bigger booms (47 meter and larger), using the go-devil has completely eliminated that problem. In my experience, with clean pipes (no buildup) and good gaskets/wear parts you should be able to pull the go-devil back without the assistance of air. I would guess that your issue could be either of two things: buildup in your pipes/elbows (go-devil will get hung up on this) or perhaps a case of a new elbow feeding into a worn pipe which could be creating a lip or ridge which the devil could be getting caught on as it's sliding back through the pipes.

To summarize:

In my opinion...

sponge-water-sponge= very good

sponge-water-sponge followed by go-devil only on round 2= great!

PS. you'll want to use a swing-gate mounted sponge stopper such as the one sold by Conforms, or you could find yourself chopping sponges and/or go-devils more often than the boss-man will like.

Let us know what you find in those pipes

Mudslinger, Thanks for the info. I have asked the boss to get on this site an look up my user name. He could see for himself.

 16 Cell, It is blue. I cut the green one the other night when we blew it back into the hopper. I had the pump in reverse. Rookie mistake. After installing new mudcups, I devoleped A leak in A boom pipe gasket. More pump pressure I guess. After that I could not get the go devil to come down into the tapper bend. It was always near enough that I could find it. In A hurry, I tried it without air. The deck pipe rang hollow. It would not come within reach. Had to lift up boom some, Hook up air and blow it back. The gasket has now been cleaned an it has no leak. I have not tried the go devil in it yet. We are are going to look at pipes first. I will keep you posted. 

 My question is, If more pump pressure can create A leak in A boom pipe gasket, Then could it cause the gaskets on the rock valve to leak an not allow the pump to have enough suction pressure to suck back the go devil? It has never been where it should be sence the instalation of new mud cups. To me , Its like putting new heads on an old engine that does not use oil. You cant do that. The engine will start using oil because you have more compression an more suction an oil will get past the old rings. I think thats whats going on here. We need new gaskets or seals on the rock valve. Then it could suck back the go devil without air pressure.

PumpnFinish, Thanks for getting pissed off. You have my attention. I will see the company that sold the pump truck to my Boss an clean it out like they say. Boss man cant argue that . I dont want to get ANYBODY hurt. Thanks. 

Any one ever tell you, you look like someone famous? Cheers.

What kind of condition are your kidney seal and wear ring?Are the "mud cups" bolted on tight?

Did not have much help this morning from the shop. Found A pipe that didnot ring an took off the elbow an found A little crete. Took the pipe off to clean it. I added 10 feet of quarter inch pipe the the pressure wash so I could get the nozzle way up into the pipe to clean it. It worked good. There was not that much in it, But then I found out why it wouldnt ring. There is A crack in it.

Sorry I didnt get the pics in order, Dont know how to do that yet. But the pipe is cracked. 

Mudgator, Yes I do an get asked the same question almost every day. I dont try to look like him, But,,, I have also had A lot of fun with it. People will stop an stare, An trust me,, I can have some fun !!

Pumpnfinish, Every word you spoke is the truth, I am not offended. Speak freely, We both know I need it. The truck is an old State Wide truck. They installed the mudcups cause Boss would not let me. I could learn A lot from them Boys. I am East of Col, Out at Etna.

 Bisely57, Mud cups new an I check the bolts every time I change the water box. Kidney seal, I dont know how to check it. If I add water to the hopper to prime out an have to wait 10 mins, The water level will drop about 5 inches. I always look under the hopper to be sure the water did not drain from the trap door on the hopper. Then I know its in the tapper bend an go ahead an prime.

Thanks Pumpnfinish, Ill take A flashlight an have A good look tomorrow.