As many veterans know some times u dump your hopper thinking u ave your ball back. Wooops its not there. Dont panic my friends. Go ahead clean out the hopper. Then fill your hopper up just above the cylinders and suck her on back she will come even folded up so donot panic my fellow pumpers it is all good trust me. Just some freindly advice from a friend.

Thanks bri.  Been there done that. Only admit to doing it once though lol.

thanx bri i've only had to suck a sponge back a few times and its always been there, but thats the kind of advise il keep w/ me forever if i should ever run into a jam like that, its poeple like urself that make me glad im a part of such a great network,.

Here’s one that I had to use a couple of times over the years and works well.

You’re out pumping and the pump gives out, one time I was out with our Putz 43 a rear shift cylinder blew out and popped out on the ground which was kind on neat as I had not seen that before as the keeper plate broke in the middle of a 1300 yard pour.

Anyways  I drained the jib and laid it down, dumped a pail of water in it, stuffed the sponge in with a pail of water behind it and lifted the boom, opened the rear end  and the sponge came back and was sucked through the boom and shot right out.

The whole process took about 5 minutes and the boom was clean, tuned off the pump to limit oil loss and washed out the hopper.

All our pumps carry tarps for spillage like this but it works well if you don’t have air.

another one I have used was take your blow out cap,either one 6" or 5" and connect mixers water hose to it (with back end open).The water will push it and a little assist when his air hits it,of course use saftey measures.

this is why you open your 90's before dumping your hopper. duh. that's pump clean out 101.
another way to tell if the pipes are clean is to shout into the left hand 90 and listen for an echo. that method NEVER fails.

johnjohnjohn

I knew a guy that would have someone 'talk' to him at the 6" elbow as he listened at the tip hose before he would wash out his hopper.

If you listen in your tip or tip hose you can HEAR when the sponge gets back. As its moving you hear kind of a hiss as it moves along the pipe, and when it gets to the swing 90,you'll hear a loud kind of gurgle sound. Its back!! You can also hear the air bubbling in the hopper!

just don't drop your hopper until you have your ball in your hand

bob-
where did that guy find a laborer willing to do that? haha
no one has mentioned that sweet sweet ping of the deck pipe as the sponge enters the reducer. also a good indicator.

I listen for the sound myself

johnjohnjohn

Not me man. An op I used to work with in TX.

I am a deck pipe tap- tap- tap- ringer

I am a godevil and tap tap man myself you can listen at the hose I just never did like it much always tapped on the deck pipe to each his own as long as the pipes clean it all ends up the same

tap, tap, ring +ball in hand =clean pipe