Hi everyone, I was glad to come across this site browsing the internet. I have a putz kattkreeter that we just got in November. I build pools and had to hire pump trailers all of the time ,so we decided to get one so we could keep it busy when not building pools. Also want to eventually use it for shot-crete. This message board is great and has already answered a few questions. But I do have a one more. If anyone has any suggestions they would be greatly appreciated. It is starting to warm up here and I was wandering the best and quickest way to clean out hoses after a job? We are currently using  2.5" hose. I feel that it is taking me longer than it should.

Welcome, this is a cool business to be in. I have a truck mounted line pump, and i just push a sponge ball through with air pressure from the tanks on the truck, u have to be careful though, or you can kill someone.

I have a trailer pump , when i blow out like prairie pumper i put the sponge down about the length of my arm fill the pipe with water and put a second sponge in then blow out agin, gets evey last bit and only use a gallon of water, thats on 4 inch pipe so will work a treat on 2.5. hope you enjoy this site mate.

Welcome to the board Mike. You can also make a blow out cap that your water hose connects too. You will use a bit of water but it is a 100% less dangerous. Good luck to you!

Yes water works best if you have access to it.  I have a 1418 Schwing with a large pressurized water tank on it. We use a 2.5" blow out cap with a sponge or two in the line, then push water through behind the balls.  Works great, and is less dangerous than blowing air through.

Mike,

Yes the air is the easiest program to use............. DO NOT DO IT !!!!!!!!

Putz has a water pump kit that you can add to your unit. It has terrific pressure and will, with the use of a tight sponge, make your hoses clean quite quickly. As for a water tank on your truck; the new 'plastic' tanks are the answer. You can fit a 300 or 400 gal' tank in the center of your flatbed quite nicely. Air can be quite dangerous. Hundreds of people use it every day......... perhaps that is one reason the insurance rates for concrete pumpers is so high. Don't be a half-ass chump. Read your factory supplied operators manual. Check out the ACPA on-line store for the safety videos. It only takes one mistake to hurt or kill someone.

PREVENT THE PREVENTABLE PROBLEMS..... clean your hose with water. Please ;~)

as long as you do your job right, dont rush and just take your time you wont end up killing anyone, so i feel  bob saying air is for half ass chumps a bit  harsh.  everyone likes to do it there way mike, just do what you are comfortable with, or what suits the job.

I think Bob’s passion is driven by seeing people hurt or dead on job sites, by sitting in court rooms testifying why someone no longer has use of an eye or limb. Using air is very costly. The problem is not that it works well; the problem is that it works too well and when things go wrong you kill people or lame them for life. Bob is right you should never use air, TNT, nitroglycerin or C4 to clean out your hose or system.

I would like to hear all the stories of air gone bad, I know there are a lot of them. So go for it guys, lets hear your air stories.

I came by my respect for the destructive capability of air honestly. In 1975 I was cleaning out with air and managed to put one of those 'go-devels' thru the side of a job trailer............ then out the other side.............. then far enough so that I never found it. Well, God loves a fool and no one was hurt. This is, i realize, an extreme example of what can happen. But it is also an example of the power of stored energy. An otherwise good day can be turned into a nightmare in about one second.

It is never a problem until it is a problem. The reason I was so harsh ((sorry if I offended you)) was.... Here is someone new to our industry, he looks at this site as a means to gain knowledge. We owe it to him to give him 100% correct information. Comfort level is too relative a term to apply to pump safety; it takes the rule out of rules. If your comfort level while driving is to drive 30mph over the speed limit, well, that doesn't make it right, and as a new driver it is important to have the correct information. Perhaps later, after some level of experience is reached, a person may develop his own bad habits. They certainly should not be presented as acceptable. 

Take your time get a clean out cap blow each hose out with a ball and water. Anouther way clean your hopper and cyls out put two balls in hook up again fill hopper up with water and pump the balls out slow.And if you got new hose you can suck the ball back But you can get cought on that one stay away from the air.

try sucking the ball back on the 4 in try a 5in soft ball it work but not up hill

I see your passion bob i do, its been a long week, do my job properly but put my words on this computer all wrong!!

I totaly agree with every word you say, the difference with pumping over here is that we dont get wash out bays on any job, people here want as little mess as possible, which is where the air thing comes in to a world of its own, believe me when i say i would use water every time but the builders dont like it!! when i blow out i give it 2 second short blasts and not a second more until the muck totaly stops coming out the end, i believe that is the safest way to blow out, i  would never let anyone else do the blow out, only myself on the tap.

you havent offended me bob, thats what this site is all about, everyone has an opinion, its what makes the world go round!!

I attended an ACPA seminar last weekend. They told a story of a guy on a tunnel pour using air dumping into a rail road type car. The guy was new, did not know the power of air and did not tie it down. The three foot pipe with two 90's on each end chopped him in half.

Look this site is nice for new pumpers like you .Wish it was here when i started FOR CLEAN OUT STAY WITH A WATER CAP AND BALL DO ONE HOSE AT A TIME TRY TWO AT A TIME BUT THE WATER WILL PASS THE BALL AND CAUSE A PLUG YOU HAVE HAD THAT HAPPEN IM SURE. CLEAN THE HOPPER OUT AND CYLS OUT PUT A COUPLE BALLS IN HOOK UP SYSTEM AGAIN FILL HOPPER UP WITH WATER AND PUMP IT OUT SLOW KEEP PEOPLE AWAY FROM HOSE TILL THE BALLS POP OUT.IT CAN PLUG JUST LIKE PUMPING AND MAKE THE HOSE JUMPYOU DON'T NEED AIR.ITS A LAST RESORT.KEEP THE COMPANY YOU STARTED STAY AWAY FROM THE AIR

BE TOUGH WITH THEM THEY HAVE NOT HERD ALL ABOUT THE DEATH AND DAMAGE OVER THE YEARS LIKE US RUSTY

Rusty,

When did you work for big O?

I want to thank all of you guys for the great information. This is a great place for us newcomers and I greatly appreciate each of your opinions.

Thanks,

Mike