One of the major RM companies in Portland is changing the way we blow down the PB into the trucks.  The way I'm understanding it is, when we are backing the truck under the "Candy Cane" we will be tied off with a belt and lanyard hile in the RM truck.  The barrel will be stopped while we lift the hose onto the charge hopper and try to put the hose in. The problem I see is getting the  hose to go into the barrel with the drum in neutral.  The hose will get stuck on the fins.  I'm all for the safety aspect, and wondering how it's done in other cities.

is it rinker/cemex?

 Glacier

No one ever falls from where we actually want  to wear a harness. We fall from 10 feet greasing the boom or off a RM truck. The craziest stuff I have ever seen is during a "blow-down". Had one dude drive off because he heard people yell'n at workers to get outta the way....Blow-Down in the street!!! Look the %$@# OUT!!!

Unless your sitting there turning the pump on & off, you might as well have on. Fall'n Hurts. 

tootall is right i have fell off the top of the mixer. i was trying to put my blow back hose in the mixer and it was kinked. when it unkinked it pushed me over the side of the mixer. i grabed the hose and held on. i was able to hold on to that hose and land on my feet. dont know how cuz i was hanging upside down and still have the scare where my back scraped the lug nuts on the boosters. still dont know how i missed the dead man either.

i had a knife river driver go rounds with me over the rule of tying down the wash hook. even as i explained that i streach out the slack on the hose and pump at 40% to take down the hopper and the same to transfer over to water, i still pump slow because there is no load.

i got told that when it hit water the hook would jump out and land on someone so i explaned that could only happen if you pluged while pumping flat out and i was right because it was the previous situation that happened with the best operator in town. they are in a hurry to get to the next job and iam trying to do a mess free clean up.

I guess I miss emphisized what i was asking about.  I have NO PROBLEM with tying off or not being up there when pumping.  How do you get a 5" steel braided hose, on the end of the candy cane to go into the drum with the drum sitting still?

I have never blown down through any hose? It sounds wraugh with disaster.

Blow down Pipe= (1) 90, a ten foot pipe, a five foot pipe, double 90 that pivots/swivels, a 4foot pipe into mixer. Hook up to diverter/ball valve, prime pipe, lift high enough to clear mixer hopper, back mixer under and lower into drum, Chain & binder, charge drum, Open ball valve, ensure that there's a flow, Air On.

If its a stationary system with a diverter I'd still try a 45 & a 3 or 4 foot chopped pipe, easier hook-up safer too. My advice is loose the hose. You can make a greased double 90 do anything you want it to. All steel, especially if you got a cowboy up top that dont turn the air off or bleed it! Then laughs from above when ya pick a mixer up off its wheels catch'n a blowdown.

Bleed It!..what...Bleed it!...what...$hit..BOOOM!!!

I wonder what the redi-mix company would think of an all pipe blow out system?  How far into the barrel does the pipe go?  What does it do to the fins in the barrel?  What if it's one of those composite barrels?  When the composite barrels start developing cracks around the 'ring' - I wonder who's gonna be considered part of that problem?

Do you have a picture of the pipe set up?  I'm curious now...

uh-oh...

Charmed is on...Alyssa Milano's not ugly...

...gotta go