hello i didnt see a newbe section. so it there is im sorry,

never worked a pump, small knowledge of concrete. looking to find out all that i can if anyone can point me to some good reading on what i should know. Reason is my buddy wants me to go halfs with him on a pump and have me run it. he spends way to much money on pumping and wants to cut cost and has lots of contacts that already had told him they will use him if he gets a pump. he is to busy to worry about maintaining and working a pump. is where i come in, i am unemployyed so he thought this would be a great chance for me to get back to work.

just a little info. any comments on this situation would be apreciated. i told him i was intrested but i wanted to research it and see all that comes with this type of work, cost etc...thanks in advanced

hardest part while pumping concrete is keeping everyone safe with proper setup and proper placing methods, and also knowing how to get through a job when you have a problem. Learn to do both of those and you'll do fine. I am new as well, but I am being trained by my father who has 20 years experience and also a lot of other guys who know their stuff.

Read the Operators Manual, watch videos, Find out where all the E-stops and Bypass valves are too.

I shouldn't really say anything though, because like I said I am new too but this is what I do on any new piece of equipment I get on. Make sure the vehicle is safe to drive down the road too! You don't want reducers and clamps flying off while driving down the road and possibly injure/kill someone.

GOOD LUCK

Thanks for the reply. Of course my first concern is safety. I don't want to put myself or anyone else in harms way. Like u said previous I am unemployeed and have Tons of time to read read and read about the trade and if we move forward like I think we are it's basically on me. I need to make sure I don't go in and ness up anything. So hopefully some other tips will come in. As I search the Internet for more info.

Manny .. hate too say it but you need some hands on experiance even if its for a couple of weeks reading and doin are two totally different things mate, my advice would be to ring around and se if someone will take you out with them for 2 -3 weeks , even if its for no pay that little bit of experiance will be priceless. I just finished training a new guy it took him 9 weeks to get it and I think he picked it up pretty quick !!

Good luck mate

As I'm sure others will tell you,  Contact the ACPA     They have a fair amount of resources on the concrete pumping world.  Including saftey videos and manauls.   Im sure Todd can also lead you to many great resources.  Dont just jump in blindly.

Also please make no mistake,  Expirenced operators make it look easy.  There is a lot too running a pump.  Its not just flip and switch and go.  You will kill someone if you don't know what your doing.  Learn as much as you can, NEVER be affraid to ask any question (there is no such thing as a stupid question)  And remember this, NO ONE out here has really seen it all or do they know it all.  But as a large group of people on here a LOT is known and there is a LOT of expirence.  Don't just run with the first answer you get on a question.  I have been doing this for a while now and I still learn things nearly every day.

Lastly good luck with your new endevaor

Thanks guys. You guys are right wear I am thinking. Was just about to post an ad in craigslist for free labor for pumping concrete to learn.u will probably post it in a city away from me as someone might consider me competition and not take me or even worse steer me wrong. Like I sai before my first concern I safety and k owing all parts of the pump and how everything. Works. I never said what type of pump but I'm sure you know. Pea rock fir now then big rock or maybe get a pump that does both. We have $20,000 for a pump and that will be the next step. The search for a god pump. If we need to finance the rest then we may but we want to buy cash so we have no payments. Thanks again for your reply

20.000 for a pump? That must be like a super tiny linepump?? from 1973?? I dunno... Others must know more than me.. 

My advice is to walk along with some guys that runn the same kind of pump that you will be running before you prommise your mate anything. Make sure you like the work and you are cut out for it. It would be a shame if you would hate it and have to pull yourself and leave your friend with a problem ;-)

concrete pump not a toy should be with a experience opperator for  3 to 6 months before going out on your own

Wow.. 3 to 6 months to learn how to use The Force ?? That sounds a bit much to me Yoda..

I see from your zip code you are out west or close  one thing for sure make sure this is what you really want, it can be a tough business having a good sence of humor goes a long way dealing with customers ready mix plants can screw you up in a hurry.  They can be a pain in the butt, there are lots of pumps on the market due to the down turn, if you are smart you will buy a good line pump they will make you the most money and less operating cost, another thing they are cheaper to get started with20,000.00 will just about buy a low houred line pump, I run a 5/45 OLIN and use 2 1/2 inch hose.

I also own a 1989  32 meter Puzt and its for sale at 47,000

Thanks again guys. Well I will be working with a pump guy tomorrow to start getting the feel of things and also to figure out if this is something I really want to do I know I probably won't realize that until I'm on my own though lol I am in SoCal and I hae been swing tons of pumps on craigslist but don't think I want to go that route. Not sure what they have been through. As far as attitude I consider myself to be a pretty outgoing guy and can pretty much get along with everyone ao I think i atleast got that part down. Also I know $20,000 is nit a lot but we really don't want to finance so we are probably going to go with a line pump like biged mentioned. I will check out your model. I will fill you guys in on my experiance tomorrow althought you'll probably already guess what mistakes I'll make.

Also what is considered to be low hours on a line pump?? Here's an example that I found. 2004 Olin concrete pump for sale. 2400 hrs. 15,000 / OBO

Cool.. Only 15.000. I didn't expext linepumps to be so affordable.. A lot depends on the state of the wear parts though. But I guess you'll get it in great shape for under 20.000..

Olin ball valve's wear parts are very cheap and easy to replace, my Olin kas about 1200 hrs and its about 4 years old, I wouldn't buy anything smaller than a 5/45  / 5/65's are good they are small rock pumps 3/8 to 1/2 inch 30 to 50 yards per hour, I pump a lot of block fill I use 4,000 psi grout, as far as hours try to find one around 2,000 hours that has system going with it I carry about 300 ft at all times,   here is a photo of mine.

2400 hrs in 7 years.. Seems quite low to me. But again.. I'm not in to the line pump thing at all.. If all this is correct though, I start thinking maybe its something interesting for me..

Almost all of those pumps are 4 cylinder engines, dipstick if you don't have a line pump you are missing out on the little jobs that pay really good, listen I'm almost 63 years old I feel very comforable with a line pump but a boom pump just scares the hell out of me.

Definitely get yourself atleast 3 to 6 months of experience.  Some pick it up faster then others, and companies will take time training or throw you to the wolves.  I'm still picking things.  It depends also how much you are pumping.  If your going out 2-4 times a day compared to 2 to 3 times a week, it can take more or less time to get it down.  DON'T BE AFRAID TO ASK QUESTIONS!!! People are very helpful on this site, and just by reading each post, and looking at pictures, you can see many ways to get better pumping concrete.

Thanks. Today went pretty good. Still not touch more of a pro then I was this morning but was pretty intresting I forgot to hold the hose down at the end when we were puching water and it went all over the place. I jumped on it in time but still got a good spray

Yes Biged.. I see the picture. I have so many jobs like floors inside where I stand with a big pump and only have like 10 meters boom inside.. And then 2,5'' hoses all the way.. Slow pooring almost all the time. max 30m3 per hour.Why not get a line pump and put down 10m extra line.. It must be a hell of a lot cheaper to take a job like that with a line pump than a 38m boom pump.. Here where I am now its the operator anyway that is pulling and connecting the line so there is no difference for the customer anyway...

These customers are all about the price.. So if I give them the first 15/20m system for free they don't have to think long i think..

Yes Biged.. I see the picture. I have so many jobs like floors inside where I stand with a big pump and only have like 10 meters boom inside.. And then 2,5'' hoses all the way.. Slow pooring almost all the time. max 30m3 per hour.Why not get a line pump and put down 10m extra line.. It must be a hell of a lot cheaper to take a job like that with a line pump than a 38m boom pump.. Here where I am now its the operator anyway that is pulling and connecting the line so there is no difference for the customer anyway...

These customers are all about the price.. So if I give them the first 15/20m system for free they don't have to think long i think..

Dipstick I see what you are saying, I have a second man figured into my rate cause these finishers here are the same as yours we set up all or hose plus even run the end hose and on walls we place it also just ask them to help move the hose, do you do block fill I make a very good wall hook thats easy to turn, madder of I am thinking about trying to Patent my wall hook  it will be called easy turn.

Sounds good. But we'll see what I end up doing. I am getting a bit sick of the long days lately.. Today we had a nice day with sunshine and 17 degrees C.. We haven't had that in MONTHS here. So much rain and bad weather..

So there I was sitting in my car to go home at about 1400hrs.. Happy because I had so many long days already this month.. My little girl is sick so wanted to get home to her and also enjoy the weather.. Than my boss comes running out. They needed a pump in town.. Damm!! I was home 20:30.. Sunn gone down.. Little girll already sleeping..

Get the picture? This happens sooo often. Sometimes I think maybe I should just get a 7 to 3 job....

OK SO I FOUND WELL NOT SURE IF IT IS A GOOD DEAL YET. BUT WANTED TO GET YOUR OPINION  NOT SURE IF I SHOULD HAVE JUST STARTED A NEW THREAD BUT I DONT WANT TO HAVE TONS WITH EACH QUESTION THAT I HAVE. BUT FOR MU LINE PUMP GUYS I FOUND A 2002 OLIN 5/65 pump  is had a new cummins diesel engine put in in 2006 comes with 150ft of hose reducers for $11,000 i may be missing something  but if you guys have any input on what i should be checking for on a used pump i would aapreciate it thanks

That sound pretty good  but Olin only used Deutz diesel engines maybe someone changed it out it needs at least a 74 HP or bigger engine.

didnt know where to post - looks like a nice 545 olin on ebay right now with 200 feet hose and remote 16000