Was Great, Great Grampas name really Rex???

 I thought was Broadfoot in '63?

Ok,let me tell you what I heard. The original concrete pumps were built by the Germans during WWII. They were of twin auger design,with a hopper above the screws. The screws ended at a "Y" pipe which then fed a pipe and hose. Mostly they were used to build bunkers & pillboxes. They were not very efficient,which is probably why they never were developed further.I was told the first manufacturer was Jaeger who later built screw type air compressors! This story was told to me around 1975 by a german concrete contractor in SF who said he was a concrete form builder during the war! Rex, I believe, was a concrete truck builder who pioneered the chain driven revolving drum type mixers! They used to use a PTO powered 3 speed transmission with reverse,and an air clutch to drive the chain!I have pictures,but posting them with my MAC has been a trial,but I'll get them up soon! PS I think this machine is a gunite machine!

i researched this once and came up with a picture of what was called beton pumpen, it was a trailer unit, just a hopper and a vertical six inch or better single cylinder next to it. do not know if it was air powered or mechanical i did not see any kind of motor or how it valved. those old case units kind of resembal it.

Broadfoot designed & patended the fisrt paristalic type (sqeezer) pump. It was the first pump to be used in a commercial application, Wa. state 1963.

The original Rex Pumpcrete was used in 1944 in Korea by american military troops for bridge construction. Using 6" pipe & hose w/ victolic clamps the Rex Pumpcrete poured piles, pile-caps & bridge-decks from 1 pump station pumping several hundred feet!

He was Not just a shotcreter!

Gotta love those vic clamps

;~)

There is still a question in the ACPA operator certification test about "does the ACPA recommend the use of raised end system"

The majority of the people taking the test have never even HEARD of a vic clamp and don't understand the question.

Date correction; The Imjin river crossing in Korea started in February, 1952

1944 is when it was used to pour in Ontario...

  Follow the pipe line to the left and there's the Rex-Pumpcrete. Check out the delivery system with the giant "vic" clamps! It eventually had a batchplant built over it and pumped the entire port from this location. 

I believe if you go to the cifa site it was the italians who made a concrete pump in the 20,s or 30,s. I mabe wrong but i remember looking it some years ago.

Its hard to say, in 1914 an American patent was applied for during the Panama canal const. Then there's nothing for 20 yrs. Brewer&Son 1933 in London patented a "twin piston pump of concrete". Then an Emil Carl Heinrick improved that with a "valve improvement" patent in 1938. 2 years later Torkret GHMB received a whole bunch of improvement patents on the original...    

Check ebay or amazon, there's some books from REX or PUMPCRETE about these old pumps, pretty interesting stuff.

My dad worked at K-W Blair Ready Mix when PumpCrete Canada just started out, seen a few wild weapons in them days. Remember the PumpCrete "Box Valve" lol