the water wash video is ok if you have 700 gal of water.  that does not happen to often we do it on about 150 gal

I tried it for the first time last week on my 39m. I only had the water from my tank availible. What a disaster!!! I rock jammed my whole boom. We never tried it before and I dont think I will again.

With the 39m did you have enough water to fill the hopper?

pump your hopper down till just before it pops get the miker driver to dump all the rest of his water into his drum fill your hopper up put 2 strokes into the deck fill the rest of the way up all the way to top of rubber.  get mixer out of the way turn wide open volume and rpms.  pump forward untill water comes out for a couple secounds throw in reverse wide open 10 15 strokes.tap deck pipe wash her out

Thats what I thought of the video also.   Its hard to get a concrete mixer to stay sometimes for the water let alone have a fire hydrant or a water truck with you to do a water wash.   My 55 gets water washed all the time, smaller pumps, like our 32 I suck back a ball.  A lot will have to do with personal prefs.  

sgt what i do if no water truck is i use all the mixers water to fill the hopper take two strokes then fill the hopper again pump hopper all the way down then put pump in reverse wide open til you see air bubbles. just some info if you ever feel like trying it again

You want to water wash??... here ya go IT'S EASY!!!!

1.pump the hopper down into the redi mix truck..every thing you can get out of the hopper

2.Turn your auger OFF and your vibrator OFF

3.Fill hopper up with water

4.Take ONE stroke slowly

5.Fill hopper back up with water

6.Cover hopper

7.Bring RPM's up to about 16-1700

8.Turn pump volume all the way up

9.Turn on the pump,let it shift 11 times,IMEDIATELY shift into reverse

10.bring the hose to the back near the hopper(with it still pulling in reverse)

11.Cover the end of your hose with your hand 5 more strokes and pull your hand off

12. rinse out the hose fold it up drive where ever you want to wash out...

works every time (for me) i water washed my 39 for 2 years this way

Here is another thread about water washing so you can read many opinions on the subject BUT to me wtaer washing is the way to go .....once you get it figured out it's EASY!!!!

OOPS I forgot to add the link...LOL

http://www.concretepumping.com/index.php?mode=newboard&act=topic&tid=3432

hey sgt 580, i waterwash every time aswell, from the 23m to the 47m, as soon as talk w/ the job super, ffind out were im pumping and all that important stuff i never forget to check if there is water on site and the rest is like every one else says, pump down fill it up and let her rip,  except i always give the ready mix truck 3 or 4 hoppers of water, just a personal thing, unless theres absolutly no water on the job then i'll let them know theyre gonna have a nice pile of mudd somewere. good luck  i know once u figure it out youll never go back, uless u have to

i want to try it but i am scared of rock packing.

Who,

Have you ever had the hose whip on you while water washing at high volume, I sure hope you make damn sure no one is near. I always  take the hose off personally and clear the area.Remember SAFETY FIRST.

For all others, take your tip hose off first for safety sake.

Bob,

whats your input?

I never had the guts to try it.

I am a sponge + water + another sponge guy

Ops do it every day to no ill effect. It is one of those things that started in the west where the crete is sweet and the tip hoses are 3" Under those circumstances I understand that it may be easier to water wash than take the hoses and reducers off.

But for me....... no guts, my way works well. ;~)

ps,  the ONLY thing that bothers me is to hear about guys stroking the pump dry to get as much crete out of the boom as they can. Sounds too much like a plan for a hose whipping to me.

seemed to me the water tank on a 39m had enough to wash out the pump let alone water wash.Yeah I learned to water wash from a So Cal operator oh so long ago.I could and did almost flat boom wash a 52m,remember the duck.

I wasnt gonna say anything but now that you mention it...\

I tried water washing a few weeks back, just after you all were gunghoe about it.

it was so easy... until the next morning we had a two hour take apart/beat out

after the whole ordeal, my newest rookie on the placing crew says in all sincerety "we gonna water wash again?"

you all can keep that plan. my fault for listening

pump on!!!

SCOLEW,

I always put on a 3 inch double ended so it will plug every time and water wash right in the middle of every one while they are eating lunch.

Serioulsy did you just ask me that question??  I would NEVER wash out or prime WITH OUT the area being clear The pnly person even near these area's is me and I am generally 20 feet or more away!!

I am a 2 spone man. Works all the time very well without the risk of rock packing.

Nice to be in Oregon, where in the winter / spring you can usually water wash in a nice deep puddle around the footing dig-out. I always carry a plastic rubbermade trash barrel and while the readi-mix drivers are not doing anything else they can fill it up with their water. Winter brings that nice hot water. This always has worked for me. Keep it as close to A-framed as possible. Had a buddy named Roy (Oregonfan, you know who I am talkin' about), that would water wash with a 30 gal oil can. Just keep the hose in the water, crank it in reverse full volume. As soon as it seems it wont pull anymore water, lift the hose....the vacuum will blast the water thru the system and into the hopper. Stick it back in the water that has drained back into the barrel and do it again. This cleans the 3 & 4 section along with the hose. Pump is always in reverse so chance of plugging reducer, transition or deck are kept to an extreme minimum. Go ahead and tear me down but this works, Schwing or Putz.

water wash rules

1. no water wash with just my tank of water suck the ball

2. water wash if i can get mixer water then open pipe and wash down

3. defeinately water wash when water truck is availlable.  pump down open hopper and clean.  pump two hoppers of water and not have to open pipe will be clean clean clean.

will try bucket wash soon

still dont understand why ? anyone would do this ,maybe uh uh shit I dont know,I guess its kind of like the guy that likes fat women,I will never understand and dont want to!

This topic always cracks me up. Water washing is a true art. You almost have to be shown how to do it. I'm with mitch on this one. I have been "bucket washing" for about the last 8 or 9 years. It has NEVER failed me. I have screwed up water washing more than once and have found that slick pacs are priceless (in my opinion, the only time they're worth anything)when this happens. If you happen to rock it up, clean the hopper out, fill it up with water, add a couple of slick pacs and start pumping with the boom a-framed until it high pressures. Back it up a couple of strokes and push forward again. Keep doing it until it breaks free. Usually 5-10 times. This has also never failed me. I havn't used a sponge in years, let alone two of them. The only problems with using a bucket is that it makes almost as big a mess as sucking a sponge and it's fast! Time is money and bucket washing is by far the fastest. 

ok if you bucket wash do you still have concrete in your hopper? cuz if you water wash it is just water sand and rock. you have all day to wash it out.

 jdza

+1 on the slick-Pak

Pudg-

Couldn't agree more - fat lady analogies are always informative, yet easily understood by all.

As far as fat ladies and water washing goes... it's probably good to have a technique just in case....eew...did I say that out loud?

Suck a ball sponge and be done with it. It works just as fast and I've never sponged packed a boom before! It's just not worth it.

I've water-washed for over 15 yrs. especially after running a gate-valve that had to suck a ball every job. I have sucked a bucket of water for almost 10 years now? The mud's a different flavor in every town. You do need a little elevation on your deck-pipe to get your water back. Water washing at full volume will separate the mud in the boom and plug with any reduction. Hi rpm's...low/mid volume until you see water, then full volume reverse. Dont forget to ding your deck-pipe!!!  

here here bob sponge / water / sponge you cant beat it

full volume forward and reverse dont do it any differnt