So, since I gotcha to click on this thread, what is your technique of making your boom pump really smooth? steady stream, low engine RPM, good hose man(we wish we all had a good hoseman all the time), certain type of hose, etc. I personally like lower engine r's and try my best to get the good ole steady stream.

it has a lot to do with setting truck level andlow rpm about 1400-1600 and 6'slump smooth all day and most of all a PUTZ its the smoothest pump ever made i ran them all end of story

In addition to being level, get as much weight off the tires as you can.  Putzmeister now recommends having the tires off the ground, especially on long booms.  I must admit, however, I don't know what other manufacturers recommend.

I know this is contrary to how most of us were taught.  You'd be surprised how much the extra weight, inside the outriggers, helps.  It helps load the outriggers, to reduce rocking and boom bounce.

Hey whole9yards,

      It doesn't help having drunk monkeys on the end hose either as you may recall several years ago. I called putz yesterday because of a pipe holder that broke this past saturday. Parts department told me to weld the cast steel part with a 7018 rod, so we did. But they were also saying that the pipe holders should only be torqued to 10-15 Ft/Lbs these days. Anyone know a cause of why these would break?

Well that boom or any boom has lots of flex and the surge of concrete and when you are wfo those brackets take a beating, all pumps eventually have brackets that need repair , atleast every one I've seen with a little age and a lot of yards , and I have seen brand new pumps with these issues , it just happens, whether metal fatigue or substandard welds , its gonna happen.

The less resistance in the pipe the less bounce. If your cutting ring is worn or gaskets  this will cause loss of grout cream and make the mud pump hard, also a boney harsh mix will do this. One other thing if you don't clean out the pipe properly and have a build up or scaling it pumps harder. 

many things come into play. have ready mix driver feed the hopper and keep it full. none of the stop start crap because they are to lazy or not smart enough to fiqure out how fast to dischage. right size hose for speed of pumping.more cement. air cuff. mabye even a schwing with a dash 6. the list goes on.

tires an  inch off the ground, med/low rpms, pump speed wide open an ofcourse level, a good mix is always the key for me tho. Btw, hoseman?  good or not I hate to have one at all an dont even think about tien anything around my hose ever! just tell me the pattern you want to skreet ,get out of my way an let me do my job!