Instead of always talking about what you should and shouldn't do. Why not focus our energy towards the real problem.

Hi Guys: A bad gasket can also cause this problem!! I've waited for a truck and pumped two strokes forward and then 1 back.When I pulled 1 stroke back ,air had been pulled in past a worn 3rd section gasket.When I went to pump again ,the trapped air blew out HARD,and almost took my hoseman with it! I'm a lot more careful when I wait now!

Hey mudslinger, thanks for writing about suckin air back from a leaky gasket now i know what happend about 6months ago to me,I had sucked back move about 400 feet down the road set up with dunnage and started to pump and BAMM!!! it blew.But i couldnt figure out what had caused that till i read your input.sweet now i know.thanks man.

http://www.concretepumpers.com/pdfs/Hosewhip_Bulletin_FINAL.pdf

to go along with what art had said i get those same plugs from the mixer but i also get them when they run the water down thier chutes into the hopper while im pumping fast.  theirs a company here in atlanta who's drivers like to talk more than do their job causing them to run the hopper empty without telling the next driver to start pouring.  when they put the water in to run the rest of the mud out of their chute i suck air along with it. only thing i try to do is to slow the pump down when i hear it and sometimes it still doesn't help.  

hi fellow pumpers.one of the main problems is when the mixer drivers let the hopper run low it sucks air in best thing to do is stop pumping let him fill the hopper up and start pumping again but tell your hogger man to move out the way thats all ido i can tell when its happening just by the sound of the pump and the flow coming out of the end of the pipe.but this is a very grey area

 It can be caused by the segregation of the mix.Sometimes with a lean or wet mix it can happen quite rapidly.When re-starting always keep the hoseman clear,and while waiting on a truck pick the hose off the ground so the mud will not stack up in the hose,reducer or boom.

the way it sounds to me when it happens you have on a 4" tip hose thats the only time ive ever seen it happen...

my only incidents have been with reduction hoses, never with 5" hose,usually caused by foreign objects from ready mix trucks,air can cause some whip in 5" hoses but not like it does in 4" hoses,there is no fool proof way to end this problem,and its going to continue we just have to try to do our best to make the hosemen aware and get clear before it happens,and as Art said no matter how good you are it can happen to you 

I am surprised to read that operators do not know the causes of hose whipping.

The ACPA published the PDF, which explains the causes, in 2005.

It is going to continue to happen. It can happen to anyone, with any size tip hose. Reading the PDF and knowing the causes and preventive measures will make it less likely that it happens to you.

"Instead of always talking about what you should and shouldn't do. Why not focus our energy towards the real problem."

The real problem is not taking the time to find out what you should and should not do.

Lots of things cause it, Pumping too fast , air ,plugs,moving, one that caught me was, while waiting for mud my hose was sitting in a pile of mud. That caused a rock pile up. When I started again( with my rough neck) It blew like a mad snake.

maybe 4' hoses should be on the list with doulble 90's

2park

The only times I have actually seen it happen were with 5" hose.

That PDF that I posted has some very good info in it; better than anything else I have seen. All that anyone can do is make himself aware of the causes, take the suggested countermeasures when possible and keep our eyes and ears tuned to the pour.

If you pump long enough you see everything. All the gadjets (double 90's, s-bends, etc.) and all the reasons and excuses are no substitute for experience. Preventive pumping. Don't be fixated on the hose. Listen to the pump, watch the mixer, A-frame if possible.Don't be afraid to ask for that 1/2 -1 yd of grout on those line jobs. Myself, going from pumping that Texas crap in the early 90's where all you could get it through was a 5" whip to 10" slump plasticized gravel water in Vegas to Oregon where you pump 3/4" mix thru a 3" hose, sooner or later you think you have seen it all. Well, I thought I did, until a company brought me a load of mud that by my luck had about a 5 gallon bucket of busted-up asphalt in it. 2 plugs (one on each side of a 22 degree bens) , tap tap, sounds empty, after sucking back, relieving pressure, undo the clamps and boom!!!! Elbow in the chest, mud up my nose and mouth, well not fun to say the least. Still haven't seen it all, but definitely alot more cautious. Somewhere out there is a guy or gal that will let his or her hard headness, been there done that attitude endanger the whole crew with out so much as a thought. y'all know the guy, the one that has to hold the whip when are priming out so he doesn't have to spread out a half a wheel barrow full of mud.The one that calls your boss after you yell at him just before he gets the crap knocked out of him....well enough rambling, venting. Its for all those guys that have had 300' of 4' and 3" on the end of their 47m as well as the ones that have pumped p-gravel into CMU thru a 20' 2 1/2" whip. I wish I could have gone to work knowing I was only gonna have to use a 5" whip ;o)~

Sounds to me like Mitch stayed awake in class while going to the school of hard knocks. The main subject there is “You have not seen it all yet”. It is hard enough to do it right every day. When you think that tomorrow is going to be just like yesterday you are mistaken. You are asking the gods of chance and probability to step on your head.

All of the rules, regulations and suggested procedures are put in place for a reason. The reason is usually because an action or procedure, done incorrectly in the past, has caused someone to pay some dues. It is experience. Experience is surviving your mistakes. Someone famous (?) said that insanity is doing something the same way over and over and expecting a different result. Someone has all ready done this or that the wrong way, had the bad result and is trying to give you the benefit of their experience. To not avail your self of that experience is also a form of insanity.

No one is telling you that you can not do this or that; just that if you do they know what will sooner or later happen to you or those working around you. Yes, you have been doing this for ‘xx’ number of years, you have gotten older.

Isn’t it time that you admit that none of us know it all. We need the collective knowledge. We need to concentrate our effort on not only what worked yesterday; but on what will give us the best chance on having an accident free day tomorrow.

Rules are not for chumps, they are for pumps. ;~)

Maybe, one trick is not taking your eye off the hose, People come up or try to talk to you when your pumping? Sorry, its time to be rude. You never know. Their should be a safety sticker, about not interfering with the guy holding the remote.

One of the biggest and most common factor in hose wipping is a mistreadted end hose that has somewhere in its life been kinked, run over, or poorly maintained. In steel rienforced hoses this will cause the wire reinforcement to become exposed to concrete on the inside causing a plug and in extreme cases a split in the hose.

You would much rather prefer a whip than a split! Better chance of surviving... So check the inner part of the hose regularily!