hello all, the company i work for does not allow the use of a 4inch drop hose off the boom instead a 5" to 4"reducing hose which as a hoseman i find to to be quite heavy to be pushing around and at the rate im  heading im going to end up with a rooted back..but i find using a 5" to 4" reducer with 4 " drop hose a lot more comfortable less effort...hence a better back,as well i find you dont have to push as much concrete to fill the hose (non splash nice flow) but find with the larger 5" hose you need to be pushing alot of crete to get this thing to flow well which some times if there only a light cover over the mesh  and if your on a 50m boom at full stretch and 10 blokes crowded around you with spades and vibrators etc the boom just does not move fast enough and you can not do your job well leads to a unhappy customer...now the no disrespect to the senior members of our company who will not allow this 4" drop hose to be used with there pumps because im only a newbie to the game and im sure they know what the hell there doing..but i hear the 4" causes more back pressure and wear and tear to the machine,wear and tear on the rubber hose?can anyone please shed some light on this situation as i like the job need the job but want to keep my back for at least a couple of years yet as im only 33..opinions welcome

as a boom pump operator, 5" is for full tilt pumping.  no reduction = no restriction = less boom bounce.  i have not needed a 5" drop hose for a year now but ive been in a small boom.

i have to agree that to push a 5" all day will take its toll.  my go to drop hose is a 3.5".  i like the jobs that arnt out to break m/h records. 60m/h i'll bring out the 4" im happy, the pumps happy,  the hose guy happy and still in one piece.

funny thing is that all my full tilt days have been no hose guy untill the last lift of a slab/footing thicker then 2', when i would switch over to a 4".

Melbourne Pumper, welcome. There isn't too much of an issue pumping with a 4", especially on say a waffle pour, colums or cavity wall on the condition your operator knows how to operate and is constantly monitoring the mix. Really the key here is having a 4" end hose no longer than 3.5m of the tip with no double ended flange and rpm/flow management.

In terms of backpressure on the line, your hydraulic pressure guage should tell you where you are at with that and more noticably boom bounce. But it shouldnt be a major issue.

The 5" to 4" ruffneck was not designed for larger pours. It was designed for small to medium pours where volume of concrete is to be conveyed at slower speeds. If you constantly use that hose cranked up it will prematurely wear and fail and is considered quite dangerous. You may even get hose whipped.

It's more danagerous when you use the 4" with the machine flowed and throttled up thats the whole issue, which if blocked will in best case blow a weak point on your line, or in worst end the reducer on your head (or concrete).

A 4.5" rag hose is by far best pound for pound investment on any type of larger pour, when the demands require the machine to be cranked up.  

ART, their are two types of safety rules/regulations that exist. Worldwide regulations and Australian regulations.

The latter rules are technically flawed on the basis that ISO 9001:2000 Concrete pumps / distributor masts regulations are not recognised, acknowledged to exist (or even between some refused to be recognised!) in Australia.

melborn

if they wont let you use a 4" hose then make the pump operator boom the hole job and if he piles it up cut him off and have the hole crew bitch at him he will get the idiea that he is the operator and dont run the job the operator is there to work for you he is only there to run the pump 

fish guy

 he will get the idiea that he is the operator and dont run the job the operator is there to work for you he is only there to run the pump

How do you square that theory with the customer that wants a twin 90 on the tip hose?

Bob

if they want a double 90 then they are wanting smoth flow or are concernd about air and train then you use a 5 to 4 or a 5 to 3 reducing hose

oh, what a tangled web we weave.

melbourne_pumper1 

A good rule of thumb is being able to understand the job requirments.Usually a 4" tip will deliver great results up to say 80 yards per hour at a reasonable slump.When you step it up as the heavy hitters do a system change only becomes logical (or slump requirments).I really liked the 4 1/2" hose at 80-120 yards per hour + or - a shade.When your gonna really light it up and make those boom pipes glow the 5" tip really is right.There is of course the 3 1/2" tip that the wall/flatwork contractors dearly love.That will only work on low yard per hour pours,say up to 60-70 then it becomes counter productive.

I am melbourne pumpers operator and his father, the last I want to see is him busting his gut with this 5-4 tapered hose. We have been told to use it by our employer as we are only wearing out the 4 inch for nothing. When using the 5-4 you must be pumping hard to keep the hose full and avoid spitting and splashing and giving everyone the shits including your customer. Ok you stretch your boom to the max in a horizontal position and pump hard enough to fill a 5 inch we all know the result at the other end and the poor hosie has a stuffed back. I would prefer to wear out a four inch hose than my sons or any hosies back

Big Davo  I understand owners are just that,owners.Do they see reality? Perhaps not.If you follow the basic's of use things become all good.Use the basic's of my last post and you won't go wrong.I understand these change upon geographic locations but still a good rule of thumb.Hey look at the bright side,if owner can't understand basic costs have hime contact Todd for one of his programs.I can say there are a few here that can get to within a penny or two (usa) of what "cost and safety" really means.meantime just burn his bucks into the ground.

Davo if your really, really concerned, contact David Edwards (david.edwards@conforms.co.uk) at conforms and organise to purchase a 4.5" OR 5" rag hose from them plus whatever you want.

He was in Melbourne late last year promoting his products and is a top guy!

The best advantage he can organise parts to come from USA so you can fully utilise the free trade agreement between Australia so you only pay GST, AQIS and port charges on arrival (NO CUSTOMS DUTY!).

Pump on!

Hi pumbo our employer wont be replacing any of these tapered hoses he says they are right for the job. I would like to see a pic of one of these rag hoses and maybe he would be tempted to try them.

WOOOOOT finaly a contact to get a 4.5 hose!!!

Can you get a steel 4.5 or just rag??? not a fan of the rag!