I am craning concrete 70 ft. up to a pour a roof on a silo tomorrow, the radius should be short and I only be around 1/4 of my charts but I have never done bucket work before, any advice
"Got er done" It took 88 ft of stick at a 30 ft radius I was good for around 12,000 the picks where 2,500 lbs.It was a piece of cake and one of the coolest thing I've ever done. On the way home I set the trusses on a 5o x 100 work shop, it was a great day in the seat
Looking good Tradesman:thumbsup Glad to see it went well. We keep a 3/4 yard concrete bucket around,dont use it often but comes in handy when we need it.
always a good feeling when a problematic job turns out a piece of cake,,,, well done Sir!
Glad to hear it went well. :thumbsup Really, there's no rocket surgery involved in using a bucket. The builder that I primarily work for bought a 1/2 yard bucket about 25 years ago, and it has to be one of the best investments they ever made. At the time, they had some pours on the second and third floors of a condo building. They've since got rid of their crane, but the bucket still gets used at least a couple of times a week, either swinging concrete with an excavator, or even hanging from the forks of a telehandler placing bedding on plumbing inside a foundation. As far as the "any advice" part (for somebody who may be looking at this thread at a later date), it's just a little different from most picks in that, rather than setting the load down in a particular place, you just need to get close, but then could be asked to move as they pour from it. One other thing, is that if you're trying to pour in a very precise spot (we used it with the crane to grout 12", or even 8" concrete H block walls), as it empties, and any sag in the boom lessens, and you might have to boom down a hair to stay in the same spot.
I bought a 1/3 yard bucket back in 2006 to pour a large pond outlet structure. The design of the structure dictated several form and pours to get the baffles and inverts constructed. The location and configuration of the structure wouldn't allow it to be poured from the truck and hiring a pump for several pours wasn't cost efficient. We used an excavator to lift the bucket on each pour and paid for the bucket on that one structure, instead of paying the pump company. I have used it to pour some small concrete walls and place bedding. Handier than a shirt pocket.
Nice days work Tradesman! Maybe too late for advise..and this may be too simple a thing..I always have a 3-4' cable tween the bucket and hook. It keeps the mud from splattering on the headache ball and gives a little room when you land it. Concrete gets heavy quick. At long radius and a 1-1/2 yard bucket, I've had the guys dump it so fast it takes off like a rocket. We've had to stop and discuss things before..
The other thing I've seen is if you've got the bucket on a pick where you have a lot of cable between the tip and the bucket, when they start to pour the bucket will go straight up as the weight comes off and the cable "shrinks". Operator just cables out in that case.
Good advice I didn't use one, so I got my pretty ball (my avitar ) all dirty. next time i'll use the cable. Thanks Glen
Good work Tradesman! Good to see your work picture. Just keep it up!
tie a 4 or 5 foot rope on the bottem of bucket some times helps
cant happen all the time but sure is nice when it works out, where if they can, fill the bucket up at the same radius (close to) as where your pouring.....so all you have to do is swing left or right... without complicating it more than you have to by booming and swinging....
Got there before concrete trucks set my radius and placed my bucket on the ground where I wanted the truck to back up to. I had to boom up and down for a 14 ft. change in radius, thats how wide the silo was.