Anyone used the quik mix style trucks for concrete supply. Looking at purchasing a couple in the near future. Would love to know what issues that others have had with these trucks.
There was a supplier here who had them, 25 or so years ago. I used them on a couple jobs and realy liked them. I don't use any big amounts of crete now and I really wish they were still around. They were perfect for small jobs and it was extremely handy to be able to vary the slump on the go.
By quick mix truck, are you referring to the trucks which keep the aggregates, cement and water in separate compartments and mix the concrete in the chute? We have several companies that run these trucks exclusively and they are always busy. I've used them on several jobs and have had no problem with the quality of the concrete. These companies are small and privately owned, I find they are much more accommodating to unusual job conditions than the bigger Redi-mix companies. I've gotten in to the habit though of letting the first 5 gallons of concrete run on the ground. The first little bit of concrete just never seems to be mixed quite right, either not enough cement, too dry or some other problem, so I run it on the ground so I don't get a weak spot in my job. I'm an end user, I can't really give you any info on what maintenance problems they might present.
Thanks, Yea, these are the style trucks, I'm looking at. How many yards are pouring at one time?
I'm pretty sure the company I use can get 10 yards on their trucks, but they are overloaded at that point. I think they are legal with about 8 yards.
Those are batch trucks they have their place they are not designed for production in mind they are for the small jobs. We don't see many of them around because its pretty hard to compete with the redimix company. You are better off having a small batch plant set up and have a conventional mixer. There are little single axle mixer trucks running around not here but I have seen them they hold 3-4 yards good for the small jobs. Most redimix companies have a minimum delivery so a small truck that carries 3 yards is pretty good. The one redimix company is getting a truck that is getting 11 (14 yards) metre mixer trucks. The trucks will be legally grossed at 109,000lbs pretty heavy as a straight truck. Reimer is a common brand on batch trucks www.reimermix.com/home.html
I talked with one guy that has rated 10 yd machine, but he said it was closer to 8.8 yds. I have to be able to pour 120 yds. within 3.5 - 4 hours on this job. Trying to figure how many trucks this will take. I will be teaming with a pump truck so I have about 20 mins. between trucks. Decisions - Decisions..........
I wouldn't using batch trucks for that job it would be nothing but conventional drum trucks. You will never beable to mix that much concrete in 3 hours. You need to have a steady streem of trucks because the contractor can't let the concrete get stopped. One of the redimix contractors in other community had a big pour it was 100 meters he put all 5 trucks on the job each truck carries 6 metres.
Some of these voulmetric mixers have production rates that go from 30-90 yards per hour. I think it comes down to keeping the truck fed with agg, cement and h20. So if the job allows you to have all the agg, a silo, h20 supply, loader you can do massive pours. It would work great with a pumper b/c the concrete hasnt got time to get too hot. Think about it, why do many engineers prefer NOT to use a pumper and would rather have a crane place the mix? But they do shine is smaller jobs.
Slightly off topic but batch trucks here are called concrete taxis...they are OK for small jobs: http://www.concretetaxi.com/
I figured I can do a turnaround in about 30 min. My yard will be on site, so I won't have to travel on public roads. So weight isn't a problem, With three trucks I think I might be able to swing the larger pours. 110 yds will be the largest pour at one time. My only question is how long it will take for pump truck to pump 10 yards, I know that depends on how quick the crew can work the crete. I think I can swing it, now all I'll need is for a truck to break. That will make it interesting..
The reason why engineers don't like pumper trucks is you get aggregate separation the rock tends to separate from the water sand and portland. Also pumper trucks need to add a liquid I forget the name to make the concrete flow better in the pipes on the boom. A concrete bucket and crane works better gives you a stronger concrete but its a slower process. Keep in mind you can't stop the flow till the pour is done or you will ruin the foundation or what ever the contractor is pouring. If they start getting a dry edge the concrete doesn't stick together so you get a crack. It all depends on how hot the day is and how fast the concrete is starting to quick. You definatly don't want to be adding any accellerator to the concrete mix. You also have to make sure you have lots of clean water on the site the rule of thumb is if you can drink the water you can use it for concrete. The other problem I can see is getting enough dry aggregate so you can get nice even mixes not to runny.
Batch trucks and Conveyors! I worked for a company that used a batch truck to load drum mixers; batch truck on a hill and mixer in a pit! Soon the inspector was rejecting our concrete. Seems the trough had a hyd. cyl. above it and it was leaking hyd. oil into the batch; OIL CONTAMINATION! a big No No! Keeping the batch truck supplied was an other problem. Seemed like 5, loads at 10 yards a load, and it was down off the hill and more sand, more gravel, and more portland. They also had a trailer with a 2500 gallon tank and a pump to keep h2o available. Putzmiester makes a conveyor that extends to 130 feet, and can handle concrete, and aggergate from 8's to 1's & 2's! they are no good for bridges, as the incline from below to the bridge deck is too steep! As long as the work location is no more than -5 feet they work better than a pump, with less clean up, and less waste. You just don't have 150 feet of pipe with workable concrete, and there is no heat factor because there is no pump. As long as I didn't have to go over an obstruction, I'd run a conveyor! here is a link http://www.putzmeister.com/products/telebelts/130/index.cfm
Throw a couple bags of brown sugar into a mixer drum and see what happens I know you want to see the reaction from the concrete guys couple days later :lmao
Which is why I theroize that a voulmetric mixer may work better for a pumper b.c the concrete is so fresh. One of the problems one business was having with voulmetric their voulmetric trucks was the the concrete crews were so used to dealing with "hot loads" that they didnt really know how to work with the concrete since it was so fresh. So the ready mix company added an accelator to make it more like what comes out of a conventional drum mixer. But once again the trucks shine an ddoing small delieveries. Where a drum mixer would not be able to pour 5 yards at one job and 5 yards at the next without going to the batch plant a voulmetric can. For a big job, with a pumper involved you should better have your stuff stright b/c a pumper and a crew = lots of $ per hour.
2 concrete co.'s that are around here have them...they are slower than drum mixers... more maint. on the chute/auger. a friend that i helped used them exclusively...these guys were in there late 60's, so a little slow didn't bother them... worked out good, as they sometimes had a couple different 4-5 yd. jobs to pour the same morning the one co. would haul about 10 1/2 yds. and on a few jobs that needed 13 -14, we would just have materials onsite, and load it into their hoppers...instead of them sending another truck... i have two garages poured...24x30 & 30x40...and not a hairline crack in either