Pouring concrete can sometimes need various pieces of machinery and a unique set of skills to be able to complete it successfully, but they all start with a concrete truck. There are multiple ways of getting concrete out of the truck, and directed to the area you want to pour it. Continue reading to find out the 4 main ways to pour concrete, what they involve and what excavator product we have developed to make concrete pouring much easier!
If you know anything about concrete trucks, you will probably know that the chute from the concrete truck are very limited to how far they can reach, as they are often hitched on to the concrete truck with no further support down the chute. This means that if the site is too small or complex for the concrete truck to get close to the pouring location it will be very difficult to extend the reach of the chute to the pouring area.
If you add uneven or soft ground into the mix, it can quickly become a safety hazard as the heavy concrete truck tries to manoeuvre over the uneven ground. As well as the increased risk of the truck getting stuck in the mud. The other downside of the chutes is there is very little aiming capabilities due to the way they are attached to the truck, so it can be extremely difficult to precisely pour or keep wastage to a minimal.
The concrete pump is another option for pouring concrete on site. This is often used on larger construction projects, like new build houses and business parks. The concrete pump is a better option to the chute for pouring large plots as they tend to have long reach with the ability to pour at a variety of heights too - for example when building multi-story carparks.
However, a concrete pump is a very expensive piece of equipment to buy, maintain, or even hire. They must be cleaned after each use, using specialist equipment to make sure that all of the hydraulics and extending pipes work is thoroughly cleaned. If not maintained properly, they can costs a huge amount of money in repairs. Another disadvantage is the flow-control, it's not as easy as just switching the pump on and off, like you would a light switch, as the pipe still has to expel the concrete in the pipe that was released up until it was turned off. This means there's usually 2 - 5 seconds of extra flow once the pump has been shut off. This can cause overspill or wastage if not time correctly.
Another common way to pour concrete on construction sites is using a standard digging bucket fitted to an excavator / digger. This is a popular method of moving concrete from Point A to Point B as it is a piece of equipment that construction sites will always have to hand. Anyone working in the industry will, more likely than not, have seen a bucket with a thick layer of concrete set at the bottom of a bucket because the bucket has been used to pour concrete and not been washed out. This reduces the capacity of the bucket meaning it can dig and remove less material - not what you want! Not only is this impractical long-term as it damages your buckets, but the level of control over the pour of your concrete is pretty pour even with the most skilled operators. The wide opening makes it difficult to pour into small or complex areas without causing overspill and wastage.
The wheel barrow has been used for years to move heavy concrete around and to tip it in a nicely dug trench for foundations. However, have you ever had to clear up the mess when a wheel-barrow full of concrete tips over? It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to realise just how frustrating and time consuming that would be for the worker! Not only this but the lack of speed is a huge pitfall to this method. This method would take a considerable amount of time and numerous labourers so is deemed the least effective. These methods are all effective in their own right, but...
Here at Rhinox we try to bring innovation to the market so we have created a product that enables you to get the most accurate pour of your concrete while maximising your operator and machine, saving you money and improving your overall productivity. This product is... the Excavator Concrete Pouring Bucket.
A Concrete Pouring Bucket is, as the name suggest, a bucket designed for pouring concrete and other pourable aggregates, such as gravel, sand or pea shingle. This bucket is filled by positioning it under the chute of the concrete truck and tracking your excavator to the desired location.
The Rhinox Concrete Pouring Bucket also has some other unique features, including a multi-pin pick-up system, allowing the same bucket to be picked up by multiple machines by just swapping out the dog bone pins. Not only this, but the pouring bucket also has a rounded chute that maximises the accuracy of your pouring. Making it easier to pour into an area as small as a few inches with a skilled operator. To add even better flow, the Rhinox Concrete Bucket is the first pouring bucket to come with an adjustable gate, allowing better flow control. This can also be removed completely should you feel it necessary.
In applications where the chute is not long enough, the project is not big enough to warrant hiring a pump, but too big to do it via wheel-barrow – the concrete pouring buckets is the best option! Usually used when laying concrete in foundation trenches, or laying pads for buildings or structures, the accuracy of the poor and controllability really helps the operator and the concrete ground crew get the concrete where they need it as efficiently as possible.