Anyone not use water to prime? With clean pipes I wonder if its necessary. On Friday my second pump I just filled the hopper with mud and pumped. Watching the pressure gauge it never even spiked, just smooth, slow and easy. Since I started using two sponges with water in between, my pipes are much cleaner and priming is good. Water just seems to segregate the mud more. Hardly ever plugs but you can see a spike in the pressure as it pumps threw.

Yeah, it works nice almost all the time.
But I always prime with water on the first job, better safe than sorry.
The rest of the day I don't use anything to prime, since I just use one ball with no water between jobs it's already as lubed as it gets.
Then at the last job I suck two balls with water between.

I probably should keep my big mouth shut,NOT.

Why in gods green earth would an operator risk impending disaster? Lets say for the sake of argument,does anyone here understand the term "BACKCHARGE".I for one would use every method of a sucessfull prime to my advantage.

You boys and girls are the future of tomorrow,do it professionally.This is not one of those big bad macho ideas here folks.There's a motto I want to say so bad but Todd would ban me.Get real and get a life,do it as the pro's would each and every time!!!

If you wish to know that motto mail me

Many ,but not priming a owner is loosing money, I use benonite a 50 pound bag sells for 12 bucks and will last for at least 20 primes I charge 15 for priming

15 X 20=300.00 - 12 = 288.00, BRIAN YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER THAT LOOSING MONEY

No guts no glory. ha ha, no actually. Clean pipes slightly dampened from the first pour? Geez it was one of my smoothest primes. But it takes balls.. Ed, as far as charging for the prime? Doesn't work for me, my customers are 90% repeat. Charge too much, they don't pump. Keep them happy they pump three times footings, walls and floor.

Ed,your right.My only point was to the non listening operators that takes the risks for the owners.Anyone that doesn't charge for prime is a fool,repeat customer or not.

For the operator that does not own the equipment,who pays for the down time? If I have this straight the operator now works free because he used bad judgement? I make the decissions on my tuna boat,plain and simple.

There are a few here that takes way to many risks,granted,part of business.This is the reason owners can pick and choose operators,don't cry to me.We have a set standard for operation,we sign the checks.This also done because we probably have far better insight in the long term.The day of the macho man/girl is over,enter the professional.

"one oh shit knocks out 10 atta boys"

Brian that doesn't make since all of these old operators charge for priming, if for some reason you plug no one is to blame but you, I got a lot of repeat customers, I give out standing service kind of like the old gas stations pump your gas and do windows, I had a fellow from Georgia tell my employee that we were the best line pump company he had dealt with in years, its nice to hear that sometimes but I don't expect it we just give a 100 percent everyday.

 b-alto 

I am now a contractor (after 30+ pumping) and I pay each and every pump company I use for priming.Sometimes I even order grout for the prime.As a contractor I have to look at the full picture.Your down time because of an error on your part costs me money.

I can tell you one thing,you plug on one of my jobs for that reason the backcharge is coming.The reason I hire a company is for service,good service and the ability to do the job right.I make money and you make money,very simple.If say I have 5 finishers at $25 an hour,3 laborers at $15 an hour.Now add unpredictable mud set time,now enter there overtime.

Look at it now,that $10-15 for prime is pretty cheap insurance for me.Also if you prime using a primer and it goes south,oh well (enter forgiviness).My guys will be all over helping you,we did our best.

Think about it

Yes, better safe than sorry.
It all depends on the mud, have a look at what we pump over here.
Like ice cream... mmmmm
http://i395.photobucket.com/albums/pp37/Southside_Rats/Betong/DSC_0097.jpg
Yeah, it has rocks in it, 22mm, and it's a 30mpa mix, not just water and some cement...

Many,I was not even going to comment on this. I agree with you on your first comment.Never take that chance.But on the other hand. I don't think anyone would ever do this. I think someone is playing with us.So I don't think antone would do something so stupied.THINK ABOUT IT

Many, i like your thinking.  5 bags of cement is the same cost as finding the plug.  if i was the super of a site, there would be a locked and sealed bin with a skid of 20kg bags of cement.  i would be there for each prime to give the operator however much he would need.  i would always keep my eye on the operator who say he dosn't need any.

only sometimes do i get grout and have been learning how to prime hoses useing fly ash from the pit. f*#@ed up with the fly ash one time (not the only time) and it was a disaster at the wrong place.  thank goodness the super has always been happy to see me in the morning but i wouldn't blame him if he went to a line pump guy for the funky stuff and i know of three who i would call.  it is not what i want, i want to pump that custumers concrete.  so i better be pumping and not hammering.  the contractor hired placers, not carpenters.

to be in sale right now does not sound like a particular fun task.  i am the pump operator, there is no way i could be a salesman without the pump pumping beside me.  i have no idea what is charged to the contractor other than billed hours.  i am the operator, all i know is i am there to make myself, my employer and the custumer happy and have a profitable service.  if it was my pump and my prices, would the same contractors hire my services?  keeping em tire side down

hehe, profitable pump service, sounds like an oxymoron reading what owners type hehe

b-alta, i done the same on a multi-setup jobs.  decent mud and i have to agree, no presure spike at all.  ive been using one spong and dont seem to have any problems and been doing lots of line off the boom lately.

as for having the balls to priming dry,  1/2 way into a prime my balls swelled when i relized i didn't shoot some water in the s-tube.

what SIZE boom are you in...never in a million yeard's would i try to dry prime in my 63.to much line.but as for you,  hell if your boom does not go from 5in to 4.88 and it works for you.have you EVER had a prob on a first prime?

Hi ruck,good to see your still around.

I think someone is playing with us.So I don't think antone would do something so stupied

After 30 some years my "stranger than fiction file" is well over 12' high.Just when you think you'v seen it all, shazam,somebody gets creative.Never say never,have a great weekend.

I've been pumping for going on six years. Owner operator from day one. Its my ass.. But putting something on the table for discussion is the only way to develop better ways. To see how other pumpers are doing it, to maybe pick up a tid bit to better the way things are done. People tell me i'm a fool for trying new ways. i guess I'll never be done learning or discussing. Asking a dumb question? Yes I do it all the time it in my nature. But most aren't. The benefit of dry priming is you can pump right into the floor or wall with out making a mess. How many times has someone swung to the side and made a nice big prime pile( for the contractor). oh and don't forget to give it that second stroke to make sure the water and rocks are out. As far as priming in the hopper with a 5-3 RH? Hose whip to the head comes to mind. I run a 02 32X schwing (love it by the way). I wish i had a prime port though.

out west we used no primer didn't have it,was not availible to use. not my choice just the way it was.and on numerous ocasions the mixer driver's would fill the hopper[stupid S.O.B.S]before i was ready or customer was ready.and being the mix it was i dry primed it.yes i was nervous and just knew it would plug but thank god it didn't.so as you can see it was not by choice, yes i could have made a big mess by dumping the hopper but then i would have had enviromental issues to contend with and in sac town thats a big no no.when drivers in the east fill hopper i dump it and wash out hopper.not enough nerves to try it.ha ha...no enviromental issues.  

If the driver fills the hopper by mistake,instead of making a mess,take off end hose,turn elbow up,put in your slick pac,bentonite,whatever you use,stand boom up to allow "primer" to flow back towards the hopper,boom down,hook hose,let er rip.

good one bis never thought of it.

Russian roullette with a 32m concrete pump springs to mind........

i have never dry primed and never will, even if it was 4 pipes off the arse end of the pump. always grout up. under the british concrete pumping group's conditions of hire the customer must supply 50kg of cement for every 20 metres of pipe !! a little bit extreme.

 I did it once when a dumass mixer driver backed up & filled my hopper before I could put any water in the hopper. It was kind of a pissed off / f*#!k it move but it worked, never even gagged!

 Not something I'm proud of nor will I try it again! But I'll be damned if it didn't work!?!?!

I have never dry primed, but once when a mixer filled my hopper before I was ready, I put what I thought was about 5 gallons in my tip section, then stood the boom straight up, figured that water all went to the s-tube, put on my hose, and primed just fine.

Ive taken the 45 deg elbow off the top of the 6-5 and added water there.  Didnt feel like puting the boom strait up and then back down.

anytime a rm driver fills up my hopper before I am ready, I just open up the transition door and put as much water in the s-tube. Quick and easy and has worked so far.

What do you guys do when the mixer shows up with nasty looking concrete that you know wont prime or pump.  One time it was all rock and had to show supervisor it would not pump stuck in first reducer.

as NOOb say only prime on the first poor of the day then suck back a bal, second poor unfold cocrete in the hopper and lets rol again. 

dumb

Peter pumper.

This is no disrespect to you at all.I don't know how long you have been pumping. But if you know the concrete is not going to pump don't do it.It is alot safer to leave or call your boss,Then to show some dunb ass super his concrete won't pump.Then you have to take all your shit apart for something you know would happen.Then who look stupied.

Just a thought

Ruck

no took one slow stroke and stoped in the first 90 on back of pump. no problem dumped it out and waited for next truck only problem was the next truck was one hour away so i got paid to sit there all day.

It's all by aplication. If the mud is craemy and wet and you just used the boom recently. I don't see why not. But I can see the other point of being back charged and somedays it can be a gamble. Suicide prime would be worse. If I have to do it I rush it to the top and let it fall.