Hey guys been only pumping 3 years and I seem to have such a problem getting mud through on the prime anything over 120 feet especially limestone.  I 1 bag of type n mortar, 5 gal bucket mix with drill, pour into hopper and pump away. ????????

Thanks

Ryan

Maybe pour the prime directly into the hose? 

I agree with Raymond. Put water in the hose about 5gal. them put your prime in the hose. Mix the prime like pan cake batter not to thick not to wet

Boom pump? I like to prime the boom first so you get fresh mud straight into the hose.

yea prime the pump into a pan and then use buckets to separate the rock out with water to make sand/cement slurry 

The concrete is passing up the grout you have mixed . either mix more grout to get ahead of the crete or order 1 yard of grout. It is hard to get one bag of mix with todays valving ahead of the crete. With system it is always better to order grout. Wheres the gate valve when you need them . lol.

Same here N006.  primer directly in the hoses.  and prime the boom seperate.  if your real worried, mix two 5gal pails.  water to lead, first bucket a little wet,  second a pancake mix.  If that dont go through you might need bigger hose, smaller rock or a better mix.

let us know what works for you.

I use bentonite quick gel directly in the hose. No water in the hopper it segregates the mud. Pancake batter consistancy. I pump 3/4 rock with 2.5" hose. The concrete has 50% rock 50% sand mix 5.5 bag.

Ry, Limestone has a tendency to absorb more moisture than say river gravel, that along with the shape of the aggregate you wil need a decent grout on a line. We always find that when you water prime it can bitch on the cheaper mixes.  I was always taught 100lb of cement  to 100ft of  line mixed to custard, if you got soft sand available ,throw a couple of shovels in.

did you ever think it might be the mix ? it isnt always us that causes the problem sometimes theres other factors involved.

b alto you pump 3/4 rock through a 2.5 inch hose for some reason i have a hard time understanding that 2.5 is for pea gravel not rock if you do thats crazy

I CAN'T FIND MY MANUAL RIGHT NOW BUT I'M PRETTY SURE THE AMERICAN CONCRETE PUMPING ASSOCIATION SAYS YOUR PLACEMENT LINE ONLY NEEDS TO BE 3x THE DIA. OF OF YOUR COARSE AGGREGETE. SO 3/4" THROUGH 2.5" SHOULD BE WITHIN TOLERANCE. I'VE NEVER USED 2.5" BUT WE USE LOTS OF 3" AND WITH SOME REALLY WEAK CONCRETE (20 &25 mpa).

Yep, 3/4" through 2.5" I carry 150' sometimes more. I've found its all in the rock ratio. Has to be 50% rock. 1500-1600lb rock, not 1750 -1800lb the RM plants like to make. 5.5-6 bag is sufficent.

Basic's 101

The "rule" is 1 bag for boom and 1 bag for every 100' of line,real simple folks.Yes a 50-50 mix is desirable but not always guarenteed.Different parts of the country have different conditions.

Now my question.Why in gods green earth would one waste time mixing a 5 gal bucket with a drill? Haven't you heard there are simple priming products out there?Invest in this or simlar products,throw the drill away.

http://www.fritzpak.com/products/product_slick-pak.shtml

Geeeez

MR. PERSONALITY, oems say 3x is minimum, 4x is recommended. 

you put 3/4 stone in a 2.5in hose here and the work is on.plugs up everytime we try.we know it wont go,but have to prove it to the customers.then spend the rest of the day beating and dumping hoses.  customers are allways RIGHT...

My line guy only uses 2" and 3" hose.He knows all the batch plants here and has them dialed in.He will use 3" on 3/4 rock but I call in the total and dan sets the mix.

I know if one gets the mix dialed in it just might go through 2 1/2",then again maybe not.You may find that's about all that mix is good for,that much system.

That's all of pumping 101 from me on this subject.Personal lessons are chared at $75.00 an hour portal to portal,plus expenses.

Thanks for the help guys.  Usually dump prime in hopper but today dumped into hose.  Only 110 of system and good looking mud.

I would never get a 50/50 limestone mix here in Michigan because of frost reasons.  2.5 no way, I have done 3 inch but I even have problems sometimes with 4 so that is all I will use with limestone.  Correct me if Iam wrong but I will run 4 inch steel pipe as far as I can before I go to rubber.

Thanks again for the tips.

Ryan

If you are pumping really rough mixes through long systems with rubber you might wanna try to first put a 5 gal with grout in, then mix up another 5 gal with grout, but put some sand in it.
So you get a barrier between the fine grout and the coarse stones.

Or just put a slick-pak in there, if it works for you.

A good rule of thumb.

You can pump through 40' of pipe with the same resistance as 10' of hose.Do the math.

And half the diameter don't mean half the volume.
Half the diameter means 1/8 volume, or almost 90%.
The difference between the two sizes I use the most 4" and 4.5" is 25%.
And when the diameter goes down, the speed of the concrete goes up, and so does the friction...

Who would have thought you would learn more math from pumping than you did in school? :D

I have tried slick packs time and time again they don't work well on hose. Why? because the mud pushes into the water based slime and segregates. The other day I refilled my bucket with Quick gel powder and forgot it in the shed.. So I had to use slick. Sure enough I plugged. I even used a plug between the mud and water slime. I much prefer portland or mason cement 2nd but quick gel works best for me. I have a buddy that pumps 50-50 threw 2". With a bobcat pump even ( we must have good rock). I'm surprised in Michigan they have lime stone? In Minnesota we have field stone and granite. Today pumped pee rock with 2" hose and a wall hook. I called and ordered 1290 rock- 1890 sand 6 bag mix . Also in Mn with cold weather 50-50 mix seems to holds up great because there's less rocks to pop. I've been using it with good results.

I would never use a 2.5 for 3/4 rock. Like Many said a 3" will work but, everytime I have tried 3/4 through a 2.5 it was a no go despite the 3x rule.

Sand is key. Coarse sand with lime in Mi is a pack waiting to happen. Fine, washed can make it easy.