Hey: Has anybody come up with a better idea to shutoff a trimmie pipe other than the spade?? We're going to be doing a high yardage job (100,000yds+) and I'm sure this issue is going to be a problem,and the spade can be really a pain when the pipe's full

air cuff

Air cuff wont work on short 4"trimmie hoses, and are too small in diameter for 5" trimmie hoses! But thanks Bob!

A while back "Vasa" posted some pix of manual hose pincher he had made out of rebar or rod iron? I will try to find the page, I believe it was back in September or so?

Here's what Vasa made...

The above could be used to kink the hose off BEFORE the trimme pipe? Or you can use on of these to PLUG the end of the trimme pipe......

Pinchers were widely used by the last company (big) that I worked for.That was untill the safety department caught wind of it and banned the use.

I have personally never heard of any injuries but I have seen boom movement that could take out one or two on scaffolding.An air cuff of some sort on a big job would certainly cut down on exposure to injury.

Many

The down side of the air cuff is that the people on the pouring crew need to THINK AHEAD several seconds to get the benefit and not the over-full column.

Sometimes this is asking the impossible.

CON-FORMS makes a air cuff that is 5" in dia. I use it on the end of my boom and hang my reducer or hose off the end. I use it everyday and it works awsome. I cant beleive no one else uses it! If you want I will send photos and info for con-forms co/. to purchase. I have customers whe specificaly request us and my pump because of the air shutoff.

We have used our air cuff on 3", 4", and 5" Hose. When in use with a trimmie we use a 3 ' 4 " hose with the cuff on it and hang the trimmie from there. If trimmie exceeds weight for boom tip, it can be suspended from separate crane.

OK guys, physically collapsing a hose with a mechanical device, folding the hose on itself & wiring it that way, or shoving something in the hose have great potential for hurting someone (or worse).  If someone forgets about the plug in the hose end, or someone cycles the pump while the hose is folded & wired shut, you'll quickly find the weak link in your system over the placing/finishing crew's heads.  That's why an air cuff, or air operated inline valve is the ONLY way to go.  Say you close the valve with the maximum recommended air pressure of 90 PSI (which is MAXIMUM RECOMMENDED PRESSURE TO THESE VALVES, BTW) & forget it's closed, starting the pump without opening the air valve.  What happens?  You build to 91PSI or more of line pressure on the concrete, the air in the valve compresses & let's the concrete go by without catastrophic failure.  IT'S NOT GOOD FOR THE TIP HOSE & NOT RECOMMENDED THAT YOU PUMP THROUGH THE VALVE WHEN CLOSED, but the beauty is that you are ‘forgiven for your transgression’ without having a customer go to the hospital or cemetery.

Think about it…..GIVE THE CUSTOMER WHAT THEY WANT, BUT DO IT SAFELY.

I disagree with Bob on the timing using an air cuff.  If installed correctly it closes (and opens for that matter) in less than a few seconds. The trick is to stop the pump as the form is getting to the top.  When the air cuff is closed the tip section of your boom likely has concrete that is ahead of the valve & it will gravity feed if you just 'bump' the air cuff & 'drip-feed' the column to the top.  No special talent required, seen it done on a reguar basis myself.

Hey Rut, watch that using a crane in conjunction with a boom pump stuff.  There can be some crazy action (read: opposing forces) between these two machines & it's a practice that's lead to some bad accidents.  Hurts when you 'Tommy Tip Over' but you don't want to take the crane with you.  It'll likely land on you head.  A crane guy worth his salt shouldn't be so willing to 'dance' with a concrete pumping boom.  Gotta understand the different moments etc involved here.  Right Bob?

How long is the 4" tremmie hose you're using anyway Mudslinger?  I've got customers using Cuff Valves on 5" long hoses.  We do recommend the cuff be at least a couple feet from the fitting, but there's always the 'in-line' version of the air valve that might fit the application.