I drive a concrete mixer truck up here in Edmonton, Canada, for Lafarge ( yeah, they don't get any bigger than these guys !! ). The best way to "kill" a load in the drum is to pour a bag of sugar in the load....and no, I'm not kidding !! Some of us guys actually carry 4kg bags of sugar, available from any grocery store, just in case we need to kill a load....it nearly happened to me once, when I was pouring for footings. It was a hot day, I was new, I hadn't added enough water after getting loaded, & wasn't too familiar with slumps. The load started to tighten, the hopper started to get blocked. Luckily, I was able to make it back to my plant in time to dump the entire load of about 6 meters. The hopper, I had to chisel away with a hammer and a crowbar, but it was still a bit soft, so it wasn't that difficult. Luckily for me, my company were very understanding, and attributed it to my "learning curve".

All said and done, I SIMPLY LOVE MIXER TRUCKS, especially the tractor trailers, where we mostly get the pump jobs....as long as you can keep an eye on the flow down the chute into the pump's hopper, and synchronise the flow with the pace of the pump, it's like a walk in the park. GOMACOs, however, need a lot of concentration.

Always, BUT ALWAYS, respect your mixer truck, no matter how crappy it may be....the moment you lose respect for it and take it for granted, it can land you in a world of hurt.

 

I didn't know Edmonton, ALBERTA (Canada is East of Alberta) is near Pittsburg,PA.

Only an easterner from Canaduh would make a mistake like that.

 

Quick to jump to conclusions, and indulging in name-calling, aren't we ???? FYI Edmonton is about 3500 km north and west of Pittsburgh, but then, I guess a smart-ass like you knows that anyway. Why I'm in Pittsburgh and Edmonton, is, very honestly, none of your freakin' business. And no, contrary to what you'd like to believe, I ain't no easterner....I'm from Van BC, and moved to AB a while ago....never travelled east of SK in Canada, except to change planes at YYZ.

I don't know if you were just kidding, but in case you weren't, your assinine comment was quite uncalled for, not to mention, completely irrelevant to the topic in this thread. If you have nothing worthwhile to contribute, atleast don't broadcast your spastic "intellect" for all the world to see and laugh at.

 

They make mixers as tractor-trailers? That's one I've never seen anywhere. Interesting.

I liked pump jobs the best, except for the standing in the freezing ass cold waiting on them to finish screwing around with the hose so you could finish the pour already and wash out.

So you could do it all again. And again. And again. And again.

Ugh. Hats off to you guys. I have a lot more respect for concrete now, but it definitely isn't my thing. I couldn't stand all the waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting, WAITING. It drove me completely frickin' cuckoo, and I only survived nine arduous, miserable days of that.

I'm glad I'm back behind the wheel of an 18-wheeler.