Working the National 1300A

I have a need to pour about 3-4 yards of concrete in an area unreachable direct from a mixer truck due to the terrain and other factors. A pumper truck would be the easiest way of course, but overkill for such a small pour. No one in my area has a crane bucket I can borrow, rent, or steal, so I am going to modify a 55 gallon drum to serve as a bucket. I'll post later how it went, but my drum mod will stiffen it, provide a way for the crane to pick it/rig to, and maybe also allow for semi-controlled dumping.

Rather then just burn two holes in the top of the sides and using shackles in the holes to rig to, my "plan" is to roll some 3" x 1'" flat bar, same dia. as the drum, into two half circles, with flanges on the ends so once around the drum they can be bolted or welded together. Not at the top, but just above halfway up. Then drill some 1/4" holes thru the curved flat bar and drum, maybe a dozen, to secure them to each other and distribute the forces. THEN, holesaw thru this now secured to the drum curved flange for a length of 2" pipe to slip clear thru the drum, and project out both sides a few inches. Then I'll weld some flat bar to the pipe ends, burn some holes in that, and then shackles and wire rope slings up to my hook, which will be well above head height. In theory, and depending on how much mud we dump in (I'm thinking about 3/4 full) maybe this will allow a couple guys to have some control over the dump process, as I hover it a foot or so off the ground, maybe they can grab the bottom and tilt and pour. We have the poles plumb now but they could be knocked off kilter if a drum of concrete fell in the hole. The best part of this plan is that it removes me from the other scenarios we postulated: hand mixing bagged mud, wheel barrowing down a hill, and others. This way allows me to sit in the air conditioned cab, looking important, while others do the grunt work.

May want to look into something heavier, like a old Farm Fuel tank or some heavier wall steel vessel, drums collapse relatively easily without a lid or if a end cap is cut away.

DMiller said:

May want to look into something heavier, like a old Farm Fuel tank or some heavier wall steel vessel, drums collapse relatively easily without a lid or if a end cap is cut away.

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why not use a 2 wheel wb rigged with nylon straps so it picks level

Drums are easy to pick up around here, free. The issue of it collapsing under a load should be dealt with by the way I rig it, to the steel collar/ ring I'm bolting around it. Most importantly this ring will be about 3/4 of the way up it's height, and I'll fill the drum less then that, but yes it is still a concern. Today I had the thought of using my Warn electric Pullzall winch, one end rigged to the drum bottom, the other my load hook, to help get it started tilting over, with maybe a chain limiter on the upper end to keep it from turning over all at once, but only part way. The dynamics of it all will much clearer the first time I test it under load, with water. But water only weighs 8.3 lbs per cubic ft., concrete weighs 150 I just read, and a cubic foot contains 7.5 gallons, so even filling the drum halfway up, call it 30 gallons, would weigh 600 pounds. I will proceed cautiously, the last thing I want is a failure and no other way to move the mud. Even a third full, the drum would beat the heck out of wheel barrowing it or a 5 gallon bucket brigade. A steep hillside above where the mixer will be, steep and high enough so we can't flow it right out of the chute, is why my boom truck usage makes sense to me. That and it's air conditioned cab.

1" thick material is overkill. I would use 1/2" and make 6 or more inches wide.

Used a barrel dumper at the nuke for hazardous chemicals so we could control it, still crushed a few is why my concern. One cubic yard wet concrete is just over a ton so you should be working 1/3 cy in the barrels at 600+/-

Natman said:

A steep hillside above where the mixer will be,

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Rental onsite mixer or redi mix delivery truck?

Is there room to stand by the poles and the holes? I like petepilot's idea of just lifting a two wheel wheel barrow up there, set it on the ground, and then they can dump it with control.

I have a concrete bucket if you want to fly down and get it. It would probably overload the cub.

Chain fall or come along to help start the dump would help, but once it starts to come out, its all coming out.

Could you mount two wheels or like a 2 wheel cart to one side of the bottom of the drum, and set the bottom on the ground and they could roll it back as you let down, to help control the dump, essentially laying the drum on the ground horizontally. Then you could raise the bottom with a block and tackle/ chain fall/ comealong.

https://www.purplewave.com/auction/...oncrete_Equipment-Concrete_Dispenser-Nebraska



Got a sunbelt rentals nearby?

https://www.sunbeltrentals.com/equipment/items/935/concrete-buckets/

How many 55 gal drum loads are required ? Do you need pin point accuracy during the pour ? Idea : a concrete bucket made like a pancake batter dispenser. A hole at the bottom of the drum, a cone shaped stopper on a rod. The rod extends to the top of the drum. Use a cross piece at the top to center the rod and support the drum diameter for lifting. A lever at the cross piece to lift the rod/stopper. The cone centers in the bottom hole so no guide required. Reinforce the edges of the bottom hole with a ring to prevent the cone from tearing through sheet metal drum bottom.

A thousand likes if you build this with a pic posted.

I've carried concrete with my skid steer to build a floor for a gazebo in a back yard. Put plywood on the lawn. The driveway was stamped colored concrete with fancy edges. No way the owner was putting a heavy truck on there. He was the owner of a large building supply outfit. I think someone joked the driveway probably cost 30K and the gazebo over 100K. There was a custom built commercial style BBQ in the gazebo. The floor was also stamped concrete.

How about using a dumping hopper only partially filled? Might be able to find a used one or maybe rent one and rinse it out good. They use them for scrap steel so concrete shouldn't be a problem.

Natman said:

I am told my local port is somewhat notorious in the freighter world for being real sticklers.

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My experiences with Sage Junction have been less than ideal.

As many oversize loads I've seen out at the 22/28 junction, I'm not the only one.

Theweldor said:

1" thick material is overkill. I would use 1/2" and make 6 or more inches wide.

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typo, it will be 1/8", already have it rolled, and the pipe going thru it should stiffen it, keep it from collapsing. Hey, I'm making this up as I go! No rental yards here with crane buckets or anything else that'd work.

I do have to admit, though I have hauled a lot of concrete in 5 gallon buckets, and not that long ago, I was still surprised to see it weighs that much more then water. I would have guessed double, I think any shortcomings in the design can be solved by light enough loads 1/3 of a drum, 1/2 at most, beta testing will tell the story.

Hold on...a major math/ reading comprehension error: One cubic foot of water contains 7.48052 gallons. The weight of one cubic foot of water is 7.48052 gallons times 8.3453 pounds, which equals 62. I misread this earlier, and no one here caught it! So, concrete all in all, weighs around 2.4 times as much as water, the first way I stated it, it would weigh 17 times as much! That what I intuitively knew was off, and what I get for just googling the info, then mis reading it, instead of penciling it out myself. Garbage in and out.

I have used scrap dumpsters at a factory numerous times. They work pretty good. They were brought to the pour with a forklift, you do have to tilt it just a little to get it started to dump. Most of them just sit on the frame, so you have to be a little bit careful about them falling off when dumping. They make concrete carrier to be used by a skidsteer that even has a chute that would work, but again has to be tilted.

dirty4fun said:

Most of them just sit on the frame, so you have to be a little bit careful about them falling off when dumping.

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You're supposed to have them on a safety chain to the mast......

A job I was asked to come look at, a 45 minute one way drive, but since I can fly across the big lake in the way it only took me 20 minutes. Talking to the contractor, once he told me the trusses were three ply, and he would prep them with the purlins in place, I mentioned each pick would probably be around 3500 pounds, and to send me the truss weight so I could figure it closer and make sure I won't run out of reach. Turns out, I guesstimated it the first time correctly, 3500 pounds is what I came up with! Got a bit lucky....I told him 4000 pounds, counting my headache ball and spreader bar and misc. 60' span.

I also got my 55 gallon drum concrete bucket BETA tested. No deformation on anything, at least 3/4 full of water, and we'll probably just fill it halfway with mud, so it should work fine. I had a Warn winch in the hangar, and it looks like it will make the dumping a lot easier and more controlled. I may get fancy and rig a rope snubber to also control it once it get's over center, but I don't think I'll need to, the pivot point (1.5" pipe, clear thru the drum) should make it somewhat controllable, at least better then just a "all at once" dump. We need to baby things until we get enough mud in the hole, at first the pole stability will be all on the bracing, and it's so so due to all the rocks.The chain is just what I had laying around, not the rigging I'll use next week.

that`ll work

Ok now we need pics on the stove and that bicycle motorcycle contraption

The bearing is a Toyo, I was told it is a Japanese company that bought out Timken.

Odds are good that if you bought that bearing from the Dealer it would also be a Toyo. .... At the inflated price. What gets me is how do you have time to keep the shop that clean!! Way to much time on your hands!