Brad,
Call your local equipment rental shop and ask about a "Georgia Bucket" or
"Georgia Buggy". They're huge steerable three-wheeled barrows with motors
and 'dead-man' throttles and reverse gears. Should be able to rent for half
a day. Most concrete drivers are familiar with 'em, and will not complain.
You'll need at least one more guy and be ready to work your butt off, but it
beats anything else. They can run right up to the edge of the hole and then
tip the bucket over. One of you can run the buggy back and forth while the
other guy spreads the mix and and/or agitates. It's a pretty time-efficient
way to avoid pumping and a real back-saver. You won't regret spending 50-60
bucks on the rental. Be careful, and make sure the ground adjacent to the
excavation is level or slopes away from the edge. You can't manhandle them
easily and you don't want to have to fish one out of the pour. It's tempting
to rush and get the wheels too close to the edge. Don't ask me how I know
this!
Chuck, N4NM
----- Original Message -----
From: "N9EN@VOYAGER.NET" <n9en@voyager.net>
To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
Sent: Sunday, April 08, 01 2:04 PM
Subject: [TowerTalk] Pouring concrete
> This summer, I am going to finish the installation of some
> heavy-duty guy anchors for my two "short" Rohn 25G
> towers (62' & 68'). Last summer, I dug 6 holes (by hand)
> that were 3' square by 4' deep. I ran out of time before
> the snow started to fall and didn't get the ground slotted
> to allow the anchor rods to come out of the ground at the
> proper angle, nor did I get the re-bar assemblies made up
> and installed. I hope to have all of that done in the next
> few weeks, weather permitting.
>
> I'm going to have 1/2 cubic yard of concrete in each hole,
> for a total of 3 cubic yards of concrete. I don't want a
> cement truck driving all over my lawn, creating deep ruts
> from the weight of it and was trying to come up with some
> practical alternatives.
>
> A friend of mine has a heavy-duty contractors' wheelbarrow
> that he has offered to let me borrow. But I have no idea of
> how many "trips" it would take to wheel all that concrete.
> My driveway is 100' long and if the truck were to remain
> parked in the road at the end of the driveway, that would
> be a lot of trips, I'm guessing.
>
> I've thought about employing the use of an "Agri-Fab"
> utility cart that I can pull behind my garden tractor. The
> specifications for the cart say that it has a capacity of
> 1,200 lbs. (it has a 10 cu. ft. capacity). The specs also
> say that a cubic foot of dirt weighs approximately 150
> pounds and I've loaded that cart with dirt until it would
> hold no more dirt.
>
> I thought about the possibility of filling the cart 1/2 way
> with concrete & hauling it to the holes in that manner. I
> made a heavier-duty "tailgate" for it, using 14 gauge
> steel, that simply lifts up out of the channels that it is
> mounted in. But I was wondering how difficult it would
> be to lift up with the cart partially filled with concrete.
>
> I also thought about using 5-gallon plastic buckets and
> using the cart to transport the buckets to the various
> holes & then emptying out the buckets by hand, after I
> got them to the hole locations.
>
> Around here, the cement truck drivers' time is at a pre-
> mium and I don't know how much time I would be allowed
> for the 3 cubic yards of concrete. I'm just looking for the
> easiest way to get this done and not waste too much of
> the driver's time.
>
> Any comments or suggestions on this would be apprecia-
> ted. Thank you very much.
>
> 73 de Brad, N9EN (ex-KA9LTR)
> at Radio Free Roscoe (IL)
>
>
>
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>
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>
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