Concrete by the bucketft

[Gene Blister]

Hi all, hope everyone had a great summer. I’m getting ready to pour a concrete slab to provide a level surface on which to disconnect, overwinter and easily reattach my QuickTach FEL. I stored it last winter on gravel and it sank in enough to make it practically impossible to reattach this spring-took me and 4 neighbors Standing on the bucket to tip the arms high enough to slip over the articulation cauls/locks.
My plan is a nice slab poured under an existing covered porch. Can I use the bucket as a mixing trough to easily transport and pour the mud into my forms?

 

[Tughill Tom]

Well i'd guess it depends on how big of a pad it is and how many bucket loads you'll need. It may start to set up before you can get it all to float out smooth.

 

[Gene Blister]

Hi all, hope everyone had a great summer. I’m getting ready to pour a concrete slab to provide a level surface on which to disconnect, overwinter and easily reattach my QuickTach FEL. I stored it last winter on gravel and it sank in enough to make it practically impossible to reattach this spring-took me and 4 neighbors Standing on the bucket to tip the arms high enough to slip over the articulation cauls/locks.
My plan is a nice slab poured under an existing covered porch. Can I use the bucket as a mixing trough to easily transport and pour the mud into my forms?

Sorry, not enough info...
The pad will be 10’x20’x4” with the pour broken into four 5’x10’ rectangles, each a separate box, so each can be finished independently. My question is can the FEL bucket be used as a mixing trough to fill the boxes more quickly than using a wheelbarrow or small cement mixer. Any contraindications to using the tool this way?

 

[haveissues]

Do you have one of those mix on site companies in your area? My friend just something that was 2 yards and it was cheaper to use the mobile mix guy than to buy 80lb bags at home depot plus a lot less work.

edit-you can use it to mix but will likely end up with concrete on your tractor in my experiance, if you care.

 

[Dave_eng]

Your 2019 machine will end up with concrete being splattered on its nice surfaces. Look at any concrete tools in a rental place. There are always concrete splashes that set before they can be washed off.

Rent a mixer. Locate it at your form. Use the tractor to bring the raw materials to the mixer but then stay away.

Dave

 

[haveissues]

As Dave said, a mixer will be waaaaaayy faster than trying to mix it in your bucket. I'm sure you figured it out already but that slab is 110 bags of concrete.

 

[201648rider]

I second the mix on site companies. I did a 20x20 carport that way and it was awesome, they sent a pump truck and you just point the hose where you want the concrete sooo much easier on your back and a lot less effort. Not sure about your area but it was a tad under 1000.00 and well worth it to me.

 

[Henro]

Sorry, not enough info...
The pad will be 10’x20’x4” with the pour broken into four 5’x10’ rectangles, each a separate box, so each can be finished independently. My question is can the FEL bucket be used as a mixing trough to fill the boxes more quickly than using a wheelbarrow or small cement mixer. Any contraindications to using the tool this way?

Have you considered how much effort it takes to manually properly mix concrete? Take the advice above rather than regret what you attempted.

Just my opinion ( based on experience) naturally.

 

[Wazooranch]

I second the mix on site companies. I did a 20x20 carport that way and it was awesome, they sent a pump truck and you just point the hose where you want the concrete sooo much easier on your back and a lot less effort. Not sure about your area but it was a tad under 1000.00 and well worth it to me.

I have used more than one of my tractors in the fashion you were describing. I am cheap, and willing to work, sometimes foolishly. The bucket becomes your wheelbarrow, and you can raise it up to make mixing easier....You will get concrete splashed on your tractor. But if you get right after it with a brush it comes off.
tractors aren’t sports cars......Dirt don’t hurt! good luck

 

[BigG]

I was a mixer diver and then a dispatcher with 35 trucks. Buy it from a metered truck or from a ready mix plant. The cost of your saving your back is worth the money.

You are looking at 3 yds of mud and I do not care how small of an area you pour after 3 yds your back side will be dragging on the ground. Unless you do that kind of work everyday. Just finishing it will wear you out.

Since you live in a cold weather area you will need to dig a footer around your slab and add some rebar around the perimeter. Also 4 small areas will require dowel rods i.e. rebar to keep the 4 pieces from floating independently to each other.

Spend the money and hire this out to a concrete man to do on a Saturday for cash. Find someone with the experience and the tools to do it. Let him saw cut the joints the same day it is poured.

 

[BigG]

If you decide to use the tractor to mix your mud you can spray down the front of the tractor with diesel fuel before mixing to prevent the concrete from sticking to the tractor. As soon as you can wash the concrete off as some times it can still stick somewhere you do not want it to be.

If some one is upset by the idea of diesel all over the tractor you could buy Pam to spray it down before mixing.

 

[mikester]

Can I use the bucket as a mixing trough to easily transport and pour the mud into my forms?

Yes you can. Ask yourself this question first, would you wear your wife's favourite clothes while mixing and pouring concrete?

 

[201648rider]

Yes you can. Ask yourself this question first, would you wear your wife's favourite clothes while mixing and pouring concrete?

No way, but I wouldn't wear her close while NOT pouring concrete either .

 

[201648rider]

I have used more than one of my tractors in the fashion you were describing. I am cheap, and willing to work, sometimes foolishly. The bucket becomes your wheelbarrow, and you can raise it up to make mixing easier....You will get concrete splashed on your tractor. But if you get right after it with a brush it comes off.
tractors aren’t sports cars......Dirt don’t hurt! good luck

I've actually spent years doing it in a bucket pouring bunker silo columns. I used to ride on the bucket which was fixed with a chute...to the top of the column form and open the chute...rinse and repeat 12 hours a day. I'd love to know how many yards of concrete I've mixed in buckets and wheelbarrows by hand over the years. It was a messy time consuming and back breaking job.
I'm older now and also cheaper....these days my time is worth more than money to me.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

My old back hurts just thinking about mixing 2-3 bags of concrete, ley alone 120 ! There's NO way 1-2 guys could mix/pour/rack/finish the job .By the time you get to pouring the 3rd quarter, the 1st will be settin up firm... Did a 20x20 garage 40 years ago WITH a mixer and it was brutal( kinda healthy back then , too..)Today I'd call the truck in, pay cash and admire the job 2 hours later.

 

[NHSleddog]

I take my bucket off first. This setup has mixed a lot of bags; mostly for tube forms.

 

[Freeheeler]

Yes, you can use the bucket for that purpose. I've done it twice before. A quick hose off will remove most of the residual concrete from the bucket. What ended up drying and sticking to the bucket was rubbed off easily the next time I scooped up some gravel. Both times I've done that it was 3 bags, mixed in the bucket, transported, then dumped. For a job like you've described, I'd take everyone else's advise and have that brought in. Back surgery is expensive

 

[PaulR]

I take my bucket off first. This setup has mixed a lot of bags; mostly for tube forms.

View attachment 48486

So what you are saying is, I should take my old Harbor Freight mixer out back with the broken electric motor, and retro-fit it to a quick attach hydraulic run motor off the front of my new Kubota?
Genius!!
Thank you.
Now if I could just ever find the time to do this.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

or simply replace the dead electric motor, then power it from a good inverter using the BX23s battery
during last weeks cleanup I 'donated' 13 good motors and 2 UPSes to make up a ton(2000#) of scrap metal...got $65 for it all...about 3 cents a pound.

 

[PaulR]

I can think of a few advantages converting the old mixer to hydraulic:
1) portability, no need for generator if you are far away from electricity.
2) dumpability, and again portability, the ability to easily carry the load and use the stick
to dump it anywhere you want. ie, there's no moving the electric mixer once its loaded.

But yes, replacing the motor would be the easy way.