Types of Concrete Pumps

Concrete pumps are used by builders to transfer liquid concrete from a mixer to a high-rise building, bridge, or any other structure whose construction requires some concrete.

Generally, concrete pumps are used on large residential and commercial projects that require the transfer of a large amount of concrete on time. 

There are two major categories of concrete pumps: boom concrete pumps and trailer concrete pumps. Let us explore each of the two.

1. Boom concrete pumps

This is a truck-mounted, mobile pump with an extendable robotic arm that allows remote control, facilitating proper placing with very minimal need for manual handling.

The boom concrete pumps are mainly used in larger construction sites due to their potential and capacity to pump large volumes of concrete efficiently.

One of the main advantages of boom concrete pumps is their efficiency.

First, boom trucks are designed to move the product quickly – which is important, especially for large-scale construction projects.

Second, the boom pump can move the robotic arm and locate the exact position that needs the concrete poured, which helps to place the material more accurately.

However, boom concrete pumps cannot be used in some situations especially when boom trucks find it difficult to drive too close to the job sites.

2. Trailer concrete pumps

Trailer concrete pumps, otherwise referred to as line concrete pumps, are mounted on a truck or placed on a trailer so that concrete may be poured at a construction site.

Such pumps require steel or rubber hoses attached manually to the outlet of a machine.

Indeed, a major benefit of trailer concrete pumps is their ability to reach a long-distance job area since the pump’s hose can extend over 300 feet from the pump.

This enables easy pouring of concrete on sites tucked behind other buildings.

However, line concrete pumps usually pump concrete at a lower rate compared to boom concrete pumps, which makes them unfit for high-volume concrete placing applications.

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Trailer concrete pumps are also unsuitable for projects that require the pumping of concrete to higher locations on the site, for instance during the construction of skyscrapers.

Specialized usage pump

Skid-mounted and rail-mounted concrete pumps are special pumps designed for specialized job sites such as tunnels and mines. Specialized usage pumps are rarely used on site due to their high costs and highly specialized mechanism.

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