# Anyone ever add ice to the concrete truck?



## NYCB (Sep 20, 2010)

It's gonna be hot this week, and I have to pour two days of it. Nothing huge, 9 yards and 14 yards. I can't get a first thing in the morning load either day though, and even being in full shade, I still get nervous about the trucks heating up when it's super warm out.

Anyone ever toss ice in the truck on site before mixing, it wouldn't take very long at all to get about 60 lbs in the top of the drum to get the temperature down a bit.

I'm just kind of brainstorming here since I like to avoid retarder whenever possible. 

It might be a stupid idea.


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## J.C. (Sep 28, 2009)

How many yds does a truck hold, 9? 9 X 4000lbs=36,000 lbs 
I would imagine you'll need quite a bit more than 60lbs to do anything at all.


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## fjn (Aug 17, 2011)

Adding ice is the same as adding water,will dilute the mix and change the water to cement ratio,hence weakening the concrete. You'd be better off using a retarder.


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## griz (Nov 26, 2009)

double your crew size and don't dick around with it.

order it in two loads.


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

Use a mobile mix company.

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## Jay hole (Nov 12, 2013)

Ya move faster!!!! I did a walkway a couple weeks ago in the heat....if it would have been one foot longer it would have gotten away from me!!!!!!


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## NYCB (Sep 20, 2010)

fjn said:


> Adding ice is the same as adding water,will dilute the mix and change the water to cement ratio,hence weakening the concrete. You'd be better off using a retarder.


Right, so roughly 8 lbs per yard for a gallon a yard should add an inch to the slump, I guess that would be over 70 lbs for a 9 yard load.

Shouldn't weaken it anymore than dumping in 10 gallons before pouring.


Edit: reading an article about it, seems that in order to get the batched temperature down about 20 degrees you need to use nearly half the mix design water as ice, that's a lot.


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## NYCB (Sep 20, 2010)

Inner10 said:


> Use a mobile mix company.
> 
> Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk


None of them nearby unfortunately. I have used them on a few sidewalks in the past, and the amount of time we had with it was crazy. It comes out of the auger cool to the touch and lets you wait forever before you need to hustle.


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## NYCB (Sep 20, 2010)

griz said:


> double your crew size and don't dick around with it.
> 
> order it in two loads.


It's not the placing part that worries me, we can have that done without much hassle quickly.

I'm the one that has to stick around and power trowel though and I don't want a runaway floor in the afternoon.

It's kind of annoying, I usually try to do them at 7am, but the local companies are slammed and I can't get a morning pour for two weeks. I can't wait that long on either of them.


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

NYCB said:


> None of them nearby unfortunately. I have used them on a few sidewalks in the past, and the amount of time we had with it was crazy. It comes out of the auger cool to the touch and lets you wait forever before you need to hustle.


Really popular here, never get a hot load, no waste.

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## superseal (Feb 4, 2009)

Soak the subgrade, tent or sun shade the area, 2% retarder, 6 slump and sweat your azz off cause it's gonna go quick anyway.


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## fjn (Aug 17, 2011)

P.S. Don't forget your cure and seal !


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## tgeb (Feb 9, 2006)

I can request ice in the mix all Summer long, it is added at the plant for an additional charge, same as hot water in the Winter.

Adding retarder helps a lot and gives you some extra time. In the heat I'd rather wait on the concrete than have it get away.


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## cedarboarder (Mar 30, 2015)

fjn said:


> Adding ice is the same as adding water,will dilute the mix and change the water to cement ratio,hence weakening the concrete. You'd be better off using a retarder.


I find this offensive, the name of this product should be changed to delayer :laughing:


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## Caleb1989 (May 26, 2018)

I 2nd wet the subgrade advice, that makes all the difference in the world. And there is no shame in adding “delayer”! 

Just keep a guy to work the edges while you are on the whirly bird. Also I like to hang a 2 gal bucket of water with a fatty paint brush. On your final pass, use it to toss a little water on the pock marks to smooth them out quick.

Anyone here used super plasticizer? I hear it’s good for pouring walls in the summer, but I’ve never used it.


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## parkers5150 (Dec 5, 2008)

pour at 3:00 pm so that you dont have the sun pounding it all day


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## Windycity (Oct 3, 2015)

Caleb1989 said:


> Anyone here used super plasticizer? I hear it’s good for pouring walls in the summer, but I’ve never used it.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



Haven’t used it in concrete but I have used it in mortar and can say that it is amazing how it makes it flow easily 




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## Tscarborough (Feb 25, 2006)

Generally added at the plant and replaces mix water. Do other things.


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## Fouthgeneration (Jan 7, 2014)

Take temp readings at start and finish of each unload...

Have trucker engage the drum rotation counter, at the plant, every 'extra' turn just adds heat through the tumble action once the mixing is complete.

reject any loads over mixed, like > 300 revolutions.

Avoid rush hour traffic that might delay the redi-mix trucks, use the plant closest, even if it is 50-100 $ more.....

If the slab is not need to be loaded ASAP, use more fly ash, less Portland cement, The larger the large aggregate, the less internal heat per yard at the the same final strength...

If its indoors, install a radiant heat piping, and fill and chill.....even a total loss tap water would slow the set...

A tarp awning is most likely the most practical solution, and will improve the total concrete quality, and a smaller crew...

If the work is near flat, you could flood the pour after it is finished with a sand and plastic sheeting **** or a slightly riskier method of using yard sprinklers to keep the crete WET for hours-days?


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## Seven-Delta-FortyOne (Mar 5, 2011)

Eh...9 yards ain't that big of a pour, especially with a power trowel. :thumbsup:

I'd be more worried about getting a hot load, with an afternoon delivery from a company that's busier than s#!^. :thumbsup:


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## fjn (Aug 17, 2011)

NYCB said:


> Everyone that regularly does flat work has either seen someone deal with soup, or has dealt with it themselves, I once had a driver blow a fitting on his line and leak water into the drum the entire way to the site.
> 
> .


 In cases like that,I would't worry whose feelings I hurt,I'd send the load back too where it came from. We as contractors have a fiduciary relationship with who we are working for too be their eyes and ears and perform our work in a workman like manner.


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## NYCB (Sep 20, 2010)

fjn said:


> In cases like that,I would't worry whose feelings I hurt,I'd send the load back too where it came from. We as contractors have a fiduciary relationship with who we are working for too be their eyes and ears and perform our work in a workman like manner.


I saw a guy attempt that one time. Just a residential guy like myself, not a state pour or an Ag guy that does a lot of high volume.

They basically laughed at him and said he was getting invoiced either way for the load, and he was welcome to sue them over it (knowing they could pay more lawyers basically).

I stopped using that company and switched to one with much better customer service, but rejecting a load is still one of the last things on my mind unless it's a total disaster, pissing off dispatch is a great way to ruin an entire season.

Luckily for the customer, my contract covers both material and the installation, so should I choose wrong and the floor explodes, it's on me to rip it out and do it again. Luckily, I've seen some near misses, but never have actually seen a crew of guys that know what they are doing lose a floor. The only ones I've seen that are total losses were done by carpenters or handymen, basically guys that don't know what is happening when things start going south.


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## Joasis (Mar 28, 2006)

I have rejected a load once, and it was because it was "hot"...and since I buy a lot of concrete, there was not a debate...they took it off the books. 

Another ready mix operator, small company, grandson taking over the business....sent me a load of concrete that was speced to be #4000 and small rock, since we were pumping it. We could not get it to pump...added water, still no go...cleared the lines like three times, and no way it was moving. Last time I cleared the pump, it dawned on me that I was looking at compacted sand and gravel every time I opened the swing valve...well duh, you can't pump concrete that does not have enough cement. 

He shorted me a few thousand pounds of mix....and denied it. Said my pump was junk, nothing wrong with his concrete. Ok...I ordered concrete from a company farther away...pumped with no issues. Pumped many jobs after that...never an issue. 

I would guess his screwing me on one load of concrete cost him maybe $600,000 or more of concrete sales just locally in the last 10 years. I never used him again, for anything. And he has never called on me to get me to change my mind....of course, he knows it would not do him any good.


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## fjn (Aug 17, 2011)

I've rejected 4 loads of concrete in 43 years of doing business.Never was an issue. When you're right,you're right',a stand up company does just that,stands up for what is right and tells it like it is.


One example I had, not about a bad mix but being shorted on a load. In my yard,I have a large steel table 10' x 40' x 3/4" for pre-casting concrete panels. Several years ago,was pouring some panels and about a yd. to go,hear the "death rattle" of the truck struggling to get the last couple of cubic feet discharged. We have all heard that sound,it gives us the willies. So tell the driver,send another truck with a yard out .Of course,the truck comes with the concrete along with a significant bill for small load deliveries. I pay the bill and immediately call the dispatcher and say he shorted the load. Well of course he denies it and says my grade was off. I tell him fine,come tomorrow with the best tape measure he owns. He again argues,saying how can I see the grade now that concrete is covering. I said just humor me and come out. Well,next morning,he shows up,sees the steel table,doesn't even get out of the truck,says the over charges will be removed.

That is the way companies with integrity operate,when they are wrong,they take steps to correct it.


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

My grandfather got a load for his basement long before cell phones and gps we're commonplace. Driver got lost, arrives late and starts to pour. Barely got it out of the chute before it setup. I wish I had a pic, because the floor was so wavy you got seasick looking at it.

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## NYCB (Sep 20, 2010)

Inner10 said:


> My grandfather got a load for his basement long before cell phones and gps we're commonplace. Driver got lost, arrives late and starts to pour. Barely got it out of the chute before it setup. I wish I had a pic, because the floor was so wavy you got seasick looking at it.
> 
> Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk


I've seen that happen before, the driver was sweating before he pulled in, whipped it up to like a 7 and started to discharge, it locked up nearly solid in the chute halfway through it.

Come to find out he was sitting on a bridge deck pour too long, got rejected by the state guy, and was re-routed to this guys job.

It was a whole ordeal, I was just a kid at the time though running a wheelbarrow, no idea what ever came of it.


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## EVC (12 mo ago)

Inner10 said:


> Really popular here, never get a hot load, no waste.
> 
> Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk


How much more does it cost to add ice to the concrete mix at the plant? Would it be around 10% more per cubic yard?


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## NYCB (Sep 20, 2010)

It's free here right now, just shovel it up off the ground and toss it in.


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## Windycity (Oct 3, 2015)

Yea it’s free but for some reason there is not much demand for concrete right now


David


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## Thom Paine (Nov 21, 2021)

Easy answer to hot weather... use trucks that cool the barrel in transport and pour at night when allowed.

Works reasonably well in Arizona.


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## NYCB (Sep 20, 2010)

Why does this forum push old threads to the top for new people so they can bring them back from the dead?


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## Thom Paine (Nov 21, 2021)

NYCB said:


> Why does this forum push old threads to the top for new people so they can bring them back from the dead?


Showed under "new" .....
I didn't notice the age.... now, will pay closer attention....


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## Tinstaafl (Jan 6, 2008)

In most if not all cases, it's not the forum software. Google has all of these threads indexed, and when someone does a search, they pop up. Google doesn't care how old they are, and the noob just doesn't think to check the date.

Then there are spammers who don't care how old it is if it gives them an in. We try to catch those.


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