Schwing SP 305, Operation Manual

Page: 36 / 104

Operation
36 8/4/11
Operation Manual - SP 305
• If it is very cold—below zero, for example—
concrete that sits will freeze in your machine
whether there are additive chemicals or not. If that
happens, you are done pumping. Pick up your
system, load it on the towing vehicle, and find a
warm place to clean out. Concrete will not set
when it is frozen, so you will be able to clean the
system and pump as soon as it is warmed enough
to thaw.
• If it is extremely cold — below –20° F, or colder—
the concrete may freeze even while it is moving
under pressure. Again, you will have to find a
warm place to clean out.
• CAUTION! When you are cleaning out in cold
weather, ice will form on your hoses, pipe, clamps,
gloves, boots, and other gear. Be very careful when
handling iced objects, and take care about your
footing around the machine.
• CAUTION! Be sure to drain the waterbox when
you are finished pumping in cold weather. If the
water is allowed to freeze, the unit will be
damaged.
Hot weather pumping
Keep the following in mind if you are pumping in
temperatures above 85
°
F.
• Concrete sets faster in hot weather. You have a
reduced margin of error for cleanout and while
waiting for concrete. Under certain circumstances,
concrete will go from being pumpable to setting in
a very short time. This quick setting is known as
flashing .
• If you must wait a long time for the balance load,
you will be in trouble. You should clean out and
start over if the load will take more than 15
minutes to arrive. This means that you will have to
refill the hoses and pipes with concrete to finish the
job, which means that they will need more concrete
to finish than the ready-mix company thought. Use
your best judgement. If you know you will have to
clean out before the load arrives, inform the
supervisor on the job, so enough concrete can be
ordered to refill the pipes and hoses and also to
finish the pour.
• If concrete is flashing, you will have to act fast to
save the system.
NOTE!
Stay calm. Do not hurry so much that you
ignore safe procedures. Nothing would slow
down the cleanout process more than an
injury to you or a coworker.
• If concrete is flashing in the system: Put the
pump in reverse for 2 strokes; then break the
delivery system away from the pump. Put the
pump in forward for 10 or 15 strokes to remove the
bulk of the concrete from the hopper, valve, and
material cylinders. Spray just enough water
through the concrete valve and hopper so that you
know you will be able to chip out the rest later.
Immediately get to work on the pipeline. Don’t
worry about the small pieces of concrete left in the
valve and hopper until after the pipe is cleaned. If
you pumped out the bulk of the concrete and
sprayed it out a little, the rest can be removed
afterwards. After the pipe is clean, go back to the
valve and hopper as soon as possible. The concrete
may be too hard to pump or rinse with water, but it
will still be easier to clean if you get at it sooner
rather than later. Concrete becomes much harder to
clean after several hours. If allowed to fully dry, it
can become extremely hard to remove, and will
have to be chipped away with power tools.
Warning: Never put a body part into the concrete
valve or hopper. Also, do not open the hopper grate to
chip concrete or for any other reason, unless you have
disabled the machine according to your company’s
lock-out, tag-out program.
Emergency procedures
Disabling the machine in an emergency
If an emergency requires that the hydraulic system be
disabled completely—such as if a hose or fitting
breaks—you must stop the prime mover (engine or
electric motor) immediately. With the SP 305, pushing
any emergency stop switch will kill the engine.
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