Convert gasoline engine concrete mixer to 3 point - very slight machining

[Ridgerunner]

So how are your results using bagged concrete ? iv used both major brands and rarely had a good experience - follow the directions to a T, get done - pour it - and then try like hell to bring the smooth butter to the top and it's almost impossible,

have had the deliveries from the cement trucks and it's perfect, trowels out smooth right off the bat and is also allot stronger...

im pretty much done with bagged concrete unless it's for fence posts or very small projects...

My results have been very good with the bagged concrete. Of course I don't follow the instructions lol. When it looks right I dump it. I don't want to tell you how to do your work but it might help to soak the base first with water including the forms just before you pour. This keeps the concrete from drying so fast and lets you bring the cream up; unless you have somewhere to go lol. Then spray the cure on it when done.


This is some concrete work I did for my whole house generator with bagged concrete and a HF mixer. I think you can see the top pad wetted out in the second picture.

[Ridgerunner]

So how are your results using bagged concrete ? iv used both major brands and rarely had a good experience - follow the directions to a T, get done - pour it - and then try like hell to bring the smooth butter to the top and it's almost impossible,

have had the deliveries from the cement trucks and it's perfect, trowels out smooth right off the bat and is also allot stronger...

im pretty much done with bagged concrete unless it's for fence posts or very small projects...

I must say I was really disappointed with the last ready mix I got. The finish job was to much for me alone so I hired a few guys to place and finish the concrete. I did the compaction and placed the rods on chairs like I always did. I let them use the company where they always got their concrete from feeling they would be comfortable with it. I even ponded the floor as I had done in the past when I used to have an engineer design the pours for me. Well that concrete has more cracks in it than my face. Really disappointed.

[A.K. Boomer]

Iv tried everything like pre-wetting forms and the ground but still get poor results - I do have a question though - are you supposed to keep mixing the cement even though you already know it's totally mixed? does more time in the hopper mixing have some kind of magical effect?

[Ridgerunner]

To the best of my knowledge mixing concrete is a chemical reaction. Once it is mixed the clock starts on it curing so any additional mixing should not have an effect. Something that occurred to me about your situation is maybe your concrete has not been screeded enough first. Screeding compacts the concrete and sends the larger solids to the bottom and brings the creme to the top so it can be floated and finished.
There was a company around here years ago that rented these concrete hopper trailers. They would load them with concrete at the plant and people would haul them to their jobs. Well, that fell flat when by driving to the jobs the hoppers were shaking and bouncing so when they went to be dumped a ton of creme came out and the bottom of the hopper was packed solid and would hardly come loose.