Buckets, cranes, carts
and wheelbarrows
For jobs ranging from
precise placement of
architectural concrete to
mass placement in
dams, this equipment
frequently offers the
greatest flexibility
at the lowest cost
BY WILLIAM C. PANARESE,
SENIOR CONCRETE TECHNOLOGIST
PORTLAND CEMENT ASSOCIATION
BUCKETS
Transporting and handling con-
crete in buckets is often considered
the most flexible method for mov-
ing concrete from the point of deliv-
ery at the job site to the point of
placement in the forms.
Buckets are made in different
shapes and in sizes varying from
one-third cubic yard up to 12 cubic
yards for different applications.
Some buckets have rectangular
cross sections but most are circular.
The concrete is released by opening
a gate that forms the bottom of the
bucket. For massive work the buck-
ets often have vertical or very steep
sides with gates that open to the full
area of the bottom. Howe ve r, for
most types of work, buckets having
the lower part of the sides sloping
to a smaller gate are usually pre-
ferred for better control of concrete
d i s c h a rg e. On the average job,
buckets with gates that can be regu-
lated to control the flow of concrete
and closed after only part of the
concrete has been deposited are
preferred.
Some gates are operated manual-
ly while others are powered by
1. General purpose buckets can be
used for handling concrete in a wide
variety of situations.
pneumatic or hydraulic means. Air-
actuated gates are operated by an
air supply hose that must be con-
nected at the placing site or by a
rechargeable compressed air tank
built into the bucket. The gates for
buckets should be grout-tight, par-
ticularly if material is to be trans-
ported for some distance by truck,
boat or rail car.
Buckets for general use
Se ve ral kinds of concrete buckets
are available and the choice de-
pends on the size of aggregate in the
c o n c re t e, consistency of the con-
crete, and the capacity of the equip-
ment used to lift the bucket.
Lightweight buckets are made
with small gates for use with light
cranes. They can handle two- to six-
inch slump concrete with less than
three-inch maximum size aggre-
gate. Capacities range from one-
third cubic yard up to about two cu-
bic yards.
Standard or general purpose
buckets (Photo 1) have larger dis-
charge gates and are built to handle
normal slump concretes with up to
three-inch maximum size aggre-
gate. Sizes range from one-third cu-
bic yard up to four cubic yards. The
gates of lightweight and standard
buckets are usually of the self-clos-
ing, double clamshell type and are
controlled manually by levers for
hand- or rope-pull opening. Self-
closing and nonjamming features in
the gate are important to allow par-
tial load discharge at the will of the
operator.
Heavy construction
Heavy duty or low slump buckets
handle one- to three-inch slump
mixes with aggregate sizes up to six
or eight inches. They are used main-
ly for dam construction and other
mass concrete work as illustrated in
Photo 2. Sizes range from one up to
12 cubic yards. These buckets have
steep side slopes which feed to extra
large gate openings. Gate control
can be either manual or powe re d
but the large size buckets are usual-
ly air actuated. Gate closure should
be automatic when the air supply is
cut off.
Special buckets and
attachments
A number of special types of
buckets are made. The layd ow n
bucket shown in Photo 3 permits
low height loading from the truck
mixers or other sources. The bucket
is loaded in the horizontal or lay-
down position and shifts to the ver-
tical position on lifting. Layd ow n
buckets are available in all weights
to handle normal slump as well as
low slump concrete. Sizes range
from one-half cubic yard up to eight
cubic yards.
Where payload/weight ratio is a
critical factor in concrete bucket se-
lection—for lifting by helicopter,
light crane, or some tower cranes—
featherweight buckets are available
in sizes up to two cubic yards. These
buckets are constructed from parts
made of aluminum alloy, magne-
sium and steel and weigh only
about one-third to one-half of what
their all-steel counterparts weigh.
Special buckets also are made for
use on fork lift trucks, for lowe ri n g
concrete into deep caissons, and for
placing concrete under water. Un-
derwater buckets must be cove re d
to prevent loss of concrete by wash-
ing while the bucket is being low-
ered through the water. Discharge of
concrete can take place automati-
cally upon contact with the bottom
or manually with a gate line from
2. Heavy duty low-slump concrete
usually have air-actuated gates. This
four-cubic-yard bucket is handled with a
power operated crane hook that is
completely controlled from the crane
cab.
above. Most standard or heavy duty pacities are not exceeded and when
buckets can be modified for placing the placing area is open for vertical
concrete under water. handling of concrete. Small and
A variety of bucket attachments large quantities of concrete can be
can be used for better control of dis- handled with equal efficiency if
charge into wall forms or other nar- there is adequate lifting capacity,
row forms. There is an accordion reach, and mobility of the crane. To
type of rubber collection hopper avoid loading delays when charging
that can be fixed directly to the gate buckets from truck mixers, it is a
of a bucket. When the bucket is set common practice to use two or
down for reloading, this accessory three buckets.
folds under the bucket. A suspend-
ed steel subhopper is available with CRANES
sections of elephant trunk or drop Of the many types of cranes of
chute that permit controlled placing widely varying characteristics and
into deep forms. capacities used for handling buck-
A pedestal sup- ets, the most common are the tread-
port allows the mounted crawlers that must be
subhopper to re- transported over the road by trailer
main at the and the truck-mounted units that
f o rm w o rk while are self propelled. These cranes uti-
the bucket is be- lize a boom that may be anywhere
ing reloaded. up to 450 feet in length. Capacities
These attach- range from two and one-half to 175
ments pre ve n t tons and more. Howe ve r, a crane’s
waste from the capacity may be misleading since
large bucket gate this is normally the lifting capability
openings, assist with the boom positioned nearly
in avoiding seg- vertical. For example, a 110-ton
regation, and crane with a 250-foot boom has a
permit more capacity of only one ton at a radius
universal use of of 220 feet. Outriggers are required
concrete buck- to realize the rated capacities of
ets on all phases many cranes.
of a job. Tower cranes
Handling buck- Conventional cranes operating
ets by crane on the ground must keep a distance
Buckets may away from the face of a structure in
be handled and order to accommodate the boom
t ra n s p o rted in
many ways. A
crane swinging a
bucket can be an
efficient means
of handling con-
crete when job
conditions allow
free access and
movement,
when crane ca-
3. Laydown buckets are especially
useful when they must be filled from
truck mixers and low filling height
is required.
angle. Thus they have difficulty
reaching across a structure to interi-
or locations. This difficulty is espe-
cially serious on congested and nar-
row sites. The problem can be
solved by using another type of
crane, the tower crane.
There are several basic designs of
tower cranes, the more popular be-
ing the counter balanced horizontal
T-boom type illustrated in Photo 4.
The load is hoisted by cable sup-
ported from a trolley that travels ra-
dially on the boom which in turn ro-
tates 360 degrees. As long as the
boom clears the working area and
surrounding obstructions, loads can
be picked up and deposited with
pinpoint accuracy anywhere within
the radius and capacity of the par-
ticular crane; this may range up to
30 tons at short radii and three tons
at a 200-foot radius.
T-boom tower cranes may oper-
ate from either a static foundation
or a track mounted carriage. They
can stand free as high as 200 feet
without bracing and may be extend-
ed several hundred additional feet
when braced against a structure or
when guyed. In smaller capacities
these cranes are available as truck or
crawler mounted units.
Self-climbing T-boom tower
cranes have revolutionized the plac-
ing of concrete in high stru c t u re s.
They take a minimum of space and
can climb up with the building.
When the building provides sup-
port, the capacity of the crane may
be limited by the structural strength
of the building frame. The crane
climbs with the aid of built-in hy-
draulic jacks.
In addition to lifting concrete in
buckets, tower cranes can efficiently
handle most other materials on a
job. The electric power by which
they work ensures silent operations,
which can be an important environ-
mental factor in populated areas.
The higher a structure the more
expensive the handling of concrete
becomes. For this reason extra at-
tention must be paid to achieving
maximum efficiency when there is a
need to move concrete above the
first story level. Correct choice of
4. Tower cranes are
versatile and efficient
for handling concrete
buckets, especially in
situations where
loads must be lifted
up and over the
construction to
interior locations.
5. A materials hoist
tower should always
be considered when
studying methods of
handling concrete for
medium and high-rise
structures.
equipment becomes especially im-
portant.
Lift trucks
Fork-lift or high-lift loaders can
be used to elevate concrete two or
three stories. The maximum lift with
current models is about 40 feet.
With lifts of this height a rigid and
stable frame and chassis are essen-
tial. Models with tilting upper decks
are preferable since they permit safe
and level concrete handling on un-
even ground. These loaders have
6. Costly overhead
cableway systems are
frequently used to
transport buckets where
vast quantities of
concrete are required for
constructing large mass
concrete projects such as
dams.
7. On some mass concrete
projects, buckets are filled
at a central batch plant
and transported a short
distance by trucks or rail
transfer cars before lifting
to the forms by crane or
cableway.
the advantage of being quick and
maneuverable so that concrete can
be discharged at a particular level
close to where it is needed and thus
minimize rehandling. The versatili-
ty of the fork lift has been increased
greatly by a wide range of accessory
attachments for handling concrete.
Both storage hoppers and buckets
are available that have capacities of
up to 20 cubic feet. They can be
manually operated at dumping lev-
el or controlled from the lift opera-
tor’s seat.

Tower hoists
Tower hoists (Photo 5) are used
extensively in building concrete
s t ru c t u res because of their good
concrete delivery rate, ease of erec-
tion and minimum space require-
ments. When considering concrete
handling methods for medium- and
high-rise work, the tower hoist
should always be considered. A tow-
er system for the average job con-
sists of an elevator bucket, a mov-
able receiving hopper set at the level
where concrete is to be placed, and,
of course, the tower itself and the
hoisting equipment. Some systems
may also include a personnel eleva-
tor, one or more jib booms, and a re-
ceiving hopper at ground level.
From the top hopper concrete is
transferred by hand or power carts,
belt conveyors, or other methods for
distribution into the forms. Slumps
of three to six inches can be handled
most effectively with this method.
Tower hoists are of two basic
types. With one the concrete bucket
is hoisted within the well of the tow-
er frame. With the other the bucket
is external to the framework. Dou-
ble- and triple-well towers are avail-
able for large jobs. All types must be
rigidly founded and braced, particu-
larly on sites exposed to high winds.
Extra tower height above the placing
level must be allowed to accommo-
date the hoisting pulleys and to al-
low headroom for bucket and hop-
per discharge. Hopper and bucket
capacities range up to about two cu-
bic yards.
When a job is to be supplied by a
tower hoist a properly engineered
8. Large “flying crane” helicopter
delivers four-cubic-yard bucket to
bridge pier from shore several miles
distant.
A barge-mounted hopper received the
load and feeds a belt conveyor that
moves the concrete into the pier form.
system should be used. Simple pul-
ley arrangements with makeshift
wood scaffolding built on the site
cannot be justified except for han-
dling small quantities of concrete.
Engineered towers are best made of
tubular steel elements or light-
weight structural scaffolding that is
quickly assembled.
Cableways, helicopters,
boats and barges
O ve rhead cableways (Photo 6)
and trestle cranes are used almost
exclusively to handle mass concrete
on large dam projects. Equipment
investment is substantial and can
be justified only for jobs involving
vast quantities of concrete. With
such equipment heavy duty low-
slump concrete buckets with large
capacities can be transported at
high speeds to the exact point of
placement without further han-
dling. Buckets are commonly
hauled a short distance from a cen-
tral mixing plant to lifting position
on trucks or railroad (transfer) cars,
with two or more buckets on each
hauling unit (Photo 7).
On occasion helicopters may be
used to transport concrete in buck-
ets to inaccessible areas such as
bridge piers and remote mountain
or water-bound sites. Featherweight
buckets are best for use with small
helicopters, but ‘copters have trans-
ported four-cubic-yard steel buck-
ets of a special design that mini-
mizes weight. The bucket usually is
slung below the helicopter on a sin-
gle cable as shown in Photo 8. Se ve r-
al buckets are normally used so that
one is always loaded and ready for
pickup. One or more lines should be
fastened to the bucket so that work-
men may steady the bucket while
the helicopter hovers over the form.
An additional line attached to the
bucket gate-release handle may be
used to discharge the concrete.
Boats and barges are used some-
times to transport concrete in buck-
ets (or truck mixers) when the con-
struction site is water-bound. This
method is useful for small quanti-
ties of concrete, when setting up a
floating concrete plant is undesir-
able, or where there is no room for
s t o ra g e, handling and mixing of
concrete materials adjacent to a wa-
ter-bound site. The method is slow
and relatively expensive compared
to standard ones.
CARTS AND
WHEELBARROWS
Hand pushed carts (also called
buggies) vary in size from about six
to eight cubic feet capacity. A man
can move an average of about three
to five cubic yards per hour with one
of these units, a much larger output
than with the wheelbarrow. Hand
carts are most efficient when han-
dling moderate quantities of con-
crete over small horizontal dis-
tances. Suggested maximum
distance is the same as for a wheel-
barrow, about 200 feet. Runways
should be level, smooth, and rigid,
and cart wheels should have pneu-
matic tires as shown in Photo 9. Nar-
row carts, about 30 inches wide, are
easy to maneuver through narrow
doorways and on narrow runways.
The narrow carts also make it easier
to discharge concrete into collec-
tion hoppers. Because of their size,
weight and good maneuve ra b i l i t y,
hand carts are most effective in han-
dling concrete in difficult situations.
The positive tipping discharge of the
hand cart enables it to be used for
concrete of any slump. Howe ve r,
carts with rocker attachments are
preferred when handling low-slump
mixes as the rockers permit steeper
dumping.

9. Wheelbarrows, preferably with pneumatic
tires, are useful on small jobs where wheeling
distance is short and quantity of concrete is
small.
Power carts
The power driven cart (power
buggy) has many of the valuable
characteristics of the hand cart. In
addition, it is capable of handling
larger quantities of concrete than
the hand cart and can operate over
longer running distances at good
speeds even on uphill grades, result-
ing in an excellent rate of delivery of
concrete to the forms. The initial in-
vestment for a power cart is consid-
erably higher than that for a hand
cart, and to be effective a power cart
requires a skilled operator. In some
cases the weight of a power cart may
be a disadvantage compared to the
hand cart. The average power cart
ranges in capacity from nine to 12
cubic feet but units as large as one
cubic yard are available. Power carts
are made in two basic types. In one
the operator walks behind the unit
(Photo 10) and the hourly placing
capacity is limited to walking
speeds. In the other more efficient
type the operator rides, either
standing or seated; this permits
greater speeds and greater per hour
capacity. The longer the haul, the
greater the economy of riding type
carts over wheelbarrows, hand
10. Power driven
carts (power
buggies) are made
in two basic
types: walking
and riding. The
walking type is
illustrated here.
carts, and walking type power carts.
A suggested maximum distance is
1,000 feet.
The average power cart can move
15 to 20 cubic yards of concrete per
hour over a 600-foot hauling dis-
t a n c e. Howe ve r, with the larg e s t
u n i t s, placing rates much higher
than this are not uncommon. Gra-
dients present no serious problems
to properly designed power carts.
Some units can handle a 35 percent
g ra d e. Runways should be smooth
and firm and at least five feet wide
to allow turnaround area and side-
ways dumping. They should also
be arranged to allow free uninter-
rupted flow of traffic. Loads should
be cove red if weather conditions
are bad.
Wheelbarrows
Wheelbarrows, used mainly to
move small quantities of concrete
short distances, are especially useful
in areas inaccessible to other equip-
ment. Labor costs per unit volume
of concrete for this method of han-
dling are high, although the method
remains popular for small owner-
placed jobs. The capacity of a
wheelbarrow ranges from about two
11. Hand carts (buggies) transport
concrete short distances for a high-
rise building project.
and one-half to three and one-half
cubic feet and one man with a
wheelbarrow can place up to one or
one and one-half cubic yards per
hour. Suggested maximum running
distance is 200 feet. Wheelbarrows
with pneumatic tires, square noses,
and rocker-type knees as illustrated
in Photo 11 are preferable for han-
dling concrete. They minimize com-
paction of concrete by jolting, help
in discharging heavy loads, and per-
mit easier dumping with less
spillage. Runways should be as
smooth as possible and the ends of
planks forming runways should butt
rather than overlap.
Part III of this series will appear in the
October 1972 issue of CONCRETE
CONSTRUCTION. It will present infor-
mation on conveyors.
PUBLICATION#C720426
Copyright © 1972, The Aberdeen Group
All rights reserved