Masonry Magazine August 2016 Page. 32
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By Todd Ferguson
GROUT PUMPS AND MATERIAL DELIVERY SYSTEMS ARE UTILIZED
ON JOBSITES to fill concrete masonry units (CMUs), providing structural stability to masonry walls according to project specifications. These pumps and systems include material valves designed to allow the flow
of grout from the equipment to the block. The most
common material valve designs in the industry are
the swing-tube, ball-check, rotor/stator and auger
I material delivery systems, each having their own advantages.
Masonry grout pumps with swing-tube (S-tube) material valve designs offer the most compatible system for pumping fine or coarse grouts. The S-tube valve is a proven technology used on virtually every concrete pump truck (boom truck). In the masonry industry, contractors can take advantage of the same technology on a smaller scale, more suitable to their job size.
The S-tube is an S-shaped steel pipe that allows continuous flow of material from two material cylinders in the pump. These two material cylinders contain a piston to push material through the cylinders. As one cylinder draws in material from the hopper, the other is loading material into the S-tube. The S-tube valve "swings"
Material Valve-Swing-Tube several times per minute, alternating between each material cylinder.
30 I MASONRY � August 2016 � www.masoncontractors.org The Voice of the Masonry Industry