Water Reducer Admixture in Concrete

[@Dadnatron]

After watching one of your old videos, I purchased some superplasticizer for an upcoming project. After mixing a little 'dry', the guy I was working with grabbed a bucket to add water. I told him to hold on and handed him a small bag of powder and told him to sprinkle it over the mix. He looked at me like I was crazy, but did as I asked. We were mixing with a hoe in a tub... and within only a few strokes, it looked like we had added water, and by the time we were done, it was silky and 'wet'. It was fantastic and I converted by he and I in that one small pad pour.

[@lzhZztial]

hi sir, Perhaps you can use our water reducing agent to better achieve the effect you need

[@chrisdaniel1339]

Tyler, what are the chemical names of the normal, midrange, and high water reducers so we can ask our cement suppliers for exactly what we want? Are water reducers something that can be sprayed into the mixing auger of a continuous mixing machine like the Mud Mixer? Will vibrating the concrete remove the air voids produced by high end water reducers? How long will water reducers in the set time of the concrete? So far for the project I have planned water reducers seem perfect, I want higher strength and durability, I need a longer set time, and I need it to flow smoothly and consolidate with vibration in the forms. Thanks for the information.

[@christopherhaak9824]

Watch Mike Day pour concrete on his channel. He uses a water reducer every time, and it makes his pours, placement, and finishing look easy. It's really hard to believe that everyone doesn't use them for flatwork.

[@TylerLey]

I agree that they are awesome. Some people don't like them for flatwork because their performance can be hard to predict. I think they are great.

[@elbuggo]

Nobody knows how much water there is in his pours, not even himself. His w/cm ratio is unknown.

[@ronaldradford3971]

First time learning about concrete. You got me confudent and hooked

[@mlrable]

Could you address the issues with concrete countertops and the best concrete speciation for indoor use

[@BuildingCivilVideo]

appreciate you for bringing one of my favourite topics on the table. 🙏👍👷

[@TylerLey]

Thanks for watching!

[@BuildingCivilVideo]

@@TylerLey would like to hear more on admixtures and additives from you on this platform.

[@ricoardian3235]

Thanks a lot sir, glad to know this channel as an civil engineering student 😀

[@tweake7175]

Water reducers are great for diy. Use the same water for better flow. Having a delayed set time is great when your mixing small amounts.

[@KingFox76]

Very thorough video, thanks for making it.

[@richardross7219]

Good explanation. I used Super P when I poured the foundation for my house 35 years ago. It was scary because it looked like there was too much water in it. It did bow the forms. Good Luck, Rick

[@TylerLey]

I am glad it worked our for you!

[@whalefridaydigital]

Always good to see your videos Tyler, keep it up! I'm a huge fan of your video 🙋‍♂ Btw, Do you guys need a video editor and youtube growth strategist who works specifically with guaranteed results in terms of increased viewers, retention, or CTR on your videos? May I send you a previous work sample?

[@reyesmorales6033]

Is there anything that we can add to concrete after is poured to help stet dry faster?

[@lethaldriver]

i heard that sugar also works as a plasticizer. does sugar affect the resulting compressive strength?

[@IbrahimAlAni21]

Thanks, very beneficial vid!

[@ThePorkchop81]

I love concrete that much too!

[@TylerLey]

We should hang out sometime! Thanks for watching!

[@khalidsalah8482]

Thank you very much professor, I love your presentation stil.

[@fahimahmedbhuiyan2252]

Your videos are very informative. Thank you!

[@jirisilhan3094]

Thank you for your videos.

[@skriosorgooeltkhgo4068]

What are the most effective superplasticizers right now?

[@vincentperez4756]

Typically, ASTM C494 Type F, Polycarboxylates (type of cement needs to be examined)

[@TylerLey]

Thanks Vince for the response! Good to see you!!!

[@vincentperez4756]

@@TylerLey Hey Tyler, outstanding videos & webinars! Keep up the great work my friend.

[@Gordonfan6]

On small pours when using bagged concrete, such as Quikrete, can a water reducer be used to help make it flow better? If so is there a product that you would recommend? I do quite a few small pours, like sidewalks, and struggle with getting good flow without adding so much water that it weakens the concrete mix.

[@ThePorkchop81]

Go to your local redi mix plant and ask to buy 4L(1gallon) it will last you a long time and cost 30 or 40 dollars. Ours is 10 or 11$/litre

[@Gordonfan6]

@@ThePorkchop81 Thanks!

[@TylerLey]

Great tip!!!

[@ratgreen]

Can you give some recommendations for high range water reducers? I'm looking to make as free flowing yet strong concrete mix as possible for a purely aesthetic project.

[@charlesviner1565]

Love your videos 👍

[@TylerLey]

Thank you!

[@upuldhanushkagajanayake2719]

Good job

[@Anick8]

Do concrete admixtures have an expiration date? I bought some galons and it says they have 6 month shelf life. Does it mean they wont be useful in six months? Thank you

[@brucewinningham4959]

I have never used a Water Reducer but I am interested in trying it. Do you add it to the Concrete "Before, During, or After" the Water is added?

[@BuildingCivilVideo]

as far as i know , WR is mixed with water , then the said solution is mixed with concrete ingredients.

[@brucewinningham4959]

@@BuildingCivilVideo -- THANK YOU Kindly. Would you happen to know how much Reducer is added to the Water Please?

[@BuildingCivilVideo]

@@brucewinningham4959 well for that information i always rely on the technical data sheet / user guide of the concerned product. mostly i get them from internet. A word of caution , every admixture has it's own set of guidelines , ergo one must never generalize.

[@ThePorkchop81]

You can add it on site too. Proper procedure us to spin drum back until concrete is 1 fin away from coming out. Then dump plasticizer/water reducer onto concrete in the drum. Then charge drum and mix for 5 minutes

[@nickpresnell7403]

Depends on the product. Could be 3 to 20 oz/cwt of cement.

[@siddheshmore5070]

Sir what is name of superplastisizer which is reduce water content and pest from concrete

[@JELWwL6unE8V7iGB3]

So, when you say that high range water reducers can promote air voids in concrete, this sounds like something that could make it easier to produce air entrained concrete, or something that needs to be avoided if you're producing air entrained concrete. Are these the kind of air pockets that cause non air entrained concrete to be more like aircrete, or are these the kind of voids that promote failure in air entrained concrete?

[@TylerLey]

They promote large bubbles that are not helpful for air entrained concrete. If controlling your air content is critical then you can avoid high range water reducers. Most people use them anyway and deal with the variability.

[@JELWwL6unE8V7iGB3]

Thanks very much!@@TylerLey

[@elbuggo]

How much water do we need for optimal strength? We need at least 1 drop per ton! The concreate can not be almost dry? What will we get with a w/cm ratio of 0.2?

[@honeytubs]

The internet says 0.38 water to cement ratio is the lowest possible for hydration.

[@fcrick]

If too much water reducer is added, can more of other ingredients be added to get a viable mixture?

[@TylerLey]

If too much water reducer is added then it can delay set time. You can add accelerators to offset this.

[@hgsmasterclass3452]

Fun concrete fact: In a pinch, you can use polycarboxylate ether as a sweetener for coffee. ☕😊👍

[@brentbuxton9570]

Is there a water reducer that doesn't act as a retarder?

[@ssmith2019]

You didn't NAME any of the water reducers !

[@majikglustik9704]

.

[@RoryBosma]

I disagree. I've seen better concrete made with more water, eliminate water reducer, and add E5 nano silica Internal Cure. Nano Silica is the missing ingredient of concrete in my opinion. Love your videos though Tyler :)

[@TylerLey]

Thanks for the note. I agree that you need enough water in the mix. We are about to start doing some E5 testing now.

[@RoryBosma]

@@TylerLey Yes I heard, it's about time 😉

[@FullSpeed_only]

"The addition of high surface mineral particles into the cement mixtures requires a higher quantity of water or plasticizers to maintain the concrete workability" Abhilash P. P., Dheeresh Kumar Nayak, Bhaskar Sangoju, Rajesh Kumar, Veerendra Kumar, Effect of nano-silica in concrete; a review, Construction and Building Materials, Volume 278, 2021, 122347, ISSN 0950-0618 -- Will be interesting if Nano Particles and Plasticizer combined can get you even better Results than @RoryBosma observed without the Water Reducer. But I guess the Cost Efficiency will be even more important.

[@RoryBosma]

@@FullSpeed_only That's why not just any nano silica can be successfully used as an admixture. E5 is the only line of admixtures with no downsides like shortened set time. E5 actually extends slump retention compared to control. It makes all the chemical reactions that occur during the 5 stages of cement hydration more efficient, so the need for other admixtures is lessened. I usually recommend lowering the dosage of mid range water reducers to the minimum recommended by the manufacturer or eliminate it entirely. We're realizing that the higher blaine fineness of today's cements means that concrete needs more water now, because of the greater overall surface area. If we don't add enough water at the plant, the finishers will be tempted to spray water on the surface (or evaporation retarders which are 95% water) to get a decent finish. This is bad for everyone because it produces a weak surface. As the industry switches over to PLC, if we don't add more water, and use E5 to keep that water in, we're going to end up with a lot of low durability concrete if we keep using chemical admixtures to artificially increase slump yet the mix is too sticky to finish and finishers are taking water hoses and wetting up the surface just to be able to bullfloat it. E5 works very well with POLYCARBOXYLATE SUPERPLASTICIZERS actually. Nano silica is used to make thousands of products like paint, ketchup, etc stay together and not separate. So naturally it's something we can use in concrete to prevent segregation. I recommend this whole video, but about 33 minutes in they start talking about how E5 nano silica increases the efficiency of other admixtures and acts as a viscosity modifying admixture: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b3XEgp-OeNJ_bNUfeature=shared

[@FullSpeed_only]

@@RoryBosma Thank you very much. (I’m not surprised to hear, that the Handling on the Constitution Side is problematic…)