Some practical questions about plate compactors

[DNgroundworks]

We had this on another thread regarding wackers IMO weight is the main factor, a heavy narrow plate i find compacts very well, i take no notice of the compaction force value

[lutonlagerlout]

what i am getting at is that a modern 60kg plate wacks better than an old 80 kg plate
purely through design
I wouldnt use those little 40 kg plates on anything,but with the big forward reverse diesel plates i find them so unwieldy that its hard to do the job right
I know on a 100 million pound job the sub base may have to pass a test
but the only test a drive passes is "will it sink?"
so far had none sink, so must be doing something ok.i think the gaffer said that if your wacker isnt the heaviest then do multiple passes

while we are on the subject of wacking as its too cold to lay bricks i sent the lads home yesterday for the week
I went to do a fence repair for the brother in law today and driving home at 5.25pm saw a pure pikey out fit raking sand straight onto mud, another poor sod was handballing the old drive concrete onto a 7 tonner
meanwhile what i took to be the boss was sitting is his sign written van ,and he had kindly switched the light on so the lads could see what they were doing
down the road 2 more lads in hi viz, with clip boards were knocking doors ,
in this day and age i cannot believe that people still fall for it

my final word on wackers ,the BCO has passed every oversite i ever wacked
LLL











































































:;):

[Carberry]

We had this on another thread regarding wackers IMO weight is the main factor, a heavy narrow plate i find compacts very well, i take no notice of the compaction force value

Could be because of the pressure it generates which is the force / area . As area decreases pressure increases.

[DNgroundworks]

^^Yep, thats what i was getting at

[local patios and driveway]

We had this on another thread regarding wackers IMO weight is the main factor, a heavy narrow plate i find compacts very well, i take no notice of the compaction force value

Could be because of the pressure it generates which is the force / area . As area decreases pressure increases.

Makes sense to me but (me and dn didnt have this out last time lol)

With 8newtons of force on a 10 inch plate might work well but 14newtons on a 14inch plate could possibly work marginally better?

Which is why, when you move up the scale of compaction equipment, it only gets larger surface areas and larger power, never smaller areas and more power.

[dig dug dan]

just to add to the confusion, the belle minipac has a "stepped" plate, as its designed to give a bigger compaction force on a smaller area. go figure!

[DNgroundworks]

Aye itll be similar design to the 'street works' plate the belle do, they compact good, they have to i suppose to meet up with the street works regs.

[Dave_L]

Never can understand how the council patching crews can get away with wacker plate compacting pothole repairs - as can be seen on TV news etc - for a carriageway this isn't heavy enough to achieve full compaction - no wonder the repairs don't last!!

[Kuts]

Never can understand how the council patching crews can get away with wacker plate compacting pothole repairs - as can be seen on TV news etc - for a carriageway this isn't heavy enough to achieve full compaction - no wonder the repairs don't last!!

A few weeks ago we were doing a drive and a council wagon parked up an blocked the road, five mins later a chap who must have been 28stone fell out the wagon, f*cked a bit of tar in a hole then tapped it with the back of his shovel.

[Dave_L]

LOL.......doesn't surprise me.....and we're paying these idiots!!!