Probably just tried to clarify that it might not be tilers who self-level larger areas...apologies if I'm unclear.Nyfniken said:
Now I think I've come up with a smart method for handling self-leveling compound that beats self-leveling compound pumping.
The self-leveling compound powder should be easy to blow dry through a compressed air hose using a regular compressor. Then you should be able to blow the self-leveling compound to a small mixing unit where you connect a water supply. Then you measure the amount of self-leveling compound powder supplied through optical flow measurement and automatically add the correct amount of water. This way the entire self-leveling process should be easily and fairly quickly managed by one person who doesn't need to carry bags, and only a small part of the machine needs to be cleaned. The machine should also be able to be very small and light - about the size of a nail gun.
Criticisms of the idea are welcome
The self-leveling compound powder should be easy to blow dry through a compressed air hose using a regular compressor. Then you should be able to blow the self-leveling compound to a small mixing unit where you connect a water supply. Then you measure the amount of self-leveling compound powder supplied through optical flow measurement and automatically add the correct amount of water. This way the entire self-leveling process should be easily and fairly quickly managed by one person who doesn't need to carry bags, and only a small part of the machine needs to be cleaned. The machine should also be able to be very small and light - about the size of a nail gun.
Criticisms of the idea are welcome
Yes, it's probably a solution that could take some time to construct and test out. It's fun if you have the time.
Optical flow measurement?
Where does the putty dust go? It gets dusty even when you're stirring if there's some free powder that hasn't been wetted yet.
I remember when a new printer technician at the company I worked for went out on one of his first assignments at a customer's place to clean a color laser printer. He had a can of compressed air and, in his cleaning zeal, accidentally directed the airflow straight into the open yellow toner cartridge. In a fraction of a second, most of the yellow powder had left the printer and colored the entire printer technician, the printer, everything in the room, including the floor, walls, and ceiling.
Optical flow measurement?
Where does the putty dust go? It gets dusty even when you're stirring if there's some free powder that hasn't been wetted yet.
I remember when a new printer technician at the company I worked for went out on one of his first assignments at a customer's place to clean a color laser printer. He had a can of compressed air and, in his cleaning zeal, accidentally directed the airflow straight into the open yellow toner cartridge. In a fraction of a second, most of the yellow powder had left the printer and colored the entire printer technician, the printer, everything in the room, including the floor, walls, and ceiling.
Optical flow measurement involves measuring how much light is blocked in a pipe several times per second. This should then be calibrated so that one knows how much powder passes the measurement point.
I thought that everything should be mixed in a small jar, and that the exhaust air should be filtered before it exits. That should make it dust-free.
Now I feel like constructing. Too bad I don't have the time.
I thought that everything should be mixed in a small jar, and that the exhaust air should be filtered before it exits. That should make it dust-free.
Now I feel like constructing. Too bad I don't have the time.
Yes, another inventor got going. Delightful!
However, it's probably not necessary to involve electronics. It's best to take moderate steps; if you have improved the filling a couple of percent with basic tools this century, you're doing well. How much has the wheel developed, for example? It’s probably in that realm.
A mixing pump exists, and something between that, a whisk, and carrying might be an option. It should be cheap too, preferably as an addition to a whisk. If one or two people mix and pour into the pump, for example, it saves carrying and weight for the filler and the slightly improved precision that an even flow should provide.
I believe that a disposable impeller pump, meaning cheap and mountable on a whisk, which is mounted like an outboard motor and tested in a barrel before summer's projects, could work. It could be a good helper for the solo filler. Let the whisk putter at an appropriate speed, keep the mix well blended, grab the hose, and start filling.
With a large container, a small room can be filled with one batch.
Maybe I could fix something like that. At least in my dreams!
However, it's probably not necessary to involve electronics. It's best to take moderate steps; if you have improved the filling a couple of percent with basic tools this century, you're doing well. How much has the wheel developed, for example? It’s probably in that realm.
A mixing pump exists, and something between that, a whisk, and carrying might be an option. It should be cheap too, preferably as an addition to a whisk. If one or two people mix and pour into the pump, for example, it saves carrying and weight for the filler and the slightly improved precision that an even flow should provide.
I believe that a disposable impeller pump, meaning cheap and mountable on a whisk, which is mounted like an outboard motor and tested in a barrel before summer's projects, could work. It could be a good helper for the solo filler. Let the whisk putter at an appropriate speed, keep the mix well blended, grab the hose, and start filling.
With a large container, a small room can be filled with one batch.
Maybe I could fix something like that. At least in my dreams!
now I don't know if pelpet was joking or if he was serious...
but filler should not be mixed in a small container and then poured/pumped out, the filler should mature the longer the better (within reasonable limits of course) even if you have the pump that allows you to manage with a 10m hose, you might connect 40m so the filler has time to "settle in"
When mixing in a bucket, you often mix for a few minutes (this is often neglected against the manufacturer's instructions) and then you carry and finally pour it out...
Regarding separation, the coarser the filler (larger/heavier ballast), the faster it separates, maybe a few minutes for a "fiber" filler.
but filler should not be mixed in a small container and then poured/pumped out, the filler should mature the longer the better (within reasonable limits of course) even if you have the pump that allows you to manage with a 10m hose, you might connect 40m so the filler has time to "settle in"
When mixing in a bucket, you often mix for a few minutes (this is often neglected against the manufacturer's instructions) and then you carry and finally pour it out...
Regarding separation, the coarser the filler (larger/heavier ballast), the faster it separates, maybe a few minutes for a "fiber" filler.
I have a feeling that the cement particles have a coating of some material and that coating breaks down during curing so it probably can't be rushed.
The coating is something that the manufacturers add by mixing the cement with some other material.
I'm very unsure about the above, so don't take it as a 100% truth.
The coating is something that the manufacturers add by mixing the cement with some other material.
I'm very unsure about the above, so don't take it as a 100% truth.
Yes, it's probably those additives that have caused problems over the years. There were filler scandals in the seventies with mold and ruined floors that had to be cleaned up. I had a friend who thought about starting a firm in the industry but became a real estate agent instead. It was his luck when the firms went bankrupt after a few jobs went wrong.
Even now, there's a distinction between filler for slabs and beams. On the slab, the humidity sometimes reaches 100%, which many self-leveling compounds can't handle.
It depends on the additives used. I remember casein as one of them. It's something that's in cheese.
Even now, there's a distinction between filler for slabs and beams. On the slab, the humidity sometimes reaches 100%, which many self-leveling compounds can't handle.
It depends on the additives used. I remember casein as one of them. It's something that's in cheese.
Well, the floor is now smooth and nice. Norwegian Hey'di lent us an efficient leveling pump. It rained, but I put up a tarp over the yard, and two broke open bags while two worked with the hose. The leveling compound was of the type that can handle moisture just to be safe.
Hey'di, represented by Derome in Gothenburg, wants to enter the Swedish market and provides the leveling pump for free. Derome offered us great sandwiches, and for lunch, we had takeout that we provided.
So we avoided having to carry buckets and use mixers. 80 bags and one workday, of which two hours were spent finding a connection for the water hose. The one that came with the pump didn't fit.
Hey'di, represented by Derome in Gothenburg, wants to enter the Swedish market and provides the leveling pump for free. Derome offered us great sandwiches, and for lunch, we had takeout that we provided.
So we avoided having to carry buckets and use mixers. 80 bags and one workday, of which two hours were spent finding a connection for the water hose. The one that came with the pump didn't fit.