RE: Weather, Concrete18 Feb 2022 20:52
I thought I would recount my memories of what a cement job is (note not a concrete job!!). Cement, the stuff you buy at B&Q in a bag, pitches up in bulk on a truck or supply boat. It is pumped with compressed air into storage tanks (it acts like a liquid). Somewhere on the rig is the “Halliburton” cement pump, painted red if it belongs to Halliburton other colours (blue) if someone else. Come cement job day, the Cement hand, company man, toolpusher, Derrick man and assorted help congregate around the pump, cement is transferred by pipe and compressed air to the cement pump, mixed with water and a little setting agent (amount job dependant) in a mixing tank on the cement pump (the whole pump is about the size of a small hatchback). When the mix is right and before it sets it is sent on its way down the hole, through the casing shoe and back up the annular cavity between outside of casing and open hole. The cement hand has high blood pressure at this point as thing can and do go spectacularly wrong and he has a very critical audience watching. Anyway he has to keep mixing and pumping until the job is done and that hopefully is it. There is a bit before and after but the actual cement job is as above. Poly cups are used to collect samples to check it actually sets hard. This was back in the 70’s 80’s so things might be different now.