Unpopular opinion: stop babying those old carbon steel drums on the job site

I saw a guy in Buffalo last month spend 20 minutes trying to grind down a tiny rust spot on a 3/8 drum that still had plenty of life left, and it got me thinking why are we wasting time making them look pretty instead of just running them until they actually fail, has anyone else noticed this trend of over-polishing holding up the whole crew?

2 comments

2 Comments

eric_murray261mo ago

Hold on, are you telling me that guy spent 20 minutes on a rust spot that wouldn't affect how the drum works at all? I've seen guys stop everything to sand down a drum that still had a full face left just because there was some orange dust on it, which is basically the metal's way of saying "I'm fine." To me, that's not maintenance, that's just fiddling around while the rest of us are waiting to get the concrete pour finished.

the_anthony29d ago

Whoa, I gotta push back a little on this one @eric_murray26! Spending 20 minutes on a tiny rust spot is definitely overkill, but I've seen guys ignore cracks or uneven wear on a drum and it cost the crew a whole day when it finally blew. A quick check before the pour isn't babying, it's just smart planning so you're not scrambling for a backup.