Walk behind power trowel machine is a very common piece of equipment used for finishing concrete floors. They come in a variety of sizes and also have trowel machines that sit on top of them. If you’re in the concrete finishing industry, i’m sure you know what these machines are and maybe even how to use them. This blog is geared more towards beginners, but there may be some good tips or a refresher for the experienced professional.
Power trowel it is a concrete surface roughness and fine dressing tool that smoothes better and more efficiently. A concrete surface that has been polished by a concrete trowel will be smoother and smoother than if it had been applied by hand. It also greatly improves the compactness and wear resistance of the concrete surface, and its efficiency is ten times higher than manual work. There are two types of trowel sold by our factory, walk behind power trowel and ride on power trowel, and these two models include several different sizes of machines, so customers can choose the size of the machine they need according to the size and duration of the project.
Power trowel, also known as power trowel, concrete trowel, concrete test machine, concrete finishing machine, power trowel, concrete helicopter, concrete trowel machine, is a common pavement machine that provides a smooth surface for concrete pavements. Power trowels are widely used for pumping, smoothing and polishing concrete surfaces in high standard factories, warehouses, car parks, squares, airports and frame buildings.
In this article we will look at the differences between power trowel polishing and concrete grinding. In particular, we will show how power trowel can be used in different ways to produce a high-quality, smoother concrete floor.
What Is Power Trowel?
The power trowel, sometimes referred to as the power float, is a lightweight piece of construction equipment used by construction companies and contractors to smooth out concrete slabs.
It is fitted with a series of blades which, in normal use, scrape the surface of newly laid concrete to provide a smooth surface. There are two types of power trowel, walk behind power trowel and ride on power trowel.
The walk behind power trowel, as the name suggests, is a simple machine that is pushed or pulled.
The ride on power trowel allows the operator to sit on the machine and cover a larger area in a shorter period of time. An example of this is the company’s ride on power trowel f100, which uses a liquid during the grinding and polishing process to reduce dust.
What Is A Concrete Grinder?
The concrete grinder, or more accurately the concrete floor grinder, is a machine designed to polish previously cured concrete surfaces.
The concrete grinder is heavier than the power trowel and is rarely offered as a ride on power trowel, a good example of which is the husqvana pg 820. A good example is the husqvana pg 820. Concrete grinders can be used with or without water, as the machine is equipped with a dust collector.
What Is Power Trowel Finishing?
If the floor is uneven, has protruding reinforcing bars or a considerable depth of concrete must be removed, then grinding with a concrete grinder is the preferred solution.
Now, the clever thing about the power trowel is that the scraper can be replaced by a diamond blade. In this way, the power trowel can be used as an effective machine for both power trowel polishing and power trowel grinding.
However, if the ground is in a very bad condition or is very uneven, then it is best to use a concrete grinder.
What is the difference between power trowel polishing and grinding? There is really no difference. It refers to the grade of diamond pad (also known as abrasive grit) used in the process.
The higher the number of grit, the smoother the surface. In the case of grinding, a 30 or 60 grade grinding wheel is used. For polishing, we are talking about grit counts in excess of 200. For the finest polishing, we would finish the process with a grit class 3000.
Imagine that you have a 10,000 square metre floor and you want to make it a high quality polished surface. The first key issue is the condition of the floor.
The final step. Concrete polishing, using the ride on power trowel.
However, if the floor is in generally good condition, then the power trowel can be used to remove microscopic roughness, after which you can start polishing with increasingly fine abrasive particles.
The process of grinding and polishing with power trowel produces a large amount of slurry – water suspended in suspension with concrete dust particles. This has to be treated ecologically. This liquid must first be collected in a large container. After a few hours, the concrete particles are separated from the water. They can be sucked up with a siphon and discharged when the ph value is adjusted to neutral. Any sand that remains will be disposed of at an appropriate facility provided by the local authority.
Benefits Of Power Trowel Finishing
The power trowel is much faster than the concrete grinder in terms of sanding and polishing. Roughly speaking, the power trowel is 10 times faster than the concrete grinder.
With large area concrete grinding systems, these machines are also considerably cheaper.
Concrete trowels can be divided into ride-on and hand-operated machines, depending on how they are operated. Electric and diesel power is available. The trowel plates are available in diameters of 80mm, 900mm and 1000mm and are the most typical and common machines on the market. You can choose the right model according to your efficiency.
Advantages Of Ride-On Power Trowel
- Driving operation can greatly reduce labour intensity and improve work efficiency.
- Two trowel plates can be installed at the same time for quick retrieval.
The ten double-sided blades have a deadweight of 430kg and provide good ground compaction.
Mechanical steering and a responsive operating system make it simple and comfortable to operate. It also has a gear change function.
The high-grade trowel, with speeds of up to 180 revolutions per minute, makes for a faster and more effective finish. In addition, the low speed allows for a more powerful trowel plate.
- Equipped with a high horsepower electric starter engine for strong, reliable power.
A safety cut-off switch is provided for quick engine shutdown and safety.
The control screw adjusts the blade angle.
Water spraying system and lighting design make the construction more convenient.
- The wheels can be raised and lowered for easy walking.
Advantages of hand-held wipers
Hand-held wipers can be a little more laborious than ride-on machines, but they are still a very popular model. The machine is compact, flexible and simple to operate. Most importantly, it is dozens of times more efficient than manual finishing. In addition, the price is relatively low. So for small projects, a hand-held trowel is a good choice.
How To Use An Electric Power Trowel Machine For Concrete Treatment
- Clean the floor and make sure there is no standing water. Then brush on a layer of ordinary cement approximately 2mm thick as a binder.
- Pour the fine stone concrete onto the ground substrate of the brushed ordinary cement. Spread the concrete with a trowel, the thickness of which should be controlled at 15 to 20 mm.
- After the fine stone concrete coating has been scraped flat, the dry sand powder is evenly spread on a surface of about 2mm thickness. Once the dry sand has absorbed water in a damp state, the operator can polish the surface using a concrete finishing trowel machine.
4, normally, we need to use the trowel machine to polish the surface twice. During the first polishing, if some areas are not floating or cracked, sprinkle dry sanding dust or a small amount of water on them immediately. At the same time, the position of the inner corners should be supplemented by manual corner dressing. For the second time, the operator should slowly move the machine from the room to the doorway.
Structure And Working Principle Of The Power Trowel Machine
The machine mainly consists of a moving handle, a screw lift, a motor, a worm gear box and a smearing assembly. It uses a unique starting method. The motor is decelerated by a three-stage gear and is driven by two relatively rotating output shafts, each of which drives a relatively rotating double shovel. Under the influence of mechanical gravity, the floats are pressed against the ground to complete the compaction and polishing process.
As we have said, the power trowel’s ability to polish concrete floors is limited, and if the concrete floor is in a very poor condition, a concrete grinder must be used, but even if the floor has been sanded and polished to a high standard, you can still do more.
At the end of the polishing phase, we use a sealant to make the floor more resistant to absorbing liquids and to keep the surface free from stains for many years.
With the final polishing, you’ll have a hard, flat, smooth and attractive concrete floor that will retain its lustre for many years.
