Power trowel

A Power Trowel [AKA 'Power Float'] is a Light Construction Equipment, used by construction companies and contractors, serving as a finishing equipment for concrete slabs.

Power trowels can differ in the way they are controlled;


#Ride On Power Trowels are used by an operator sitting on a seat upon the machinery, controlling the power trowel with the necessary buttons.

#Walk Behind Power Trowels are used by an operator walking behind the machinery.

Operation

Both walk-behind and ride-on operate on the same principle. A spinning disc (either a disc or 'pan' or blades. The image of the ride-on Power Float has the disc/pan fitted to both rotors) has pressure applied to one area where the additional friction of the blades against the floor moves the Power Float in the opposite direction of the rotor blades.

Therefore, steering the machine is by applying the weight of the machine at a certain segment of the rotors arc, which will then take the machine in the direction you wish. With the 'walk behind' model, you 'press on' or 'lift' the handle. This puts weight on the rear or front of the rotor which will move it from side to side and with judicial positioning of the handle, you can move forwards or backwards using this side-to-side control.

With the 'Ride On' model, there is a control for each blade that fulfills the same role. There's either a pole or hydralic control that fulfills the same principle as the walk-behind but the ride-on differs in that it's control of rotor direction is like a helicopters.

To operate them, you start the engine, adjust whatever throttle controls there are and pull in the clutch lever which spins the rotor. They all have a 'dead mans' control for the clutch. i.e as soon as you release a lever, the machine stops the rotors spinning.

The rest is just a matter of gliding it over the surface at different periods during the concrete 'set', starting with a flat disc or 'pan' that fits over the rotor blades which brings up the 'fat' of the concrete while filling depressions and removing high spots. Later on, you go onto the blades using them at an increasingly sharp angle until the surface is hard, flat and starts to take a shine.

Edges to the bay, or areas the Power Float can't access, get finished with a hand trowel although newer Power Floats have blades whose ends are curved and that are flush with the wire skirt so you can really get into the edges and the blades don't hit or snag things thanks to these rounded ends.

Which Type?

Well for the walk-behind, it's cheaper to buy, lighter to move, and you get to watch what the discs do 'before your eyes' while the disc is at that area. But it's one disc and the big ones can 'give your abs a work out' as you try stop their motion at the end of each pass.

The ride-on have 2 rotors so can theoretically double the area trowelled, they also tend to have more blades per rotor. But you are looking in front at where you are going, not at what surface the machine has left leaving you with the possibility of picking up defects 'next time around'. They are expensive, heavier to move and only pay for themselves on big areas, but they are very comfortable and easy to use [read: you won't break a sweat using one]

Other uses

There is a trend to use walk-behind machines, or versions of the same but designed to be light weight and using pneumatic air (via hoses) instead of a heavy power plant and fuel, for the use in thin epoxy coatings and/or thin coloured decorative coatings. [ [http://concretedecor.net/All_Access/501/CD501_Trowels.cfm notes on Choosing a power Trowel] ]

ee also

*Concrete pump
*Concrete
*Screed

References

External links

The some manufacturers of power trowels are:

* [http://www.oscar.biz.tr/urun_eng.php?id=NA= Oscar Power Trowels]
* [http://www.dynapac.com Dynapac]
* [http://www.wackerneuson.com Wacker Neuson]
* [http://www.ostimlce.com/home.asp Ostim Light Construction Equipment]