Concrete expert's chime in.

[jagee]

Everything you add to concrete adds cost. Freeze guard is a thing, and it works...but it's pricey. If you get regular footing concrete from a reputable supplier you'll be just fine. They'll use hot water (if necessary) and deliver a good product. Ask for about a 5" slump, non-air, footing mix. Dump it in the hole, cover the surface of the pour with insulated concrete blankets and call it done.

 

[WanderingSol07]

Yesterday at Purdue someone poured a pad for a lamppost and today they are pouring for a 40' long curb. Also saw three concrete trucks pouring at apartment construction a couple blocks from campus.

 

[bwframe]

It's gonna be spring next week, isn't it?

 

[42769vette]

The idea of self mixing 2.2 yards gives me the Heebie jeebies. Unless this is a helluva flagpole, it sounds like you are going to pay for a lot more concrete than you need. Have you looked unto renting/borrowing an auger?

That hole size is the manufacturer's minimum recommendations. The pole I got is rated for 130 MPH winds. I figure if we get winds that fast, I probably have a lot more on my plate than a flagpole. I dont know that I could rent an auger that would cut a hole the minimum size.

 

[42769vette]

Go to your Home Center, Menards, Lowes, Home Depot Etc. and get a Sono-Tube (Cardboard Tube), 2' Dimater for Concrete. It will save you a lot of $$$ on Concrete. Dig the hole, Plumb the Tube and Backfill it. Ii your 3' below grade that's Plenty to avoid Frost Heave. Are you going to install Bolts while its wet, or Drill after it cures? If a 2' Tube isn't large enough your Redi-Mix supplier will have larger ones.

The concrete will have a tube that I set in the center. The tube tube has a 12 inch ID, and the pole has a 10 inch OD, so I pack it with sand, and make some wood wedges.

 

[CHCRandy]

IMI can add High Early to your mix if you really are worried about it. I don't think you will have a problem right now, I know my buddies are all pouring drives & walks. Minimum IMI here is 3 yards, around $400...so even if you don't need 3 yards you are better off getting it. You can get 1 yard, but they will charge you the haul fee which makes it the same as the 3 yards.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

I spent a couple of years working as a materials tech for an engineering company. I worked a lot of pours, and I made a blue million of those 6" X 12" cylinders. In all the footings that I remember, in all kinds of cold weather, they never used any kind of anti-freeze admixtures. Like others have said, as long as the hole isn't allowed to freeze after it's dug, and if the bottom of your footing is near or below the frost line, you won't have any trouble with the concrete curing.

And, a little bit of extra concrete may pay for itself in sleep NOT lost on those stormy, windy nights.

 

[Dead Duck]

When I was younger, I worked with all kinds of concrete.
In my expert opinion I will tell you - Concrete is HARD!

 

[Woobie]

I've poured a lot of concrete in cold weather. I helped pour and finish a 4" thick sidewalk and porch in 15 degree weather with 30 mph wind. We probably had HE in that mix, but it's been a while. The point is, with a slab 4' thick, you'll be generating plenty of heat. But just ask your provider if they recommend HE or calcium, they'll set you up for success. Let them know what the purpose is, and they will get you the right aggregate as well.

If you go with your original 6' diameter x 4' thick, then you're looking at just over 4 yards. As someone else pointed out, you should order a 5" or even 4" slump. It's stronger, will dry more quickly, and you don't need the extra water to finish the surface. The place that sells you your concrete might rent you some blankets, but I kind of doubt you will need them. One last note: you'll want to vibrate that concrete, particularly around your anchor bolts. An industrial rental place, or possibly Dague Supply in Muncie could rent you a vibrator.

 

[jagee]

I spent a couple of years working as a materials tech for an engineering company. I worked a lot of pours, and I made a blue million of those 6" X 12" cylinders. In all the footings that I remember, in all kinds of cold weather, they never used any kind of anti-freeze admixtures. Like others have said, as long as the hole isn't allowed to freeze after it's dug, and if the bottom of your footing is near or below the frost line, you won't have any trouble with the concrete curing.

And, a little bit of extra concrete may pay for itself in sleep NOT lost on those stormy, windy nights.

6x12's are out (unless there is oversized aggregate in the mix) 4x8's are in.




Also...do you want a job?!? A man with experience is hard to come by. We are going to need to hire about 10 more people before summer.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

6x12's are out (unless there is oversized aggregate in the mix) 4x8's are in.

The only 4X8's that we ever made were cores that we drilled out. We also did air tests with a thing that looked like a pressure cooker for air-entrained concrete that they used in parking structures. I had to pass a written test and a skills test to get my ASTM certification in concrete testing. But that was in 1989, and I'm sure lots of things have changed.

Also...do you want a job?!? A man with experience is hard to come by. We are going to need to hire about 10 more people before summer.

Thanks, but I'm a desk jocky these days. I'd be too old and slow now, anyway.

 

[jagee]

The only 4X8's that we ever made were cores that we drilled out. We also did air tests with a thing that looked like a pressure cooker for air-entrained concrete that they used in parking structures. I had to pass a written test and a skills test to get my ASTM certification in concrete testing. But that was in 1989, and I'm sure lots of things have changed.

Air meter is the same pressure cooker thing as it was then.
I actually teach the class and proctor the test for the certification. There is a class tomorrow and test on Saturday.

Indiana Chapter ACI

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

Air meter is the same pressure cooker thing as it was then.
I actually teach the class and proctor the test for the certification. There is a class tomorrow and test on Saturday.

Indiana Chapter ACI

Very cool. It's been a long time, but I still remember how to make cylinders and do a slump test. I remember how many times the finishers would try to get the truck drivers to sneak in extra water into the mix after I'd done a slump test. I remember trying to get a five gallon bucket of concrete for an air test out of a pumper truck hose on top of the Lilly parking garage. That concrete would be shooting 100 miles per hour out of that hose, and if you weren't careful, it would rip the bucket right out of your hands.

Good Times.

 

[gmcttr]

As has been stated, you'll be fine with the temps we're having now.

How tall of a pole are you getting?

Contrary to some suggestions, DO NOT over dig the hole, use sonotube and backfill around it. Although it can be done, I guarantee you will not get the backfill compacted as well as needed and it will be highly likely that you will have a leaning pole sometime in the future after a storm. We did that once and had several leaning light poles to deal with as a result.

Fill what you excavate with concrete.

Have 25 years as a commercial contractor having poured 30' tall retaining walls on a superfund site, bases for light poles/40' flagpoles, mucho concrete in freezing weather, etc., etc,.

...It's been a long time, but I still remember how to make cylinders and do a slump test....

LOL...fill 1/3, rod, fill to 2/3, rod, top off, rod and screed the top, tag and cover. Been there done that.

 

[jagee]

LOL...fill 1/3, rod, fill to 2/3, rod, top off, rod and screed the top, tag and cover. Been there done that.

If you can count to 25, you can test concrete.

So, do you need a job?!? We're looking to hire.

 

[42769vette]

UPDATE

They changed the weather, and called for nothing below 40 degrees for a few days, so I started digging, and poured today at noon.

The bad news is, now they changed it back, and its going to be 32 tomorrow morning (pour will be 18 hours old), and gets 29 Wednesday at 4am (pour will be 40 hours old). They are saying a few inch's of snow Tuesday evening

Do I just throw a blanket over it, or am I over complicating a simple thing, and just leave it alone?

 

[jagee]

UPDATE

They changed the weather, and called for nothing below 40 degrees for a few days, so I started digging, and poured today at noon.

The bad news is, now they changed it back, and its going to be 32 tomorrow morning (pour will be 18 hours old), and gets 29 Wednesday at 4am (pour will be 40 hours old). They are saying a few inch's of snow Tuesday evening

Do I just throw a blanket over it, or am I over complicating a simple thing, and just leave it alone?

If you have a concrete blanket, throw it over it.

Who supplied your mud and what mix did you use?

 

[Dead Duck]

UPDATE

They changed the weather, and called for nothing below 40 degrees for a few days, so I started digging, and poured today at noon.

The bad news is, now they changed it back, and its going to be 32 tomorrow morning (pour will be 18 hours old), and gets 29 Wednesday at 4am (pour will be 40 hours old). They are saying a few inch's of snow Tuesday evening

Do I just throw a blanket over it, or am I over complicating a simple thing, and just leave it alone?

You are thinking correctly.
Remember, only women overcomplicate simple things. Men overcompensate simple things.
Easily mistaken.

 

[42769vette]

If you have a concrete blanket, throw it over it.

Who supplied your mud and what mix did you use?

I dont have a specific concrete blanket, I just have normal blankets. ERNST concrete supplied the mud. All the reciept says is 3500 PSI.

 

[jagee]

I dont have a specific concrete blanket, I just have normal blankets. ERNST concrete supplied the mud. All the reciept says is 3500 PSI.

From what I remember (I don't work on that side of the state) ERNST makes good mud. You should be fine. Some plastic sheeting and a regular blanket wouldn't hurt if you're feeling frisky...but probably not necessary.