PSA: The way I used to bull float big slabs with a 16 footer by myself is nothing like using that Magnesium dry walk behind now

Switched about 5 years ago after a bad back day on a 10,000 square foot warehouse floor in Toledo and now I wouldn't go back to hand tools for big pours, has anyone else tried those battery powered rakes yet?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_linda10d agoProlific Poster

Toledo? That 10,000 square foot warehouse floor sounds like a nightmare waiting to happen. I helped a guy bull float a similar sized slab in an old auto plant near Flint once, and by the end of the day my back was so locked up I couldn't bend over to tie my boots. The magnesium dry walk behind is a lifesaver though, I switched to one two years ago after a bad pour on a 12,000 square foot parking lot. I haven't tried the battery rakes, but I'm skeptical about how long the charge lasts when you're fighting that much concrete.

the_miles10d ago

@the_linda battery rakes died halfway through my last 800 square foot driveway.

the_richard9d ago

I've been burned by those battery rakes too. I had a set die on me at 650 square feet on a garage slab last summer. The charge just drops off fast once the battery gets hot from vibrating all that concrete. I think the manufacturers oversell the runtime by a mile. They probably test them on a bench not in 90 degree weather pushing wet mud. That 800 foot driveway sounds brutal when you're halfway done and the tools quit. Idk maybe it's just me but I'd rather pull a cord or push a trowel than trust those batteries for a full day's pour.