Every Putzmeister Concrete Pump Operator Should Know This! (Ergonic 3 overrides and manual pumping)

Added: 2026-05-31

[00:00:00]Here we go. We're at the R&J's Concrete Pumping, the mothership corporate headquarters, with buddy Dan. We have a special guest on the camera. Spin it around, show yourself, sir.

[00:00:10]Special guest uh from Putzmeister America, we got JT with us. So, we're going to do a very special video today, common faults that you may encounter with a Putzmeister concrete pump, and we're going to show you how to walk through those faults with the new Ergonic 3 system. We're going to show you how simple it is and how easy it is to override the most common of faults.

[00:00:29]Dan's going to help me out, or I'm going to help Dan out, or something like that.

[00:00:32]It'll be a lot of fun. We'll learn a lot. Let's go. Here we go.

[00:00:44]>> [music] >> And we rewind, >> [music] >> and there we go.

[00:00:54]>> [music] [music] >> Here we go, serial number one. Everybody asks this question a lot, very common, with the ISA full flex system. What happens if there's a fault in the system? Well, it's very easy to override so you can keep using the machine. We'll show you what to do and how to do it.

[00:01:21]So, if there's a fault with something like an angle sensor or a level sensor, all you have to do, you got a key switch right here. That's ISA say on.

[00:01:31]All you do, ISA off.

[00:01:35]Got it?

[00:01:36]So, it shows you the graph. It's just green instead of green.

[00:01:39]ISA on.

[00:01:41]ISA off.

[00:01:43]But, to get the boom back in the cradle, or run the pump just like you would any other pump that does not have this system, just one key switch, turn it off, forget the system ever existed, stow the boom, reset up, and run it like you normally would. Easy peasy.

[00:01:57]>> a traditional pump.

[00:01:58]>> Right, Dan?

[00:01:59]>> That's right.

[00:01:59]>> Dan agrees. There we go.

[00:02:01]Okay, scenario number two. We're going to show you if you lose remote control function because you've lost connectivity to your antenna.

[00:02:09]>> You're working too close to a hospital or at an airport or some kind of old situation.

[00:02:13]>> Correct. Or a situation where you can't use the radio or you're not going to get radio signal contact. What do you do? We have We'll show you right here.

[00:02:23]We have this tether wire. It's a lot smaller and a lot lighter than the old school thick yellow cable that we all remember that had to roll up on the super annoying wheel. Now, you just got this guy right here.

[00:02:33]This will connect to the remote.

[00:02:36]The other end will connect into the receiver. We're going to create that scenario right now. My assistant Dan is going to unscrew the antenna from the radio control receiver, which is right inside there.

[00:02:49]He said he could do it without a ladder.

[00:02:51]Turns out he needs a ladder, so he's not as tall as he thought.

[00:02:55]>> The antenna is unplugged.

[00:02:57]>> Okay, so the antenna is unplugged. Now, I'm going to step away from the pump. I won't get far and I'm going to cut out here.

[00:03:08]Why am I walking backwards? This is so weird.

[00:03:14]>> And we lost signal at >> for not having an antenna.

[00:03:19]We're still going.

[00:03:22]Dan, you sure it was the right one?

[00:03:24]>> I unplugged the antenna.

[00:03:26]>> There we go. We lost connectivity. She cut out.

[00:03:31]Okay.

[00:03:32]>> Beep the horn.

[00:03:32]>> Yeah, we made it. I don't know. That actually pretty good. We made it about 40 ft from the pump, almost 50 ft.

[00:03:37]>> I'd say 50 and 60. And we lost air message here.

[00:03:40]>> Okay.

[00:03:40]>> No radio connection.

[00:03:41]>> No radio connection. Okay, so what are we going to do? What's the fix?

[00:03:45]This is easy. This is easy stuff.

[00:03:47]So, we should probably Yeah, Dan will show you. It's simple on this end. Dan will show on that end where where it plugs into.

[00:03:54]>> Okay.

[00:04:01]It's labeled on here.

[00:04:05]Cable connector.

[00:04:09]And then you screw it in tight, and then you do the same thing on the remote.

[00:04:13]>> So Dan got the smart end, I got the dumb end right here.

[00:04:17]So unscrew a little protective cap.

[00:04:21]Same thing, I'll see that it's uh it's keyed.

[00:04:29]Thread this in.

[00:04:35]Come on, give it a little wiggle. There we go.

[00:04:41]Okay.

[00:04:43]Fire the remote up.

[00:04:47]>> E-stop is cleared.

[00:04:48]>> E-stop is cleared. There we go.

[00:04:51]Okay, as we can see now, we got pump function, pump on.

[00:04:57]We've got boom function.

[00:05:04]Our ISA system is working just like it normally would off the uh off the wireless, even though we're tethered now, so business as usual. Easy peasy, just one thin little wire. Plug on this end, plug on that end.

[00:05:15]>> Everything works as normal.

[00:05:16]>> Yeah, just make sure the plug that you use is the one on the left-hand side of the receiver. There's a similar plug on the right hand of the receiver that is for something else. So left-hand side of the receiver is where the uh the business end of this plugs into.

[00:05:28]>> Easy. That's scenario number two.

[00:05:31]>> Ready. Scenario number three, as Dan put it best, you have lost the remote on the highway. You left it on the back step going to your second job.

[00:05:39]Your wireless remote is gone.

[00:05:41]>> Or the receiver stops working. A scenario where you can't use this remote anyway.

[00:05:46]>> Yeah, the receiver is croaked, something's happened and and we should mention the cable remote is an option with the arrow 3 and it is a new option.

[00:05:53]So, it's a hard wire that completely bypasses the the receiver system. It goes straight to the pump's electronics.

[00:05:59]I've found over the years with the older machines going to the cable remote would rectify a lot of common problems and glitchy little things. So, it's always an option whenever I have a a problem I'd go and try try the hard wire and see if it went away and then kind of go from there. So, it's good in those situations as well.

[00:06:14]Um so, it is nice to have a second wireless transmitter. That's great and all.

[00:06:19]Highly recommend getting the cable remote. Like I said, if you ever run into a situation if you have a problem if you have a problem with the wireless receiver, having a second transmitter is not going to help you out a whole lot.

[00:06:32]So, I would highly highly recommend going with this. So, we're going to show you how to use this.

[00:06:36]>> That's happened to me this last year. My receiver stopped working, so I had to use the wire remote.

[00:06:40]>> Yeah, Dan just bought one for his gear, too. So, the old school guys are going to love this thing.

[00:06:45]>> Look at that.

[00:06:47]>> Nice and simple, right?

[00:06:51]So, that side this we'll start with we'll start with we'll start with the dummy side this time. I get the dummy side.

[00:06:57]>> Again.

[00:06:58]>> It's the pattern here. I know it's the pattern here. Plugs in.

[00:07:01]You'll turn on that, lock it in place.

[00:07:05]>> And then this side >> Yeah, it's got the business end.

[00:07:08]>> You have to unplug it where it plugs into the receiver.

[00:07:15]And you have to unplug a little twist on the back here I don't even know what this is called. It's a necessary wire.

[00:07:23]>> It's a can connection. Can connection.

[00:07:25]>> And that one does have to come off as well?

[00:07:26]>> Yes, it does.

[00:07:27]And that plugs into this unit on the end there.

[00:07:34]Again, it's the key position.

[00:07:45]>> So now you bypassed the receiver. You're going straight from the remote straight into the pump.

[00:07:52]>> Hit the power button there.

[00:07:55]Now we've got flashing green.

[00:07:57]>> Then I turn on here and we're good to go.

[00:08:00]>> You got to remember to hit that e-stop on the back panel there, too. The one that Dan just pressed.

[00:08:04]>> So now a little bit more reminiscent of the old school cable remote. It's kind of a heavy cable.

[00:08:11]The wheel that's, you know, it it serves its purpose, but it's not not really a good time, right? But she'll get her done.

[00:08:16]>> So the pump is going.

[00:08:18]And then you've got forward reverse on the toggle.

[00:08:26]>> Old school rabbit turtle boom speed.

[00:08:29]So with the hardwired one thing to know, you will still have the ISA function.

[00:08:33]You just don't have the screen here. You still have your screen on the pump.

[00:08:39]It has all your information. Oh, this will not let you It will not let you go out of your zone.

[00:08:46]The system still is active from the hardwire. So that is how you plug in the hardwire in a pinch. And maybe we'll show you how to unhook it, how to switch it back while we're here.

[00:08:54]>> Okay.

[00:08:55]Let's disconnect this.

[00:09:11]Everything's back to the regular regular boom remote.

[00:09:16]>> Funny that this guy steps in. He was actually supposed to do this video.

[00:09:20]Yes, you were.

[00:09:21]It was supposed to be the supposed to be >> But why are you moving forward?

[00:09:26]>> So easy even a line pump operator could do it. That was the premise.

[00:09:29]>> Three on one.

[00:09:30]>> And then the guy went out and actually had to work. Like, come on, man. Okay, so >> Sorry, I had a 400 ft line job.

[00:09:36]You make it sound like that was hard.

[00:09:37]>> It was >> 350 10 minutes ago. We were at any hour.

[00:09:39]>> make it hard.

[00:09:41]>> So, to link back up same as usual.

[00:09:48]And we'll have to re-clear e-stop on the back step.

[00:09:56]There you go.

[00:09:59]Just like that, we're back on the wireless. So, So, that is scenario number three, and I think that's a really important one, actually. Like I said, I highly recommend looking into the hardwire option. Um I think it's I In my opinion, it's a must-have. So, super easy to use, and it'll probably save your bacon at some point or another in your pumping career. Okay, scenario number four, worst-case scenario, every operator's nightmare besides a boom party. Did I say that? We don't We don't talk about that, right?

[00:10:27]So, you've lost all your electrical full electrical failure.

[00:10:30]How are you going to get the boom stowed blown out and stowed? Well, you'll latch the hand valves.

[00:10:38]That'll activate the pilot valve of the boom.

[00:10:41]And then each individual valve Here's your slewing.

[00:10:45]A arm, B arm, C arm, D arm, E arm. It ain't pretty, but in a pinch you need it done. You're probably going to need a spotter. Um I find with the cabinet overhead, there's not a whole lot that you can see.

[00:10:57]But this is emergency stuff. It's getting the boom in a position where you can get it cleaned out, and then get it stowed back on the truck. So, that's absolute worst-case scenario.

[00:11:05]>> Well, there's there's always an option.

[00:11:07]So, long as the truck is running, the drive shaft is spinning, you're good. One thing to keep in mind that's also super important with the ISA system, when you're running off the hand valves, it is not going to be active, so you have to be very mindful of that.

[00:11:19]Just get that back boom back in and get it stowed safely, but ISA will not be active when you're running off the hand valves manually.

[00:11:25]>> Make sure you do it in a safe safe position. Get your boom in a safe position.

[00:11:29]>> Okay, scenario number five. Now, we're going to get into things that might prevent pump function from working properly. So we've got our friend Dan up top there. He's at the end of the drive cylinders and he's going to unplug what's called a linear sensor.

[00:11:41]Putzmeister ILS series pump kits, they no longer use proximity switches, they use linear sensors. So we're going to throw the pump in pump and it will be reading from that linear sensor.

[00:11:52]And while we're mid-pump, Dan is actually going to unplug the sensor right up top here.

[00:12:05]So what you'll see here, Dan has unplugged that linear sensor and now we have an error code. So what we're going to do is we're going to go in, push the button here.

[00:12:15]Tells us we have a fault.

[00:12:17]We'll go into it. It gives us the the option here to continue pumping at 50%.

[00:12:22]So we'll still get roughly, what is it?

[00:12:25]It's 175 185 cubic meters per hour is the rate that it will let us continue pumping at.

[00:12:31]So we're just going to hit this button right here.

[00:12:36]There we go.

[00:12:39]Now we'll go back and pump.

[00:12:42]Pump on.

[00:12:48]And it caps itself out at 50%.

[00:12:52]And you can see limits us to 85 cubic meters per hour roughly.

[00:13:01]And this will not affect or bypass e-stop or hopper grate safety. All those functions are still active. So now we're running in bypass mode, we're not reading off of that linear sensor. It just runs in a timed mode and we can get the job finished just like this. Okay, another option for scenario number five, all the same functions right here from the remote.

[00:13:20]We also have on the panel. So it is another option to control it a little easier for you. You you have your any else. So we're going to recreate the same scenario.

[00:13:27]Here we go. Pump on. So, we are pumping.

[00:13:32]Dan is going to unplug that linear sensor. [music] There we go. There's our fault.

[00:13:58]More details. Deactivate the sensor. So, I hit the scenario right here.

[00:14:08]Okay.

[00:14:10]Pump on.

[00:14:17]You'll see here we're pumping.

[00:14:21]So, we're cut to half of our flow rate.

[00:14:30]There you go. Same function just from the panel instead of from remote.

[00:14:35]Scenario number six. Here we go. Okay, so this scenario is we've got JT up top now. He's going to unplug a temperature sensor, but the scenario is we're pumping away.

[00:14:47]And we're using the temp sensor for another example here, but in case you might have multiple multiple sensor problems or multiple sensor failures, we're having trouble figuring out how to override it from the remote or from the Ergo panel. We're going to show you another way, a super simple way to do it. So, we're going to go pump on.

[00:15:05]As soon as I rev the pump up here and we are pumping.

[00:15:11]And while we're pumping Do you want to show them or So, he's unplugging the temp sensor.

[00:15:24]Yeah. the pump shuts off.

[00:15:26]>> Here we go.

[00:15:27]So, now >> Come over to the panel.

[00:15:30]>> We have stopped pumping. Instead of overriding from here, we are going to >> Hydraulic fluid temperature bypass fault.

[00:15:43]>> We're going to come inside the panel here.

[00:15:46]This little aircraft switch.

[00:15:50]Boom. Just like that.

[00:15:53]>> You notice this screen here says machine is running is running at own risk in rough mode.

[00:15:59]So, it's bypassing the inductive switch sensor, the oil oil temperature sensor, oil pressure sensor, engine speed sensor, concrete level probe sensor, rotary engine and motor sensor, and cab protection sensor.

[00:16:17]>> Important to mention that a few of these sensors in the North American market, as well as on this particular machine, it is not outfitted with.

[00:16:25]Cab protection sensor, we do not have.

[00:16:28]Concrete level probe sensor, we do not have.

[00:16:31]>> that's like a Putzmeister thing. We don't have that in our market.

[00:16:33]>> Not that I've seen.

[00:16:34]>> But, it is quicker, easier way.

[00:16:36]Go in the box, flip that up. Uh important to mention with a something like a temperature sensor, uh verify that your machine is not actually running hot. Verify that the sensor is the issue.

[00:16:45]>> And if the engine is actually running hot, so >> If it is running hot, you're basically just doing this for a quick cleanout.

[00:16:50]>> Yeah, just get the pump cleaned out.

[00:16:52]Grab grab a hose, rinse down your uh your material or your uh your drive cylinders. Reload the water box with cool water. Spray the hydraulic cooler down with water, whatever you got to do.

[00:17:01]But, uh yeah. Quick, easy way to do it.

[00:17:05]Remember that switch. You remember when you're done?

[00:17:07]And you'll see on the remote Maybe you can see >> ESD >> ESD. Put that back off.

[00:17:15]There we go.

[00:17:16]>> And that'll will on until you reset reset the pump.

[00:17:19]>> It's important to remember >> off and on.

[00:17:22]>> Important to remember with all of these overrides, you did good. With all the overrides until you go back in the cab and take the pump out of PTO, power down the system, and then put it back into PTO, these bypasses do stay in place. So >> remain active until the PTO is shut off and >> was scenario number six.

[00:17:42]Here we go, scenario number >> Seven. Number seven.

[00:17:46]>> So number seven is uh for whatever reason you're having an electrical problem that cannot be rectified through the overrides, or you've got a hopper grain safety switch issue, or an e-stop issue, and you just need to get the pump cleaned out, and this is what you're going to use.

[00:18:03]So Dan here has what we call the emergency stroke change kit. Similar to the kit that came with the older Putzmeister machines, this one I find is actually a little bit simpler and easier to use. So over on the driver side, all we have are only the inner clips attached to the positive and negative terminals on the battery. So that's that little wire, red and black running underneath.

[00:18:23]Super easy, super straightforward, and in the panel we have >> XKP3 and XKP2.

[00:18:33]>> Color coded, green and blue. The only ones that have stickers beside them, green and blue.

[00:18:40]And as soon as Dan unplugged that, my remote started vibrating to let me know there was a problem.

[00:18:45]Obviously there's already a problem with where this statement began with.

[00:18:53]Different size plugs, you can't get them backwards, it's impossible.

[00:18:58]>> Should be impossible.

[00:19:00]>> All right, Dan, show them how it's done.

[00:19:04]>> So see you have pump forward and reverse.

[00:19:08]And you just hold this.

[00:19:11]And you hear it hit the end, you hear it stroke at end of the stroke, and then you switch it the other way.

[00:19:16]You listen for the You'll hear it hit the end.

[00:19:24]There.

[00:19:26]You switch switch it back. So, all you're doing to switch the S2 back and forth is just move your Wait till it hits the end.

[00:19:39]>> And it will be worth mentioning you actually can go in the cab and throttle the truck up with the with a block of wood >> or >> Yeah, block of wood stick or if you have a an extra person with you so you can throttle up and get a little more volume out of it. The other thing we should mention in this scenario we do not have the agitator spinning.

[00:19:57]Typically I would say this is just going to be a get the pump cleaned out scenario anyhow, but if you're actually trying to to finish off a job and pump a job out like this, you can get the agitator going and we'll show you how to do that.

[00:20:08]>> To get the agitator going This little This is the water here. So, if you do this one and hold that in then your water's going.

[00:20:19]This one is agitator.

[00:20:21]Pushing this one in, the agitator is spinning.

[00:20:24]Should be spinning right now.

[00:20:28]Is it going?

[00:20:29]>> Yep.

[00:20:29]>> Okay, and then this is to change the direction of the agitator if for whatever reason you need to.

[00:20:34]Push that, the agitator goes the opposite direction. Let that go, agitator spins the right way.

[00:20:39]And then this is the water.

[00:20:40]>> And Ken's got a pretty good tip for if you want to keep that agitator going.

[00:20:44]>> If you need to keep the agitator going for some reason, you can unscrew this or just get one of these type. Unscrew that, unscrew that, switch the ends around, and you could use that.

[00:20:55]Which I I have done before.

[00:20:57]>> So, that is scenario number seven and how you use the emergency stroke change kit.

[00:21:03]Okay, here we go. Scenario number I got to count it out, number eight. Unlucky number eight, the granddaddy of them all.

[00:21:11]>> Worst case.

[00:21:11]>> gone sideways, worst case scenario, you have no electrical whatsoever, your alternator is croaked or whatever it may be. As long as you got an engine spinning through the drive shaft and working hydraulic pumps, you're going to get out of this one. So, what we've got here, you come to the back, first thing you're going to need is accumulator pressure or pressure, rather. I should note we had some paint on this from factory. It was really tough to push this all the way in and it's got to go all the way in.

[00:21:37]>> And you can see that go up, accumulator is charged.

[00:21:40]>> Yeah, if you can't get this to work, push it harder, push it further, right?

[00:21:44]I highly recommend if you got paint on this, clean the paint off like we ended up doing. Hold this in.

[00:21:50]We got our accumulator pressure, there she goes.

[00:21:54]This one here is going to be your pump direction.

[00:21:57]That'll move your pistons.

[00:21:59]This is going to be your S-tube.

[00:22:02]>> Now, you're definitely not pumping a job off like this. This is just to get the boom cleaned, maybe try and get a sponge back.

[00:22:08]>> Yeah, so the accumulator here, what that is for is that's for changing the S-tube. The actual piston stroking function, that does not need accumulator pressure. So, holding the button down and building that pressure is what's going to give you S-tube changeover. If your S-tube's not changing over, push the button harder.

[00:22:24]We had a bit of a rough time with this one, it took us a while to figure it out. Push that button all the way down.

[00:22:29]So, I'll move the pistons here, maybe JT can show us in the water box.

[00:22:34]>> And you see it get through the rush.

[00:22:36]Piston's moving.

[00:22:40]>> All right, so as you can see, the manual stroke change here is basically to get the pump cleaned out, get the hopper pumped down. Um, you're not going to pump off a job like that, it's just to kind of get you out of the emergency situation. So, that is situation number eight, the granddaddy of them all, the worst case scenario.

[00:22:57]Throw some sugar in the hopper or whatever, get it into the boom, get cleaned out, blow that boom out, and avoid that uh that oh so uh oh so elusive boom party that we don't like to talk about. There we go.

[00:23:08]Eight. Well, that's nine. There we go.

[00:23:11]There's the eight. Eight scenarios.

[00:23:13]Eight eight solutions.

[00:23:16]Um things that can happen in the field, uh ways to rectify them, ways to get around them, ways to get the job done, not only get it done, but get it done safely.

[00:23:23]Um pretty good things to know with these foot slicer machines. You know, they got a lot of myth out there about the the big scary computer. Uh we did everything here from a simple sensor failure down to having no electrical whatsoever. Uh and you can see there there's ways to get out. As we said earlier in the video, if you got an engine running and a drive shaft turning, there is a way to get concrete moving, all right?

[00:23:44]>> I think it's important to uh just be be familiar with this. So, when you're in a pressure situation, things are going south on the job site, you're not panicking trying to make phone calls about oh, how do I do this? How do I do this? If you gone through that at some point, whether the yard or while you're waiting for concrete or something, just familiarize yourself with different scenarios, then when the time comes you need them, it's an easy quick quick fix.

[00:24:07]>> Yeah, as Stan said, highly recommend get yourself familiar with the umbilical cord for the wireless remote, get yourself familiar with the cable remote.

[00:24:15]Highly recommend to get yourself a cable remote. I To me, that's a must-have. Uh familiarize yourself with the emergency stroke change kit. Familiarize yourself with how to move concrete using the hand valves. Knowledge is power. Once you know that stuff, if you do encounter a scenario on a job site, especially this time of year when it's hot out and concrete's very unforgiving, uh it's a pretty handy skill, a good tool to have in the bag to be able to know a the quick solution and how to get out of the situation.

[00:24:40]>> Keep calm and pump on.

[00:24:42]>> It's snow. It's What is this? He's He's taking over the channel.

[00:24:48]>> And he'll yeah, that'll put you out of business.

[00:24:49]>> No, but thanks for watching, and I hope you find this helpful.

[00:24:53]Um we found it very enlightening, even though it's stuff that we that we've known before, that we know of, we haven't gone through the the um the procedures ourselves in a while. So, it's good to get a little bit of practice in and uh hope this helps some of you guys out and and and keep calm and pump on.

[00:25:12]Yeah.

[00:25:13]>> There you go.

[00:25:14]>> Oh, yes. Yes. Yes.