Concrete Pouring Skips
Concrete skips carry wet concrete from the truck mixer or batching plant to the point of pour and release it through a controlled gate, outlet or hose. The HERMEQ range covers the standard Concrete Pouring Skip, the Twinflow and Coneflow models, a forklift concrete skip and an excavator concrete pouring bucket, each suited to a different pour and site layout.
Every skip is built in steel with a controlled discharge, and the range is lifted by crane, forklift, telehandler or excavator, with crane skips from 500 to 2000 litres. The crane skips and the excavator bucket are manufactured in the UK and held in permanent UK stock.
Concrete skips, hoppers and pouring buckets
Each type places concrete in a different way, so the choice starts with the pour: deep columns and walls, shuttered formwork, mass slabs or open trenches.
Concrete pouring skip with tremie hose
Known on site as a tremie skip or column skip, the concrete pouring skip with tremie hose has a conical body that feeds a directional hose, so concrete can be guided down into columns, walls and narrow steel shuttering without spilling over the top of the form. Keeping the hose end low inside the form shortens the drop and reduces the risk of the mix separating on the way down. A straight outlet covers trench and slab placement when the hose is not needed, which makes this the most adaptable skip in the range for crews moving between pour types on structural work.
Twinflow concrete skip
The Twinflow concrete skip is two skips in one: it empties through the bottom for mass concrete pours and through a side chute for accurate placing into shuttering. The chute folds away between loads, and the skip stands upright unaided for filling. Choose it when the same job moves from slab work to formwork and one skip has to cover both phases.
Geared Coneflow concrete skip
The geared Coneflow concrete skip has a round body that keeps concrete moving steadily towards a lateral outlet. It suits high-volume pours into formwork, slab beds and column foundations on commercial builds and highways work, and its narrow profile hangs well from most lifting set-ups.
Forklift concrete skip
The forklift concrete skip is a low, square-bodied skip with stacker shoes that take the fork prongs, and it empties to the side through a lateral outlet. It suits controlled slab infills and perimeter trench pours, and an optional tremie hose adapter extends it to vertical pours into walls and columns.
Excavator concrete pouring bucket
Also called a concrete skip bucket or excavator pouring skip, the excavator concrete pouring bucket mounts on the excavator and carries concrete from the truck to foundations, trenches, bases and road construction. The open top makes reloading from the mixer chute quick, and the discharge lets the operator control both the flow rate and where the concrete lands.
Crane, forklift or excavator concrete skip
The lifting machine already on site usually settles which skip to buy before the pour does. A crane concrete skip is the right choice wherever the pour sits at height or out of reach of ground-based plant, such as upper-floor columns and walls, structural frames and pours deep inside a congested footprint. The Concrete Pouring Skip can also be placed by telehandler, which covers lower lifts on jobs where no crane is booked.
Where there is no crane at all, the forklift skip brings concrete to the pour on a forklift or telehandler. Basements, mezzanines, warehouse floors and refurbishment projects are the usual cases, along with tight urban plots where low clearance at the delivery point rules out a crane, and the compact footprint keeps the skip clear of overhead structures.
On groundworks, foundations and road work, the excavator bucket uses the machine that is already digging.
Concrete skip sizes and loaded weights
Safe working loads across the crane skips rise with capacity to 4.8 tonnes, and wet concrete weighs about 2.4 tonnes per cubic metre, so every cubic metre in the skip adds roughly that weight to the lift before the steel skip itself is counted.
The size to buy depends on what the crane, telehandler or forklift can lift at the working radius. Rated capacity falls as the load moves further from the machine, so the combined weight of skip and concrete has to sit within the load chart at the furthest point of the pour, which is often well below the machine's maximum lift.
On slabs, rafts and large bases laid over reinforcing bar, a larger skip cuts the number of lifts and keeps the pour moving where the crane can take it at radius. For columns, walls and tight formwork, a smaller skip is easier to hold steady over the form and releases less concrete at a time, and any skip can be part filled to keep a long-reach lift within limits.
Bottom discharge, side discharge and hose pouring
The outlet and the gate together decide how cleanly concrete lands in the form and how much ends up on the ground around it.
Matching the outlet to the pour
Bottom discharge empties a skip quickly across its base, which suits mass slabs, bases and fill where the concrete is spread and levelled afterwards. Side or lateral discharge releases concrete at the edge of the skip, so it can be directed into shuttering, beams and trench edges with the skip held to one side of the form. A directional hose suits columns, walls and narrow formwork, because it carries the concrete down inside the form to the level being filled. For open trenches and strip foundations, a straight outlet or the excavator bucket places concrete along the run.
Lever or geared discharge gate
A lever gate opens with a direct pull, which makes it fast to operate and simple to learn, and it suits general pours where the crew wants to empty the skip quickly and already knows lever skips. A geared gate opens through a gear mechanism, so the opening can be set in small steps and held steady. That steadier action is worth choosing for large-volume pours, for placing at height where the operative needs fine control over the flow, and for detailed formwork where an over-pour means clean-up. The Twinflow comes in lever and geared versions, the Coneflow is geared, and the Concrete Pouring Skip and forklift skip are lever operated.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is a concrete hopper the same as a concrete skip?
In practice the two names describe the same equipment: a steel container filled with wet concrete, lifted to the pour and emptied through a controlled outlet. A concrete hopper for a crane or a forklift is the same product as a crane or forklift concrete skip. The excavator version is usually called a concrete skip bucket or pouring bucket.
What is a bale arm on a concrete skip?
A bale arm is a hinged steel arm over the top of a skip that gives the crane hook a single central lifting point and folds out of the way for filling. Skips without a bale arm lift from fixed lifting points, a chain sling or a lifting beam. In the HERMEQ range, the geared Coneflow and the Concrete Pouring Skip lift from a lifting beam.
When is a concrete skip a better choice than a pump?
A skip is the better choice when a crane, telehandler, forklift or excavator is already on site and the volume or spread of the pour does not justify bringing in a pump. It needs no line to set up, prime or clear, and it reloads straight from the truck mixer. Skips also handle stiffer mixes that are slow to pump.
How often does a concrete skip need inspecting?
Concrete skips are lifting equipment, so the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) require a thorough examination by a competent person at least every six months. Before each use, the operator checks the body, lifting points, gate mechanism and any hose for damage, wear and set concrete.
How do you stop concrete sticking in a skip?
Coat the inside of the skip, the gate and the outlet with a release agent or mould oil before the first fill. Wash the skip out as soon as the last load is placed, before concrete starts to set on the gate and hose, and do it in a contained washout area away from drains.