What to look for when choosing a vibrating bar?
Many of the vibratory bars available on the market come in combustion engine and electric motor options. The former are much better suited for off-road conditions, when we need to make a floor or concrete patch in a place without access to a power source, and we do not have a suitable generator or cannot use it for some reason. Slats with electric power are more useful in interiors, where in most cases the use of internal combustion engines is excluded. However, the most important parameters of a vibrating bar are its length and possible modes of operation.
Single vibrating and smoothing bars for shallow compaction and smoothing of concrete
A single vibrating bar is built from a properly shaped aluminum profile and a vibrating unit. The profiles can be interchanged to adjust the length and shape of the profile as needed. Single vibrating bars range in size from 1.5 to as much as 5 or 6 meters. For extremely long profiles, it is necessary to use two vibrating units.
Among the individual vibration-smoothing bars, there are two types of profiles that determine how the device is used:
- L -shaped profiles - made of flat cast aluminum alloys allow the bar to be guided in one direction only: the operator moves backwards, guiding the machine behind him,
- double-sided profiles - closed profiles have a shape that allows both pulling and pushing the strip on the surface of the concrete - they are usually stiffer, which allows for greater length, and in some models also used to guide on the directional rails and scrape the concrete.
Single slats compact concrete relatively shallowly (usually the compacted layer is no thicker than a few to 10 cm) - their main task is to level and smooth the surface. Thanks to their lightweight construction and interchangeable profiles of varying lengths, they provide easy maneuverability even in small spaces. However, if you want deeper compaction and a significant extension of the profile, you should reach for devices with a double bar.
Double vibratory bars: deep compaction of wide strips of concrete
Double vibratory slats are adapted to run on leveled rails. The width of the belt of the resulting concrete floor depends on the capabilities of the specific device - it can be a few or several meters (with modular vibratory bars).
The use of double vibrating bars allows efficient compaction of concrete, even to a depth of 30 cm. As a result, they are used in most construction work that requires pouring concrete footings for various types of structures, roads or yards. Double vibrating bars are suitable for working with high-density concrete. Properly leveled, they guarantee the execution of even and uniform concrete surfaces.
Compaction of deep concrete layers and troweling of concrete surfaces
Machines closely related to vibrating bars are concrete trowels and concrete vibrators and frequency converters. Vibrators allow concrete to be compacted and evenly distributed in walls, foundations, columns and any other recesses of the poured surface. Concrete trowels, on the other hand, allow for careful finishing - leveling and smoothing - of fresh concrete surfaces. They are also commonly used in the renovation of damaged floors.