The difference between dry mix concrete plant and wet mix concrete plant

What is Dry Concrete Batching Plant?

Dry concrete batching plants, also known as dry mix concrete batching plants, have sand, gravel, and cement feeding to batching plant that pass the numerical or manual scale. Then all the raw materials are discharged into a chute into the truck. At the same time, the water is weighed, or volume metered and discharged into the mixer truck through the same charging tank. At last, all the material mixed and transported to the site.

dry mix concrete batching plant

What is a Wet Concrete Batching Plant?

A wet concrete batching plant is one of the most common concrete mixing plants. It is also known as a central ready mix concrete batch plant because the wet mixing production method is widely utilized in large central concrete mixing plants, commercial concrete mixing plants and private project usage sites.

In the wet concrete batching plant, all the raw materials are weighed and put into the mixing host. The central mixer mixes the coarse stone, fine stone, sand, cement, water, and additives to produce the final concrete of various preset composition rations. The finished product is then loaded into trucks and transported to the construction site.

Wet mixing plants are more sophisticated than dry mixing plants as they are able to meet the production requirements of various concrete products based on the various raw materials that are weighed and fed into the main mixing machine.

In wet mixing plants, the concrete is produced in the central plant and then transported to the construction site. Therefore, during transportation, the mixer truck or tank needs to be rotated continuously at a suitable speed to prevent the concrete from solidifying. Generally, the longest transportation time is about 4 hours.

The main components of a wet concrete batch plant include – raw material batching system, conveying system, weighing system, the main mixing system, raw material storage system, dust removal system, pneumatic system, etc.

The difference between dry mix concrete plant and wet mix concrete plant

From the so called name, we can find out that the biggest difference between dry mix concrete plant and wet mix concrete plant is about whether add the water. For the detailed difference, we have to know the final product, that is the wet mixed concrete and dry mixed concrete.

1. Different varieties

Since wet mixed mortar is produced in the form of wet mixing, it is not suitable for the production of mortar with high viscosity. Therefore, there are few varieties of mortar. At present, there are only mortars such as masonry, plastering and floor. While dry mix concrete plant produces dry materials. It is not limited by the production method, so there are many varieties of mortar, but the variety of raw materials is much more than that of wet mixed mortar, and it is more complicated.

2. Sand treatment is different

The sand for wet mixed mortar does not need to be dried, and the sand for dry mixed mortar needs to be dried. Therefore, the grading of sand mixed with mortar is more accurate and more scientific, which determines the quality of dry mortar after construction is better.

3. Different production equipment

At present, most of the wet mixed concrete is produced by a wet mix concrete batching plant, while the dry mixed concrete is produced by a special dry mix concrete batching plant.

4. Different transportation equipment

Wet mixed mortar should be transported by concrete mixer truck to ensure that the mortar does not produce delamination and segregation during transportation, after the wet mixed mortar is transported to the construction site, it must be used within 24 hours, and it will be wasted within 24 hours! The bagged dry-mixed mortar is transported by car, the bulk dry-mixed mortar is transported by concrete transit mixer, and the dry-mixed mortar tank can be placed directly in the company.

5. The difference about state and storage time

Wet mixed concrete is a wet mixture of all components including water. It can be used directly at the construction site, but it needs to be used before condensed. The longest storage time is less than 24h. Dry mixed concrete is a dry mixture in which the dry materials are uniformly mixed and supplied in bulk or in a bag form. The dry mixture can only be used after the water or the supporting liquid is added and evenly mixed on the construction site. Dry mortars have a long shelf life, usually 3 months or 6 months.

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