Concrete set time for ground sleeve

[UncleSweat]

According to DGA's instructions for ground sleeve installation, you're supposed to let the concrete set for 7 days. Tomorrow is day 5 and I'm getting anxious.

Looking for some insight from anyone whose had experience installing ground sleeves. Do you wait an entire week prior to installing the basket, or can you get away with a shorter timeframe?

 

[MarkDSM]

Put them in. 7 days is super generous.

5 days is well plenty unless it has been below freezing or you had some wacky mix. Next day would have been fine if you used Quikcrete.

 

[UncleSweat]

About 100 pounds of quickrete, didn't dip below freezing at all this week.

Allright it's going in tomorrow! Thanks for the reply!

 

[Matt B.]

Longer is better but Quikcrete has worked in 24 hours.

 

[cheese dog]

we used the quick setting quickcrete with great results, cured in 1 day. if you are installing the sleeves in to sprinkler valve boxes i highly recommend installing some pex tubing to aide in draining.

 

[DougCrawford]

The standard 40 or 80 pound bags of sackrete you get at Home Depot or lowes are good to go after 24 hours. quick set can harden in as fast as 30 minutes, but that's the stuff that gets hot, you have to continuously spray with water, and costs about $16 a bag.

 

[Chet]

I just watched a courseload of sleeves get put in using the following method:
Dig a hole, put the sleeve in, sit a 6" level on top, pour dry concrete from the bag into the hole around the sleeve, pour a couple of gallons of water on it, baskets went in the next day.
He said he's never had a problem with a single basket this way and he's put in quite a few courses. The ones we did were third or fourth pin positions. He was shocked when I showed him the directions saying to wait a week. He's probably put in hundreds of sleeves this way, some have been in almost ten years and the baskets are still straight and sturdy.

 

[UncleSweat]

Thanks for all the insight everyone. Now, time for some serious putting practice!

 

[captain jack]

Yep, 7 days is only if you mix it too wet, like pea soup.
48 hours is fine for a good plug, hang that basket !

 

[biscoe]

I just watched a courseload of sleeves get put in using the following method:
Dig a hole, put the sleeve in, sit a 6" level on top, pour dry concrete from the bag into the hole around the sleeve, pour a couple of gallons of water on it, baskets went in the next day.
He said he's never had a problem with a single basket this way and he's put in quite a few courses. The ones we did were third or fourth pin positions. He was shocked when I showed him the directions saying to wait a week. He's probably put in hundreds of sleeves this way, some have been in almost ten years and the baskets are still straight and sturdy.

I have put in well over a hundred this way as well. Works fine. If the ground is holding any moisture you can even do it without adding any water.

 

[kenjiac]

According to DGA's instructions for ground sleeve installation, you're supposed to let the concrete set for 7 days. Tomorrow is day 5 and I'm getting anxious.

Looking for some insight from anyone whose had experience installing ground sleeves. Do you wait an entire week prior to installing the basket, or can you get away with a shorter timeframe?

As long as someone isnt going to yank on them or hang from them next day install should be good. I've put in a few courses and we just wait till the next day after sleeve install to install the baskets. Never had a problem.

 

[ThrowBot]

As long as someone isnt going to yank on them or hang from them next day install should be good.

^^^Yup. The actual stress on those plug foundations is negligible unless someone's applying force to the target. If the baskets are going to be in an area where there are concerns about vandalism then maybe wait 2 or 3 days just to be safe. If it's in a private area then next day installation should be just fine.

I think it's crazy that DGA would specify a 7 day cure time. If anything they could just put in CYA language to cure the concrete pure the manufacturer's guidelines, but even that's overkill in most cases. You might have a 7 day cure time if you're pouring yards and yards of some over-engineered 6000 psi mix for a major equipment foundation...I could never imagine that being necessary for a disc golf target.

 

[Atvizory2000]

I just watched a courseload of sleeves get put in using the following method:
Dig a hole, put the sleeve in, sit a 6" level on top, pour dry concrete from the bag into the hole around the sleeve, pour a couple of gallons of water on it, baskets went in the next day.
He said he's never had a problem with a single basket this way and he's put in quite a few courses. The ones we did were third or fourth pin positions. He was shocked when I showed him the directions saying to wait a week. He's probably put in hundreds of sleeves this way, some have been in almost ten years and the baskets are still straight and sturdy.

The lazy way to make concrete.

 

[MiketheGoalie]

...

I think it's crazy that DGA would specify a 7 day cure time. If anything they could just put in CYA language to cure the concrete pure the manufacturer's guidelines, but even that's overkill in most cases. You might have a 7 day cure time if you're pouring yards and yards of some over-engineered 6000 psi mix for a major equipment foundation...I could never imagine that being necessary for a disc golf target.

The CYA language IS the 7-day cure time. Almost all commercial concrete in the US is predicated on 7- and 28-day strengths and minimum cure times to ensure adequate hydration.

Also, fun fact, an "over-engineered 6000 psi mix" likely has acceptable strength gains in 3-4 days (unless it's a mass concrete placement) so not sure why you have beef with a well-designed concrete mixes.

 

[ThrowBot]

The CYA language IS the 7-day cure time. Almost all commercial concrete in the US is predicated on 7- and 28-day strengths and minimum cure times to ensure adequate hydration.

Also, fun fact, an "over-engineered 6000 psi mix" likely has acceptable strength gains in 3-4 days (unless it's a mass concrete placement) so not sure why you have beef with a well-designed concrete mixes.

I don't have a beef with well designed concrete mixes, but they're overkill for disc golf targets. 95% of people are going to be hand mixing quickcrete rather than getting anything commercially mixed that might require more curing time.

I guess I think of some stronger mixes as "over-engineered" because our firm has had a heck of a time trying to get 6,000 psi concrete delivered to work sites in the past. One time 24 truckloads of concrete got turned down in a single day...the local mom 'n' pop concrete shop just couldn't produce the quality that was within the tolerances we had specified. Since then we design everything to be strong enough with 3,000 psi concrete, but specify 4,000 psi concrete. So my distaste for higher strength mixes really boils down to supply chain issues, not necessarily bad engineering.