How to Use a Plate Tamper | Step-by-Step Guide for Efficient Compaction - video Dailymotion

Shiva Tanamala

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk you through the proper techniques for using a plate tamper, a must-have tool for compacting soil, gravel, and asphalt in construction and landscaping projects. Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned professional, you'll learn the essential steps for safe operation, maintenance tips, and how to achieve optimal results.   #PlateTamper #ConstructionTools #LandscapingTips #HowToUseTools #Compaction #DIYConstruction #HeavyDutyTools #CompactionMachine #SafetyFirst #ProTips #Landscaping #ConstructionSafety #BuildingTips

Transcript

00:00Hi there. Today we're going to talk about compaction. Plate tamper specifically,

00:18although there are other types of compacting equipment, rollers and what they call sheep's

00:23foot for dirt, but today the most common that we would use particularly around home

00:29projects and that would be probably these two size plate tampers. The one I'm looking at right

00:35now is probably the most common. This type of plate tamper is for tamping stone. If you're

00:41doing a sidewalk, a patio and you're putting down some granular, say some three-quarter

00:48inch clear stone and you want to compact it before you maybe pour concrete, before you

00:53put interlocking stone, even before you put patio slabs. This would be the size plate tamper

00:59that would be adequate for that purpose. Now usually you're tamping three to four inches

01:04of thick material and this particular size would be good for packing that much thickness.

01:10If you're going to get into too much more than that, you would do it in layers. You put down

01:15four inches of stone, you would tamp that, you put another four inches, you would compact

01:19that. Remember that your surface and finished job is only going to be as good as your substrate

01:27or your material underneath your concrete or your near locking stone. You don't want to

01:31see like in a driveway where cars drive back and forth and it gets you that washboard look

01:37where the tires have been and you get a wavy driveway. And that's why you would go to a

01:41larger plate tamper for that purpose. So don't do it dry. Always do your compaction with moisture

01:51so that the material or the stone has been watered down, not excessively, but enough moisture so that

01:58you're not kicking up dust. Because compaction is a factor of moisture and hitting force. And all

02:05different size tampers have a different hitting force. As I said, this one would be good for your

02:10driveway or your patio. We have another one here beside it. It's a little smaller. The reason we keep this

02:17one is the compaction is a little less than this, but you could do the same job on sidewalks or patios,

02:25not a driveway, but a lighter areas where the smaller tamper is adequate, but you'll have to do

02:34multi-passes where here you may go over two or three times, here you may go over it three or four times to

02:39get the same compaction. And the other advantage of the smaller one is you can lift one person,

02:47can lift it. Might be a bit of a struggle, but at least one person can attempt to lift the smaller

02:52one into your vehicle. Always remember you've got to transport these things. These ones would be a

02:57two-person lift. Now, as well, on this particular unit, the handles go both ways. When you're using

03:07this, you start the engine, you run it at full speed. That's what starts the compaction. The tamper

03:13only goes in forward speed. It does not go backwards. And if the material underneath is too soft,

03:20say he's trying to do this in a very early spring or something, and you just put some stone on some

03:25soft dirt, the tamper could just sit there and do nothing. It might just sit there and sink itself.

03:30That's because the material is not hard enough to let the tamper move. It has to move along

03:37in a slow motion. That's why when you go down along your job, you can swing the handle over.

03:45You can swing it around, come around, go back and swing your handle back again because you can only

03:51go in a forward motion. Now, that's the case in this other one as well. The handle doesn't swing

03:58over in this one. It only goes this portion because this is a much smaller tamper. But again,

04:04you'll be going around the outside of your job first and working your way into the middle so you

04:09can compact it down. Now, another feature that's on this tamper, the smaller one here,

04:15is this pad. Now, the pad on the bottom is normally called for by some of the interlocking stone

04:22companies to do a final tamp on the interlocking stone so the stone doesn't get marked or it may be a

04:29certain thickness where they would like the compaction hit a little dampened and that's

04:35why they request that you do your final tamp on interlocking stone with a pad. It's becoming more

04:42and more prevalent. A little easier to handle on this one because it's only attached on the front.

04:48You cannot put them on this size here as well but since they're only attached to the front and this one's

04:54much heavier it does get to be a little bit cantankerous to try to move it around and load and

04:58unload it. The next one tamper up from these would be what's called a reversing plate tamper. Those you

05:06can move the handle forward or back and the tamper will actually go forward and back and then you would

05:12also move up to diesel plate tampers which we have which you'd use on the larger jobs say on a driveway

05:18where you might be compacting 10-15 inches of stone. So we'll move on to those in future videos but just

05:28to give you an idea of the two basic sizes that you want to use this is something you'll want to

05:33consider when you're doing digging out for a patio or a dry sidewalk where you're going to put some stone

05:40down as a base.

How to Use a Plate Tamper | Step-by-Step Guide for Efficient Compaction

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