Thought the water reducer was a gimmick until a pour in Phoenix went sideways
I used to think plasticizer was just a way for the batch plant to charge me more. Two months ago in Phoenix I had a 60 yard pour on a 104 degree day and the mix started stiffening up before we even got the chutes swung around. The finisher next to me dumped in the mid-range stuff at 4 ounces per yard and it bought us almost 45 minutes of working time. Same slump, same finish, no extra water on the surface. Now I keep a jug on the truck, but I want to know if anyone has run into strength issues down the road with it.
The strength thing usually comes down to your water cement ratio staying the same, which is the whole point of using it instead of just adding water at the truck. Where guys get in trouble is they keep dosing higher and higher to chase slump and never check the mix design, so the plant ends up shorting cement to balance it out. Keep your batch tickets and do a few cylinder breaks at 28 days if you're worried, cheap peace of mind.