Frequently Asked Questions

Stick the probe in the mix and press READ. Three readings later you have your workability number and the mix temperature. Takes about a minute, all things considered.

The physics is the interesting part. The tines send a tiny electrical signal into the mud and measure how the mix responds to it. Water responds to that signal far more strongly than sand, stone, or cement do, so the response tells the sensor how much water is in the mix. It reads temperature and conductivity alongside, and your mix design turns the water reading into that simple 1 to 20 number.

Low numbers mean the batch is running dry, high numbers mean it's running wet, and a 10 is supposed to be about right. But about right can look very different from company to company: your perfect mix might read one number on a cool morning and another in July heat, so it's your job to know what your best mix reads in different conditions.

What the scale gives you is a shared language. Everyone on the crew reads the same number the same way, so "a little dry" stops meaning five different things to five different guys. Eventually the app will keep track of your numbers and recommend them, but we aren't there yet.

Honest answer: we don't publish an accuracy percentage, because workability is partly a judgment call and we won't put a fake number on it. What the sensor does is measure water content and temperature the same way every single time, so batch 1 and batch 14 get judged by the same standard.

We are working on hard accuracy numbers for the things that can have them, like predicting the water to cement ratio, and we are running consistency testing in the civil lab at the South Dakota School of Mines.

No. A good mud guy can tell you exactly what the sensor can tell you. But everyone has bad days, and not every company is fortunate enough to keep a good mud guy around for multiple seasons. That's where the sensor comes in: it helps you adjust for turnover and gives your business a little bit of objectivity to lean on.

It also takes some of the pressure off your mud guy. He doesn't have to be perfect every single batch, because the number has his back. Depending on the guy, he might end up liking it.

If you can dial it in by feel every time, you don't need us. For everyone else: you press a button, take three quick readings, and about a minute later you have your number. That's less complicated than walking back to the mixer to check by hand, and a lot less complicated than tearing out a curb that went down too wet.

No. There are two buttons on the side of the sensor, so you can take readings without ever pulling your gloves off. There's also a touchscreen if you'd rather use that.

Yes. The sensor is meant to be used while it's connected to your phone over Bluetooth, and when you power it back on it reconnects on its own right away. Shut it down between mixes whenever you want.

It's built to handle job site life: getting dropped, getting sprayed with the hose. We don't have years of field data yet, so we won't pretend to know exactly how long one lasts.

What we recommend: spray the tines off after every use, and keep it in the shade between mixes, or just push the tines into some sand so the sun isn't beating down on it all day.

Because every mix behaves differently, and the sensor rates your batch against your mix, not some average. It's also how you lock in a batch once you've nailed it. When the mud comes out perfect, that reading is saved against your mix design, and next weekend, next crew, next season, you can mix back to the same number instead of chasing the memory of it.

Concrete is about the most variable building material there is, and the app is what adjusts for that. Every mix is different, and the app is where your mix designs, readings, and job history live.

Location is for weather. The app tracks the conditions while the sensor is in use, so that over time it can recommend real adjustments based on factors a sensor alone could never account for.

Yes. The sensor talks to your phone over Bluetooth, not the internet. If the job site has no service, the app keeps everything stored on your phone and syncs it up when you're back in coverage.