Concrete curing for a ballast weight

[Camo]

I read the Quickcrete 5000 bag today, and it said it reached 2500psi in 3 days, 3500psi in 7 days, and 500psi in 28 days in a full cure. Well I felt assured, and put it on and worked with it toay, and see no signs of issues. I'm impatient, always was....

 

[RedNeckRacin]

for any one that is curious the chemical reaction that alchemysa refered to is called hydration. The concrete uses the water in the hardening process. You guys are correct that it should be made with the minium amount of water possible to achieve the greatest strength. However, you need to keep the surface moist so that the hydration reaction can go to completion. If you were using a large mass of concrete, you would also need to cool the concrete as well to prevent cracking because of the uneven cooling. For a small drum, this is not neccessary, just a lil tid bit of knowledge i picked up in materials class.