The most important thing you can do to keep your concrete pump running is follow the safety guidance in your owner's manual - and stay on top of routine maintenance before small issues become expensive ones.
Read Your Manual (Really)
Every pump comes with a safety manual, parts manual, operations manual, and troubleshooting guide from the manufacturer - and most owners rarely open them. These are valuable tools. When something breaks, being able to describe the actual problem - not "this valve thingy" - saves everyone time when you call for tech support.
All Gauges to Zero Before You Step in the Hopper
Accumulators must be drained before anyone enters the hopper. Many newer pumps drain automatically when the truck is turned off, but on older models, the valve can still switch even with the engine off. The rule: all gauges at zero before you step in the hopper - no exceptions, especially on a used pump you're less familiar with.
The Routine Maintenance Checklist
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Check for bad gaskets on the boom
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Check for leaky hydraulic fittings
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Check for grout buildup in the water box
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Check for blown fuses and non-working electrical components
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Grease the machine - every time, not "next time you pump"
Grease deserves its own line: whether your pump is mechanical or hydraulic, it needs it, and skipping it is one of the most common ways owners create expensive problems for themselves. An auto-greaser is worth the investment - the unit typically costs less than a single bearing teardown, and far less than replacing guide bands, S-tubes, or rock valve shafts once neglect catches up with you.
Do It Right the First Time
Deferred maintenance almost always costs more the second time around. One customer used a piece of nine-gauge wire in place of a fuse - it worked for a while, until the circuit shorted and fried the PC board it was protecting. What started as a bad wire on a proximity switch turned into a new PC board, a new proximity cable, two new proximity switches, and a sizeable labor bill. Doing it right the first time is always the cheaper option.