I made extra cement that I don't want to throw out. I will be using it again in 22hrs, if I can. It got dark out before I could finish my job so my ? Is how to keep it ready for tomm. I'll be at work all day and can't keep adding water to it
You only got so much time to work with it before it is history. 2 hours is pushing it. It automatically hardens. 22 hours is half way to fully cured. So boat anchor, paperweight, junk is what you got and you cannot stop it.
Only way that I could think that would remotely give you a slim chance would be to keep your cement mixer running with the mix inside it with plenty of mortar plasticizer added to the gauging water and then again in the morning add more water with plasticizer and hope for the best.
There is no way you can extend the life of concrete by 22 hours by adding water. The addition of water to temper, extend the workable life, of concrete significantly reduces the concrete strength. I have no idea how adding water to cement would react but I would guess it would be the same. By the way, cement is the soft stuff and concrete is the hard stuff. Once the initial water is added to a concrete mix it starts to set up. Concrete is said to cure, gain a very high percentage of its strength, in 28 days. A high percentage of the strength is gained between the 3rd and 7th days. Freezing the mix will not only ruin the concrete its ultimate strength would be very close to zero. A effects of a super plasticizer lasts for 30 to 60 minutes depending on the dosage and the concrete mix. After the effects wear off there is a rapid loss in workability. I can not see how this would help you. (That is for concrete super plasticizer I have no idea what a mortar plasticizer would do but I don't think it has ever been tried in a concrete mix.)
