Mortar mix got my wheelbarrow stuck for 2 hours

Last Saturday I was doing a small garden wall in Denver and used a bag of type S that had been sitting in my shed since spring. It went stiff way faster than I expected, and before I knew it, the whole load set up in my wheelbarrow while I was leveling the first course. I tried chipping it out with a shovel, then a chisel, and finally had to flip the wheelbarrow over and beat the bottom with a sledgehammer for way too long. That mortar was basically concrete by then, and I lost most of the afternoon. Has anyone else had a fresh bag go off that quick, or was it just the heat plus the old bag? I'm thinking about mixing smaller loads now, like half a bag at a time, but I hate slowing down. What do you all do when the mix seems off?

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the_jake26d ago

Had been sitting in my shed since spring" is probably your real culprit, not the heat. Old bags pick up moisture over time even if they look fine, and that makes them set up way faster than fresh stuff. I'd say try the half-bag route but also check the date on the bag next time, and maybe keep it off the concrete floor on a pallet or something.