The use of concrete pumps allows you to mechanize and automate the main processes of laying concrete in construction, use additive technologies. To choose the right pump, you need to know the hydraulic characteristics of the network, the rheological properties of the mixture. This article is devoted to developing an algorithm for calculating the pump characteristics for specific construction conditions. Method. The algorithm is based on the empirical dependencies previously proposed by the authors for pump characteristics, mixture rheology, and hydraulic network characteristics. Results. For stationary piston concrete pumps, an example of calculations using the proposed algorithm is given. It is shown that when choosing a piston pump, information is needed about the value of the filling factor, the dependence of the total efficiency of the pump (or the power consumed) on the pressure drop.