OT- Anyone have a recomendation for a small cement mixer?

Trboatworks · Dec 10, 2017

I need a small unit to help this endless foundation project along at our old house.
What gives- are the small units worth bothering with?
I am interested in just mixing bags of premix, concrete and mortar- maybe just a couple of bags at a time.

I see the same small units on Craigslist and the like for a $100-$200- they must be harbor freight level gear..

Any experience with these smaller mixers?

Thanks all

gustafson · Dec 10, 2017

Hell they are only 200 bucks new.....

Trboatworks · Dec 10, 2017

Hmmmmm- this thing seems well reviewed but poly drum- all the poly mix pans I have used become covered with scratches and burrs and a PITA to clean...:
Around $500 price point-

Kushlan 600DD

Concrete Mixer

dgfoster · Dec 10, 2017

Trboatworks said:
I need a small unit to help this endless foundation project along at our old house.
What gives- are the small units worth bothering with?
I am interested in just mixing bags of premix, concrete and mortar- maybe just a couple of bags at a time.

I see the same small units on Craigslist and the like for a $100-$200- they must be harbor freight level gear..

Any experience with these smaller mixers?

Thanks all

i have used the HF units or equivalent for small projects in the past. I bought one on Craidslist for for 75 and sold it for 115! It did the job ok but probably would not last a month in daily use. I recently bought, 200 bucks, an older “Red Lion” brand machine in very good condition that weighs three times what a HF of a similar size weighs and was made much more robustly—cast iron ring gear, heavy frame, chain drive gear reduction etc. (This machine, now heavily modified, is the basis for a sand muller to be used for casting iron). So, for just short-term limited use like 50 bags of pre-mix I’d “rent” one from Craig’s. For more serious work, I’d buy a vintage real mixer or rent a current plastic tub lower end commercial grade mixer. You could sell the commercial one for 1/2 to 2/3 new price if you keep it clean while you use it. They will handle more bags per batch and you won’t have to be careful not to overload them.

Denis

The Red Lion was like this one: Redirect Notice

Trboatworks · Dec 10, 2017

dgfoster said:
i have used the HF units or equivalent for small projects in the past. I bought one on Craidslist for for 75 and sold it for 115! It did the job ok but probably would not last a month in daily use. I recently bought an older “Red Lion” brand machine that weighs three times what a HF of a similar size weighs and was made much more robustly—cast iron ring gear, heavy frame, chain drive gear reduction etc. (This machine, now heavily modified, is the basis for a sand muller to be used for casting iron). So, for just short-term limited use like 50 bags of pre-mix I’d “rent” one from Craig’s. For more serious work, I’d buy a vintage real mixer or rent a current plastic tub lower end commercial grade mixer. You could sell the commercial one for 1/2 to 2/3 new price if you keep it clean while you use it. The will handle more bags per batch and you won’t have to be careful not to overload them.

Denis

Thanks Denis- that sounds like good advice.
I need the damn thing to work- I have a large foundation repair project going and don't want to fight with tools.
I usually end up where you are saying on such things- buy used pro gear at price point of the new junk/homeowner grade gear.

I am looking at a decent model as we speak- used, steel drum, iron gear $500

crossthread · Dec 10, 2017

I'll just throw in my two cents worth here. My rule of thumb is to never buy anything from HF that you are going to make a living with. I however do need to mix up concrete from time to time (the most was 90 bags). I bought a cheap (under 200 dollar) mixer from HF and it has held up surprisingly well. No problems at all after using it quite a bit.

badwithusernames · Dec 10, 2017

I have a smal contracting company and have been beating this unit for over 10 years.
Diamond Tool: IMER WHEELMAN II Wheelman II - Wheelbarrow Style Mixer
It'll mix three 80lb bags in a shot, and if I have forms that are hard to load we strap it to the forks of my skid steer.

Fabworks · Dec 10, 2017

This is the best small mixer I have ever used.

It will hold 3 80# bags

The brand is Essick, made in SoCal. I don't see them in their product line anymore.

I found this one on Craigslist for $150.... I did have to replace the motor. ($90)

They still come up for sale once in while.

Larry Dickman · Dec 10, 2017

I have an old Monkey Wards mixer that I bought off a guy who needed money to open a video store. (that tells you how long ago that was) It's called a 1/3 sack, and it's a great size for doing brick work or post holes. Things been sittin outside in the rain for over 30 years, but it fires up whenever I need it. I too would opt for an old good one that a new HF.

Bill D · Dec 10, 2017

The smaller HF mixer looks too small an opening . I do not think you would get very much of a shovel full into the drum.
I vote for an older cast iron unit. I prefer the kind with the motor inside the frame so it is narrower. Imer? is the brand of mine that I paid $75 for. I prefer the ring gear drive rather then the gearbox type. I feel the gearboxes are too dainty for something that lives outside. Especially if you are buying used.
Bill D
Bill D

DavidScott · Dec 10, 2017

About 15 years ago I tore an Imer mixer apart to reverse engineer it for Kushlan, they are about 30 miles from me in. I found the Imer to be very well desinged and made. Heavy duty gearbox with an oil bath and a brushless motor, all very well protected. I found nothing about the Imer that I belived could have been better done, the gears and bearings looked to be quite oversized for the loads.

steve45 · Dec 10, 2017

I've got the Harbor Freight 3-1/2 cubic foot model. It's probably had 400-500 bags of cement through it. The switch broke right off the bat, but I replaced it with a better switch and haven't had any other problems except for a loose belt. The motor will bog down if you tilt the drum down too far horizontally. Keep it up about 20°-30° and it will be fine.

I made a chute out of a piece of plywood that I covered with sheetmetal that I hang underneath it so I can pour concrete out the side.

My neighbor is a 'concrete artist' and he's got 4 or 5 of these things laying around in various states of repair.

Not bad for the money.

badwithusernames · Dec 10, 2017

DavidScott said:
About 15 years ago I tore an Imer mixer apart to reverse engineer it for Kushlan, they are about 30 miles from me in. I found the Imer to be very well desinged and made. Heavy duty gearbox with an oil bath and a brushless motor, all very well protected. I found nothing about the Imer that I belived could have been better done, the gears and bearings looked to be quite oversized for the loads.

As said, I've been beating one for 10+ years, and have fully expected it to be at the point of failure. The drum is cracked, tires beat up, but the motor and gearbox have never given a hiccup. My suspicion is that it was well worth the price tag, at this point it's paid for itself a hundred times over, like any good tool is supposed to.
SD

Trboatworks · Dec 10, 2017

“Concrete artist”

Lol- the guy who built this place was one of those.
Weird concrete garden walls and structure all over the yard I have been gradually busting down.
He skimped on the foundation walls though- just poured walls in slit trenches- no footers.
In fairness, some of them bore the weight in this hard clay site and failed from the same as they blew out from the water pressure trapped against them.
Other walls are just settling into earth and will just keep on going.

The place needs a match or concrete - lots of it..

DDoug · Dec 10, 2017

I hate running one for one single reason:
Stuffing the damn ingredients into them.

I re-habbed a army surplus 1 cu yard mixer that has a "loading
skip".
Sadly I had to return it to the owner (he wouldn't sell it,
but it sits in a filed rusting away)

I have an idea to take a cheap HF 120v hoist (1300lb model)
add some garage door tracks and make a loading skip
to the simple 1-3 bag models.

With the loading done mechanically, I figure I can set the mixer
higher up (maybe 12" higher) and then the dumping will easily
allow a wheelbarrow underneath.

Sort of a simple weldment of 2" x 2" x 1/8" angles

2 "A" frames, with the mixer sitting inside, the angled skip
rails up the back, the hoist on top.

Farmshow magazine featured a nice little improvement,
a reader showed how he rigged a 5 gallon bucket above
the mixer.

He installed a toilet fill and flush valve in the bucket.

The garden hose filled the bucket to the float setting,
and when a bag was dumped into the mixer, he simply pulls the
flush chain to dump in a pre-measured dose of water.

Tyrone Shoelaces · Dec 10, 2017

If you're doing any serious concreting treat yourself to a vibratory poker for settling the concrete. Indispensable in my book.

Regards Tyrone.

Limy Sami · Dec 10, 2017

A hungry man with a shovel?

DDoug · Dec 10, 2017

Limy Sami said:
A hungry man with a shovel?

Their all on welfare.

As a Kid I ran the mixer for my dad....
1 shovel of Portland
2 shovels of sand
3 shovels of gravel

and repeat, and repeat, and repeat.....

Monarchist · Dec 10, 2017

Trboatworks said:
Hmmmmm- this thing seems well reviewed but poly drum- all the poly mix pans I have used become covered with scratches and burrs and a PITA to clean...:
Around $500 price point-

Kushlan 600DD

Concrete Mixer

I've rented "many" over long years, "wheelbarrow" type the handiest. Next season, plan to buy one of that very sort instead. IMNSHO, the slickeriness plus "flex" of a poly drum is worth having over sheet-steel for easier cleanup, AND is fair-decent resistant to Muriatic Acid - IF you have to resort to that to get mixing blades clear. (last resort, sort of, but there are times of no time...)

Two handy moves:

1) whilst tired and distracted by having to place and finish the last load of a long day, tip-in some pea-gravel and water and let the bugger just run for a while to clean itself.

2) SPREAD any "leftover" 'crete, end-of-day as thin as you can do on a plastic sheet or old tarp on the ground. Next day, it will simply crumble for easy disposal - or re-use as aggregate - as you lift the membrane. I DID say "thin", though!

2CW

Limy Sami · Dec 10, 2017

Digger Doug ''Their all on welfare.'' ..............and there you have the crux of the problem.

Monachist ''1) whilst tired and distracted by having to place and finish the last load of a long day, tip-in some pea-gravel and water and let the bugger just run for a while to clean itself.'' ....pardon my English ignorance, but apart from using larger stones half bricks etc etc etc, how the F else does one clean out a mixer?

OT- Anyone have a recomendation for a small cement mixer?

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