Looking to buy a small cement mixer

[jim_wilson]

This may not be the correct place to post this since what I am really looking for is not a tractor attached cement mixer but one of the small electric powered units. Wondering if anybody has ever used one of these and if they had any suggestions as to who makes a good one and what I should be looking for. I have looked online some and found a decent selection at www.constructioncomplete.com - I think Northern Tool also has a few of these in their catalog. I thought about getting a tractor mounted unit but I think a separate mixer will be more useful since it will not tie up the tractor while I am doing a job - so then I can use the tractor for hauling bags of cement, rocks, mixed cement in the bucket, etc.

 

[KiotiJohn]

I haven't used any of these, but I've seen a couple of them at the local Harbor Freight stores. They have frequent sales on these, so sign up for their sales e-mails and catalog that comes to your home. If you go electric, get the most wattage/amps you can buy for durability.
I'm fairly sure that all of these and the ones at Northern Tool are made in........CHINA, and I'm not sure of the quality. I've bought some good and bad from China, just as I have from other countries including the good OLE.
John
HF Cement Mixers

 

[voodoo]

The Belle Mini mix 150-E is a very popular model here in the UK. Belle really have the market sewn up being a UK company.
I have a prior model of this about 15yrs old and still in regular use.
My father has a 2yr old new model used every other day.

I have seen the Imer advertised in some merchants, but they cannot compete at the price point, primarily because of importing costs.

The Belle models are used extensively by rental yards here. They take serious abuse day in and day out. If you can spring the $, this would be my recomendation.

One tip we have found when mixing. By design, the drums are tilted back to ensure that the load does not self tip whilst mixing. The downside of this is that if aggregate, sand and cement are put in dry, then when water added the mix can segregate, with a nice wet mix at the front and a dry plug still bound to the rear of the drum.
Put the water in first. This prevents any binding and gives a faster complete mix cycle.
You can also put a packer below the wheel stand to tilt the drum forward slightly to bring the mix forward on the paddles.

Hope this is some help.

Nigel

 

[2nstonge]

I picked up one of these about 2 months ago. It was the brand carried by my local stone mason supply company (not a Home Center brand). It was $605 delivered (a special order).

http://www.multiquip.com/multiquip/pages-products/concrete-masonry-technologies-equipment/mixers/mix-n-go/MC3SE.html

It had the highest rated hp electric motor I could find and decent capacity - it will take 2, 80lb bags of ready-mix at once. I was able to get it down my bulkhead into the basement where I had a major project, it's not as light as the blurb says! And, it's awkward, I haven't needed to put into the trunk of a car but I can't imagine doing that more than once or twice. The swivel stand is great, and it's the right height for dumping into a wheelbarrel or 5 gallon pail. The poly drum is very thick & durable, the whole thing cleans up great with a hose. I mixed 84, 80lb bags in just a few days, the worst part of the job was lifting the bags high enough to dump into the drum!

I wanted the portability of being able to transport it to a customer site, I can get into my pickup (via a ramp) and still tow my tool trailer. For me it made more sense than a tractor powered unit.

-Norm

 

[jim_wilson]

Thanks for the info everybody - I will check out the models you recommended. Does anybody have an opinion on whether the steel drum or the poly drum is preferable? I would imagine that the steel drum would stand up to more abuse but the poly drum might be easier to clean out but maybe more likely to get scratches that would hold the concrete and possibly make it harder to clean over time.

 

[2nstonge]

In my brief experience the poly seems quite durable, maybe 1/2 inch thick? It does hose off easy at the end of a long day. The inner paddles and base plate unbolt if I ever have to replace the drum. A steel drum may never need replacing though.

-Norm

 

[Wesdor]

Harbor Freight lists 3 under $200 - $140, $160, and $190.

http://www.harborfreight.com/

I can't speak for their quality, but other things I have purchased from Harbor Freight have served me well.

 

[EddieWalker]

I looked at the poly drums models and thought they had an advantage over steel since cement wont stick to the wall. But the rest of the machines I saw, TSC & Lowes, were just too flimsy looking.

I bought an Imer from Home Depot for too much money. Now they have what lookes like the identical mixer with there Rigid label on it for $299.

It's a quality mixer that will last a lifetime, but now I wish they had the Rigid one when I bought mine.

 

[JeffRey30747]

This is the one I have have been looking at on the Harbor Freight site. Harbor Freight Kushlan knockoff The pictures appear similar to the Kushlan, only blue instead of orange. Does anyone have any experience with this particular model or maybe even the Kushlan branded mixers?

Jeff

 

[Junkman]

Rigid tools are now owned by HD and it is in there best interest to make sure that what they sell in the Rigid brand is top quality.