Mixing concrete - "Mud mixer" alternative. Steele mixer

[paulsharvey]

Long transit times, and pumping time can be good use cases for retardant.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Sorry I didn't read all of the posts in this thread.

But coming from someone that just poured a 32 bag slab this past sunday. A 50 bag slab would be absolutely no fun!! You would need at least 1 other strong backed individual or better yet 2 helpers to make this anything less than absolutely miserable. Using a mixer like in your original post would make it even more painful. Me and a strong, young friend were able to do the 32 bags in about 2.5 hours using an electric mixer that you can put 3 80# bags in. We got a system down and if flowed well. I am pleased with the results. I would not wanted to have done much more.

 

[lman]

I remember when I was a youngster, we extended a large slab to feed out hogs. My dad had the cheap labor of my 3 brothers and I, so he bought a bunch of 94 lb. bags of cement and a couple truckloads of sand/gravel. We had a system of measure using a flat shovel going into the pto cement mixer on the tractor. I don't remember how much cement we made but the slab was about 150' by 100'.
Those 94 lb. bags seemed heavy for a 125 lb. kid, but I moved a lot of them.

 

[mikester]

I'm not clear if you are mixing cement or mortar

for cement get one of these self powered portables

for mortar

 

[dieselscout80]

I'm not clear if you are mixing cement or mortar

for cement get one of these self powered portables
View attachment 1867805
for mortar
View attachment 1867806

I had a mason do a block wall for us and I wanted it filled with concrete.

He mixed the concrete in his mortar mixer.

Why aren’t they for both applicable for mortar and concrete?

 

[EddieWalker]

My experience with dry pour concrete is that it's very weak. When dumping it in around fence posts, it sets up pretty good, but when you pull that post out, the concrete breaks off really easily. If you mix the concrete and pour it around a fence post, it's a battle to break it off. My other experience is when a sack of concrete gets wet and cures in the sack. It's plenty strong to stand on, and it works great for erosion issues or stopping dogs from digging under a fence, but they also break up pretty easy if you drive over them with the mower. Sometimes they just break in half for no apparent reason.

From what I've seen on the YouTube shows that I've watched. Dry Pouring a walkway is a lazy way to pretend to do something that will not last. It's probably strong enough for foot traffic, but I doubt it will still be there in one piece ten years from now. Concrete should last hundreds of years

 

[2manyrocks]

I recall reading that concrete strength depends on air entrapment which can only be achieved by using machine mixer rotation.

 

[mikester]

I had a mason do a block wall for us and I wanted it filled with concrete.

He mixed the concrete in his mortar mixer.

Why aren’t they for both applicable for mortar and concrete?

The regular mixer doesn't mix mortar very well and relies on gravity and tumbling to mix. Mortar mixers are more expensive and use mixing paddles that won't be happy with larger aggregate typically used in mixing concrete.

 

[paulsharvey]

I recall reading that concrete strength depends on air entrapment which can only be achieved by using machine mixer rotation.

Kinda but not really. What you have is, unequal distribution sand, Portland, and rock, as well as uneven curing, and areas of honey comb and segregation. It's meant to be mixed. Air is mostly from chemical admixtures, and does help in the right quantity, but that's at most 10% of the issue

 

[MossRoad]

I remember when I was a youngster, we extended a large slab to feed out hogs. My dad had the cheap labor of my 3 brothers and I, so he bought a bunch of 94 lb. bags of cement and a couple truckloads of sand/gravel. We had a system of measure using a flat shovel going into the pto cement mixer on the tractor. I don't remember how much cement we made but the slab was about 150' by 100'.
Those 94 lb. bags seemed heavy for a 125 lb. kid, but I moved a lot of them.

I worked for a brick mason in high school. My jobs were to haul bricks and keep the mixer fed. I do not recall the ratio of sand to mix, as it was 45 years ago, but I do recall piles of the stuff and a lot of shoveling.

 

[MossRoad]

I'm not clear if you are mixing cement or mortar

for cement get one of these self powered portables
View attachment 1867805
for mortar
View attachment 1867806

You can do either one in a small mixer. It's small batches and works fine.

The one on the bottom is similar to what I was chained to when working for the brick mason.

 

[MossRoad]

I had a mason do a block wall for us and I wanted it filled with concrete.

He mixed the concrete in his mortar mixer.

Why aren’t they for both applicable for mortar and concrete?

I did the same thing with my harbor freight concert mixer. Used it for concrete for the footings, mortar for the block wall, then concrete to fill the blocks. Small batches make no difference which machine you use.

But I'll tell you, you'd better clean them out after each use or you'll be sorry.

 

[EddieWalker]

Portland Cement is a glue. It is what holds the sand and rock together. Every piece of sand and rock needs to be coated with Portland Cement to function Water creates a chemical reaction, kind of like a two part epoxy, that converts Portland Cement into glue.

The water actually changes into something else when mixed with the Portland Cement. Excess water evaporates, and when too much water is used, you lose volume of the concrete, which results in cracking. Rebar holds it all together to minimize cracking and add strength.

If you do not mix the Portland Cement with everything else, you will never get the proper amount of water to mix with the Portland Cement, and it will not coat the sand and rock thoroughly. It will get hard, but it will achieve it's maximum strength. Not even close.

 

[Egon]

Concrete is an engineered material. There are numerous hand books on use and design that are very precise. Fortunately it is an accommodating product that for much common use ( homeowner ) serves well despite abnormalities from proper design.


Dry mix, some places known as high early, is used in a lot of different type situations.

Concrete blocks and such items use a high early concrete mix.

Portland Cement should have handbooks on design and pouring.

 

[paulsharvey]

Concrete is an engineered material. There are numerous hand books on use and design that are very precise. Fortunately it is an accommodating product that for much common use ( homeowner ) serves well despite abnormalities from proper design.


Dry mix, some places known as high early, is used in a lot of different type situations.

Concrete blocks and such items use a high early concrete mix.

Portland Cement should have handbooks on design and pouring.

I believe the dry mix they are discussing is the trend on YouTube of guys dumping quikcrete straight from the bags into form boards without mixing, and then soaking the surface with water to start the hydration process; not high early as used in concrete roadway repairs.

 

[Sprinkler Fitter]

Sorry I didn't read all of the posts in this thread.

But coming from someone that just poured a 32 bag slab this past sunday. A 50 bag slab would be absolutely no fun!! You would need at least 1 other strong backed individual or better yet 2 helpers to make this anything less than absolutely miserable. Using a mixer like in your original post would make it even more painful. Me and a strong, young friend were able to do the 32 bags in about 2.5 hours using an electric mixer that you can put 3 80# bags in. We got a system down and if flowed well. I am pleased with the results. I would not wanted to have done much more.

We did forty 80lb bags in a hour with the mud mixer.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

We did forty 80lb bags in a hour with the mud mixer.

Well La-Di-Da!!!

 

[quicksandfarmer]

We did forty 80lb bags in a hour with the mud mixer.

How many people?

 

[EddieWalker]

We did forty 80lb bags in a hour with the mud mixer.

I’ve watched a few videos of it, but they were all on tiny jobs. Was 40 sacks the total, or was that your hourly rate?

My biggest issue with it is the price. But I’m also unsure if it’s any better then the Imer Cement Mixer that I already have

 

[2manyrocks]

Pretty hard to beat an electric motor mixer for saving labor and thoroughly mixing the concrete. It didn't take too many bags of hand mixing concrete to convince me to buy an electric mixer.