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.