PT-425 Cement Mixer capacity

[CreativeGuy]

Greetings,
The delivery of my new PT-425 has been delayed because of the Huricane in Florida. (So many shipping trucks have been rerouted to deliver supplies to Florida and Texas.)

But that has allowed me time to save up some more pennies for attachments so I have added the 4 cu ft cement mixer to my order. I was wondering how other users have "enjoyed" their mixers? I really like the idea of mixing and delivering the cement right to where it needs to go.

Does anyone have a sense as to how many 60 lb, 80 lb and 90 lb bags of cement can be mixed safely?

Cheers & Thanks You
Steve

 

[ponytug]

The 4Cu Ft. represents the total capacity of the mixer, i.e. in the fully vertical position. In actual use, you won't be able to mix much more than 1/3rd of that. You will be able to mix quickly and dump where you want it easily.

All the best,

Peter

 

[woodlandfarms]

Steve, we are very very good at spending your money. What are you plans with the machine? Concrete mixing is inviting but it may make more sense to have a larger mixer and dump into a bucket to deliver.

Of my implements, my box blade has become my least used item (I have a lot of implements, a few home made).

 

[CreativeGuy]

Re: PT-425 Cement Mixer Hydraulic Connection

OK, My 425 Arrived on Tuesday and I'm so pleased with it. I did get the cement Mixer and have a question about Hydraulics. I was presuming that the hydraulic lines to run the mixer would plug into the accessory circuit that is controlled by the switch. But it's meant to be plugged into quick attach circuit. I called Terry at PT and he said that they have done it both ways but figured that people would want to reverse the direction of the drum spin. The problem for me is that I like to have the mixer turning while I add or adjust water and amendments to the concrete. I can't do this if I have to be in the cab controlling the circuit. I will oftem be mixing by myself and wont have a friend to control from the cab for me. Should I ask PT to send me a new set of lines that can plug into the attachment circuit or just have some made for me here?
Cheers,
Steve

 

[CreativeGuy]

Hi,
I plan lots of small concrete projects. small pads, concrete planters and such.
Cheers,

 

[cqaigy2]

Bungee cord?

 

[Marks481]

You can unscrew the current (1/4?) couplers that are on it, and screw some of the larger (3/8"?) couplers in their place, and plug it in to the PTO couplers.

Bet it will spin a lot faster with the PTO hydraulic source. If you want to be clever, you could buy a hydraulic block that would let you reverse flow direction and mount it to the cement mixer.

Or even better, mount it in the engine compartment so you can reverse flow all your PTO attachments. PHD, tiller, and trencher all need reversing at times (tiller and trencher tend to get rocks stuck in them; since you can't reverse, you have to whack them out with a hammer).

 

[SpringHollow]

You could add water with a wand from the cab but you would not be able to easily see how the mix is changing nor easily add other things. You could have chutes etc but can you see the mix from inside the cab? You could add another hydraulic circuit like i did but for this application, since you let it just spin all of the time, it would be much easier to change the fittings or make adapters like has been mentioned.

Ken

 

[SpringHollow]

You might need a flow adjuster unless the mixer can handle the PTO flow.

 

[woodlandfarms]

I would just tie a rope or a rod onto my QA... No... wait... You can't cause you have not yet modified your QA handle....

That is one of the very first mods is to add an extension to your QA Handle. We can refrence it for you. THen you can just add a rod or a rope and you pull on it as you need it to turn.

 

[MossRoad]

For simple ease and fast start, ask Terry to send you two new hoses. They'll have all the proper fittings, reducers, couplers, etc... and you'll be running as soon as you swap them. But you will be limited to one direction concrete mixing. Is that a bad thing? I do not know. Would you ever want it to rotate in the reverse direction? Can that help with unloading it. Big concrete trucks mix in one direction, then rotate in the other to dump it out. I've never seen a small mixer that rotates in both directions. My el-cheapo harbor freight electric mixer only rotates in one direction. I worked for a brick mason in high school ( a loooong time agoooo ) and his mixers only rotated in one direction.

With that said... think about a few things you can do with it being on the AUX PTO circuit instead of the MAIN PTO circuit. As one person mentioned, a bungee cord or clip for the AUX PTO handle could be fabricated pretty easily. That would allow you to rotate the mixer continuously with the parking brake on, and walk away. Also, being able to SLOWLY rotate and stop and start the drum while you are dumping might be useful in emptying it.

You won't be able to control speed very well with the MAIN PTO.
First, its 8gallon per minute flow while the AUX is much less.
Second, the MAIN PTO is either ON or OFF and if the engine is at a higher RPM when you flip that switch, WHAM! it goes and puts quite a shock on the system and can even stall the engine or engage the bypasses(with something like a mower).
So it may be advantageous to try it with the AUX PTO first and see some past threads on TBN about handles and locks that PT owners have made for their AUX PTO levers.

 

[CreativeGuy]

Hi All,
Thanks. It looks like the QA handles trick will be the best way to go. I tried searching for the Handle mod posting but couldn’t find it. If anyone can direct me to the post I would be most appreciative.

Cheers & Thank You,

 

[MossRoad]

Try searching for wood latch pawl auxiliary PTO modification, etc...

Was it Bob that did the mod?

 

[woodlandfarms]

There are some nice ones. I just welded up some flat stock...

 

[CreativeGuy]

I ended up cutting a wooden stick to length that when jammed under the lever would ”run” the cement mixer while I tended to the mixer.

 

[joshlee]

I plan on going down to Tazewell on the 12th to buy a cement mixer and snowblower. I have small concrete jobs around here that I’ve been wanting to do, so the mixer will come in handy.

 

[4570Man]

I don’t like any of the small barrel cement mixers. Their capacity is very small when they’re tilted enough to actually mix anything. And they’re hard to get bagged cement into. A mortar mixer is far better. An average sized one will mix 10 bags of quick creat at a time and they’re way easier to load.

 

[MossRoad]

I used to work for a brick mason in high school. My main job was to keep the mortar mixer fed with shovel full of this and a couple shovel fulls of that. Add some water. Mix, dump, carry, repeat. It was brutal work, but built character (and shoulders).

I've had a little Harbor Freight concrete mixer for about 25 years. It's extremely handy, mixes 2 bags in just a couple minutes, is super easy to load. Just throw the bag on top and stab it in the center. The bag breaks in half and the contents pour right in. Like cracking an egg. Easy to unload, easy to clean. I've done a few short sidewalks and step pads with it. Last summer I did about 16 footing tubes with it for our garage addition. 12" x 4' deep. I just wheeled it over each hole, mixed up the concrete, and dumped it right in. A mortar mixer would have been a lot more work.

Same thing goes for post holes. I think it's better to have the mixer right on the front of the PowerTrac FEL arms and be able to mix and pour directly, VS mix, dump into bucket, haul to hole, try and dump a 42" wide bucket into a 12" hole. You'd need to either shovel it out of the bucket, or make a special bucket with a spout.

While large mixers have their place, as a typical home/estate owner, I wouldn't want one.

 

[joshlee]

I like the idea of the power trac mixers. Being able to drive right up to where you’re putting it and dump it right in is what I like about it. Not to mention having it mixed up in that barrel by hydraulic power is a lot easier than mixing it up in a 5 gallon bucket by hand.

 

[MossRoad]

I kinda got my little electric mixer for free (in my mind at least ) about 25 years ago.

I had to do a small sidewalk in front of some new pre-cast stairs. I needed less than 2 yards. There's a 4 yard minimum if you get it delivered. Less than 4 yards, you pay a penalty. The concrete + penalty came out to about the exact same cost as enough bags to do the jobs plus the price of the mixer. So now I've had a mixer for 25 years.