PTO Cement Mixer

[nuvz]

I am curious if anyone has a plan to build a PTO Cement Mixer. I am thinking that one could be fabricated using an automotive differential for the drive & attaching the drum to an axel. Then allowing the differential housing to pivot using a lever to dump the drum. Any thoughts??

 

[Buck]

nuvz,

My only thought is that there ought to be a market, bigger than say, post hole diggers, for supplying people with "Lego" -Like components, shafts, gearboxes, etc. to do such a thing!

Buck

 

[mbsil]

I'm keeping my eyes out for a used cement mixer with a lawn-mower type engine. I'm thinking I could replace the engine with the appropriate sized gear(s) and weld on a 3PH and a tilt mechanism (manual at first with thoughts for a future hydraulic cylinder tilt (dump))

I should be able to accomplish this for far less than the $700+ that they want for a new PTO mixer.

 

[jimgerken]

I own an old old three cubic foot mixer. It is electric motor powered. It is in tough shape but it works and it is clean inside so I use it and hope it doesnt break. I was thinking , like you are, about how neat it might be to have it 3-pt mounted. But on my current project, and maybe others you will think of, it would be a big hassle if it was tying up the 3-pt. Currently I have a post hole digger on the 3-pt and I drill a hole, set a post, mix a small batch, pour it in the wheelbarrow, dump it in the hole around the bottom of the post 10-12" deep. If the mixer was 3-pt mounted, I'd have to switch implements every 15 minutes. I am finding it great to have the loader on the front to bring the sand to the location where the mixer is, and water is easy anyway with a hose. So a mobile-mixer doesn't have great advantages to me. Just food for thought.
I do like your differential idea. I assume you'd block the unused shaft from turning, basically using the diff as a right angle box. Work out the math so you're sure it will run slow enough. I find that a mixer running about the right speed actually drops the mud at almost the top of the circle. If it is too fast the mud just goes around without doing any blending, stuck to the drum.

 

[mrcaptainbob]

I hatched a plan to hook up a mixer bucket in place of the bucket on the back hoe. Using a hydraulic motor to do the spin on the drum and a manual dump. I like that because of the low height of the drum. Easier on the back. Plus, swinging the bucket over to where it's needed, even if I have to dismount to do it, still beats the wheel barrow. Note the wording...'hatched-a-plan'. Haven't counted that chicken yet.....

 

[3054]

I had a similar idea. Here is a photo of what I made

 

[mbsil]

That's pretty cool.

I found a mixer spec that mentioned a gear ratio of 8.77:1.

If my math skills are working that's 540/8.77 = 61.57 RPM drum rotation speed. Design so that the gearing achieves the same drum rotation speed.

 

[forestcreature]

has anyone else just dumped the back of sack-crete into the fel bucket and mixed it there?

not owning a wheel barrow, this worked for the minimal amount of concrete/mortar work i did.

[self scooping on the gravel too - as long as you do that first]

i really liked the idea of using the mixer barrel on the fel.

 

[Golfgar4]

Pretty cool /w3tcompact/icons/cool.gif - but how do you get the FEL to spin around to mix the cement?? /w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif/w3tcompact/icons/hmm.gif/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[Kodiak]

There is a new post by andyfr in the pressure washer attachments thread, in the attachments forum. That contains a link to the Lawrence Edwards Company. They have this really good looking hydraulic powered 3Pt cement mixer. I would bet that it would be easy to modify for your front bucket, like that in the picture from 3054.

 

[nuvz]

Wow! You guys are great! The photo of the FEL mixer really made me think! What a great idea. Also, the point about using a post hole digger on the 3pt is a good one as well.

One question about the FEL mount, did you power that with hydraulics or a separate motor? I liked the idea of the Hydraulic motor.... Should be easy enough to get the correct rpms with pully sizing.

 

[3054]

I used a hydraulic gearmotor directley connected to the input shaft of the mixer.If you would like I will post a shot of my posthole digger that mounts to the loader or backhoe bucket it is powered by the same type of hydraulic motor

 

[snowman]

I used my FEL to mix up concrete. Can do 3 80lb bags at one time.

It worked great for me because where I needed the concrete was about 600 feet away from the house/water.

I put about a gallon of water in the FEL, dumped in the three bags, added more water, mixed it with a hoe, drove it to where I needed to, dumped it and scrapped out the FEL easily, then drove back to do it again.

A 3 pt mixer would be alot easier, I assume, just from the mixing standpoint. I don't know what their capacity is - looks to be about three or four bags.

I don't know what they cost, but if I was going to do alot of mixing, I'd consider buying a mixer .

 

[Spencer]

I would like to see close up pictures of both the PHD and the cement mixer if you find the time.

Thanks, Spence

 

[wroughtn_harv]

There are quite a few cement mixers on the market for PTO's and remote hydraulics. The smaller ones use the drum system. The heavier duty ones use the auger system. That's where you have an auger just spinning in the trough of the mixer. A couple of the manufacturers have them set up where your frontloader or skid steer picks up the material just like it does with it's regular bucket. Then you tilt it back and add water and cement.

There are a couple of manufacturers who have the auger system where your tractor can grab it from either side. This allows you to chute it off from the right or left. Fence contractors and masonary contractors dispensing grout are the targets of these products.

An interesting note on concrete, especially if you're doing very much of it like a slab. Here it runs sixty to eighty dollars a yard delivered depending on just who you are and how much you're buying.

Here in north tejas we don't have much rock and sand that's good for making concrete naturally. It has to be hauled in. We have black clay and limestone. So the cost of sand and gravel is twenty five to forty dollars a yard, again depending on who you are and how much you're buying. Then you add five to six bags of portland cement depending on your requirements at six dollars a bag at Home Depot. That all equates to you doing the work for ten to twenty dollars a yard max.

But if you're bound and determined to reinvent the wheel get creative and consider the auger system. A hydraulic motor spinning an auger that lays in the bottom of the trough. The ones I've seen have a rubber skirt attached to the flites so that all the material is mixed.

If you have the capability to reverse your hydraulics then you can spin it one direction for mixing and the other for dispensing.

 

[forestcreature]

i put it in 4th and drive backwards in a hard turn....

then, swing the wheel all the way over the other way get an even mix.

 

[jimgerken]

I ran my mixer WAY too much over the weekend (mixed 3 cubic yards), and can tell you the drum makes a revolution every 2 seconds. So thats 30 RPM, correct? I would not want it any faster. However, I think the desired speed is also related to the diameter. The bigger the drum, the faster you could turn it. Since there would be more "upside down" time with a big drum, the mud would fall even if it was turning faster. My drum is 3.5 cubic feet, although i dont mix to that capacity. I use about 2 cubic feet at a time.

 

[ClayG]

I own a "one sacker" mixer sold by TSC that is very similar to the one you can see online at the Worksaver site. I have been contemplating adapting it hydraulics to avoid the inherent problems with the PTO drive.

Fortunately for me I found this thread first. Would you mind posting your motor selection and what hydraulic flow your tractor has to support it?

And I would like to see your photos of your post hole digger. I also bought a HD PH gear box with the intent of adapting it to hydraulics as well.

Thanks, Clay

 

[gmason]

I just mixed 1200lbs(15x80lbs) 4 at a time in my FEL(5ft) using a hoe and a rake to help mix it. I needed to place it in a 2'x2' so I put a little ramp for me to drive the left front wheel up and so the cement would flow to the right side of the bucket and when I dumped, it poured dead in the 2x2 area.
Had to work fast over the 5 different mixes to keep the pour good, but 2 of us did just fine.
gary