2 Buy or not 2 buy...Cement mixer

[tod evans]

Your math looks good Tod. I did not know that you could get a truck to deliver that cheap.

Of cousre, I can't get a truck for any price to the site that I showed in my picture (Pellow's Island). And I am very glad that I can't

touche`! i`d mix by hand too for the privacy frank..02 tod

[Kenneth Hertzog]

Bill
I bought a three point hitch cement mixer a number of years ago. I put it on the back of my compact diesel tractor. I can dump it into the the hole from the back of the tractor. works VERY well. As for the truck the minimum charge is you buy 4 yrds of concrete. If you want one yard you still pay for 4 yards. happy mixing
ken
slippery rock, pa

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Our minimum purchase here is 3 yards or you pay a light load fee......

[Wes Bischel]

Bill,
Years ago, my Dad said "we" didn't need a mixer - "we" could mix the 30 or so bags needed by hand - after "we" went over to the lumber yard (pre borg) to buy it. I have a few projects that need concrete - I'll need to wait 12 years or so, by then my 4yo can help - and "we" can mix it by hand.

Oh, when I was away at college, Dad borrowed a mixer from a friend.

So far, I haven't had any project big enough for a mixer, but if I did, I wouldn't hesitate buying one - if for no other reason than the time factor when renting one.

Wes

PS - sent you a PM

[Don Baer]

Bill,
Don't know about MD but in California we can get a small towable trailer with up to a yard of premixed from a local building supplier. It looks like a mini cement truck and works out quite well. You might check into that.

[Steve Ash]

Our minimum purchase here is 3 yards or you pay a light load fee......

Same here, even myself having an account with the Redi-Mix company and using lots of crete during the course of a year they still don't cut me any slack on the minimum charge.

[Frank Chaffee]

Our minimum purchase here is 3 yards or you pay a light load fee......

Same here in rural Wisconsin, with the added caveat that they don’t do homeowner deliveries ‘till after 5p, so doing flatwork alone can take most of the night.

For some posts, I’d use a mortar hoe (big holes in it), and mix in a wheelbarrow, not a boat on the ground. The height is easier for mixing and the load is on wheels and ready for delivery.

Done hodee for a living too and I really like mixers, but I wouldn’t buy one for a small job like this.

Frank

[Lopaka Garcia]

Frank please don't be offended by this, but you are a dinosaur It's like using a handsaw to cut all the wood for your house! Yes people do it, but why?

I would 100% absolutely definitely positively rent a mixer if it's cheaper that than the cost of a new mixer. But if you ask me, that HF price doesn't seem too bad. If you have storage space for it, it'll more than pay for itself even after just one job.

And like Stu said, you'll be the most popular guy in the neighborhood that's for sure.

But my memories of a cement mixer aren't very good. When I was a teenager, my dad decided to do all the work renovating our house and guess who got to mix all the concrete?

[Randy Meijer]

Not having any experience in this area, I may be way off base?? According to the HF ad, that mixer has a 1/3 HP motor. My little JET mini lathe has a 1/2 HP motor and my el cheapo lawn mower has as a 3.5HP engine. Seems like that HF mixer might me seriously underpowered??? What do the experts have to say??

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Not having any experience in this area, I may be way off base?? According to the HF ad, that mixer has a 1/3 HP motor. My little JET mini lathe has a 1/2 HP motor and my el cheapo lawn mower has as a 3.5HP engine. Seems like that HF mixer might me seriously underpowered??? What do the experts have to say??

I'm no expert, but I think it has to do with gearing, or pulley size. the mixer does not exactly "Spin" it's more like it "Rotates"...... slowly.

But, what do I know

[Frank Pellow]

Frank please don't be offended by this, but you are a dinosaur It's like using a handsaw to cut all the wood for your house! Yes people do it, but why?

I would 100% absolutely definitely positively rent a mixer if it's cheaper that than the cost of a new mixer. But if you ask me, that HF price doesn't seem too bad. If you have storage space for it, it'll more than pay for itself even after just one job.

And like Stu said, you'll be the most popular guy in the neighborhood that's for sure.

But my memories of a cement mixer aren't very good. When I was a teenager, my dad decided to do all the work renovating our house and guess who got to mix all the concrete?

But, I am an informed and experienced dinosaur.

Lopaka, I have participated in the construction of a large barn, two medium size cabins, several outbuildings, and and have also done many building modifications without the use of power tools, so I do understand your analogy.

I have also used cement mixers, both powered and non-powered so I really do know what I am talking about. I claim that, for small jobs, it is easier and faster to mix the cement in a wheelbarrow because there is less equipment to deal with and less cleanup at the end of the job. Mixing cement in a wheelbarrow is relatively easy and fast.

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Question for you Frank.

Do you think you get as good a mix in the wheelbarrow, as can be had with a mixer?

Cheers!

[Frank Pellow]

Question for you Frank.

Do you think you get as good a mix in the wheelbarrow, as can be had with a mixer?

Cheers!

With experience, yes. But, I grant you that it is probably more likely that one will "screw up" when using a wheelbarrow.

[Bill Lewis]

Wow guys thanks for all of the responses and opinions! I didn't know this would stir up so much discussion.

Let me take a minute to follow up with some of the comments.

I've been looking for an affordable 3 pt mixer for the tractor. but such a beast doesn't exist. I did see one on ebay that was perfect, it was sized for a compact tractor. However, it was local only pickup (in CT), and was still $500. Otherwise they seem to run about $800 new for one that'd be too large.

A redi-mix truck is not an option. There's not enough concrete to justify the expense or minimums. Otherwise I'd do it in a heartbeat.

1 yard towables are not real popular around here. I did know of one rental place that did them, but that was some time ago, and I haven't checked back with them for some time. However I also expect to be pouring these footers on Sunday or Monday (memorial day).

I'm getting my material delivered by the lumber yard. I don't deal with the Borg's on these type of projects. I have an account at the lumber yard and the contractor sales guys know me. Yes, they did have to start charging for delivery, but I think I can swallow the $5 they now charge. Plus they are going to put it all on the forklift truck so It'll be delivered directly where I need it.

Digging footers, mixing and handling concrete is about my least favorite job in the world. BTDT! So just about anything I can do to make this job less painful, well you get the picture. I was going to dig the holes using my 3 pt. post hole digger (multiple holes/footer) But a friend offered to come over and dig them with his skid loader and 24" auger. That should make it a bit easier.

So the end result is that I'm leaning toward getting the mixer. Unless someone comes along and has an overwhelming story to convince me otherwise, or has one to lend me for a few days. OTOH, I know what's going to happen, HF will be out of stock and I'll end up doing it by hand anyway. I'll let you know how it turns out.

[Norman Hitt]

You might want to inquire at HD if they have a loaner policy there at their store. Here, they have a sliding scale of a given amount of time free per bag of sakrete that you buy, and you only have to pay rental on any time you keep it over the allotted "Free" time, which usually isn't any, unless you screw around doing the pour.