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PTO Concrete Mixer

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HuckMeat
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 121 Colorado
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2005-10-05          117430

Has anyone here had any experience with the 1/3 yard PTO mount concrete mixers? I've got a little electric 1.5 cf mixer, and it is fine for smaller projects, but I've got a lot of 'mid size' (1-2 yards max) projects around the backside of my house, meaning I either need to mix it back there or pump it. I think I could cover the cost of the mixer in saved pump fees, while the concrete cost is about the same (if you count my back) :). The advantage is that I can do these 2 yard projects without having to stack up 3-4 of them and pour them all at once, with the additional manpower that requires. Right now, concrete is rationed here, but I can buy bagged cement all day. Homeowners pretty much can't buy concrete, only the bigger concrete contractors are getting on the waiting list. Plus you pretty much can't get a pump truck here and out for less than $350.00. (That was for a 12 minute footings pour!).

How well do they work? Any recommendations (there appears to be 2 'main' models. I would need a remote for raising the bucket back up, is there a simple setup I could plug into my BH90 connector ports to give me a valve that I could hook up the single action cylinder to?

thoughts? Ideas? Tomatoes?


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Chief
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 4297 Southwest MiddleTennessee
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2005-10-05          117434

Not sure if these are too big for what you want but Nick over on "The Smart Farmer" has them for $850. I have never used one but sure does look like it could make pouring cement a LOT easier. My last cement job I mixed up 20 100lb. bags myself with a wheelborrow, shovel, and garden hose. I may consider a cement truck next time. You are definitely right about the back saving part. ;O) ....


Link:   3-Point Cement Mixer BM-320 12 cubic feet W/hydraulic cylinder

 
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Peters
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 3034 Northern AL
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2005-10-05          117436

I have been lusting over the years but not bought one yet. I like the idea of the spiral mixers as they have a higher dump height. I posted information about a model made in NA a little while back.
They make a PTO cement pump also depending on the size of the job. ....

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HuckMeat
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 121 Colorado
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2005-10-05          117437

That is exactly what I'm thinking of - At about the right price I think. Mixing 1.5 cubic feet at a time get's old, and it's impossible to pour anything other than a tiny porch stoop without getting a cold joint. I think with a buddy we could pour a yard or two mixing in in 1/3 yard batches pretty quick.

Perhaps Art can help me figure out the cheap way to add a remote to my BH90 hookups to run this? :)

This board is well worth the price.

Thanks guys,
murph ....

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Peters
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 3034 Northern AL
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2005-10-05          117446

There is something a miss with the smartfarm add. The mixer is not likely 12 cu. ft. unless they are talking the full volume of the drum. You would likely only be able to mix 4.5 to 5 cu. ft. I added a similar design from a different manufacturer. The one from the smartfarmer looks like the worksaver one. ....


Link:   Mixer

 
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Operating and Attachments PTO Concrete Mixer
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HuckMeat
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 121 Colorado
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2005-10-05          117447

On an ad for a similar one (with an 11.3 CF drum) they indicated that you'd get say 70% of what the volume was in in the drum in concrete, and that a 12cf would produce 8cf of concrete, as the sand/cement filled in the voids between aggregates. The 12CF size making 8 cf of cement would work out pretty good, since that will be close( exactly?) one 92lb sack of cement per mixer run. Only have to meaure sand and aggregate.

That explains a lot, like why my 3cf mixer really only does 1.5 or so... :)
....

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beagle
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 1333 Michigan
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2005-10-05          117448

Check out the prices at Agri-Supply. They have the best price I've seen on a 1/3 yard 3-pt mixer. Comes with the hydraulic dump cylinder, which is a must have item. ....

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Peters
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 3034 Northern AL
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2005-10-05          117452

If you compare the pictures I think the unit is the Worksaver. If this is the case it is recommended for 5 cu. ft. The Pronovost is 6.2 cu ft and appears to be a much larger unit. The provost would not require you to add another hydraulic control. I posted the price on the Teagle. ....


Link:   Teagle Pricing

 
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Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2005-10-06          117458

We have much the same problem on a pretty regular basis, except where we need to pour is not "around the backside of my house" they are a mile or more out into a golf course.

In our case we finally decided that instead of making a bigger mess on-site by mixing, etc., where we want to pour, we make the concrete, or have a truck in, and then carry it to the site in a small dump trailer behind a tractor.

We already have the trailer, so buying one is not an issue to us, but if you had a few jobs to do, you could justify at least the cost of the 3pth mixer worth of the price towards the cost of a dump trailer.

Besides, I would guess that the average user will get a LOT more use out of a dump trailer than they would a mixer.

Best of luck. ....

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Peters
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 3034 Northern AL
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2005-10-06          117459

Murf;
In my case I am thinking before acting, but why would I need to make a mess on site? If I have the mixer on my tractor why can't I have my materials in a solid area such as a parking area. I can load the mixer, travel the distance to the site and dump my load. ....

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Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2005-10-06          117462

Peters, in a perfect world you are correct.

In our case it's merely logistics, if we are working only a mile out, the round trip time would be +/- 1/2hr. If the job was a 3 yard pour and the mixer held a maximum of 8 cu.ft. but was, for safety's sake (spillage, etc.) we only filled to 85% capacity (6.75 cu. ft.) it would be 4 trips per cu. yd. times 3 yards, we would have to make 12 trips, and at 1/2 hour'ish per trip it would take 6 hours.

Not only would my clients strenously object to that many hours labour, the concrete from one load would be setting up before the next was added to it. It would be nearly impossible to make any sort of decent job of it.

If this was "around the backside of my house" 24 tractor movements, 12 in & 12 out, there would certainly be some turf damage from the wheeltracks to contend with if nothing else.

From a purely cost/benefit analysis point of view, there is a third workable option also. We use this method a lot for smaller pours on remote sites.

Rent a larger commercial cement mixer on wheels (tow-behind type) for a day from a local rental house. Mix the (larger) batch of concrete in the driveway then just tow the mixer to the desired location with the tractor and pour it straight into the forms.

This solves a lot of the problems without having to buy or even maintain a piece of equipment that is only needed a few times.

Best of luck. ....

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shortmagnum
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 848 Wisconsin
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2005-10-06          117463

I can understand the desire for buying a new piece of equipment, but even the guys with mixers big enough for a two bag mix will order a truck if they need 1/2 yd or more.
David ....

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HuckMeat
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 121 Colorado
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2005-10-06          117468

This is a really good dialogue, which I'm grateful for. Since winter is hitting, I'll probably debate it myself for a few months and then see what the conditions are for spring before considering a purchase. There are a few factors that have me thinking of it still...

-I'd be mixing it around back, - The trip to/from there with a full loader of aggregate is OK with a tractor, and doable (but tight) with a pickup. I plan on buying a dump trailer, but I was going to buy something (5th wheel) that I can haul the tractor in too, so that would'nt fit back there. It's all dirt everywhere, and the only pavement is the driveway apron, so I keep away from it... leftover concrete mess is just 'road base underlayment' :)

Homeowners can't buy readymix right now, unless you are planning at least a 100 yard pour, and get on the waiting list 4 weeks in advance... Makes the small projects, even stacked up, difficult to do. The other option is to hire it out, since the larger contractors can get on the ready-mix providers lists.

Do other areas have rationing? I can go to evil orange (HD) and buy bags of portland cement, costing me about $24 a yard for cement, and then aggregate costing about another $25 a yard. When I could buy concrete, before the shortage, a year ago, I was paying ~70 a yard, but I know it's gone up now... So I don't save much mixing it, and a readymix truck will have a higher quality product, but if I can't get it...

The pump truck seems like the best method, with the pto mixer a second, and the dump trailer the best idea, but too tight for the majority of the work I have... ....

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beagle
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 1333 Michigan
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2005-10-06          117471

Make the dump trailer uour very last choice. Absolutely, in no way, do you want to get one of those 1 yard trailers you take home from the local concrete plant. The aggregate settles to the bottom so fast vibrating down the road that you end up with soup on top and a mass of settled aggregate at the bottom. They are a nightmare.

If you are dumping from a mix truck, and only traveling a short distance, keep your route as short and as smooth as possible to avoid settleing the aggregate. Once it settles out, there is no reasonble way to remix it. ....

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oneace
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 1490 south central pa
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2005-10-06          117488

Don't know about other areas but here there is a two yard minimum for the truck to come out. With in 20 mile I have 5 concrete company's and 2 portland cement manufactures. ....

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dfkrug
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 171 NorCal
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2005-11-10          119221

Sorry I did not see this thread earlier. Do a search for PTO concrete mixer....there is a lot on this subject.

Anyway, I have the "Mixer80", which is the brand sold by
The Smart Farmer. I love it and I have used it many times since I bought it about 6-7 y ago. It is the biggest one I have seen for tractors. Made in Italy (poorly) with a truly awful toplink cylinder (single-acting). It depends on weight to self-dump. First thing I did was convert to a double-acting toplink cylinder. I got the kinks out, now I often call it back to service. I have bent and straightened my modified toplink cyl twice.

Having this unit allows me to mix concrete the way I like it for sidewalks (1.5 aggregate, 0" slump) and load my gravel in one place, my sand in another, and drive over to my workshop to get my Portland. I also mixed ALL the stucco for my new house. It worked great.

Two more points: I used the "homeowner" concrete dump trailers when I was young and ignorant, but I would NEVER do it again. Also, over 2 cy, its call for a readimix truck. ....

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