yoderjac
5 year old buck +
I've never really done much cement work other than posts and small repairs. I recently decided to reorganize a few things around camp including the herbicide locker. My herbicide locker is an old reach-in cooler box that is 3-door 7' wide x 3' deep. It was not worth fixing, so I saved the box and use it as a herbicide locker. I put a small electric oil filled heater in it to keep things from freezing in the winter. It is currently sitting on blocks but it does have casters. So, I decided to try my hand at pouring a slab at the new location.
I framed it out a week ago, but decided that I'm getting too old to mix ten 80 lb bags with a hoe, so I decided to buy a cement mixer. I immediately checked out the Harbor Freight 3.5 cubic foot central machinery cement mixer since I couldn't find anything on craigslist. The HF stuff has historically be cheap but workable for occasional use. It has a 1/3 HP motor and lists for $250. A coupon will knock off $20 or so. I watched several video reviews. It looks workable but a PITA to assemble and folks have had some issues with it, but it seemed workable. Before COVID, these could be had for about $180.
As usual, I did look at alternatives, but didn't expect to find anything in the same price range. I was surprised that I found the YARDMAX YM0115 Concrete Mixer 4.0 cu ft 2/3 HP. It had a slightly larger capacity with twice the HP and none of the belts like the HF model. I found it online at Walmart for $199 with free shipping. There were fewer review videos, but assembly seemed much easier. I couldn't beat the price, so I ordered it on the 14th and it arrived on the 17th. (By the way, Walmart now shows them "out of stock" on line..)
I assembled it yesterday. It all went very smoothly and quickly until I got to the handle. You really need two people to assemble that handle. I was able to do it myself with a lot of muscle and a clamp and some luck. Other than that things went very smoothly.
I used it to pour the slab today. It worked pretty well. I did take me a bit to get the water correct so it would mix well, but that was more my inexperience than the machine. The only complaint I have with it is that if the ground is not perfectly level, there is a little rocking of the frame that can cause the handle to pop out of the mix position. When I get a chance, I'll probably weld a little extension on those tabs to prevent that. It handled two 80lb bags at a time quite well. I did not try three.
All in all, it beats my experience with most Harbor Freight tools at a lower cost.
Thanks,
Jack
I framed it out a week ago, but decided that I'm getting too old to mix ten 80 lb bags with a hoe, so I decided to buy a cement mixer. I immediately checked out the Harbor Freight 3.5 cubic foot central machinery cement mixer since I couldn't find anything on craigslist. The HF stuff has historically be cheap but workable for occasional use. It has a 1/3 HP motor and lists for $250. A coupon will knock off $20 or so. I watched several video reviews. It looks workable but a PITA to assemble and folks have had some issues with it, but it seemed workable. Before COVID, these could be had for about $180.
As usual, I did look at alternatives, but didn't expect to find anything in the same price range. I was surprised that I found the YARDMAX YM0115 Concrete Mixer 4.0 cu ft 2/3 HP. It had a slightly larger capacity with twice the HP and none of the belts like the HF model. I found it online at Walmart for $199 with free shipping. There were fewer review videos, but assembly seemed much easier. I couldn't beat the price, so I ordered it on the 14th and it arrived on the 17th. (By the way, Walmart now shows them "out of stock" on line..)
I assembled it yesterday. It all went very smoothly and quickly until I got to the handle. You really need two people to assemble that handle. I was able to do it myself with a lot of muscle and a clamp and some luck. Other than that things went very smoothly.
I used it to pour the slab today. It worked pretty well. I did take me a bit to get the water correct so it would mix well, but that was more my inexperience than the machine. The only complaint I have with it is that if the ground is not perfectly level, there is a little rocking of the frame that can cause the handle to pop out of the mix position. When I get a chance, I'll probably weld a little extension on those tabs to prevent that. It handled two 80lb bags at a time quite well. I did not try three.
All in all, it beats my experience with most Harbor Freight tools at a lower cost.
Thanks,
Jack
