Cement Mixer

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
 
For small jobs I usually just use a gear drill and 5 gallon pail. I would like to pick up nice mortar mixer if I ever find a good deal on Craigslist on a used one.




 
I have a decent cement mixer, but I learned awhile ago I can dial a phone and have it dropped off, premixed, in a truck dumped exactly where I want it for $100-120 a yard. I know you can buy bags of it, and mix it yourself for cheaper. But for me, it consists of taking my truck and trailer into town, loading a several pallets of concrete bags, then hauling them home, hand dumping and mixing them, then manual labor to dump, load into buckets and dump where you want it.

A yard of concrete delivered to me is between $100-120, for me to buy ~40-50 bags to equal that yard and hand mix it, no way! I am not sure what a bag of concrete goes for anymore, but I cant imagine there is much savings. Unless of course you need less then a couple yards, then you may have to pay a minimum charge to have them deliver it.
 
I have a decent cement mixer, but I learned awhile ago I can dial a phone and have it dropped off, premixed, in a truck dumped exactly where I want it for $100-120 a yard. I know you can buy bags of it, and mix it yourself for cheaper. But for me, it consists of taking my truck and trailer into town, loading a several pallets of concrete bags, then hauling them home, hand dumping and mixing them, then manual labor to dump, load into buckets and dump where you want it.

A yard of concrete delivered to me is between $100-120, for me to buy ~40-50 bags to equal that yard and hand mix it, no way! I am not sure what a bag of concrete goes for anymore, but I cant imagine there is much savings. Unless of course you need less then a couple yards, then you may have to pay a minimum charge to have them deliver it.
Think it was about 3.80 at lowes. Picked up a few for a cultipacker project
 
I just got a quote yesterday, $138 per yard for 4.25 yards or more. Under 4.25 yards, there will be a fee for a short order.

It takes 48 60 pound bags to equal a yard, so 48x $3.80=$182.40.
If your project is more then a couple yards, I wouldnt be mixing it by hand.
 
I just got a quote yesterday, $138 per yard for 4.25 yards or more. Under 4.25 yards, there will be a fee for a short order.

It takes 48 60 pound bags to equal a yard, so 48x $3.80=$182.40.
If your project is more then a couple yards, I wouldnt be mixing it by hand.
^^^^^This is pretty much my take on concrete. I would like a nice mortar mixer for doing stone work and block/brick when I do those endeavors occasionally. I currently have a old door and window in the old block milk house that I need to just fill in with block when I get around to it.
 
I just got a quote yesterday, $138 per yard for 4.25 yards or more. Under 4.25 yards, there will be a fee for a short order.

It takes 48 60 pound bags to equal a yard, so 48x $3.80=$182.40.
If your project is more then a couple yards, I wouldnt be mixing it by hand.
If I had a project that big, I'd do the same. My problem is that I'm old enough that small projects where a truck is not practical are still too much work for me to mix with a hoe! That's why I got it. Beyond that, my skills at finishing are too poor for me to take on any sizeable job myself.
 
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