Advice on small cement mixer please

I have several neglected jobs to do that involves smallish quantities of mortar and concrete. I could hire a mixer but it seems to me better to buy a small mixer. It would pay for itself in terms of hire charges after just a few uses.

Machine Mart sells these: Clarke CCM50 Concrete Mixer at £168 30 litres Clarke CCM125C Concrete Mixer at £216 125 litres

Has anyone got either of these? Are they going to be too much of a toy and likely to break after only a few uses?

Peter Scott

Reply to
Peter Scott
Loading thread data ...

Peter Scott ( snipped-for-privacy@peter-scott.org.uk) wibbled on Sunday 16 January 2011

20:22:

Don't bother - unless you only want a bucketful of mortar for pointing, it will become frustrating as soon as you want even a modest amount of concrete, screed or dry mix for paving.

I've got that one, or rather its grandad (2nd hand, 30 quid, killed myself wedging it in the car but worth it!). This is the level of machine I would class as a real cement mixer.

It is possible the engineeringhas changed between mine and this one, but the frame and basic construction looks as near as dammit identical. Assuming it is basically the same as mine:

This is a very useful size - power is more than sufficient and the drum will make a barrowful (real man's barrow) of anything from mortar to concrete. Mixing action is good and easy to pour out from. Heavy bastard - moves fine on flat or slight slope hard surfaces but more or a strugle on a sloping lawn. Mine lives outside without cover and hasn't died yet (though if new, you might want to take more care of yours!).

Your's even has a switch which my ancient version of the same doesn't.

If you keep it clean (good hosing out after each use - I half fill mine with water and leave it tumbling after each barrowload) don't forget the resale value if you finally want shot of it.

HTH

Tim

Reply to
Tim Watts

I agree.

I have no experience of other mixers but I bought a Belle Minimix 150 for GBP300 and it has mixed about six pallets of cement in the year and the guys seem happy with it, it replaced an identical one which burned out the motor, the replacement motor was half the cost off the new one so I went for new and kept the old for spares. Because it's for site use it's a 110V one.

AJH

Reply to
andrew

Belle Minimix 150 (electric). I bought one a few years ago, built an extension using it etc. Very robust. The hire shops use them so they must be reliable. The electrics are sealed, you can hose them down to clean etc. Simon.

Reply to
sm_jamieson

I bought a small mixer that looked as if it would mix an adequate batch of concrete, but as soon as I added the water the motor could not turn the load. However it will mix a small amount, and I can wheel the mixer from the raw ingredients right to where I want to dump the concrete, i.e. no wheelbarrow needed.

Reply to
Matty F

Another vote for the Belle minimix here

Reply to
nicknoxx

Throw a shovel of sand/grit in along with the water when cleaning it out. Helps scour it clean.

Paul Mc Cann

Reply to
fred

I used to have a 90litre mixer that looked identical to the CCM125C ('cept mine was red) - until it got stolen. One thing to be aware of about the posted capacities. Bigger is not always better. A 125 litre load of concrete weighs a great deal - both when you try to tip the drum over to get it out, or if you attempt to barrow a whole load around in one go.

Purely for convenience I found that 40 - 60 litres was a manageable amount of goop to mix up in one lot. However, I'd expect the larger capacity machines to be sturdier - so might (!) last longer in everyday use.

Reply to
pete

I bought the same off eBay. I waited until I found one within a reasonable pick up area. I did 20 fence posts, 3 paths and a shed base and I have never seen the bugger since. Everyone keeps borrowing it and giving me a crate of beer as a thank you.

From what I remember it was a very nice machine...........

Reply to
ARWadsworth

Many thanks for all the excellent advice. Just what I needed. I'm impressed that, apart from the CCM50, the small machines do a decent job. Looks like an end is in sight to shovel mixing!

Peter Scott

Reply to
Peter Scott

The Clarke ones are a bit crap. In particular, they use a ring gear drive that wears and falls apart (it's fixable if you can swap bearings). Much better is to use a Belle, where it's a sealed oil-bath gearbox and a direct drive onto the drum spindle. Ring gears are the way to go for big mixers, but not in this size. Direct drive are also much smaller and light enough to lift on and off pickups.

Resale value on mixers is great, so buying new isn't as bad as you might think. You can also pick them up at farm auctions etc., but be wary because a great many of these are auctioned off after someone trashed the gearbox! Always (just as they advise) check the gearbox oil level before using. It shouldn't need topping up, if it does (or even worse, it's now overfilled with rainwater), the seal has gone. Mind you, new Belle gearboxes are cheap enough that a trashed mixer for a fiver at an auction is a cut-price route to effectively a new machine.

Look after your drum. Wash it out afterwards (water & gravel), don't spin-dry bricks in it and dent the thing (makes it harder to clean). A dirty drum soon collects an ever-thickening layer of cement.

You need a good lock and bike chain for a mixer. They don't walk away, they fly! If I was doing a big job or a house build and leaving it in place outdoors, I'd bolt it or concrete it down.

Reply to
Andy Dingley

The bowl tilts vertical and can be locked there. In that position there is no load on the motor. When I tilt the bowl sideways the motor slows down.

Reply to
Matty F

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.