Re: PTO cement mixer instructions wanted

Well, 8 to 1. Mixed a bunch at that rate over the years and it is all still where I planted it. :>)

Allan

Do you dump the water in all at once or mix it dry and then add, or trickle it in during the process? How often do you have to stop and scrape down the sides of the mixer to get the stuff to blend?

If the Fergie turned too quickly, what is the right speed in rpm's on the tractor?

BTW: my dad's mortar mix proved excellent over many bags of portland this summer: 3 sand, 1 portland, 1/4 seal-bond. If it proves too sticky to get out of the mixer, dilute with 1 sand. I put three tons of this onto the interior walls of the stone house I'm renovating and it worked very well.

I only do small jobs so I cheat a lot and just buy the "just add water" stuff in 90 lb bags. Here's my drill:

1. First get the mixer started. It's easier to keep it rotating as you add weight than it is to get it started after all the ingredients are in.
2. Using a hose-end garden trigger sprayer I add about 2 gallons of water (until it's about 3" deep in the bottom of the drum).
3. Dump in one bag.
4. Knock down the dust with a fine mist spray from the hose.
5. Watch it for awhile. If it's pretty thick, I add a bunch of water until it's pretty soupy. If it's already still very liquid I go to step 6.
6. Dump in another bag.
7. Repeat step 4.
8. Repeat step 5, but don't let it get as soupy this time. You want it so it's thick enough to climb the side of the rotating drum about 1/4 to 1/3 before dropping back into the pile.
9. Dump in the third bag.
10. Repeat step 4 but don't get carried away.
11. It should be pretty thick now.
12. With the sprayer add water sparingly and let it mix. Watch for it to get to the consistency you like then stop adding water.

Three bags and the required water for that much ready mix is about all this mixer can handle. It's a lot better than mixing one bag at a time in a wheelbarrow! As for RPM, you'll get a feel for that. If it's too fast, the mixture will centrifuge to the sides of the drum and you wont get any mixing action. On my Ford I find that 1000 engine RPM is about right...maybe a little slower.

When this old brute of a mixer dumped, the frame would get jammed inside another frame and require a pry bar to get it free.

Thanks for the pictures. They raise another question. If I couldn't get the thing high enough to dump into a wheelbarrow, that's the tractor's fault, right? The 3pt's last gasp was to try to lift the mixer one last time, then drop it in its tracks as I was driving. It hasn't worked since, and my mechanic says it's past fixing.

When it came time to return the borrowed mixer I ended up loading it onto my utility trailer by pulling it up the ramp with my golf cart and a 40 foot nylon tow rope.

Anybody want a Fergie with excellent sheet metal, 98% tires, tired valves and no pump?