Mortar / Concrete mixer cleanup..

[RadarTech]

hey folks,
I saw a thread here about a concrete mixer and it reminded me...
Down on the old logging road on our property there is an ancient mixer.
Right now, I can't remember if the tub was the rotating element or the arms. Which will tell me which kind of mixer it really is.... After comparing it to northern tool and other diminsions for mixers, it looks to be in the 8-10 cubic foot range.

It is setup for a 3PH, and has 3 problems I see from a quick review...

1. PTO shaft is missing
2. caked and dried mix inside
3. Rubber scrubbers are all but gone.. It appears to have had rubber pads from the mixxing arms to the walls--

It has been sitting there for at least 10 years..

I think if we can get the caked mix out that it will work fine..
BUT --- How do you remove the caked concrete?.mortar Is this just hammer time? or is there a way to do it?
Some of it looks like it could be 2 inches thick!!!

for the PTO shaft- I need to look at that again alot closer....

For the rubber scrubbers-- looks like an old tire could be cut and put there...
a place in town sells old tires from $5 and up.. mabye a job for the sawsall..



the big question here is-- is there a way to remove the concrete mix besides beating it with a hammer?


Later,
J

 

[JJZ 109]

Sounds like a lot of hand work no matter how you look at it. Possibly an electric chipping hammer would help out with the bulk of concrete removal.
As far as the rubber on the paddles, I'd suggest cutting them from an old truck mud flap. You'll find that cutting into a tire is no fun. Sawzall or not, the steel belts and the reinforcement in the sidewalls might be a large pain.

 

[herringchoker]

I'm semi-retired and drive a ready-mix concrete truck in the summer. At least once a season we have to climb inside the drums on our trucks and remove the hardened concrete. We use hammers, chisels, an 8 lb. mall (where there's room to swing it), but mostly an air chisel. It comes off better if you can hit bare metal on the paddles and set up a vibration in them, or you can get a chisel started between the steel and the concrete. It's real easy to get the chisel jammed, so watch that. I find if you beat against the concrete itself, it just comes off in little flakes, but if you can get at the steel it will come off in bigger chunks.

The electric chipping hammer mentioned by JJZ 109 should work.

Hearing and breathing protection are mandatory.

It's a noisy, dirty job but it has to be done. Myself, I prefer to wash it out today rather than hammer it out tomorrow.

Good luck with it.

 

[JJZ 109]

It's a noisy, dirty job but it has to be done. Myself, I prefer to wash it out today rather than hammer it out tomorrow.

Good luck with it.

I also drove ready mix truck part time for a few summers. Fortunately, I was at my real job and not there in the off season when the other boys got the job of chipping out the drums!

 

[RadarTech]

I was hoping for a magic concrete eating solution!
ok- yeah I know no such thing..
Let's see how hard this will be...

I'll get a picture tomorrow...
Thanks for the advice...

Later,
J

 

[newbury]

Watch the episode of Dirty Jobs - Termite Contoller - Concrete spreader, termite exterminator, concrete truck cleaner

It's very easy - get someone else to do it!

 

[RadarTech]

Watch the episode of Dirty Jobs - Termite Contoller - Concrete spreader, termite exterminator, concrete truck cleaner

It's very easy - get someone else to do it!

I WISH!!!!

 

[/pine]

magic concrete eating solution

once you get the bulk of the mortar out of the mixer you can clean the drum with muriatic acid.

 

[RadarTech]

once you get the bulk of the mortar out of the mixer you can clean the drum with muriatic acid.

Great-- I guess that can picked up at the big box store of choice?
lowes, home depot?

any reccomendations for diluting?

thanks,
j

 

[/pine]

yes any place that sells masony supplies should cary it...it can be used full strength but the fumes are very caustic...do not use in enclosed spaces. stay up wind and wear eye protection.

 

[RadarTech]

thanks pine....
hopefully I can get this thing up to the house and start dinging the old mix off..
and then work with the acid..

J

 

[/pine]

don't expexct miracles but it will clean the metal surfaces...multiple applications may be required...

good luck...wish I had some similar old hardware for making a mixer myself...

 

[RadarTech]

well, I may wish that I did not have this one...
seems like all my projects are rough ones...
thanks again,
J

 

[herringchoker]

"I also drove ready mix truck part time for a few summers. Fortunately, I was at my real job and not there in the off season when the other boys got the job of chipping out the drums!"

Awww!....You missed all the fun!

 

[gordyy]

I inherited and old gas operated little mixer that was all full of dried concrete or mortor when I got it . i put on and electric motor, I put some pieces of 3" x 3" x1" steel I had laying around took it as far from the shop as I could and let it run for a few hours
nice and clean inside had to do a little heat treating to get the fins straight again but it worked LOL

I really enjoyed the dynomite part of that dirty jobs episode was a wee bit hard on the drum
but it sure was clean

 

[kebo]

Maybe a pnuematic chisel will do the trick? Worth a try anyway. Like already suggested, I would wear safty goggles, and earplugs and hearing protector muffs as well. Good luck!

 

[Steve_Miller]

Right now, I can't remember if the tub was the rotating element or the arms. Which will tell me which kind of mixer it really is....


3. Rubber scrubbers are all but gone.. It appears to have had rubber pads from the mixxing arms to the walls--



For the rubber scrubbers-- looks like an old tire could be cut and put there...
a place in town sells old tires from $5 and up.. mabye a job for the sawsall..

J

From these descriptions, its sounds like a mortar mixer to me. Concrete mixers have fixed flights to the drum and the circular drum rotates. Mortar mixers, the drum doesn't spin, the flights do. My father was a mason so I know the difference. Hope this helps.

Steve

 

[Stimw]

I have been selling and repairing Mortar Mixers for 8 years. I'm also a Stone Equipment and Multiquip dealer. I have cleaned many many mixers. I use an air chisel with a flat tipped punch for most of the work. As stated, if you can vibrate the metal the mortar fractures and breaks. Some hammer work is nessary too.
The biggest problem is the bearings and seals. They are why most mixers fail. When the parts fail then someone will keep using the machine causing other parts to fail like shafts and gears.
Rubber mud flaps work good for paddle rubbers. You can cut then with razor knife.
The pics show what happens when seals fail and the machine keeps running.

 

[RadarTech]

Stimw,
You reply could not have been more timely!!!
I just walked down the trail to the mixer and it is a Stone Construction Equipment model 650PM..
And it was modified to run on a PTO.

Below are 2 pics---
As you can see it has been sitting in the weeds for awhile..
I had pulled it out about 7 months ago, but stuff has already grown around it again..

It looks rough. but it may be salvagable.

there was a PTO shaft in the barn that looked out of place until I saw how the connection was..

I'm gonna go down with the tractor and get it Tue or Wed based on the weather.

now that I realize it was a "special" build... I am little concerned about PTO damage.. Gonna go and get some shear pins for the PTO connection.

Time will tell..
Once it's up on the forks and can get better pics, I'll post more..


later,
J

 

[Wis Bang]

Muriatic acid is a diluted Hydrochloric Acid. I used to pour some into a bucket, dilute w/ water, and brush it onto Mack trucks used to transport bulk loads of cement to clean off the adhered dust.

Wear eye protection and chem resistant gloves.

I used to work next door to a Redi Mix plant and you would see one of the mixers sitting there turning w/ a bunch of gravel inside for an entire afternoon. I guess their Teamsters were too well paid to chip out the buildup...