Am I nutz?

[Raul-02]

If you start cutting a Propane tank, it won't matter anymore

I've cut and welded plenty of 'em. You don't know how? I'd gladly tell you.

 

[panamaguy]

Lie if you must.
I have a concrete mixer idea. Skip all the rotating parts.
Get an out of date large propane tank or other tank the right size. Could be a 50-gallon drum.
Weld to it a frame to allow it to be gripped firmly in a grapple - or- bolted to the bucket. Maybe the latter is smarter. The orientation of the tank is with the long axis of the tank in line with the front to back axis of the tractor.
Then rig it so you can open it from the outboard end; preferably with a hinge so the cover doesn't fly off.

Then tilt it up with the bucket or grapple and fill with concrete aggregate and water, close up and get in the tractor to operate the FEL tilt & dump function tilting it back and forth to mix, then drive to the pour site and dump.

Not trying to be nasty but you could reinvent the wheel also. Buy a mixer and mix, dump it in your loader and drive and pour it.

 

[Raul-02]

Buy a mixer and mix,

I don't want to buy a mixer. I have an ancient one that needs rebuilding It's got the cast iron toothed sprocket/gear around the body with the big cast iron harness. but it's not as big as I want and it needs so much work. I've thought about turning it into a 3-point attachment but shaking a big container strikes me as more direct, easier, and cheaper.

 

[2manyrocks]

The issue with mixing concrete is getting it thoroughly mixed as you already know from mixing it.

If you look at the DIY concrete mixers on YT, most of them keep coming back to making a home brew version of the typical drum electric cement mixer. The rotary motion of the drum plus the interior paddles are effective at mixing concrete.

I very much suspect the issue with shaking a big container is going to be lumps of concrete that don't get throughly mixed.

If you look at the quality of the concrete mixers being sold today, it might be worth it to work on yours.

 

[/pine]

LoL...Obviously you have not mixed much concrete...!

 

[2manyrocks]

And I'd like to keep it that way.

 

[SteveJ]

This discussion got me thinking. I have a 55 gallon drum turner. I have a 55 gallon drum with a lid and ring to hold it on. I suspect that turning it over and back a couple of time might mix well enough for any concrete that I need. Probably better than the mixer I have that needs different gearing for the motor that turns so fast that the mix doesn't fall unless I get a real soupy mix. My wife doesn't want the old orange mixer around, so if the drum turner would work, that kills two birds with one stone. My tractor is a 36HP Massey Ferguson and the FEL is rated for 1800 pounds so I think I would be okay that way. I would need to leave enough room for the mix.

I used to work at a nuclear fuels recycling plant. There low level waste was put into 55 gallon drums. They added water and cement and a couple of lengths of reinforcing rod. They they used a fork lift to roll the drum along about 50 feet of pavement and back. It was tested for minimal strength to show it was solid, but it was more of a mortar mix than true concrete.

 

[stso9d]

Lie if you must.
I have a concrete mixer idea. Skip all the rotating parts.
Get an out of date large propane tank or other tank the right size. Could be a 50-gallon drum.
Weld to it a frame to allow it to be gripped firmly in a grapple - or- bolted to the bucket. Maybe the latter is smarter. The orientation of the tank is with the long axis of the tank in line with the front to back axis of the tractor.
Then rig it so you can open it from the outboard end; preferably with a hinge so the cover doesn't fly off.

Then tilt it up with the bucket or grapple and fill with concrete aggregate and water, close up and get in the tractor to operate the FEL tilt & dump function tilting it back and forth to mix, then drive to the pour site and dump.

I am just wondering if your aim is to get more volume from a single mix. otherwise why wouldn't you just buy or rent a mixer. i like the idea, but it seems more trouble for the effort.

 

[kwbobwi]

Lie if you must.
I have a concrete mixer idea. Skip all the rotating parts.
Get an out of date large propane tank or other tank the right size. Could be a 50-gallon drum.
Weld to it a frame to allow it to be gripped firmly in a grapple - or- bolted to the bucket. Maybe the latter is smarter. The orientation of the tank is with the long axis of the tank in line with the front to back axis of the tractor.
Then rig it so you can open it from the outboard end; preferably with a hinge so the cover doesn't fly off.

Then tilt it up with the bucket or grapple and fill with concrete aggregate and water, close up and get in the tractor to operate the FEL tilt & dump function tilting it back and forth to mix, then drive to the pour site and dump.

Not a lie but a silly idea, think of one of those shake mixer cups with the ball inside doing the mixing as you slosh the mix around

 

[SteveJ]

I have a 1/4 yard mixer that I have only used one time. I want to get rid of it, but still be able to mix occasionally when I need concrete. I have the tractor, the barrel turner and the barrel, so nothing to buy. I use the barrel turner to pick up 55 gallon drums of sawdust and empty them. I also got it for about $25. This idea just came to me while reading this thread and if it works, it gives me a way to mix concrete without needing the mixer I have or renting one. It also is easier than mixing by hand. I allows me to mix gravel, water, and cement without buying the more expensive bags of ready-mix. I have a pile of gravel to use in mixing concrete, so with what I have, all I would need to buy is the bags of cement. I am 72 years old and will probably not be mixing a barn floor (like I did many years ago), but I do have a use for concrete for footings or sidewalks occasionally. I have been debating between getting the 1/4 yard mixer setup properly so I can use it, or selling it and making my wife happy. With this concept (if it works) I can sell the old mixer and still have mixing capability. The best of both worlds. I bought the 1/4 yard mixer to put in a 5' wide and 150 foot long sidewalk, but have since changed my mind and don't need it for anything that large. It is towable but had a cracked spring. Old enough that the rusted wheels were not replaceable, so I had a new Caravan axle put put under it a couple of years ago and converted from an old 6 HP engine to a 2 HP electric motor. Wrong gearing and I would need to fix that. Now, I just take the motor off and sell as is. Only $350 to buy it, but $850 to put the new axle under it. I probably won't get my money out of it, but making the wife happy is worth a lot too.

The barrel turner will sit on the forks I have for the tractor. It clamps around the 55 gallon drum (and has an adapter for a 20 gallon drum) and then a geared turning arrangement operated with a pull chain, like a chain-fall. So, by just pulling the chain, I think I can turn it over and back a couple of times and have a decent mix. I don't think I will need to roll it on the ground, but that would be an option if necessary. Like I said, I never thought of this until I read this thread and am thinking of specifics as I type. I tried looking on line to see if anyone had something on this, but have not found anything so far. I guess I will try it (when I get the barrel turner back from my son in NC) and see how it works.

 

[Raul-02]

why wouldn't you just buy or rent a mixer.

to be embarrassingly honest, I hadn't thought of that.

 

[4570Man]

I like the rolling the barrel on the ground idea a lot better than the trying to shake it idea. There’s no way you can shake it hard enough to mix anything short of water.

 

[Raul-02]

I like the rolling the barrel on the ground idea

I'm starting to warm to that also

 

[Zetorboy]

Yes. Yu are nuts!!!!
Wy all this trouble. How about renting a mixer!!!!! Or having a readymix delivering the concrete

 

[Raul-02]

Or having a readymix delivering the concrete

There are minimum thresholds for delivered concrete volume

 

[greenerdreams]

nice idea but used mixers are cheap and they work easily and quickly. i think your idea may take a while in each load prep

 

[Topzide]

Time is money! Just buy or rent a mixer for the job. Under $300 at Harbor Freight and works decent. Find a unit on FB or CL. If I needed one more then I do, I'd get a 3p pto driven one. No cords, portable and no motor to worry about!

 

[bdhsfz6]

A couple of years ago, I picked up a used cement mixer at a yard sale for $5. It was in good physical shape but the electric motor was missing. I installed a hydraulic motor, welded a SSQA plate to the legs of the mixer and used the 3rd function valve to power the hydraulic motor. I use the tractor & FEL to mix, transport and dump concrete wherever it's needed.

I like that I no longer have to set up the mixer next to the sand & gravel piles and cement bags. Instead of bringing the ingredients to the mixer, I now take the mixer to the ingredients which are usually stored in different locations.

 

[Smokeydog]

Don’t know if the loader drum shake method could adequately mix. Do have a fork lift 55 gallon handler that uses a hand chain drive to rotate the drum.

Enjoyed the 3pt mixers being able to go to piles and truck to charge ingredients. Then carry to place. Could make several yards per day. Wore out several kinds of drum mixers over the years.

Shovel loading is now kind of hard. Always wanted to build a skip pan or hopper and use loader bucket(s) to volumetrically charge the mixer. 1/3yd gas powered or pto mixer. An idea needing to get fleshed out.

 

[dirttoys]

Could you fix the old mixer and store it out of your wife's sight?