PTO Cement Mixers

IH3444 · Jan 15, 2006

Thanks Cliff, we are both on the same page with this. I though about the wind also, but there is always that ocassional gust. I also though of wetting the portland away from the tractor, and adding that along with the water, making a paste of it so to speak. I also though of a cardboard, or thin plywood shield to keep the slop splash at a minimum. All good ideas, but additional work. Mixing in the bucket I thought also would be good. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

5030 · Jan 15, 2006

Actually guys, it's the lime that ruins your paint and is hard to remove. If you have a good coat of wax on your tractor, it should not be a problem.

IH3444 · Jan 15, 2006

mmmmmm. mmmmmmm. good! Note to self:More work, need to wax tractor before cement work. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

5030 · Jan 15, 2006

Pardon me. I was under the assumption that with the exception of myself, CowBoyDoc and a few others, everyone waxed their tractor here at TBYNet.

I'd wax mine, but I'd need a step ladder as would a few other posters. I relegate mine to power washing and hot spray waxing.

The reason why I say it's the lime as I have a friend who hauls lime from a lime plant to a steel mill and it's destroyed the paint on his Freightliner (not that a Freightliner has a good paint job to begin with). It's also built up on the frame, fuel tanks and about everywhere. It's nasty stuff.

IH3444 · Jan 15, 2006

Spraying something slick on my tractor before mixing was what I was thinking. Light oil?? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

lhobson · Jan 16, 2006

"Do you ever feel the whole world is a tuxedo and you're a brown shoe." Apparently, I'm out of my league here. I don't even wax my car, much less my tractor. However, I have been toying with the idea of air fresheners. Of course, since I don't have a cab on my tractor, I still have a few bugs to work out. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

IH3444 · Jan 16, 2006

Pamm, the non-stick veggie spray. That should do the trick.

5030 · Jan 17, 2006

( Spraying something slick on my tractor before mixing was what I was thinking. Light oil?? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif )

Kerosene would work, just like the fireman do. rinse it off with hot water, towel dry and have an amazing shine. Retards rust too. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

5030 · Jan 17, 2006

( "Of course, since I don't have a cab on my tractor, I still have a few bugs to work out. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif )

You've left yourself wide open for a good comment and I'll oblige......

Depending on how fast you drive your tractor will determine how many bugs you have to work out (of your teeth). /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

All in fun.

dfkrug · Jan 17, 2006

I have posted several times about 3-pt mixers here and on TractorPoint. I bought my Mixer80 new about 6 yr ago and I
have used it many times for concrete and stucco. I think
that they need a double acting dump cylinder, not the single
acting one that most of them come with. Also the gearing
on my unit is such that it ideally needs a lower drum rotation
speed. Both my Kubota L2550 and my Kioti CK 30 tractors
at idle turned the drum faster than I wanted at times.

One last comment...if your tractor is a low profile unit, like
a B-series Kubota or a JD 955, it will be harder to fully dump
the mixer.

rk246 · Jan 18, 2006

Kerosene, Like the fireman do? I haven't heard of this one before, might have to ask some of the guys who have been around for quite a while... aka "old timers". /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Kioti3054 · Jan 18, 2006

Hi, We used EndDust furniture polish to spray the fire trucks down with before parades. Spay it and wipe them down it gave them a great shine and the dust and dirt wouldn't stick to it. EndDust never bothered the paint either.

Dave

jeffinsgf · Jan 18, 2006

Do you guys have problems getting ready-mix delivered? Unless we're talking about setting corner posts, I can't imagine a concrete project that I would mix myself. My local ready-mix company will deliver a yard minimum -- less if you're willing to wait until there's a larger order in your area.

I had a culvert to put in my drive that ended up setting right on top of bedrock. I decided to pour concrete around it to prevent it from crushing, since I couldn't get to the recommended depth. Since it was going to be about a yard and a half, I looked at buying Sakrete and renting a big electric mixer. In the end, it was going to cost about 20 percent more than having the ready-mix truck bring it out -- and would have been an all day, arduous project.

Just wondering what you guys are doing that makes a small batch mixer look attractive.

5030 · Jan 18, 2006

It's tough to be old, like me. When I was a kid growing up in the big city, the local firehouse washed the trucks with hot water and a cup of kerosene. I used to wash my vehicles with that too. Now I use the hot water pressure washer and hot wax.

2nstonge · Jan 18, 2006

Jeff - in my area it's a 4 yard minimum @ $90/yard for delivery - no delivery at all on the weekends. Not easy to swallow when doing small projects around the yard, and usually on weekends! I purchased an electric mixer for just a bit more than the first 4 yard delivery would have cost and now I can do all that small stuff at my convience. I still use thie big guys when I have a project that warrants it.

-Norm

lhobson · Jan 18, 2006

I seem to always have projects that require just a few cubic feet of cement. Ready mix may actually be more cost effective, considering the price of a pto cement mixer and the actual use I'll get out of it over the years. However, I'd rather not bring logic into the picture. My wife applied logic when I first wanted to buy my 790. I almost didn't get it.

jeffinsgf · Jan 18, 2006

( Jeff - in my area it's a 4 yard minimum @ $90/yard for delivery - no delivery at all on the weekends. -------Norm )

Wow, that's tough. Guess I should feel lucky that I can get small batch delivery.

rk246 · Jan 18, 2006

I'm in the same boat, 3 yard minimum, partial load fee, delivery charge, has to be off the truck in 25 minutes. Does not work out so good for the small stuff, especially if you are doing a bunch of fence posts and stuff. Won't deliver on the weekends here either...

justanotherjoe · Jan 19, 2006

Someone once posted a picture of their electric mixer and their generator both in their FEL. I assume the mixer was bolted into the loader. Yes, that was their portable set-up for post holes, etc.

WVBill · Jan 19, 2006

Here's a link to a picture of my concrete mixer in my FEL that I posted a while back.

I had made a set of light duty "forks" out of 2 x 4's a couple of years ago following an idea someone else here on TBN posted. The vertical portion of the fork wedges up against an angle-iron lip I put on the top edge of the bucket. They're surprisingly strong and I've used them to move a pallet with a couple of concrete blocks on it (my loader capacity is only 550 lbs).

Anyway, being wood, they made a good and easy base to attach the cement mixer head to. They can't tilt out from the top because of the lip and I threw a chain and chain binder around the horizontal wooden cross member I attached to them and up around the back of the bucket to the top lip. This keeps the whole thing from sliding out at the bottom.

It worked quite well except that the length of the forks meant I had to dump the concrete from about 18". If I'd shortened the forks I could have laid the concrete down with much more accuracy.

By the way, the hose reel on the loader arm is there for when I put my sprayer tank in the FEL bucket and drive around the property to spray. It's just held on by a pair of "U" bolts so I take it off after spraying season.

Mixer in FEL