Harbor Freight cement mixer

[signcrafter]

I had to mix up 15 bags of cement today in a wheelbarrow and I did not like it at all! I'm usually not one to cry about a little physical labor but mixing concrete in a wheelbarrow was torture. So just for fun I was searching around looking for concrete mixers and seems like the best deal is HF's 3 1/2 cubic ft mixer, http://www.harborfreight.com/3-1-2-half-cubic-ft-cement-mixer-67536.html. From the reviews it looks like you can mix up 2-3 bags of concrete at a time in just a few minutes. After coupon, I think you can use the 20% on this but not sure, it would be 160 bucks. If they work good I think it would save my body a lot of wear and tear and make things go faster and easier when pouring concrete. Even if I only use it a few times in the next 10 years it would be worth the 160 bucks. Does anyone have one of these? If so how do you like it? Is it possible to pour a 24x24' garage slab with one of these or what is the limits? Or would it be cheaper to just have cement trucked in for bigger projects like garage slabs?

 

[Skin]

fairly recent thread about it

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=190493

 

[signcrafter]

fairly recent thread about it

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=190493

Thanks for the link.

 

[Givl Reggin]

HF's 3 1/2 cubic ft mixer

That's 8 batches just to get 1 cubic yard of concrete! For a garage slab (not including footings) you're going to need 12 cubic yards... I'll let you do the rest of the math.

 

[ihateminimumwage]

They work great. I used the smaller one to build a retaining wall and it got the job done with no issues at all. Should have gone with the bigger one though, less time dumping heavy bags in.

 

[Thumper68]

I have one that we bought about 25 years ago, still going strong. The only repairs I have made are to take it apart and repack the bearing and I had to make 2 steel plates to sandwitch the plastic drive gear after 100 of yards the shaft hole had finally stripped out.

Make sure that if stored outside that you cover it, with it upside down the bottom bearing fills with water.

 

[strutaeng]

A few years ago I was doing university research and was casting some concrete beams. The lab had a mixer similar to this:
http://www.multiquip.com/multiquip/MC94PH8.htm

It is a very nice unit.

Concrete work is heavy work. I would advice you to go rent one of these; sure you are probably going to spend about the same money as the HF, but why try to substitute power and capacity on doing hard work? Rent it and be done with it....

If you are mixing 15 sacks of concrete in a wheelbarrow, you are doing it wrong. What you need to do is find a slab of concrete and dump the raw materials on the floor and mix it with a shovel as if you are mixing dough to make bread. Get yourself two strong buds and an 24 pack of bud light and you will finish in a few hours instead of screwing around with that thing!

Have you considered ready-mix concrete?

Good luck

 

[thebeekeeper1]

I've had the larger one for several years and love it. Cheap and works. My first job involved pouring piers for porch posts--4200# of 'crete. Worked like a champ. Several jobs later, still in perfect shape. That includes a loan to a buddy who poured a pad for his outside wood stove--6' square and 6" deep.

I am careful to hose it off really well, and then I spray paint the drum inside and out wherever it is scratched. That has kept it nice and slick for mixing. It's a great value for the money.

The only complaint I have is the wheels don't raise it quite tall enough to dump into my wheelbarrow. I ran it on a pallet to accomodate that and the problem was <mostly> solved, though having it unstable is a little unhandy.

There is a bit of a learning curve on which side to mix/dump from. It matters!

Edit to add: It was time consuming to assemble, so don't plan to mix right away!

 

[Stephenw]

I have the smaller Harbor Freight mixer. Here is my video...

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/_2QiRv6DlOk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The little mixer can mix a full 80 lb bag. A friend that does concrete recommended digging a trench for the front wheel of a wheelbarrow. This will get the wheelbarrow lower. He said to pour out of the mixer over the front of the wheelbarrow.

If I needed more than 10 or 15 bags, I'd call a truck.

 

[383 240z]

I'm needing to pour a pad at my place. I found out that over 11 bags. The ready-mix is cheaper, and I don't have to mix it. Keith

 

[signcrafter]

I have the smaller Harbor Freight mixer. Here is my video...

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/_2QiRv6DlOk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The little mixer can mix a full 80 lb bag. A friend that does concrete recommended digging a trench for the front wheel of a wheelbarrow. This will get the wheelbarrow lower. He said to pour out of the mixer over the front of the wheelbarrow.

If I needed more than 10 or 15 bags, I'd call a truck.

10 bags is under .25 cubic yards if my math is correct. I don't know what the minimum order is to get a truck but I would think it's a lot more then that.

If I'm going to rent one I'd rather just buy the HF one. I'm sure the rental units are much higher quality but it's nice to have your own and be able to work when you want and not work around the rental times to have it back. Plus if you rent one for this job and then some months down the road you need a bag or two mixed up you have to go back to the hand mix method or rent again. The HF mixer is cheap enough and gets pretty good reviews that it would make sense to just buy one and have for all those odd little jobs when you need a couple bags for something. After waking up this morning with a super sore back I'm really considering picking one up. I mean 160 bucks for preventing a sore back seems worth it to me. I only have 3 more bags to mix up this time but there are still about 20 more fence posts that I would like to replace sometime down the road.

You can use the 20% off coupon on these correct?

 

[andywander]

I got together with 2 friends and bought one of these a few years back, It was on sale and I used a 20% coupon on it.

I have only used it once, for some post holes, and it worked great,

 

[justanengineer]

I cant say Ive ever seen a used mixer go for more than $50, and that was a really nice 3 pt hitch tractor mounted one, so not sure $100+ would be worth it to me.

 

[signcrafter]

I cant say Ive ever seen a used mixer go for more than $50, and that was a really nice 3 pt hitch tractor mounted one, so not sure $100+ would be worth it to me.

Wish they were that cheap around here. Everything on craigslist is 200 plus for ones in rough condition.

 

[TAMPAGT07]

I cant say Ive ever seen a used mixer go for more than $50, and that was a really nice 3 pt hitch tractor mounted one, so not sure $100+ would be worth it to me.

Wish they were that cheap around here. Everything on craigslist is 200 plus for ones in rough condition.

I just picked up a used 3 1/2 for $50...Had to drive about 50 miles for it, but I really needed it...

 

[signcrafter]

I just picked up a used 3 1/2 for $50...Had to drive about 50 miles for it, but I really needed it...

Nice score. Around here they are 200 bucks and up for ones that are in rough shape. If I could find one for under 100 I'd be all over it. My wheelbarrow started to fall apart so I'm debating on getting a nice Jackson wheelbarrow for 100 bucks or the HF cement mixer for 170. Kind of leaning towards the wheelbarrow since it will get used more. But not looking forward to those last 3 bags of concrete mixing!

 

[TAMPAGT07]

Nice score. Around here they are 200 bucks and up for ones that are in rough shape. If I could find one for under 100 I'd be all over it. My wheelbarrow started to fall apart so I'm debating on getting a nice Jackson wheelbarrow for 100 bucks or the HF cement mixer for 170. Kind of leaning towards the wheelbarrow since it will get used more. But not looking forward to those last 3 bags of concrete mixing!

Thanx bro...The county I live in (Pinellas) doesn't really get a whole lot of CL postings for mixers..I have been looking for a long time, and finally found a dirt cheap one...It was worth the 50 mile drive and when I'm done I'll put it back up for sale for $100, and take $75 for it (to recoup my gas money fro driving down and picking it up.)

 

[signcrafter]

I decided to go ahead and pick up the mixer today. I like to think of myself as a pretty smart and capable guy but putting this thing together took everything I had and lots of patience and by the end lots of beer. The instructions ****. The hardware is packaged in nice labeled baggies but the labels didn't match the numbers in the instructions. I had to read the instructions to get the bolt part numbers and then look at the parts sheet to find the size of the bolts and measure them to figure out what went where. Got everything together and then the motor covers were all bent so I can't screw them together. I'm going to have to take them back and hope they will exchange just those because there is no way I'm taking the whole thing back and then putting together another one!

I didn't get a chance to use it, spent to much time putting it together and then had other stuff to do. Overall it looks like it will do what it needs to. Not the best mixer but for 175 bucks I think it will work fine. I figure if need be I can weld up a new frame that will be more solid and use the tub and other parts from this. My back is really thanking me right now! Now just need to get a new wheelbarrow sometime but that can wait for now I guess.

 

[signcrafter]

I'm going to try and use this thing today if the weather holds out. Any tips on using a cement mixer for a newb that has only ever mixed by hand? From what I've read you put some water in first and then add the cement and let it mix. Add more water if needed. I'm using the premixed bags of cement. Should I clean the drum out in between batches or can I just keep adding water and bags of cement and keep going?

 

[Delray]

The instructions on the bag will give a close idea of how much water you need. Yes, add say 3/4 of that first and add to that to adjust the batch. Too sloppy? Add a little more mix. It takes a little while but you will get the feel of it. Add water as soon as you dump a batch and check for any dry spots of mix and loosen any before adding another bag of mix. You should not need to clean between batches.

When you finish clean the mixer inside, outside, sideways, backwards and any other way you can think of and then do it again.

By the way a 24x24 slab a minimum of 4" thick will take around 300 bags of Quikrete or about 24,000 lbs of bagged sand and gravel and a little cement. Consider redi-mix and consider a 6" floor with a 12" by 12" perimeter.

 

[Ign]

I'm going to try and use this thing today if the weather holds out. Any tips on using a cement mixer for a newb that has only ever mixed by hand? From what I've read you put some water in first and then add the cement and let it mix. Add more water if needed. I'm using the premixed bags of cement. Should I clean the drum out in between batches or can I just keep adding water and bags of cement and keep going?

YES!! The 3.5 will do TWO 60# bags comfortably. Do not try two 80# bags, it'll spill out before you can get a good mix.

You'll quickly find that just because a certain amount fits in the mixer, it doesn't mean you can mix it. You need to have the mixer turned mostly horizontal during use; this forces the mixture thru the teeth inside and actually works the water into the mix.

Have a garden hose nearby and just keep spraying in water until you get the consistency you like while it's running. Some prefer oatmeal, some prefer a little more runny.

When you're done just take it off somewhere, turn it on, turn it upside down or mostly upside down and spray water up in the drum until clean water is coming out.

Between walkways at our old house and projects at our new house we've run approx 120 bags thru this little mixer over 8 years or so. I got rid of the provided wheels and did pneumatics, but of course they're always flat when I pull it out of storage.

 

[signcrafter]

YES!! The 3.5 will do TWO 60# bags comfortably. Do not try two 80# bags, it'll spill out before you can get a good mix.

You'll quickly find that just because a certain amount fits in the mixer, it doesn't mean you can mix it. You need to have the mixer turned mostly horizontal during use; this forces the mixture thru the teeth inside and actually works the water into the mix.

Have a garden hose nearby and just keep spraying in water until you get the consistency you like while it's running. Some prefer oatmeal, some prefer a little more runny.

When you're done just take it off somewhere, turn it on, turn it upside down or mostly upside down and spray water up in the drum until clean water is coming out.

Between walkways at our old house and projects at our new house we've run approx 120 bags thru this little mixer over 8 years or so. I got rid of the provided wheels and did pneumatics, but of course they're always flat when I pull it out of storage.

Thanks for the advice. How did you put pneumatic tires on it? I have two pneumatic tires I got from HF a while ago because they were cheap and I figured would come in handy sometime. I tried to see if they would work but the shaft on the mixer is to big for the tires I have.

 

[Ign]

Thanks for the advice. How did you put pneumatic tires on it? I have two pneumatic tires I got from HF a while ago because they were cheap and I figured would come in handy sometime. I tried to see if they would work but the shaft on the mixer is to big for the tires I have.

I dunno, here's what I got. The crappy solid wheels were thinner, so the wider hub on these covered up the cotter pin hole. In a moment of extreme booty fab, I just slipped the wheel on and threw a couple tack welds near the end of the shaft; anything will keep them from sliding off. But if functionality counts for anything, it's lasted and worked great for years.

 

[signcrafter]

I dunno, here's what I got. The crappy solid wheels were thinner, so the wider hub on these covered up the cotter pin hole. In a moment of extreme booty fab, I just slipped the wheel on and threw a couple tack welds near the end of the shaft; anything will keep them from sliding off. But if functionality counts for anything, it's lasted and worked great for years.

I've got a set of similar looking tires I bought from HF but my problem is the shaft on the cement mixer is bigger then the race of the tires so they won't slide on. That was one of the first things I tried when putting it together because I really wanted the pneumatic tires for dragging it across the back yard.

 

[Ign]

I've got a set of similar looking tires I bought from HF but my problem is the shaft on the cement mixer is bigger then the race of the tires so they won't slide on. That was one of the first things I tried when putting it together because I really wanted the pneumatic tires for dragging it across the back yard.

My apologies, I did this circa 2004. I took a look at my parts mixer (yeah I actually have a parts mixer my neighbor gave me LOL) and I see it's a hollow tube from the factory. I measure it at roughly 13/16 ID. I musta sleeved 5/8" round stock thru the pipe and slipped the new wheels over that. Not a great fit (5/8" into 13/16") but it wouldn't really matter if that whole shaft spun in the mixer since you're talking about a max speed of, what, 1 mph when dragging this behind you? LOL

Maybe I tacked the new "axle shaft" in place, I don't remember.

I bet you'd be well under $10 at the local steel yard for a few feet of 5/8" solid round stock, I'd reco cold rolled.

Make sure those wheels are 5/8" ID on the hub, I'm only going off memory which we now know from results is poor.

And this may widen your track width too much but it looks like the factory pipe could be shortened on either side of the "V" legs before fitting your new axle shaft.

Clear as mud? (Pun?)

edit: and if some are thinking this sounds like a lot of work for an import mixer, maybe. But I'd argue it's worth it, trying to move the damn thing w those solid wheels on anything but concrete *****. I've always lived in the country so I'm always dragging it over uneven or poorly maintained terrain. It was worth the small investment I made in the wheel upgrades for the years of service I've received from it.

 

[signcrafter]

We mixed up 12 bags today, one hole ended up having to be dug wider then the others and I figured I would just fill it with cement rather then get another sontube. I mixed two bags at a time with my two little helpers and it went great. All I have to say is the 170 bucks it costs is well worth it even if you are only mixing 5 bags. I don't care if this thing sits in the garage for the next 5 years, it's already paid for itself and then some. My back doesn't ache at all!

Thanks for all the advice.

 

[Shadowdog500]

I never used one but the guys on the reloading forums love those things for tumbling bulk loads of brass.


Chris

 

[Ign]

I never used one but the guys on the reloading forums love those things for tumbling bulk loads of brass.


Chris

LOL, I had also thought of making one into a tumbler for dross on plasma cut parts. Ideally you want a vacuum on the chamber tho, and then it gets tricky....

 

[TAMPAGT07]

We mixed up 12 bags today, one hole ended up having to be dug wider then the others and I figured I would just fill it with cement rather then get another sontube. I mixed two bags at a time with my two little helpers and it went great. All I have to say is the 170 bucks it costs is well worth it even if you are only mixing 5 bags. I don't care if this thing sits in the garage for the next 5 years, it's already paid for itself and then some. My back doesn't ache at all!

Thanks for all the advice.

I used my new-to-me HF 3.5CF cement mixer this morning and it worked like a champ....I mixed 25 80lb bags, approx one at a time.... And you are right, the $50 that I spent was well worth it....

 

[signcrafter]

I used my new-to-me HF 3.5CF cement mixer this morning and it worked like a champ....I mixed 25 80lb bags, approx one at a time.... And you are right, the $50 that I spent was well worth it....

At 50 bucks it's really worth it but even my 175 or so was really worth it. So nice to know I won't have to mix another bag of concrete by hand. If something would go wrong with this one I will either fix it up stronger or just buy another one and use that one till it fails. I consider this my best HF purchase!

I know you said you were going to sell yours after your project but for 50 bucks I would throw it behind the garage with a tarp and let it rust away just in case you ever need to mix another bag.

 

[TAMPAGT07]

At 50 bucks it's really worth it but even my 175 or so was really worth it. So nice to know I won't have to mix another bag of concrete by hand. If something would go wrong with this one I will either fix it up stronger or just buy another one and use that one till it fails. I consider this my best HF purchase!

I know you said you were going to sell yours after your project but for 50 bucks I would throw it behind the garage with a tarp and let it rust away just in case you ever need to mix another bag.

It's funny you said that...After I was finished, I looked at it and thought, "I think I'll ask one of my buddies who owns a large barn, it they would store it for me, and in return they could use the hell out of it." It's well worth it, even if I only use it again once in the future...It beats the hell out of mixing half a bag in a 5 gal bucket..

 

[lynnbilodeau]

I'm needing to pour a pad at my place. I found out that over 11 bags. The ready-mix is cheaper, and I don't have to mix it. Keith

Plus one on that.

Around here (central Oklahoma) it may even be less than 11 bags. And once you factor in the back pain, well... for me it is an easy choice.

I have access to a really old mixer that works fine, and I can use it for free. I rarely do. Three years ago, Sherri and I decided on the spur of the moment to pour a landing area in front of our circle drive. We wanted to do it early Sun morning because of the weather predictions, so figured what the heck. Needed 45 bags. I used the mixer, but never again.



If it is 6 or so bags, I just do it in the wheel barrell. Otherwise I call for the truck. With the truck I can get it fiberglass reinforced, 5000 psi, so I don't need as much rebar.

 

[gibby2268]

Bringing a thread back...I just picked up a used HF 3.5 mixer, got about a yard mixed with it, and have noticed that the hub bearings are shot. The ones on the gear shaft are simple enough, but after taking the drum off, I'm pretty sure the ones in the back of the drum where it attaches to the support arm are shot too. Anyone know how to get the two sandwiching covers apart? Any help would be most appreciated, don't want to tear it up trying to fix it..which would be pretty normal for me!

 

[diggerrick]

Can't help you with a fix, but I'm about to buy one too. I need to pour a pad for the stair landing to the pool deck I built last year, big enough for a small fire pit away from the deck, and another pad for the pump and filter. I hope it saves me some work this year.

 

[gibby2268]

It will definitely save you some labor over hand mixing! I actually ordered a new one, bought the other one for practically nothing, and it's been used a lot, so I'll still come out ahead with having some spares.