How to use a Concrete Mixer

As with all such equipment, there are rules and guidelines to follow when using a concrete mixer. To start off, always site it in an area close to where you are working; mixing and using concrete requires effort, and you won’t want to waste time and energy moving your concrete in buckets or wheelbarrows once it is mixed.

Concrete mixers can be petrol or electrically-driven, in which case you must always use a power circuit-breaker to connect it to the electricity supply. Other safety precautions must include the wearing of a face mask to protect the airways from cement dust, safety goggles to protect the eyes, and gloves, to keep the skin-damaging alkali produced by wet concrete, away from your hands.

When ordering ballast and cement for your DIY project, have your area measurements handy and tell the supplier what you want them for. He will then be able to work out how much of each you require and when it will be delivered, then you can go ahead and arrange the hire of your concrete mixer.

Using your own Concrete Mixer is a great way to reduce your building costs

Start the concrete mixer running before you load it, and keep the drum at about 45 degrees. You will need to keep it running at the end of the job, too, until it is completely empty of concrete. Add half the ballast you need, then a small amount of water, allowing it to rotate in the drum with the ballast for a couple of minutes. Then add all the cement you intend to use, along with the rest of the ballast, and keep it mixing for a further one or two minutes. Next comes the crucial bit – adding the correct amount of water. You don’t want your concrete to be too wet, so add water a little at a time and keep checking the consistency. You are looking for a mix that runs up the side of the drum, then falls back into the mix. If you find it is too wet, you will need to add more ballast, small amounts at a time, until it thickens up.

Once you are happy with the texture and consistency of your mix, carefully tip it into a wheelbarrow, which you have placed under the drum.

One of the most important aspects of using a concrete mixer is the cleaning up afterwards. It is not the kind of thing that can be left until later. If unused concrete is left in the drum for more than around thirty minutes, it will be almost impossible to clean out. The same goes for wheelbarrows, boards and buckets that may have been used for the mixing. The best way to clean a concrete mixer is to add two or three half house-bricks to some water, and rotate them in the drum for a good five to ten minutes, then empty it and hose around the inside to clean any areas that still need cleaning.

Used correctly and following the guidelines, concrete mixers save all the effort and time of mixing concrete by hand, making your DIY project more of a pleasure than a chore.