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What should a cement mixer sound like?

17 years ago

OK - I'm ready for abuse, but need to ask the question. I just bought a inexpensive electric cement mixer from Lowe's for small projects. Put it together real easy. Turned it on - quite loud and not real smooth while empty. Is that normal? I've never seen (or heard) a small mixer in action. I won't be mixing cement until the weekend. Thanks,

Steve

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Comments (8)

bill_kapaun
17 years ago
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5HYHYvsFQ8
castoff
17 years ago
They're noisy even if they are electric. The one that Bill sent you to listen to is a much higher quality unit than the model you bought.

Look. It's new. You bought it at Lowes. If it pukes on you, take it back. Read the instructions and don't overload it. Be consistent with your sand/gravel/cement/water mixture and the second you are finished mixing concrete, WASH every part of the mixer out thoroughly. It should be spotless when you put it away. If you're busy towelling the concrete, get someone else to clean the mixer or you will regret it. Concrete is the most unforgiving material.

It sets when it wants to and there is nothing you can do to stop it.
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Found the source of the noise! I moved into a small ranch house about 3 months ago. I'm in Maine, and it was October when I moved in. I was hearing an intermittent buzzing noise in the smaller bedroom that I use as an office. It was in an exterior wall. It sounded very much like the sounds reported here. Kind of like a cell phone vibrating in the wall, or like someone was using a weed whacker... also had elements like a drilling sound. None of those totally describes it, but there were elements of all of those sounds in the noise. It was driving me nuts. But I didn't think it was electrical - it was too loud for that. Also, there were no pipes in that wall, and my power/cable lines and electric meter were at the other end of the house. So not that... Last night it was doing it a lot. So I went to the window and looked outside. It was a very windy and bitterly cold night in January, and I noticed a draft coming in under the window. I noticed that although the window was closed, it wasn't latched. So I closed the latch. The noise stopped!!! I think when the wind blew in a certain direction, it was vibrating the window which was then vibrating the wall, or some element inside the wall! I don't think it had anything to do with the cold, as it started doing it in October. I think it was caused by the wind. Closing the latch firmed up the contact of the window to the frame and stopped it from vibrating. Not sure if this is what's causing it for other folks, but it was definitely caused by the wind for me. Hope this helps others out!
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nevada_walrus
17 years ago
What do they sound like? A foul running 67 Volkswagon. We call them thrashing machines. Hey now, isn't that really what a cement mixer is?
quincy
17 years ago
It won't sound like a tumble drier... My one is a belle electric mixer and it sounds a bit rough when empty, when full it sounds a lot quieter. Make sure you have gear oil in the gearbox (if there is one).

{{gwi:303679}}
quincy
17 years ago
Oh and steve, just a tip, when you're cleaning your mixer, throw a few 3-4 inch stones into the drum when you're washing it down. I have seen builders to do this when they were building my house. They put a few gals of water in the drum and let it run for 10-15 mins... the stones jump around in the drum, dislodging any lumps of concrete that build up in the corners.
....and another tip. Dry your mixer with a rag after you wash it. The paint inside the drum will not last long, 'sand blasted' as it were from the concrete mixing. pretty soon you will have bare metal in there. If water is left in it, it will significantly rust and on a light gauge drum, will hole fairly soon.
steve_l
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks for all the comments. I mixed around 30 bags on Sunday - worked great. I wouldn't go into the business with the unit, but it's fine for small projects. The unit has a plastic drum. I cleaned it very carefully. This is one of those units that uses vegatable oil with a pipecleaner drip system to lubricate the gears - very high tech :)
quincy
17 years ago
PLASTIC DRUM?!? Never seen one of those before... How much did you pay for it out of curiosity?
steve_l
Original Author
17 years ago
See the link:

Here is a link that might be useful: Lowe's BigCat Mixer

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