Skid Steer Concrete Mixer.

[Rob65]

I have various concreting jobs to do around my house needing something like 2 to 6yd³ of concrete each.

I have a small drum mixer but I don’t much like shovelling and do have a little Bobcat 463 skid steer. My first thought was that I could maybe use the skid steer to lift and turn the mix in much the same way as you do by hand, but then thought that to do that 30 or 40 times to get a good mix was a dumb idea.

My guess is that a mixer bucket for the Bobcat could well be the best way forwards but they are not very common over here in the UK. There are videos on YouTube that look ok but I can't find any Information on how good they really are.

I have a few hydraulic motors to choose from that look about the right size and the necessary resources pile / tools / skills to fabricate a mixer bucket.

The recent discussion on non-posting long time ‘lurkers’ has hit me as I am one of the guilty, so I thought this might make a good first project to post.

Before I start thinking about this in any detail, my questions to the great and knowledgeable are:-

Do these mixer buckets work?
Would it be worth the trouble of making one?
Has anyone got any better ideas, suggestions or words of warning?

Thanks

Rob

[Bender]

Guilty as charged.

Sentence shall be posting lots of pictures.

Sounds like a neat idea Rob

[digger doug]

I've been looking at them.

It seems after a couple of them have come out on the market,
they have changed their operation, they don't seem to mix very well.
http://www.starindustries.com/scoopNMix.htm

How do you keep the dirt out (when scooping) ?
How do you measure out your proportions ?

One attachment company (Here it is) their video
shows a 2nd operator hand dumping bags into it, then
after the skid loader operator cycles it, 2nd guy is using hand shovel
(allot) to make unit work right.
http://www.spartanequipment.com/prod...scharging.html
-
This one is built more like a mortar mixer (and less like an auger bottom hopper)
And seems to mix o.k., note hand loading, no scooping up.
http://www.thefencehog.com/video/product_videos.php


Most seem best suited to pick up a load of pre-mixed, drive it somewhere,
then use the auger to discharge is into a post hole.

[Walker]

Looking forward to the build.

[Rob65]

Bender, Lots of Pictures = short sentence(s), I’m all for that, I hate typing almost as much as I hate shovelling!

Doug, I can get my stone tipped on a hard surface so should be able to keep the dirt out of it.

I am thinking to only way to get repeatability with the mix ratios will be to hand shovel known volumes into the bucket as soon as I make it and mark calibration lines on the outside.

One of the video’s I have seen is where they use the bucket to pick up the aggregate and then a second person tips a bag or two of cement in the top manually. For the quantities I need to do that would be ok. My little Bobcat is only rated at about 600lbs so I won’t be mixing in large batches.

Most of the projects I have planned for this are paths or slabs where I intend to start laying the concrete from one end and then progress through the day. If I had premixed concrete delivered I would then have to get it laid in an hour or two and not have all day to do the job.

Walker, How exciting the build on this is will depend on how confident I am that it’s a good idea. If I am convinced it’s a good plan I will build it properly, if not I might see what I can lash up quickly to test the concept first, and as we all know, temporary has a habit of becoming permanent as long as it works.

[digger doug]

Rob,
the mortar mixer one looks best (paddles instead of screw)

You could make a sort of elevated "staging table" where you lift up
(using your bucket) the 3 ingredients which are in 5 gallon buckets,
slid them off onto the table.

Attach mixer, drive up to table, tilt mixer front down a bit,
roll buckets off edge tipping into the mixer.

You could probably "pre-stage" 2-3 loads of dry materials ahead of time.

No heavy lifting.

[Ironman]

It seems to me that measuring and shoveling are the obstacles as no one can get pissy about dumping a bag of powder into the mixer.
If You can bang together a hopper, I think an old water heater tank could be used as the hopper gate. If you open up a full length slot in the tank about 1/3 of the circumference in width, and mount it so you can rotate it with a bar. When the opening is facing the sand/gravel, the tank will fill and then when rotated, the open side of the of the tank will be out, and the measured amount will pour into your bucket mixer below.

As for the mixer, I would go with the paddle type, for ease of build, and ease of cleanup afterwards.
A big piece of pipe or a tank, and a pipe on bearings with beaters. A hydraulic motor to drive it with some speed control, and your done.

[Scrapper Greg]

Looks to become an interesting build.

[digger doug]

Originally Posted by Ironman

It seems to me that measuring and shoveling are the obstacles as no one can get pissy about dumping a bag of powder into the mixer.
.

I don't, but L3-L4-L5 in my back doo.....

That engine power is just sitting there, idling away while I have
to lug bags into the mixer ?
Might as well use it to do the "heavy lifting" as well.

Also loading the machine is just a fraction of the work involved, there's the post hole
digging, the placing of the wet concrete, the carrying/setting of the poles etc.

Anything I can do to make my workload easier is good.

[Don_S]

If you really want to get a good measurement I would plumb a pressure transducer in the lift cylinder circuit and use it as a scale. You could then put some known amounts in it to calibrate it and you would be set. Then you could scoop the aggregate, dump out some to get the correct batch weight, and put measured amounts of cement and water in.

If its like my skid loader the boom probably sits on a stop when all the way down so you would have to weigh with the boom just off the stops.

Sounds like an interesting build. I will be interested to see how it turns out.