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There are not a lot of tasks that are as physically taxing as manually mixing and pouring concrete. It is an exhausting task that requires the right mixture to get the perfect pour. Not to mention the safety requirements when dealing with cement. It is just all around a task that could be made easier with the right tools. Especially on those sweltering hot summer days as the cement dust sticks to your sweat.
Thankfully there are tools at our disposal that are becoming increasingly popular to use in this process which takes the guess work out of mixing concrete and the amount of physical exertion that will take place in this process. And these tools are not that expensive either!
Manual Cement Mixer
First things first, cement is just an ingredient in concrete. You cannot refer to concrete as cement. Concrete is made up of cement, aggregate, and water. Though there are cement-based mixtures beyond concrete such as mortar. These can also be mixed the same way as concrete is using the same tools. However, these have different ingredients, additives, and ratios when dealing with the mixing process.
Therefore, because we can mix several cement-based mixtures manually in these tools we can refer to these tools a cement mixers or concrete mixtures. Whichever you prefer.
Safety When Mixing Concrete
It is important to have the right tools on site to help you with your construction project. But it is even more important to have the right personal protective equipment as well. When mixing concrete or cementitious materials, there will be silica dust that will be airborne. You need to protect yourself from these airborne particles. Silicosis is no joke. This is the hardening of the lungs caused by those silica particles.
Wear a dust mask when mixing cementitious materials. This will cut down on the amount of particles that will be inhaled during that mixing process.
Cement is also corrosive. So wear some gloves in the process to protect your skin. Additionally, some safety glasses or goggles definitely will help keep your eyes safe as well.
Safety is number one on every job site that we are on. There is no need to put anyone’s safety at risk for an outdoor project. It is just not worth it.
Worst Way to Mix Concrete Manually
By far the worst way to mix concrete manually is to mix your ingredients in a wheelbarrow with some sort of hand-held instrument. This is time-consuming, physically exhausting, and you do not get the best mix in this process. We do opt to do this on small mixes such as mixing our concrete edging for our interlock installations. This is because we may only need a couple of wheelbarrows worth and we do not have the tools on site that specific day to speed up this process. But we would never opt for this method when mixing a large quantity.
You can improve on this process by adding some sort of power tool. This may be some sort of drill / mud mixer with a paddle on the end to be able to speed up this manual process and take away some of the physical exertion that you will expend on this process. That being said, it can still be exhausting holding that drill steady during this mixing process and is still very time consuming to be able to get that perfect mixture. This is a process that we would still do for small batches only and only if we do not have the right tools on site to speed this process up further.
The next step beyond having a power tool would be to have a powered cement mixer. These can be handy especially when you are getting into a larger project and are not willing to order concrete for it. They take away a lot of the physical exertion required in manually mixing concrete. Though it is still tiring lifting bags into the mixer. That being said, once a bag is emptied into the drum, the machine takes care of the rest. So perhaps this is not quite manually mixing concrete and rather a more automated way. And if that is the case, we prefer the MudMixer for our automated concrete mixing. This machine allows you to drop a bag rather than lifting a bag of concrete into the hopper and automatically mixes the concrete with a set amount of water and out the shoot. It is definitely a much easier method of mixing concrete when compared to anything else on this list.
However, the best way to mix concrete manually if not using a powered cement mixer is to use a manual one that requires little physical exertion.
Steele Mixer Review
That brings us to the Steele Mixer.
The Steele Mixer is a cementitious material mixing machine that will save you time in the process of manually mixing concrete, while also saving you the physical exertion necessary when manually mixing concrete. In our line of work, when we save time we also save money. Labor is the most expensive part of our projects and we want to save as much time as we can while also saving our energy while on site. Each day in the heat is a marathon not a sprint, so we will use any tool possible to help keep our energy up.
The Steele Mixer weighs in at a light 39 pounds and measures 25 inches long x 14 inches wide x 26 inches high making it easily transportable and to maneuver around a job site. It is easy to use and requires no power source to operate. Just a little bit of energy to swing the mixer back and forth. The most difficult part is emptying a bag of concrete into the mixer. Additionally, cleaning the mixer is easier than cleaning any other mixer while also requiring no maintenance. There are no mechanical parts to this mixer that can break down constantly or require protection from the elements or to be maintained. That is what makes something like the Steele Mixer so appealing to contractors and homeowners alike.
To use the Steele Mixer, simply add the required amount of water for one bag to mix into the mixer. Break up a bag of concrete and empty it into the mixer. Then, using the handles, turn the mixer all the way to one side allowing the entire mix to fall to one side. Do this again to the other side. Then, continue this process back and forth. At this point it should be easier to mix the material from side-to-side. When the mix looks good, you can lift the mixer off the stabilizers and empty to where you need it.
To clean it, do the same by only adding water to the mixer and turning it from side to side to get any leftover material off. Empty the water out of the mixer and repeat if necessary.
The Steele Mixer will mix concrete, stucco, mud, mortar, grout, and other materials in under 1 minute!