Concrete mixers are used for a variety of construction jobs where a cement mixture is needed. These mixers help in making a mixture of cement, sand/gravel and water using appropriately measured quantity of each material and thus makes a concrete paste. A concrete mixer’s rotating drum, around a chute, run by a machine makes a homogeneous mixture out of these materials and saves workers a lot of manual hard work.
The mechanically or machine operated concrete mixers, as we know them now, have been in use for a century now. From construction of large buildings to small projects, like making fence posts in our discussions here, concrete mixers are a regular contributor. The difference is that larger construction sites always use powered ones while small scale mixing may be achieved by traditional mixers that are hand held and operated. The latter involve the use of drums and wheelbarrows and your good old hands. Check out concrete fence posts and gravel boards too.
It is obvious that since we are dealing with the topic of making Concrete Fence Posts, which has smaller concrete requirements comparatively, you won’t need a big truck size concrete mixer that you also often see going to and from construction sites with a big drum slowly but constantly rotating. However, if you are dealing with a big farm or a similar large area, a portable concrete mixer would be an appropriate choice as it can be hauled around the whole periphery hitched to the back of your flatbed semi truck.
So what kind of concrete mixer should you choose? Like all planned projects, you have to start with the size of your project. If you are doing a handful of posts only, you might not even need a mixer and maybe able to do with an alternative to using concrete mixers, that is doing it old style measure, mix and pour with hands on. On the other hand, if you decide that you do need one and you are an average sized project, it is clear that you need it only once in so many years and so renting a mixer is the way for you to go. Look up in your yellow pages or on the internet for your local area and you’re sure to find a bunch of companies offering portable concrete mixers on hire basis.
In such a case, the most commonly used mixer is the 32 liter capacity size. Average and smaller sized fence posts project would be easily handled using one of these. It weighs around 50-60 lbs and is easy to haul around. However, for larger farm fences like mentioned earlier, larger capacity concrete mixers are also available.
Check at your local home supplies store, like Home Depot or Lowe’s, if you want to buy it for keeps. If you want to rent it, check out the local construction companies and don’t forget to explain your clear needs at both places. With right calculation and right choice of a concrete mixer, you’ll be able to construct your concrete fence posts in a jiffy.
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