Hi, Am I going mad or have I heard mention of a small cement/concrete mixer that's ideal for small jobs? It's basically a plastic barrel with baffles inside that gets rolled around to mix the cement and water. If anybody else knows of this thing, could you tell me where to get one, please?

 

chez,
Yer not crazy. They used to have them at the box stores, but I don't remember seeing them for a while. I used to have one, and lemme tell ya, not as easy to use as they make it sound and look. Once you have 40 or more pounds of concrete in there, it doesn't roll too easy anymore. Cleaning it was also a pain. I think I used mine 2 or 3 times then donated it. This is not what I had, but its the only one I could find online.
http://www.quikrete.com/ProductLines...ortarMixer.asp

You can do a simpler job with a small tarp, do a basic mix, then with a person on each side you just roll the mix back and forth.
Personally I like a wheelbarrow for small jobs. I can mix where it's easy to cleanup, then roll it to where i need it. A mixing hoe is helpful too.

 

Sounds like a better plan - thanks

 

I have a small electric mixer [made of metal] I bought from harbor freight about 16 yrs ago. I like it, sure beats mixing up mud in a wheel barrow.

If you only use half of it's capacity it will mix the mud/concrete well but if you try to load it up - it struggles. It also doesn't roll well but once you have it in position to work, I rarely move it until I'm done.

 

By myself, I can out produce 4 people with a roller barrel or a tarp, using a wheelbarrow and a hoe. It is funny how hard people work to avoid a little work.