Masonry Magazine March 2012 Page. 20
Considerations
When Purchasing
a Mixer
BY DAMIAN LANG
Photos courtesy of EZ Grout Corp
LIKE CARS, TRUCKS, TRACTORS AND CRANES, MIXERS ARE NOT WHAT THEY USED TO BE. Some are built on price, some on ergonomics, and some on quality. Mason contractors face the same issues day in and day out, including deciding on equipment to use on a job, whether to rent or buy, and when the right time is to make that investment. As contractors reach the time to replace or upgrade their fleets, the following comparisons should be considered.
Rent or own?
THE GOLDEN RULE on most equipment is that if you use it more than 75 percent of the time, it is cheaper to own than to rent. However, other factors, such as the availability of the equipment and how far the rental yard is from your shop, will play a role in this decision. This is especially true regarding smaller equipment, such as mortar mixers, for which you must pay delivery charges, or pay one of your own people to pick up and return to the rental yard for each use. Therefore, on smaller equipment, 50 percent usage may be a closer measure.