Masonry Magazine March 2012 Page. 21
Buying price versus value
MIXERS VARY from reasonably priced built out of light materials to higher priced when built from heavy materials. If you are a contractor doing residential work or light weight commercial work, and only using a mixer for a few batches of mortar per day or a week, buying a low-priced, light-duty mixer probably is the way to go as these mixers can last a long time under those conditions. They also weigh less, which makes them easier to move around when no forklift or other equipment on the job is available to assist with the move.
On the other hand, if you are doing commercial work and have several people relying on many batches of mortar daily to keep your people busy, buying the cheaper line mixer will cost you much more in the long run. Studies show that only 30 percent of the cost of an industrial piece of equipment is incurred the day the equipment is purchased, while 70 percent of the cost is incurred during use, via maintenance, repairs and lost time, due to break downs. Especially in the current economic climate, the life cycle cost of the equipment can make a significant difference.
Concrete mixers versus mortar mixers
UNTIL A FEW YEARS AGO, concrete could be mixed only in drum rotation mixers. These mixers are reasonably priced and work well for small volumes of concrete. However, some manufacturers build mortar mixers that can mix concrete as well as mortar. These higher production mixers cut through the material during the mixing process, instead of tumbling it like the traditional concrete mixers do. This also gives the contractor the option of mixing mortar or concrete in the same mixer, so he doesn't have to have two different types of miser on site, when one will do the job for both mortar and concrete.
Large or small?
THE RULE OR MAXIMUM PRODUCTIVITY: the larger the project, the larger the miser. Small mixers are fine for small projects, for which only one or two bricklayers are working on site. On larger projects that require several bricklayers, larger mixers are required to keep up with the mortar demand as bricks, blocks or stone can be laid only when mortar is on the masons boards. If masons are standing around waiting for the mortar man to mix batch after batch from the same mixer, when he could be mixing several batches at once in one mixer, the job is losing money. One also must consider that more than 50 percent of the mortar is mixed in only two hours of the day, the first hour in the morning and the first hour after lunch. Larger mixers are required on larger jobs to supply this mortar during these heavy usage periods, or production will suffer.
Electric or gas?
MOST CONTRACTORS PREFER gas to electric mixers. Gas allows you to put the mixer anywhere on the jobsite, without running an electric power source to it. Later, if you need place it on the other end of the jobsite, you can do so easily. It also takes 220 amps to power most mixers, which is difficult access on most jobsites. This prevents electric from being a viable option. However, some advantages of
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March 2012 MASONRY 19