# Three point cement mixer questions and thoughts



## L S G (Dec 30, 2008)

I am thinking about a cement or concrete mixer. If it matters I will mostly be using pre mix concrete in case that matters because there are different uses. 

I will normally mix 100 plus 60 pound bags at a time or more. Last pour I did I rented two large gas tow behinds from Home Depot the big mixers that 6 to 7 bags could be mixed at once. While I dont expect a pour of that size without a concrete truck I will at times do more than most would attempt. 

I have a Kubota 40 HP with rear hydraulic controls so hydraulic feed is present. 

There is a Rankin Mx-320 that seems to be the easiest to obtain but I have my concerns the specs show the mixer drum to be 11 Cubic feet however it states 1 bag. No one stocks mixers close enough to go see. I did talk to the wharehouse for Rankin he cleared up the 1 bag thing a little but couldn’t answer how many 60 pound bags it would actually handle without over working it. 

The price isnt bad in reality at $1380 if i pick it up. But I’m struggling with not knowing its actual limits. If it would handle five 60 pound bags I’d be fine with that. No one rents the bigger gas powered machines close to me I’m forced to pick them up from 60 miles away which is a headache on days I’m trying to achieve way to much. 

As far as why I’m mixing this much myself its another story all together it serves another purpose which cannot happen from a concrete truck, however what I’m accomplishing here allots me enough money to actually shell out quite a bit more for a large towable gas powered machine. However the thought of being able to move a full drum of concrete with my tractor sound very appealing 

Thanks


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## Hoodoo Valley (Nov 14, 2006)

Welcome to the forum LSG! Have you considered a gas powered mixer and a set of forks? Mount the mixer on a pallet and now you can drop that mixer off wherever you want and..... Now you'd have a set of forks for transporting your bags of premix and other items.


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## Ed Williams (Jun 13, 2019)

Welcome to the Forum. Dad used to have a 3 pt concrete mixer he ran on a 31 HP NAA. It was rated in cu yd, not bags. I think the barrel was 2/3 cu yd capacity, but you could only mix 1/3 yard or it would spill out of top while turning. We used it to pour footers for the house and garage pus a small patio deck. It worked very well, but was all the NAA could do while dumping, although it rotated the drum fine. The biggest problem was we could only dump in one spot, then I had to spread and level since Dad had a bad back. 2 people could turn a hard task into a very manageable job by trading off the loading. We did not use premix at that time. We had a pile of gravel, a pile of sand, and a pallet of portland cement in the truck bed. We measured the mix ratio with 2.5 gallon buckets. Dad liked a 7 bag mix, I think that is 4000 lb concrete for the footers, then dropped back to a 5 bag mix, 3000 lbs for the patio slabs. I wish he had never sold it. I have had plenty of use for it over the years for small jobs.


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## L S G (Dec 30, 2008)

Hoodoo Valley said:


> Welcome to the forum LSG! Have you considered a gas powered mixer and a set of forks? Mount the mixer on a pallet and now you can drop that mixer off wherever you want and..... Now you'd have a set of forks for transporting your bags of premix and other items.


It may come down to that. I cant seem to get the factors on the actual amount of concrete or cement that these will actually mix at one time let alone how reliable they are. If I cant get more bags in one than I can from a cheap harbor freight or a Home Depot unit I will just rent the big gas units when needed until I am ready to shell out what looks like $4500 for a gas unit. No one has one any where near me to see I’d drive hours if needed.


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## L S G (Dec 30, 2008)

I purchased a Rankin MX-320 three point cement mixer. Before i forget these details in case someone else can use them. There a number of mounting locations for all three points of the three point. After tinkering with all of them I found what I thought was the best of all worlds and each tractor will be different. The battle here is to get as much tilt at a working height you think you will want it. For loading and dumping. Then you have to deal with driveline angle. I waited to cut the driveshaft until i thought I was in the right spot only to find the U joints wont work at the limits I would prefer of both height and tilt. you can tell when its rotating that your in the sweat spot and when your out of it. In a week I will have ran it through its operations with a moderately large pour so my next post will be about how it performs.


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## Ed Williams (Jun 13, 2019)

Can you post photos from several angles of the mixer mounted on the tractor. Loading position and pouring position would be nice.


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## L S G (Dec 30, 2008)

Ed Williams said:


> Can you post photos from several angles of the mixer mounted on the tractor. Loading position and pouring position would be nice.


I plan to do so when its in use next week.


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## Goshawk (Jun 3, 2018)

I have one that I have used with good and bad success. First off, if you're running it off your PTO via a chain drive, keep your PTO angle as straight as possible! The extra "snap" of the universal joints will eat a chain alive in a short amount of time, as in half way through your pour. 
If you have the ability, an electric drive off of your own tractor or a hydraulic motor powering your drum rotation are the way to go. I can pup 7 80# bags of ready mix into mine, so it sure cuts down on time when pouring fence posts, pads, sidewalks, etc. Obviously a hydraulic top link is a must, and run it sloooooow!


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## marc_hanna (Apr 10, 2017)

I have a 3 point pto driven dump style and not particularly impressed with it. Key issues:
1. Hydraulic top link doesn’t have enough stroke to dump properly, so I connected an electric winch instead. 
2. PTO drive shaft angle a serious issue as others mentioned
3. To get enough height to dump and not hit the ground, the 3ph, drive shaft and top links crossover into a reflex angle making it impossible tip up unless you first lower the 3ph
4. Using the winch, tipping up to increase capacity for more cement, crosses over the center of gravity, causing it to fall back towards the tractor. 

In retrospect, it was a bad purchase, but I am looking into modifying it to have better mechanical advantage.


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