Mudmixer review, mixing quikrete cement with the Mud Mixer

Mudmixer from Crosslands rental in Yukon Oklahoma August 27, 2021.
I made the video on a hot August evening and the cement was starting to set on me so I didn't get to spend as much time making the video as I wanted to so I will follow up here on its performance and features.
The mudmixer machine worked great and was a big time saver and more consistent than mixing in a wheel barrow.
I mixed the cement a little on the stiff side at about a 4" slump. My project was a strip 2' wide by 12' long to ramp up to a garage door opening and a door landing 3' wide by 5' long with all of it 4" thick and I used 36 of the 60 pound quikrete bags. The quikrete online calculator showed I would need 31 bags for the size stated but that is in an ideal world with the botton/ground perfectly level. I took this amount as an estimate and made sure I had several bags extra and am glad I did.
When you start using the machine you will want to wet the augur/chute but do not wet the hopper bin where you add the cement. The hopper needs to be dry so the cement powder will fall through and not stick.
I mentioned you can stop and start the machine as needed to rake the cement in place or take a break. I would limit this stopping or break to no more than 2 minutes as the cement can get sticky in the chute. It might be a good idea to give the chute a light spray of water before you stop. I ran the machine set between 40 and 45 on the dial.
The machine is easy to move and I really like the way they made the machine easy to pivot around so the chute can be used at the front of the machine as a straight on approach or turned to the side like I used it to parallel my project.
I did my project by myself with the exception that my wife helped a little by taping the sides of the forms with a hammer and jigger a piece of rebar along the edge of the forms to make sure the cement was consolidated well on the sides and corners. In hindsight it would have been easier on me if I had a helper that could dump the bags while I raked the cement in place but it worked out fine for me although if my project was much bigger I would definitely say you need a helper.
It takes two people to pick it up and load in a pickup but I was able to push it up a ramp to load it by myself.
The hardest physical part of the project was dealing with the 60 pound bags of cement and loading the bags at home depot, unloading them at home and picking them up quickly to dump in the hopper. Keep in mind that unlike a lot of DIY projects where you can do at your own pace and take your time to give it the upmost perfection, this is cement and it can get hard on you rather fast depending on the weather, so its game on once you start dumping the cement out and you need to work fast.
Key points - Have extra bags of cement on hand and have a helper unless you are able to work fast and have a small project.
One more tip - When buying the bags of cement look them over closely and feel of them to make sure they are in a loose powder state. I found several bags inside the store that the sacks were faded and showed signs of being previously stored outside. These bags were rock hard and not usable.

[@stevealsmeyer2555]

I purchased a MudMixer because of the unavailability of ready mix here in central Indiana for my DIY home room additions. We have poured 9 yards so far-formed footings and stem walls. This machine will keep 2-3 guys busy! They claim 1 yard/hour and I believe it!

[@tomhall7905]

Wow, 9 yards is a lot to pour but for multiple small jobs it could be a better option that than the cost and waiting of the big mixer truck.

[@johndorazio3759]

First things first Quikrete doesn't have enough cement in it to even be classified as concrete

[@rongray4118]

Just had ours delivered yesterday and assembled in 20 minutes. Thanks for posting your video!!

[@fleming1124]

Can’t wait to rent one!

[@okflyer777]

Great review Tom!

[@homerguerrero]

Thanks for review. !

[@barnandhome]

Just saw this yesterday at a rental store. We're dealing with a concrete shortage up here in Indiana and this may be perfect for small jobs!

[@tomhall7905]

Yes, it's ideal for small jobs. You could do a little bigger job as long as it's not too wide like a 3-4' wide sidewalk but if you get into bigger jobs you'd want a couple helpers like one person to run and move the machine, one person dumping bags and one person screeding and finishing. You'd also want the bags staged along your path so you're not carrying them too far. The small project in my video is about all I'd want to do by myself, especially in hot weather like it was. Good luck!

[@mccoy-15]

I wish they made it capable of pumping the concrete as well, with a hose attachment.

[@xxxmikeyjock]

its a mini volumetric mixer setup . cool

[@josejuangonzalezperez]

looks like tye right tool to use wyen u dont uave extra help💯👌

[@BILLSCHMIDT49]

In my area they have a large version of this on a Mack a truck.

[@dkat1108]

Question when you turn it off for a few minutes does the water shut off also ?

[@leonardobehrens1204]

It stops the water. Only when the machine clogs a bit the auger and stops water will keep running and you got to shut it manually (just the dial) reset and start over. (My concrete had too many big rocks so hit reverse and forward to restart and water too)

[@dkat1108]

Thanks ! @@leonardobehrens1204

[@smallnuts2]

I'm building a 20ft long, 2ft high, 8 inch thick retaining wall in my backyard. Would this machine be good for this? I figure while its going I can either vibrate concrete or move the wet concrete into areas.

[@weissenborn75]

I don't believe this would be a time or labor saver. You need approximately 1 yard of concrete for your project. Which is about 45 bags of quick Crete. At around 3.50 a bag thats about 150 bucks before tax. Then you need to rent the mixer and do all the labor. You could call a ready mix company and pay around 250 dollars for a yard of concrete with the small load fee and not kill yourself heaving 80lb bags of quick Crete. I actually don't see who this device is targeting to be honest.

[@smallnuts2]

@@weissenborn75 I'm learning concrete and it's fun to do your own home projects. Plus it's cheaper. Rental at home depot mixer for 4 hours is $65. Then then the concrete. A job cost of this size well quoted to me for 28 feet long 3feet wide was $1400. When this would cost me about $265 to do myself.

[@weissenborn75]

@@smallnuts2 I'm saying call a concrete plant and order ready mix concrete. It would be cheaper and less labor intensive. I run a ready mix plant. I could send a yard of concrete out for the same cost and you would get a better product. And not near the labor.

[@summitsecuritydoorandlock]

@@weissenborn75 I believe the target market it fence installers who can roll it to each post, fill from bag and move to next. Would be a huge efficiency gain in that case alone. If they issued a pump I could use it to backfill blocks and door frames as well, but not as of now.

[@mr_4point681]

​@weissenborn75 you just afraid of losing costumers..😂😂

[@AndrewBuilt]

Very cool product! Do you know how much Maintaince these require?

[@tomhall7905]

I would think as long as it's rinsed out after use the maintenance would be very minimal.

[@genevelis6075]

Please explain, if i order 1 cubic yard or more, it is the same or cheaper to order a concrete truck delivery and much less work. If take in consideration $3k the price of the mud mixer, it doesn't make sense. Am I missing anything?

[@tomhall7905]

It wouldn't be cost effective if you bought the mud mixer but might be if you rented it like I did. Other things to consider is if the mixer truck will fit close to the jobsite or will you have to wheelbarrow the mud a long ways. In that case having the mudmixer right at the jobsite might be a plus.

[@genevelis6075]

@@tomhall7905 Agree with you 100%.

[@danielmurzellotheunknownma7481]

Hello👋🙋‍♂️ there.. Amazing and very interesting video🎥.. Super like👌👌👌 Good equipment... Very helpful. Thanks for sharing Do keep posting Warm regards and best👍💯 wishes The UnknownManCub 👍😎👨‍🏭

[@GRUBB-MUDD]

I am interested in this because I make concrete videos on youtube as well, BTW I gave u a sub

[@MarioMartinez-os5ch]

Were do you buy it at

[@tomhall7905]

I would google mudmixer and see where their website shows dealer near you. I didn't buy this one, I rented it. So renting could be an option to try it out to see if you like it.

[@nayyer4u]

Is this mud mixer ?

[@tomhall7905]

Yes, this is a review of a mud mixer I rented for a home project. I am not affiliated with the mud mixer company.

[@wadebrumett9545]

Rented one yesterday for a hundred bag pour. Ran a bag and a half through before the auger broke. Disappointed.

[@ScrewThisGlueThat]

Sounds like you need more training.

[@wadebrumett9545]

@@ScrewThisGlueThat they admitted a weak weld in the earlier machines that they have remedied. But thanks for the advice.

[@rodney2527]

@@wadebrumett9545 Happened to another youTuber who was testing...they sent him a replacement auger next day.

[@roblescurbappealconcrete]

From what I’ve seen in several videos, I believe it’s just too slow. But then again I’ve never used one.

[@tomhall7905]

I didn't think it was that slow. It's definitely for small jobs, but if you had a helper that could help handling the bags of cement you could do a bigger job with ease.

[@ramblin_man23]

That doesn't look like cement. It looks like some sort of concrete mix like Quikrete.

[@ramblin_man23]

@@Pitman-Grills I know. He said you put "cement" in the machine in the video. He's wrong. You put concrete in it not just cement.

[@Brian_P]

@@ramblin_man23 get a life 🙄

[@illiniwood]

(This was written by a civil engineer. Portions of this may apply on how to know if your mix is just right.) @mikehewitt1253 1 month ago (edited) Dear all, let me try to help everyone understand concrete. The cement part of any mortar or concrete reacts with water in a hydraulic chemical reaction (exothermic reaction i.e. generates heat). When thoroughly cured, meaning allowing enough time for this reaction to take place and preferably throughout all the cement particles where they become irreversibly hardened and water proof. However, cement on it's own will shrink significantly and crack all over so it needs a binder - sand - this 'stretches' the cement through the mix so when it hardens via Curing it's bonded to lot's of already hard sand particles and more cement particles alike creating a hard material that doesn't crack - mortar. However 😁 mortar is not strong in itself. For strength we add Aggregate, ideally for strength you want some flat, some irregular stones (not pebble like) of 3 sizes - pea size, golf ball size and halfway between those - giving us Concrete when Cured throughout. Now, I've watched many dry pour vids with interest and listened to the nay sayers saying it has to be WET to cure and therefore dry pour is nonsense......... Time for education folks where (after that which I have outlined above) you will be surprised that I'm on the side of dry pour ....... SORT OF...... When dry pouring, it is tamped thoroughly down before spraying - this is GOOD - but cement particles and sand particles and aggregate elements throughout will not all receive moisture, will not Cure and will remain as dust in parts - not good. BUT Wet is not great either! It's CONVENIENT. The best, strongest concrete is Mechanical Concrete which is made with JUST ENOUGH water to provide moisture throughout for correct curing. The test is - grab a small fist full, squeeze hard together in palm of hand and if doesn't hold shape and crumbles when released from pressure, needs more moisture. The shape should Break cleanly in two pieces without crumbling - if stretches in the break test, it's too wet. So my recommendation to all is........ Dry pour mix thoroughly together with rake, add moisture by spraying so as not to over-wet BUT rake that moisture throughout and THEN Tamp down hard compacting it all properly and level off. All this 24 hrs later stuff is inadequate - Minimum curing time is a month - covered to keep that minimum moisture in the mixed pad, base, driveway, - shouldn't be touched, don't go near it - best of both worlds here as easy as Dry Pour and stronger than the normal convenient Wet stuff which because of too much moisture cannot be as compacted and consolidated to provide the same strength. Go Mechanical guys, it's the best. Anyone want to hear my views on Earthcrete, which I find fascinating - by the way - I'm a Civil Engineer - spent an entire year studying Concrete - an entire bloody year on nothing but concrete. PS DON'T use quickset anything, you won't have enough time for all rake work, use standard Portland.

[@jouseviva6516]

😳🤣🤣😳🤣🤣🤣

[@juvenalvargas3349]

A mud mixer that can't mix mud

[@JoseMartinez-ug3wz]

Looks to slow

[@tomhall7905]

You have to keep in mind that it's intended for small projects and for me doing it all by myself the speed was just fine.