On Jun 23, 7:25*am, ransley wrote:
On Jun 22, 9:29*pm, Joe Guy wrote:



ransley wrote:
*Dont forget, weigh the water

I don't weigh the water, and here's why:

When I mix, I'll mix anywhere from 4 to 10 batches straight over a 1 to
3 hour period (4 batches for a pier, 10 batches for a verticle wall slab
10' long, 4' high).

I'll have 5 pre-weighed pails ready for each batch, and enough pails
ready to do all the batches I need (these are .5 cf rectangular
cat-litter pails).

One pail for the cement, 2 for stone and 2 for sand. *Remember, these
are not equal parts by volume. *I have 23 lbs cement, 88 lbs stone and
58 lbs sand. *For the piers, I'll go heavier on the cement and lighten
up on the sand.

For the first batch, the mixer will be clean, and I could prepare a
specially weighed batch of water for that batch. *But once I pour and
place that batch, I'll take a hose and spray down the lip and inside of
the mixer (specifically, the blades) to loosen up what-ever caked cement
has formed there). *

This places an unknown / variable quantity of water in the mixer prior
to adding the components of the next batch. *About a gallon or two I
would guess.

I then add the following, in this order:

100% of the stone
100% pigment

I let that mix for about 1 minute, let the pigment get distributed
equally all over / into the stone. *The stone / pigment will absorb most
or all of the standing water that was in the mixer already, and I will
probably give it a few extra shots of water, then I add

50% cement

Let that mix for a minute, then add

50% sand

Let that mix for a minute. *Spray some water into it to keep it from
caking up at the back of the mixer. *Then add

25% - 40% cement and 25% sand

Let that mix for a few minutes. *Spray more water.

At this point, I will throw in 1/2 shot-glass of Airex, and 2 shots of
Eukon-37 (super-P). *I found that adding the super-P later in the mixing
cycle when more of the ingredients were in play was more effective than
at the start of the mix cycle. *I've also found that the mix needs to be
a bit chunky for the super-P to do it's job really well.

The super-P turns the mix into a more runny consistency, perhaps a bit
sloppy. *At that point I might have a little more cement to add, and
about 25% of the sand. *This is enough to turn the mix from a bit sloppy
into that "rolled-dough" consistency that I aim for.

If I end up with a mix that's too sloppy, I'll add extra cement and
stone to thicken it up (I always have a stand-by bucket of stone and
cement ready in case I need it).

There are times when I have to take a 3-foot long rebar and dig into the
mixer while it's turning to loosen anything that's caking on the blades
or at the back of the mixer. *I'll do that instead of spraying water at
it. *My goal is to keep the mixing time down to an absolute minimum,
including no downtime to clean the mixer between batches. *This is why I
spray water into mixer when and as much as I think it needs.

I was kidding about the water, I dont weigh a mix and dont know why
you are wasting time doing so, Volume is the way its done.

Sounds like he is doing pre measured batches so he can just add water
when needed. Do this bt volume in some 5 gal buckets would work as
well.

Jimmie