2 Types of Concrete Mixers Secrets

2 Types of Concrete Mixers Secrets

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
Arthur C. Clarke,

And if the Romans saw how we handle machines they would probably have worshipped us like the gods of Metal

Did you know Romans had concrete known as opus caementicium back in the 3rd Century BC? This was an advanced technology back in those days. But as advanced as it was, they would have benefitted greatly if they had the modern concrete mixers.

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They would probably consider us the lords of metals and concrete if we took our concrete mixers and went back to their time.

But did you know that not all mixers are the same? A lot of you probably don’t know that there are different types of concrete mixers used for different purposes. These types are divided based on whether the concrete is mixed in batches or continuously. 

Types of Concrete mixers

To mix concrete is simple but to mix it well and in large quantity is hard. This is where concrete mixers come into play. The main function of concrete mixers is to mix large quantities of concrete. But not all mixers function the same way. This can be due to the concrete mixers’ efficiency, or the scale at which they mix concrete. 

Let’s see what these types are so we know what they do. Life is unpredictable and you never know what you will need to do. So it always helps to know random stuff even if you don’t think you need it. There are two types of concrete mixers with some sub-divisions among the types as well.

Batch mixers

As the name suggests, this type of mixer mixes the concrete in batches. They are rather common in use and easily obtainable. It has an additional requirement of manual work and a lack of automation. You will need to add the ingredients manually but due to this very reason, this type of concrete mixer is also cheaper in comparison as well. This type is further divided into two subtypes: Drum Type Mixer and Pan Type Mixer

Drum Type Mixers

Types of Concrete Mixers - Hidden Knowledge

In this mixer, the ingredients are mixed in a drum shaped like two attached cones. This sub-type is further divided into three internal types which are:

  • Tilting Drum Mixers
  • Non-tilting Drum Mixers
  • Reversing Drum Mixers
i) Tilting Drum mixers
Types of Concrete Mixers - Hidden Knowledge

This type of drum mixer will discharge the concrete by tilting downwards. By doing this, large amounts of mixed concrete can be discharged at a rapid pace which makes it perfect for large-scale projects. This is a highly flexible type of mixer as concretes can be mixed regardless of their workability. This being said the mixing efficiency and flexibility depend on the shape of drums, angle of drums, and angle of blades.

ii) Non-tilting Drum Mixers
Types of Concrete Mixers - Hidden Knowledge

This type of drum mixer doesn’t tilt. The drum rotates horizontally and the concrete is. This mixer has two open ends where the mixer is poured from one end and discharged from another one. There is no rapid discharge of concrete so segregation may occur. Along with this, it cannot mix concrete with large aggregates. As you may have noticed, there are many limitations on this type of concrete mixer, so this is not ideal for large products. It is best for small projects.

iii) Reversing Drum Concrete Mixer
Types of Concrete Mixers - Hidden Knowledge

This is basically the more versatile version of the Non-tilting concrete mixer. Similar to a non-tilting concrete mixer, this has two openings in which raw materials are poured in from one end and poured out from another end. This mixer rotates in two directions and it has two different sets of blades which makes it suitable for both dry and wet concrete.

Pan Type Concrete Mixer

Types of Concrete Mixers - Hidden Knowledge

So after drum, we have a Pan. As the name suggests, this type of concrete mixer has a pan shape for the main mixer. Here the ingredients are placed and mixed. The blades in this type of mixer are arranged in a star shape to do a thorough job. This type is further divided into the following types:

  • The type where the blade rotate on the vertical axis
  • The type where the pan rotates while the blades stay still

Regardless of which type you use, there is not much of a difference and it is all about your preference.

Continuous Concrete Mixer

Types of Concrete Mixers - Hidden Knowledge

This is the second major type of concrete mixer. This is an automatic mixer that is only used for megaprojects like dams bridges and high-rise buildings. Needless to say, not everybody can afford this as it is super expensive. But that being said the function of automatically loading, mixing, and distributing the concrete with minimal human intervention justifies its price. 

As it is said not everything is made equal and if we are being practical not everything should be made equal. Going back to the beginning, if we were to go back to Roman times with one type of concrete mixer, then considering the functionality we would probably pick the tilting drum mixer. You could use distilled alcohol as fuel and if that works, then Boom you become the god of machine and concrete. 

But that being said, just knowing the types and functions of mixers is not enough. You should also know the types of cement as well. As it is the main raw ingredient of concrete. Along with this regardless of how you make concrete, be sure to choose a good cement brand as like Ambe and Shivam it is the only ingredient of concrete that is not natural. 

Hope this was helpful for you and if you have any comments for us, do let us know in the comment below. And as always, thank you for reading till the end.

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