# (Stone) Standard Mixer or (Ez-Grout) Hydraulic



## Kenny5798 (Jul 30, 2011)

1/2-I know if they were handing them out I'd go Hydraulic.
2/2- I see there is other brands of Hydraulic that might be cheaper.

I have been buying The Stone 855PM for years now. I been going through them as if they were handing them out. My main problem is not the guys running my mixers could give a .... if the mixer was greased and had oil in it. I must get more strict. So, I have 4 mixers that need new drum bearings n whatever else. I've noticed other Contractors who have Silo's on site are using a Silo Mixer or at least a 12 C.Ft Hydraulic. I dont have many jobs with Silo's and if my 8C.Ft mortar mixers aren't being takin care of properly then why should me n my partner spend 10k on a Hydraulic. My question I guess is.. When I get this "Situation" under control an my equipment starts getting the right attention, will it be worth spending an extra 4k on a Hydraulic? If I have a job w no Silo does the hydraulic last longer? I hear I can get a faster/better mix. And they eventually pay for themselves. As of right now I'm stuck on spending a couple grand on a 2 bag Mortar Mixer. And if I see a decent amount of Future work and I have the cash, should I just buy one and see how it works out or purchase multiple 12/20 c.ft Hydraulic?


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## JBM (Mar 31, 2011)

We used to use the Stone mixers. The red rubber gasket would always fail on the inside of the bowl. The front bearing would also always need to be tightened against the bowl too. We switched over to Stow mixers. The bearings last a long time and nothing ends up loose.

I clean my mixer with a 4", or whatever it is, ice scraper. My guy stands on top of the motor cage and scrapes the sides down after each mix. With the stone mixers he would have to make sure he didnt hit the gasket, but the Stow has a plate there to stop the scraper from hitting it.

Ive never used a hydraulic mixer. I just throw mine on craigslist and buy a new one so I cant justify the cost for doing residential masonry.


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## Tscarborough (Feb 25, 2006)

There is a reason why Stone mixers have a free lifetime warranty on the bearings.


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## jomama (Oct 25, 2008)

I've had a few Stones before, and still have an 855PM. The only real plus that I've seen is that they are cheap to purchase.

Since buying a 10 cubic foot Crown with the enclosed gears & plastic drum, I'll never buy another Stone. I did pay about $1K more for it, but it's really twice the mixer considering how well it's built, the fact that I'll never have to tighten up the pillow block bushings on a job when we should be laying block, the fact that it has enough clearance to mix pea stone grout w/o any issues, the fact that the daily clean-up is a fraction of the time it used to be, etc....


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