HOW TO MIX REALLY WELL!

You wouldn't use a wood drill to drill into a concrete ceiling, would you? This makes sense to most people, but the widespread view is that only one type of paddle is sufficient for mixing. Whether paint, adhesive, screed concrete or primer. A glance at the sheer volume of building chemicals alone makes the opposite clear.

The contents of the material bags usually all look the same: grey powder. As soon as this is mixed with water, the powder is transformed into either a thin self-levelling compound, a soft plastic adhesive mortar or a stiff mortar filled with sand. To ensure that these different material consistencies are mixed as effectively as possible, a paddle that works optimally is required. The different types of paddle develop different mixing effects. These ensure that, for example, heavy sand is conveyed from the bottom to the top, or that cement powder does not form lumps that subsequently float around in the mixture. 

If the design of the paddle does not match the properties of the mix, errors will occur. The material cannot be broken down properly or you cannot get through to the bucket base due to the incorrect mixing effect. Apart from that, mixing with a hand-operated mixer is physically demanding and time-consuming.

Another important factor for problem-free work is the diameter of the paddle. This should always correspond to the quantity to be mixed. If it is too small, it will take considerably longer and the effect will be too small. If it is too large, the material may be thrown out of the bucket and contaminate the operator and the surrounding area.

You can find out which paddle is the right one for which material and quantity here.

Which bucket is suitable for which material depends primarily on the quantity of material to be mixed.

Everyone agrees on one point: If the bucket is too small, it will not only damage your work trousers, which will probably have to be washed in the washing machine, but may also damage the construction site environment – especially indoors, splashes on freshly plastered or painted walls do not look so good.

Ideally, the mixing bucket should be filled up to 2/3 of its height with material, so that you still have enough in reserve during mixing and can move the mass to be mixed easily in the bucket.

You should also make sure that the paddle is fully immersed in the mixture. This reduces the force required during mixing, prevents material from being ejected or excessive air from being introduced into the mixture. You can find out more about suitable buckets here.

Power tools are indispensable for everyday work. Of course, there is a suitable hand-mixer for mixing. Our hand-mixers use special gears to transform the power of the motor into the torque required for mixing. For this reason, the mixers operate at lower speeds than drills. Drills are also only suitable for mixing to a limited extent. As their speeds are usually far too high, this leads to the machine overheating and ultimately breaking down within a short space of time when mixing tough or heavy materials.

The following therefore applies:

• Heavy masses require a lot of force and therefore a lower speed.
• A faster speed is generally used for thin, light materials.

There are also what are known as duo machines. These double mixers with counter-rotating paddles are particularly suitable for mixing large quantities of heavy masses, especially quartz-filled epoxy resins. The counter-rotating paddles neutralise the so-called reverse torque of the machine on the operator. This effect leads to significant physical relief. An additional and decisive factor is the time saved for mixing. With heavy mixtures in particular, this is reduced by almost half.

Find out more about our hand mixer range: here

The right paddle, the right hand-mixer and the right bucket have been found. Now it's time for the mixing itself. Here, too, there are a few factors to consider in order to achieve top mixing results. The composition of modern building materials used in building chemicals is becoming increasingly complex. The correct mixing of the substances is therefore very important.

The decisive factor here is the right amount of water for the mixture. Follow the manufacturer's instructions, they are there for a reason. It often only takes a little too much or too little water and the mixture no longer follows the recipe. A measuring bucket or a dosing device can be used as an aid. Ready-mixed mortar must not be further diluted with water, otherwise it will be "watered down" and become unusable.

The water always goes into the bucket first. Then the material. The other way round, you would have to work the water into the powder. This is more tedious and time-consuming for the person at the mixer. It often results in mixing errors in the form of lumps in the mix. These could later lead to flaking, defects, adhesion problems or leaks. Complaints not only cost the tradesperson money, but also reflect badly on you.

A common reason for mixing errors is that mixing times are not adhered to. The material manufacturer specifies certain mixing and maturing times for its materials for good reason. Many products contain chemical additives that can only develop their effect after all the ingredients have been thoroughly mixed. Some materials, e.g. self-levelling compounds or adhesives, also require a certain mixing or maturing time and further mixing before use. Another factor plays a role in manual mixing: the more mixes are mixed in succession on the construction site, the more likely it is that the mixing times will be calculated "by feel" and therefore mixed too quickly. It is therefore advisable to check your watch. If care is not taken here too, problems, annoyance and costs are inevitable later on

The importance of a "maturing time" after mixing is often not clear, which is why it is often ignored. But it's worth investing these few minutes: During the maturing time of three to five minutes, the additives contained in the fresh mortar are broken down and can then develop their effect evenly after another brief stirring. The mortar becomes more homogeneous, smoother and retains its good workability over the specified period.

Let's be honest. Do you clean your paddle after every mixing process? Dried material residues can detach during the next mixing process and contaminate the new material with "foreign bodies". The individual layers of material also gradually build up further and further on the paddle. This causes a significant loss of mixing effect and therefore extends the mixing times. Soiled and dirty paddles have to be replaced more frequently and are therefore expensive. The popular "hammer wash" is also not recommended. The paddle bends or welded joints tear off.

The service life and effectiveness of the paddle can be significantly extended by cleaning it after each mixing process. Cleaning can be very simple. A bucket filled with water and a little coarse quartz sand often does the trick, but the Mixer-Clean cleaning bucket is much more elegant.