Home-made propeller mixer with mount and switch

This is a heavy-duty one-speed mixer, homemade, with a 1/3 hp motor. It can handle up to ten gallons of high-density glaze or body slurry.

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Heavy duty mixer mounted on a steel pole

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It is adjusted so the shaft is at an angle (rather than straight up and down) to pull less air bubbles into the slurry. It can mix up to 5 gallons of viscous glaze or body slurry. The motor is very powerful enabling the mixing of low water content slurries (this means that amounts of less than about 2 gallons of slurry can splatter quite a bit). The 1/2 inch shaft is 22 inches long and the propeller is mounted up from the end of the shaft.

One-speed slurry mixer motor-shaft coupler close-up

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The coupler used to mount the 1/2 inch stainless steel shaft to the motor shaft. It uses 4 Allen set screws to hold it tightly onto the shafts. The two shafts are not the same diameters, so you may have to have this made at a local machine shop.

One-speed slurry mixer mounting mechanism

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Rear view of how motor and switch attach to aluminum mount.

One-speed slurry mixer mounting clamp

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An aluminum C-clamp adjustable-angle motor mount secures the mixer motor and mounts it to the custom-made arm extending from the steel pole. The switch also mounts to it. This may be so easy to find, but if you show a picture at a hardware store they should been able to recommend an alternative mounting strategy.

One-speed slurry mixer switch close-up

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Wet location sealed switch used on mixer. The electrical-in is sealed using silicone.

One-speed slurry mixer motor label

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Mixer motor specifications label. Show this at an equipment supply store and they will be able to give you this exact motor.

One-speed slurry mixer propeller close-up

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4 inch propeller (2 inch radius) mounted on a 1/2 inch stainless steel shaft. It is not mounted right at the bottom, this is done to prevent the blade from contacting the bottom of the bucket during mixing. By googling the identification you see on this prop(Taiwan 4x4 316 propeller) you would find the site of the manufacturer (http://www.tonson-motor.com/e/p004.htm).

A must-have: Laboratory variable speed propeller mixer

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If you are at all serious about testing glazes and clay bodies, you need one of these. There are other methods, but nothing else comes close to this. It is the most valuable and frequently used tool in any ceramic bodies and glazes testing lab or classroom. This is the Lightnin brand, they are expensive but high quality. This is a 1/20 hp variable speed unit, it could be $4000 new! But you can get them used on ebay.com (the industrial mixers are most common, lab mixers are jealously guarded). This one uses a 7.9mm dia (5/16") shaft. We adapted a mount (to give it vertical adjustment) from small drill press.

Videos

Links

Glossary	Blunging In ceramics, the production of glazes and casting slips requires dispersing powders into water to create slurries. A good mixer is essential.
Glossary	Propeller Mixer In ceramic studios, labs and classrooms, a good propeller mixer is essential for mixing glaze and body slurries.

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