My mortar mixer threw a belt halfway through a job in Denver yesterday

I was in the middle of laying a retaining wall in Capitol Hill when the old mixer just started smoking and then stopped. The belt snapped clean in two, which I didn't even know could happen on those things (it's a 3-year-old unit). I had 200 bricks already staged and a helper standing around waiting, so I had to drive 20 minutes to the rental place and grab a backup. That cost me $60 for the day and probably ate up 2 hours of daylight. Has anybody else dealt with a mixer belt failing out of nowhere, or am I just unlucky?

2 comments

2 Comments

emerychen20d ago

Nah, three years is about right for a mixer belt if it gets used hard. Those things take a beating with the mud and dust. Check the tension maybe, but sometimes rubber just gives up after that many cycles in the Colorado sun and altitude. Sucks about the rental cost and lost time though, that's the real pain.

the_dakota20d ago

Check the alignment of the pulley system before you put on the new belt. Three year old belts don't just snap clean unless something is out of true, and ignoring it will just eat your next belt too.