MAKING A PUTTY MIXER

We have been asked many times what to use to mix catalyst into five gallons of ARJAY putty. A 1/2" drill with 7-8 amps works well, but the use of electricity with hazardous materials is obviously a safety problem. An air operated mixer would be ideal, but to our knowledge, there isn't one commercially available that is light enough and powerful enough to be used to mix putty.

Recently, we put together a putty mixer and tested it. We started with a mixer blade widely used to mix joint compound.

Recommended Style of Mixer Blade

We prefer this style for mixing catalyst into putty for a variety of reasons:

• The straight sides make pulling the putty away from the pail sides easier.
• When the blade sides build up with cured material, they can be easily cleaned by using a hammer and anvil.
• At around $10 from Home Depot, the blades are quite affordable.

Measuring Torque of Mixer Blade in Arjay Putty

We then tested this blade in our higher viscosity putties and found that a torque of a least 120 inch-pounds is required to turn this particular blade.

This information was used to select an air motor/gear box combination.  For the air motor, we used a Gast 2AM-NCW-97.  We tested smaller units.  The 1AM and 1UP models are just not powerful enough.  Units larger than 2AM are heavier and more expensive.

For the gear reduction box, we used a DeVilbis 15:1 unit.  This is sold in combination with the 2AM air motor as model QS-5001.  We paid $473.00 for it.

Depending on the exact design of the air motor/gear box, a handle needs to be attached.  We used aluminum to keep the weight down.  A 1/2" pipe works nicely because standard bicycle grips fit over snugly.  We welded couplings to connect to the pipe nipples at a slight angle to give a more natural "feel".

When plumbing the inlet and outlet to the air motor, use long enough nipples to extend over the edge of the pail being mixed.  This is because the outlet in particular will sweat and possibly drip water into the material.  Notice that foam insulation was used on the outlet line to prevent this.

Completed Putty Mixer

Our total cost for materials to build this unit was $ 545.06.  This is quite a bit more that the $ 150.00 or so that an electric drill would cost, but if electric is not an option, it could be the way to go.

When connecting the unit to your air source, pay attention to not restricting the air flow.  We tried our mixer in various areas of the plant - places with low air flow resulted in unsatisfactory performance.  We recommend a special drop for the mixer using 1/2" ID air hose and large QD fittings

If you have questions or would like additional information, please call us at (727) 538-0600.

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