[Greenbuilding] [Strawbale] Mixing S Type Lime in a Mortar Mixer

[Speireag Alden]

Sgrìobh Debbie Johnson-Jackson:

>	Does anyone have experience, proportions and/or pointers for mixing 
>S Type lime in a mortar mixer?
>We would like to mix and slake all the lime we will need to do our 
>lime plastering. We have the room to make
>the troughs to hold it, the big question my husband has is how much 
>can be done in one mortar mixer load
>and is it best to add water first then lime or visa versa?

     Add them a bit at a time until you get the hang of it.  A mortar 
mixer (stationary tub with paddles rotating on an axis) will mix 
almost anything if it doesn't get too massively stiff.  It will 
definitely mix stiffer than is workable for putting it on the wall.

     If you add too much water first, you may get a bit of splashing 
when the paddle hits.  But you'll figure that out as you go.

     In general, mix drier than you want it in the end, and then very, 
very, very gradually add just the right amount of water to get the 
right consistency.  It is much easier to fix a mix which is too dry 
than a mix which is too wet.  (To do the latter, you have to add very 
dry sand, and lime putty, in correct proportions, until the mix 
averages dry enough.  You can end up with an awful lot of mud that 
way.  Of course, if you're doing pure lime, then you can also dump it 
out, tarp it tightly, and save it for the next day.)

     How much can be done in a load?  Depends on the size of the 
mixer.  Run a few loads through and it will be evident for your mixer.

-Speireag.

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