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

[Bruce Donelson]

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>	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?

 The reason that unslaked lime is dificult to come by is that slaking it
(giving the lime its initial hydration) is so dangerous. Very many
professional hod-carriers were blinded by the explosion of the dry lime
coming into contact with the water too quickly. Eventually the plaster
manufacturers worked out a process of adding a measured amount of water to
the lime so that it could still be mixed up into plasters recipes, but did
not need to be slaked. So now hydrated lime is the standard, and anhydrous
lime is pretty rare. Turns out to be cheaper to have the plaster
manufacturer hydrate it, as well as safer.

Also not reccomended for do-it-yourselfers: turning your own nitroglycerin
into TNT.

Bruce Donelson
A Better Builder