Z Counterform 1800W Double Paddle Mixer - For Concrete, Mortar, Grout, Plaster

Very nice. It is a little short and you have to bend over more when mixing. It works fast and mixes well. The more expensive units normally have a metal handles to protect the motor more give you better grip but overall very nice product and works great.

DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS PRODUCT.During the 1st use the motor burned out.No Return / No RefundBAD BUSINESS

I am restoring/renovating an 110+ yr old house. As such, it has internal walls made with cedar lath and lime plaster. This tool has been indispensable for this job!This specific tool has a 1800W motor. The next size down, which I am sure you're seeing on the product comparison Amazon often shows is only 1600W. I do NOT advise you try to save money by buying the lower power tool - you WILL regret doing so.I initially was using a single paddle (the 4 vertical bar kind) attached to an old Milwaukee Magnum Drill (from when they were still made in the USA so you know it has real power). This was fine for mixing up and slaking the lime - but was a true back-breaker when it came to adding in sand and amendments. That old drill powered through it but it was really rough. Lime plaster being thixotropic (more fluid the more you mix it) helps but still it was a HUGE struggle to mix up even a half bucket of plaster.Using the Double Paddle Mixer (Z Counterform) was like switching from a 10oz hammer to a nail gun. Especially with the double paddles mixing to uniform consistency became much easier. The difference is night and day.HOWEVER - like other reviewers have stated the paddle shafts are short. Too short! I know this is probably due to shear strength of the big motor and not wanting to develop stress along the shaft but...If you buy this tool you will NEED to build a small 'booster seat' for your 5gal buckets. A stool, if you will, with a lip on it to prevent the bucket from falling off.Trust me - build a stand so that when the mixer is at the bottom of the bucket the handle of the tool is at your waist. Your back will thank you for it!The only other downside I can think of is that the motor can get hot, and since I paid $230USD I don't want to have to replace it. Since I'm only mixing one 5gal bucket at a time (which is what this tool is intended for) I don't think of this as a big deal for me - but if you've a crew working together yo may want to consider the work flow.If all you are doing is mixing up bags of concrete or mortar mix then unless you are doing a small job you may be better served with a different tool/solution.But if, like me, you are mixing up TRUE lime plaster 'from scratch' then I highly recommend this tool.Last - there is a negative review from someone who states the paddles are not stainless. This is true - they are zinc coated (I think?). But, in the words of my father, 'take care of your tools and they will take care of you'. If you're so lazy you cant clean your tools when you are done - especially as a mason/plasterer... well, we all know some fool whose expensive Marshaltown trowel has rusted to junk don't we? And we all know what to think about it too.

For small batch mixing this is an excellent alternative. It's very well made, robust, powerful. Does not slow down in heavy (pervious cement) mixing. One annoyance: one or the other of the 'paddles' came off 3 times in a period of 8 hours of use. The threaded sleeve has to be REALLY tight, should be re-tightened before each use.

It is durable. I think the gear box on the body is kind of janky but other than that it works great.

We've used this mixer for about two dozen 50# batches of GFRC and I'm still blown away at how fast it mixes. My employees are not gentle on our tools but this mixer seems to be able to take even their abuse. I'm thinking of getting on for myself.

It works pretty good, however the switch to reverse it stopped working.

Good and strong