UK’s best plaster mixers tested by me to make work easier for you

For me, the best plaster mixers have to be a combination of the following things- affordable, easy to use, and powerful enough to mix the more viscous materials when needed. The VonHaus paddle mixer drill certainly delivers in all of those categories.

As this model has the second largest electric motor of all our tested products, we thought we would put it to the test by mixing a fairly stiff mortar and seeing how it coped. The results were very pleasing, and The VonHaus plaster mixer handled the task with ease.
There are two speed settings to choose from, the first is 0-680rpm, and the second is 0-990rpm. Both are pretty quick, and in the absence of a soft start feature, it is a good thing that the trigger can be used to control how quick the speed comes on with a little practice.

To prevent accidental starts, Vonhaus have included a two-step starting procedure that requires the user to push two buttons at once. These buttons are conveniently placed close to each other on the handle but in a way that it would be difficult to press both at the same time accidentally.

The handles themselves are a good size and ergonomically shaped so that the hands grip them more comfortably and securely. They also feel solid, and there is a very low level of vibration felt while using this plaster mixer, even on the highest speed.

The paddle measures 140mm x 590mm and has been designed so that it is universal and can be used to mix a wide range of materials and not just plaster. As we said, we used it for mortar but you could mix paint, glue, or cement just as easily.

Assembling this VonHaus plaster mixer is very simple as it arrives in just three parts, the handle/motor body, the shaft, and the paddle. All that is needed is to screw them into each other using the tools provided and you are set. This also means that you can easily dismantle it for cleaning and storage too.

This is a great all-rounder that could save you a lot of money and bother if you’re used to hiring a cement mixer for your DIY jobs. While It isn’t the cheapest model available, it is still in a very affordable price bracket and the extra power that it has, plus the solid build quality, make it worth paying that little extra for.

If you’re going to be using your plaster mixer on a frequent basis, you need to have a model that is built to take that kind of punishment and keep on ticking, day in, day out. That’s what you get with the Refina 1000W Mega mixer, a piece of German engineering that is built to last and handle any job that you throw it at.

The 1000W motor has plenty of power to tackle the thickest mixes, and because of the excellent design and build quality of the motor it won’t ever feel labored or out of its depth.

Even though the top speed setting is 450rpm, much lower than the VonHaus, this plaster mixer still has plenty of power and the high quality motor keeps that speed and power consistent to give you a smoother plaster mixture.

What’s more, the Refina has a soft start feature that brings the power on gradually for you and can help to avoid making an unexpected mess around the work area. Unlike the twin parallel handle handles that can be found on models like the VonHaus and Evolution tools plaster mixes, this one has a single trigger handle at the rear and a large horizontal secondary handle situated on top of the drill body, just behind the main shaft. When you combine this with the very low weight of the Refina (it weighs just 3.1kg), you have a plaster mixer that is incredibly easy to handle and manoeuvre and is perfect for the professional to use on job sites.

Refina are a trusted name in this business and have built their reputation around the durability and longevity of their products. This plaster mixer lives up to that reputation with a solid feeling throughout despite its lightweight nature and I would have no qualms about betting money on this baby lasting long enough for you to get your money’s worth. And that’s the only thing that might put some buyers off, the price, but if you want top quality, you have got to be willing to pay for it.

This plaster mixer comes with an excellent mixing paddle that can handle large quantities, and if you want to use it for a more commercial sized job, no problem as the paddle can be interchanged with other types.

One of the things I liked best about the Refina was the length of the shaft. It is longer than what you commonly see and this allowed me to mix without having to stoop over all the time, and for a person like me, who’s had his fair share of knocks over the years, anything that can save my back is worth its weight in gold.

For around the same price as the VonHaus plaster mixer, you can also get your hands on this Evolution Power Tools twister model. Its general design is somewhat similar too, with control coming from ergonomic twin parallel handles with a trigger start. I have to say though, that I did prefer the way this plaster mixer felt in my hands to the Vonhaus. Vibration levels were about the same, very low.

The variable speed control is better on this model too, and instead of just having a switch to change power modes, there is a small dial on the handle that you can adjust with your thumb and control the speed through 250-750rpm. The speed picks up gradually before accelerating automatically.

There is another feature that I liked, the choice to lock the plaster mixer on while you work. It’s only a small thing, but if you’re going to be using it all day, every little bit of energy saved in your hands helps at the end of the day.
Setting up the tool is a piece of cake and the spanners for assembly are included in the packaging. You simply connect the paddle and shaft to the motor and you’re good to go.
At 4.9 kilograms, the Evolution plaster mixer is quite lightweight and won’t break your back if you use it for extended periods, and the good quality handles make controlling the paddle a pleasant experience.

Now, there is one flaw with this model that I just can’t avoid talking about, and that is the mixing paddle itself. The quality of it is actually very good, and there’s nothing wrong with the spiral design that allows you to mix a lot of different materials.
No, the problem is with the size of the paddle. It’s just not big enough to deal with jobs that are a bit more heavy duty. This is a shame because other than this flaw, this is an excellent plaster mixer.

I suppose if you are only doing DIY work, then it should be more than adequate, but if you have professional jobs in mind with bigger quantities of thicker substances to mix, you should replace the paddle with a larger one.

Overall build quality is good for the price, and although there are moulded plastic parts, they are well done and made from good materials so even the clumsier among you should be safe.

This is a very good option for those of you who don’t want to spend too much but still get a very capable plaster mixer. Priced at under 45 pounds, I wasn’t expecting too much from the Switzer heavy duty mixer but I was very wrong to think so. The 1400 watt motor is a beast and easily provides enough power to mix most medium viscous materials.

And it mixes them quickly too. With a top speed of 760rpm this budget beast will mix a 20 kilogram bag of cement in about a minute and a half. That’s excellent performance for a tool in this price range.

Speed control comes by the way of a thumb dial on the handle so you don’t have to take your hands off the tool to change the rpm. The mixer Switzer don’t seem to have skipped on the build quality either. The handles are nice and solid with rubberized grips that work well. The handles have also been angled with a 15 degree tilt and this makes operating this plaster mixer feel more natural and less strain on the wrists and forearms.

The 14cm diameter paddle is more than enough for most DIY tasks that you’ll find yourself attempting around the house, and the paddle feels strong enough to give you confidence in its reliability.

With a net weight of 4.6 kilograms, the Switzer plaster mixer handles very well without giving you aching shoulders or arms, but the shaft is a little on the short size and I did find that I had to bend a little at the waist to use it in a normal sized bucket that was held between my legs.

To protect the inner workings the motor housing is made of a robust fibre reinforced nylon material, and the carbon brushes can be accessed from the outside. The latter makes maintenance a much simpler affair as it’s usually the brushes that start to wear down first in any kind of drill tool.

We only tested this over a couple of days so we can’t say for sure how long it will keep ticking, but from what we saw it should be good to go for a while. As far as low cost plaster mixers go, this is definitely one of the best I’ve seen. A real bargain.

Also available for under 60 pounds is this plaster mixer from Apex One. It is fitted with a powerful 2100W motor, the largest of our featured mixers, and so will have no problems mixing plaster, cement, glue, and mortar, to name just a few.

To keep the motor ticking along, Apex One has included two free replacement carbon brushes which is always helpful as these are the parts that wear out the fastest. The brushes can be quickly accessed and changed by simply unscrewing them using a flat head screwdriver.

A speed control dial with six settings lets you work within the 0-800rpm range giving you plenty of options for mixing different materials at varying stages. While it has no soft start function, you can use the speed dial to start-off in lower gear before increasing, which serves the same purpose.

There’s a switch lock located on the handle that once pressed will keep the motor running without the need to keep the trigger pressed manually, and the button is easy to find on the inside of the handle and press with your thumb.

The handles themselves are moulded plastic, but they are fairly ergonomic and not uncomfortable to hold for long periods. They do a decent job of reducing the amount of vibration felt, and are pretty sturdy to boot.

The total length of the Apex One plaster mixer is about 82cm, with 21cm of that being the motor housing and the shaft and paddle making up the other 61cm. That places it at about medium length when compared to a lot of the other models and should be fine for most people.

To be honest, there’s really not much need to stoop anyway as it is extremely lightweight and there’s no need to support the tool with anything other than your hands and arms. At under four kilograms it is unlikely to cause anyone any bother due to its weight unless they have pre-existing medical conditions.

Now, this is a low budget plaster mixer so there are bound to be some issues that crop up during testing and the one thing we noticed was that although the motor is powerful and spins the paddles quickly, when trying to mix really thick materials, it began to sound quite labored and the speed of the paddles would not stay constant.

This was mixing tile adhesive though which is a bit of a challenge for a low cost model, and the motor performed fine with all other materials that we tested it on.
At the end of the day, this is a good product for the price and will be fine working on plaster, cement, and most other materials.

We finish off this reviews section with yet another low cost plaster mixer, this time from Vitrex. This 850W model has the same kind of ‘trigger’ style rear handle and horizontal secondary handle on top like the Refina plaster mixer we reviewed above.
It also has a metal handle similar to the one on top of the tool, but this one is actually designed to be used as a stand when placing the mixer down so as to prevent any accidental damage to the mixer head.

The Vitrex has a maximum no load speed of 550rpm so it isn’t the fastest or most powerful model available but will still be enough for mixing plaster and paint without any problems.
This plaster mixer comes with both variable speed control and a lock on switch for continuous operation like most of the best models, and the trigger action feels nice to operate.

I did have a problem with the lock on function getting stuck after being pressed down on the model we tested, but a little bang with the hand on the plastic handle made it pop back out.
The build quality of the motor housing and handles is actually quite good for the lower price and has a solidity that feels reassuring.

The secondary handle has ergonomic curves to it to help it sit in the hand better, but I did think the rear handle could have had more attention spent on it. It’s not bad, I’ve just seen better on similarly priced products.

Again, this is a very lightweight plaster mixer that you can use all day with no fear of feeling too fatigued by it, and the way the handles are positioned seems more comfortable, for me anyway.

The shaft is about average length and the paddle/blade measures 120mm, so it should be fine to tackle whatever DIY jobs you’ve got in mind, just don’t think it is up to professional level tasks. For that you’d need to shell out a bit more money and go for something like the Refina plaster mixer.