The Best Paddle Mixers For Every Job

The Einhell TC-MX gives you a lot of mixer for the money. A high-torque 1,400W motor has enough grunt for a bucket of concrete or a full tub of mortar, and it's easy for a first-timer to get to grips with.

Einhell fits a soft start, so the paddle doesn't kick as you pull the trigger, and electronic speed control lets you keep it slow while the water and powder come together. A lockable switch keeps it running for longer mixes without a cramped finger. The M14 thread takes standard paddles, and it runs from a normal 220 to 240V socket. It's not as heavy duty as the Refina, so it's better for home projects than daily site work.

The DEWALT DCD240 runs on DEWALT's lithium-ion batteries, so you can mix at the far end of a garden or on a job with no power yet. That freedom is the main reason it's the dearest mixer in this roundup, though it's well built too.

An all-metal transmission handles the load of plaster and mortar, five speeds let you match the pace to the material, and dual handles give you control as the mix thickens. It uses the standard M14 thread for paddles. The kit comes with two batteries and a charger, and if you already own DEWALT batteries, you can buy it as a bare tool to bring the price down a long way.

Refina built the Megamixer for the big jobs, like external render, screed and large concrete batches. Its high-torque 1,800W motor is rated by Refina for mixes of up to 100 kg and an output of 1,200 kg an hour, which puts it in a different league from the home mixers here.

The H-frame handle gives a comfortable working position and lets you brace against the twist of a thick mix. There's a soft start with variable speed across two gears, it comes with an MR3 spiral paddle, and Refina rates its noise at 72 dBA. The trade-offs are weight and cost. At 6.9 kg it's heavy, and it's relatively expensive next to the alternatives.

The Evolution Twister gives up a little of the Einhell's power, with a 1,100W motor against 1,400W, but it's light to hold at 4.9 kg, and that helps when you're mixing batch after batch of plaster. Variable speed control and a multi-purpose paddle come in the box.

The dual handles have a soft grip, and the lockable on/off switch has a safety feature to stop it starting by accident. Evolution backs it with a two year warranty. It's well suited to plaster, mortar, screed and tile adhesive, and its smaller motor makes it a better fit for those than for stiff concrete.

The VonHaus 1600 takes on the Einhell and Evolution with a bigger 1,600W motor, the most of any budget mixer in this roundup. That extra power helps on stiff concrete and sand and cement mixes where smaller motors start to bog down.

A two-stage start eases the paddle into the mix, and two gears give speed ranges of 0 to 680 rpm and 0 to 990 rpm, so you can keep plaster slow and concrete moving. The dual handle design gives good control, it's easy to assemble, and VonHaus backs it with a two year warranty. It's loud at full power, so wear ear defenders, and the 2 metre lead means you'll need an extension.

Building sites in the UK run power tools on 110V through a transformer, and the Vitrex is the mixer in this list made for that. It has a 1,400W motor with electronic speed control, two gears and a lockable on switch for continuous mixing.

It's light and comfortable to hold, takes paddles on a standard M14 thread and comes with a compact case. Vitrex also sells a spiked roller as an add-on, which is handy if you're mixing and laying self-levelling compound. It costs more than mains mixers with similar power, and the build quality is a step below other paddle mixers.