Electronic Hand-Mixing the Collomix Way


For over thirty years Collomix has been making mixers for the building industry. Based in Gaimersheim in Bavaria, the company has an enviable reputation for producing high quality products that can easily compete on the world market. As we all now know, "Made in Germany" stamped on a product is usually a very good indicator of quality. A while back I wrote about the Hexafix system introduced by Collomix. This idea, a simple


one, acts like a quick release system for a cordless drill chuck, except made more robust, for fixing mixing paddles to its electronic hand mixers. This was a really good innovation, making for quick and easy fixing and release of paddles. It also allows the paddles to be more easily cleaned, stored and changed when necessary. Even in these tough times, Collomix has continued to innovate and the latest Xo1 Mixer


seems set to continue being a bit of a trendsetter. The key features of the Xo range are basically in the design and handling of the products. The


designers have focused on optimizing the ergonomic character of the mixers so that they are easier and more comfortable to use. So, the most obvious handling change that any previous user of a Collomix mixer would notice is that the machine has a working height set just slightly higher than earlier machines. In order to do this, the motor housings have had a redesign. This makes them more rugged and purposeful, but there have been other improvements as well, of which more later. Although the height gain is small, even I, not the tallest person on this planet, was able to appreciate that I was able to stand straighter when I was mixing a batch of plaster. My shoulders and back certainly noticed the difference, and in a whole working day of sporadic batch mixing for an ordinary tradesman, I am sure he would appreciate the difference even more. To come back to the motor


housing. The new designs have a


sort of cap on top held on by four torx screws. These make servicing much simpler since opening them up, I am told, reveals the brushes, the part of a tool motor that most commonly wears out. While the torx screws discourage DIY servicing, factory or dealer servicing becomes cheaper, quicker and easier because the whole motor housing does not have to be disassembled. The redesign of the motor housing has also made possible the use of the best European made motor and gearbox components. Hand mixers, by their very function,


need to have powerful and torquey motors and gearboxes that will not lose their teeth easily. So quality in these departments will tend to pay off in terms of greater longevity and less downtime. I know this is sounding like a "you get what you pay for" sermon, but I seem to be finding this increasingly so in the power tools that I review. But the thing that I most liked about the new Xo mixer range was the design of the handles that accompanied the redesign of the motor housing. The basic handle


shape is punched out of a strong and lightweight alloy and looks very much like a simplified version of a current Formula 1 car's steering wheel. This is held to the motor housing by an array of eight torx bolts. The user's hands are placed at about eleven inches (28cm) apart at the "quarter to three" position for optimum ease of handling and also controlling the torque generated when mixing. The plastic handles have been shaped with prominent ridges to accommodate thumbs on top of the machine to enable strong downward forces, into the mixing bucket. On the right hand handle there is a generously sized trigger with a lock off switch incorporated into the thumb position. This means that the machine cannot be started unless the user pushes the lock off switch while simultaneously pulling the start trigger. The machine cannot be locked on, so if a user loses grip of the handles the machine will switch off. It is hard to overestimate just how comfortable the handles are in sustained use and how much extra


control they give, but having used a Collomix, I will miss those handles when I use my own hand mixer again. The handles are also just made from a slightly textured plastic with no rubberized fancy bits. This just recognizes that smoother surfaces are much easier to clean, bearing in mind that cement and plaster dust are going to be the most common materials around them. It is also easy to lie the machine down on the handles since the alloy handle base has small extensions onto which the machine rests when it is put down. A stamped out hex shape on the alloy ring allows the hexagon end of a standard paddle to be pushed through it, thereby keeping motor and paddles together in storage. I don't often need to mix mortar or plaster, but I do find that mixing it by hand is literally a right pain in


the back these days. With my large builder's plastic bucket and the Xo1, I mixed up a batch of plaster for a friend very easily. The motor did not strain, nor was it whiny and noisy. I found the Xo1 easy to control via the newly designed handles and the ergonomics was spot on. The redesign is clearly providing instant benefits to the user. Buying into the Collomix system need not mean throwing away old paddles. Those who may want to


retrofit their own paddles to their new Collomix, there is a 14mm adaptor that will enable old paddles to be fitted until the Hexafix system is adopted. The range of Xo1 mixers consists of three


machines currently, the Xo 1 being the simplest, the Xo 6 being more powerful and with a two- speed gearbox. What you get as a given if you buy into the


Collomix brand is a quality, well designed, ergonomic system that is guaranteed to have a long service life and give good results.


Reply No. 211 12 ToolBUSINESS+HIRE www.toolbusiness.co.uk


Independent Review by Peter Brett


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