1nickthegreek
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2014
Posts: 382
|
Post by 1nickthegreek on Apr 23, 2014 6:19:22 GMT -5
I am loving the TV-5 so far, but feel it is almost time to step up to a Lot-o or Thumler, so pros/cons everyone?? Thanks!!!
|
|
|
Post by Jugglerguy on Apr 23, 2014 6:40:32 GMT -5
I love my Lot-O, but people who have Thumlers love them too. For me, one of the big deciding factors was the capacity. The Lot-O holds about 4.5 lbs. which is perfect for me. I run two 3 lb. and two six pound rotary barrels to feed it. I'm pretty picky about my rough grind, so it takes a long time to produce enough rock to fill the Lot-O. As a result, my Lot-O sits empty most of the time. I can't imagine how long it would take to fill a bigger barrel.
You have to do a couple things to get the Lot-O ready when it arrives, which turns some people off. It has to be attached to a concrete block. The block has to have the holes filled with concrete and has to be painted. This wasn't a big deal to do. The only frustrating thing is that you have to wait a week to use it. The other thing you have to do is fill the hole in the bottom of the barrel. There's a small, deeper hole in the middle of the bottom of the barrel. It doesn't hurt anything, but small rocks and ceramics get stuck in it. After a couple batches, I filled it with epoxy. If you search the old threads here, you'll find other fillers people have used. The epoxy I used has held up fine since I put it in a couple years ago.
I believe the Thumlers are ready to go when you get them.
If noise is a concern, ask around about how they compare. I've never heard a Thumbler, but my Lot-O is pretty quiet. It just hums. I can't hear it upstairs, but I can hear my six pound Lortone as the rocks thump around in it.
You should consider buying a extra polish barrel for whatever you end up buying. Keep that in mind because it increases the cost.
|
|
tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
|
Post by tkvancil on Apr 23, 2014 9:45:18 GMT -5
I have one of the Thumlers vibes. I like it but have only run one batch through so far.
It is ready to go right out of the box. No mounting required.
I too have my tumblers in the basement. The vibe when running is louder than the double 6# rotary although both can be heard. We did not have to turn our TV up louder than normal so to me it's not too loud.
I haven't read any thing negative here on RTH about either Lot-O or Thumlers brands.
|
|
plumberinaz
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since June 2013
Posts: 186
|
Post by plumberinaz on Apr 23, 2014 10:50:01 GMT -5
I have a double Lot-O tumbler and it KICKS ASS!! As jugglerguy said you have to bolt it down. I used 4 redhead concrete anchors and drilled straight into the concrete slab in my garage on the floor. Then i drilled 4 holes in the wood the lot-o sits on and used nuts to secure it to the bolts on the ground. It aint going nowhere!!!! Good luck!
|
|
|
Post by Jugglerguy on Apr 23, 2014 10:54:54 GMT -5
I just used the double sided tape that came with the Lot-O and it has held fine.
|
|
1nickthegreek
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2014
Posts: 382
|
Post by 1nickthegreek on Apr 23, 2014 19:47:33 GMT -5
Thank you all for the input, I think I am going to get the double Lot-O when I do and make the second barrel a dedicated polish barrel. However with me being in a wheelchair, I need something that I can move around fairly easily, so that makes the Thumler more attractive to me......decisions decisions decisions.
|
|
|
Post by Jugglerguy on Apr 23, 2014 20:32:38 GMT -5
A lot of people (but not me) put their Lot-O on several blocks so they don't have to bend down to use it. You could put it at a height that works with your chair. Lot-Os are not very mobile, so if you really need to move the whole tumbler around a lot, I wouldn't recommend it,
If you get a double Lot-O, you need to fill both barrels before using it. You can't run it with just one barrel full. I have a single Lot-O with an extra barrel for polishing.
|
|
|
Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Apr 23, 2014 20:49:52 GMT -5
just keep in mind that the double loto has to be run with both barrels full at all times. I ended up going with two seperate ones that way I am not locked into needing 9 pounds of rocks ready at a time. I do have mine mounted at normal counter height. I went with 4 cinder blocks high and a solid 4x8x16 block on top. I think the instructions say to mount it to a 40 pound base.
chuck
|
|
plumberinaz
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since June 2013
Posts: 186
|
Post by plumberinaz on Apr 23, 2014 21:04:11 GMT -5
just keep in mind that the double loto has to be run with both barrels full at all times. I ended up going with two seperate ones that way I am not locked into needing 9 pounds of rocks ready at a time. I do have mine mounted at normal counter height. I went with 4 cinder blocks high and a solid 4x8x16 block on top. I think the instructions say to mount it to a 40 pound base. chuck Yes, You need both barrels running at the same time on the double lot-o. I did read that in the instructions but i figure the anchors hold walls up in people houses... so it prob is more secure then even being on blocks!!
|
|
1nickthegreek
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2014
Posts: 382
|
Post by 1nickthegreek on Apr 23, 2014 21:31:27 GMT -5
A lot of people (but not me) put their Lot-O on several blocks so they don't have to bend down to use it. You could put it at a height that works with your chair. Lot-Os are not very mobile, so if you really need to move the whole tumbler around a lot, I wouldn't recommend it, If you get a double Lot-O, you need to fill both barrels before using it. You can't run it with just one barrel full. I have a single Lot-O with an extra barrel for polishing. Well, I will have to see where my finances lead me, gonna keep running this TV-5 until it is totally junked, which it is starting to crap out already so now the search begins very seriously lol.
|
|
|
Post by iant on Apr 25, 2014 1:50:00 GMT -5
I just picked up a used double Lot-O so appreciate the information in this thread! The previous owner had not sealed the bottom of each bowl and it contained rough grit. Got that cleaned out now and will seal before sticking the base down to my garage floor. Still collecting enough tumbled rocks to feed the thing!
|
|
snuffy
Cave Dweller
Member since May 2009
Posts: 4,319
|
Post by snuffy on Apr 25, 2014 18:17:55 GMT -5
I have 2 Lotos,love em.I use them for 1000 and polish mainly.Dont know if the barrels will ever wear out.Havent had any other vibe,so cant comment.
snuffy
|
|
SirRoxalot
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since October 2003
Posts: 790
|
Post by SirRoxalot on Apr 26, 2014 19:47:12 GMT -5
I'm not spending money on any tumbler that requires me to go out and buy cinder blocks and drill and mount it... that's just absurd.
Kinda depends on how much you want to be running. My Thumlers UV-10 works great, but having to watch it all the time is a drag.
If you have enough rotary capacity to bang out the rough-ground rocks in quantity, get something bigger; bigger is always better. I'm rolling almost a hundred pounds in coarse grit currently. Might get a UV-18 next, muwhahahahaha. Oh, such an addiction.
|
|
1nickthegreek
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2014
Posts: 382
|
Post by 1nickthegreek on Apr 27, 2014 4:44:17 GMT -5
I'm not spending money on any tumbler that requires me to go out and buy cinder blocks and drill and mount it... that's just absurd. Kinda depends on how much you want to be running. My Thumlers UV-10 works great, but having to watch it all the time is a drag. If you have enough rotary capacity to bang out the rough-ground rocks in quantity, get something bigger; bigger is always better. I'm rolling almost a hundred pounds in coarse grit currently. Might get a UV-18 next, muwhahahahaha. Oh, such an addiction. Yeah, that is the only thing I am concerned about with the Lot-o is having to mount it on a cinder block (although I do have about 50 of them sitting around ) , but I may possibly be able to get a fellow rock hound to come over and do that for me....about to buy a thumlers 15 pound roller or build a giant one like I have seen in threads here so going to definitely want a far bigger vibe than this lil raytech I am running right now lol Thanks for the help folks, will let ya all know what I pick up soon.
|
|
|
Post by iant on Apr 27, 2014 7:06:27 GMT -5
1nickthegreek, I too am currently running a little Raytech machine.
Well I have mounted the Lot-O directly to my garage floor so that was good, and thought I would seal the base of each bowl with silicon sealant. That dried and I tested its adhesion with a screwdriver. Of course it came straight off at the edges!!
So I'll mix up some epoxy and try to get it down into the hole. Why didn't they make the opening a little wider so I could get my hand in?
|
|
|
Post by Jugglerguy on Apr 27, 2014 7:22:13 GMT -5
I swirled the epoxy on the end of a stick and then held it just over the hole and let it drip in. I did two barrels like that and hit the hole perfectly on each. I have a couple other tips. I have a cut off piece of PVC pipe that I use to measure when my rotary barrels are 2/3 full. I measured the barrel depth below the lip that the lid sets on and figured a third of that.. Then I added the depth of the lip. I cut my PVC to this length and use it by setting it on top of my rocks until it's level with the very top of the barrel. This helps me be consistent when filling my barrels. The reason I mention it here is because it also makes a nice stand for the Lot-O barrel. I think it's 4 inch PVC. Another good thing I did was buy a canning funnel. It fits exactly in the barrel opening and makes filling the barrel much easier.
|
|
plumberinaz
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since June 2013
Posts: 186
|
Post by plumberinaz on Apr 27, 2014 13:11:56 GMT -5
I never poured anything down into the bottom of my lot-o barrels, most of the time two or three media pieces get stuck in there and when ur done u hit the little nub bottom with a screwdriver or whatever. Spray out the barrels with pressure from ur finger all the grit will come out...
|
|
|
Post by phil on Apr 27, 2014 13:47:49 GMT -5
I just used the provided double stick tape and put my Lot-O on a single concrete block that I painted on that one surface. Works fine. No filling holes, no drilling and mounting, just a concrete block. Which I can move around as needed too. It doesn't move when running at all.
|
|
grizman
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since July 2011
Posts: 878
|
Post by grizman on Apr 27, 2014 17:34:35 GMT -5
I just used the provided double stick tape and put my Lot-O on a single concrete block that I painted on that one surface. Works fine. No filling holes, no drilling and mounting, just a concrete block. Which I can move around as needed too. It doesn't move when running at all. Yup, that did it for me also. I am getting away with the hole in the bottom being filled with silicon, and I did lose one, but the others are still good at over a year with 24/7 use. I bet epoxy is better, but I didn't have any on hand so...
|
|
|
Post by iant on Apr 28, 2014 7:29:56 GMT -5
Appreciate all the tips on here, and hope you don't mind the hijack 1nickthegreek! Jugglerguy - excellent idea with the pipe cut off etc. Already had the bowls rolling off the bench! :-)
|
|