hornseeker
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 268
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Post by hornseeker on Feb 9, 2015 9:58:12 GMT -5
I got a new belt and am running a 15# barrel on my craiglist home built... I will replace the pillow blocks and re-sleeve the shafts eventually, but couldn't stand the wait and fired it up as is for now. One Pillow block gets fairly warm... but I dont think it will burn up! SO this is the tumbler... one barrel doens't have a lid... so I'm just running one right now... This is the motor on this machine... bout right?? Anyone know the formula for calculating power usage... or do I just not want to know? Also wanted to ask... is this motor overkill? Should I just pick up another smaller motor for this other frame I have or So.... I put almost all wood in this 15# load. Almost all is agatized... so should come out pretty nice! I also put in three non-woods... A stromatolite, a marble core sample and a little agate that I dont know what it is... I just know I found it on the Yellowstone... but its not a Ystone moss agate...
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hornseeker
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 268
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Post by hornseeker on Feb 9, 2015 10:03:31 GMT -5
The load is kind of experimental, as I have a fair number of big pieces of wood and I think "maybe" with so many big ones, they may bind up a bit and not tumble too good... might have to pull a couple and add some smaller stuff, but I'll let it roll for a 4-5 days and take a look. For this load I put in 15 Tbsp of 80 grit and 15 oz of water. May have to adjust water, we will see in a day or two when I open it. Here's a few more pics of the material I put in: limb cast agate... And here is a pic of the "Smalls" I have access to. Its like 1/4- from my "patio" area. Seems like it would make a good filler and carry the grit well.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Feb 9, 2015 10:36:47 GMT -5
Might indeed be too many large but sounds like your "plan of attack" is good. Like that unknown agate a lot.
Not sure about the motor but best guess is it's okay. Maybe one of expert fabricators will chime in.
My dog likes rocks too.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Feb 9, 2015 11:30:00 GMT -5
I love that last agate in your first post.
In my opinion, you have way too many big rocks for one barrel. If you are going to run them all, I'd add a bunch of small rocks with them. It would be even better if you used about half of the large rocks with some medium sized rocks and some small rocks.
Maybe you could use that gravel your dog is standing in. I picked up a bucket of pea sized gravel from a Lake Superior beach last summer. When I don't have enough smalls, I just add some gravel. I like the beach stuff because it's moderately hard and already rounded. I find that rough rocks break down a lot in the first stage and can thicken the slurry too much, so I like pre rounded rocks better.
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hornseeker
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 268
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Post by hornseeker on Feb 9, 2015 11:34:38 GMT -5
I am excited to open it up probably tomorrow just to see whats going on... I can pretty easily pic out 2-3 of the big ones and replace with more small wood or dog gravel!
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Post by captbob on Feb 9, 2015 12:01:37 GMT -5
Bottom of the page: www.therockshed.com/tumbler2.html#PartsLid = $6.75 Rubber lid gasket = $6.00 get the washers & wingnuts at your hardware store Open it in a week. You're not going anywhere fast with a load that rough.
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hornseeker
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 268
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Post by hornseeker on Feb 9, 2015 12:04:17 GMT -5
Thanks for the info Capn...
Yeah... I just get antsy!!!
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hornseeker
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 268
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Post by hornseeker on Feb 9, 2015 17:12:16 GMT -5
Hmmm... looks like my tumbler would cost about $19 per month to run... I can see the benefit of running a LOT of barrels on one motor...
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hornseeker
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 268
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Post by hornseeker on Feb 9, 2015 17:13:54 GMT -5
$24.50 if I use the bigger, 1/4 hp motor... I wonder what my little Lortone 12# uses... I bet its no more than half of that $19 per month deal... got me thinking....
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Feb 9, 2015 18:31:13 GMT -5
$24.50 if I use the bigger, 1/4 hp motor... I wonder what my little Lortone 12# uses... I bet its no more than half of that $19 per month deal... got me thinking.... When I built my homemade tumbler I purchased a real easy meter that displays how much any appliance is costing per month to run. You just enter the price per kilowatt hour off your last statement and it does the exact math in real time. www.homedepot.com/p/P3-International-Kill-A-Watt-EZ-Meter-P4460/202196388Chuck
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,685
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Post by Fossilman on Feb 9, 2015 18:35:28 GMT -5
Going to be some nice tumbles on those!
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Feb 9, 2015 18:52:26 GMT -5
I just checked and with our local electric rate at .135 cents per kilowatt hour my 1/3 HP (6.8 amp) homemade tumbler is reading $17.10 per month on the meter.
while I had the meter out I checked the other tumblers for the heck of it.
Each single loto vibe - $9.50 per month Each lortone Qt12 - $7.50 per month Lortone 33B dual 3 pound - $2.50 per month
I had never checked the loto and was surprised by the cost of running that. My homemade tumbler has run non-stop for over three years and my loto has run non-stop for 2 1/2 years. That's over $1,000 just in electricity.
Chuck
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,159
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Post by jamesp on Feb 10, 2015 6:30:54 GMT -5
One home built has a 1/3 HP and it turns 4-5 barrels that add up to 80-100 pounds now for several years. Another is a 1/6 HP and will turn a 40 pound barrel. The vibe has a 1/3 HP and it eats the most electricity. It has a 3450 RPM motor which probably increases power draw. 1/6 HP or 1/8 HP should turn two 15 pound barrels fine. Nice arrangement, like that tumbler in the first photo. All my rotaries are single reduction like the one in the first photo. And both have a belt that runs both shafts like the one in the first photo. Needing a water wheel to run the rotaries. I would cut a sheet of plywood to fit on the cross support there a few inches below the tumblers to keep slurry spillage off the motor. Shimmed on one side to make it slant like a roof for run off. slurry will eat the motor bearings if spills occur. been there. In the case of the 1/6 HP motor turning 40 pounds, the motor gets pretty warm, telling that it is using a good bit of power. Of course, a loaded motor eats a lot more electricity than a motor that is free spinning. Notice the label on your 1/6 HP motor says 3.8 amps. It may pull 1 amp when free spinning, and 3+ amps loaded heavy. About the same as one 100 watt light bulb vs three 100 watt light bulbs. The 1/4 HP is a 5.1 amp motor and may be like burning five 100 watt light bulbs if heavily loaded. Power = amps X volts, so 1 amp X 110 volts = 110 watts, so a 100 watt light bulb burns about .9 amps. That is a good 'close' comparison for each amp of a 110 VAC motor. If the motor is hot then it is probably pulling some amps. Bad bearings will cost. If it free spins by hand easily then the bearings are probably fine. Chuck's power meter is the best way to know the truth. And he unleashed the facts of how much tumbling can cost, not cheap. My three tumblers are on a separate power meter that ha a $20 base fee. power bill is $68 during winter, and only tumblers are running. So the three tumblers are pulling $48/month= $575/year for 1/3 + 1/3 + 1/6 = almost one HP total. Cost of power fairly cheap here.
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hornseeker
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 268
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Post by hornseeker on Feb 10, 2015 9:44:21 GMT -5
SO this is obviously a labor of love... by the time I drive my 12.5 mpg truck 150 miles round trip to walk on the river bank for 5 hours... then buy grit, tumblers... etc... and buy power... in a year I've got well over a thousand bucks into tumbling rocks!!! I could probably buy an extraordinary amount of BEAUTIFUL specimens for a thousand bucks every year!!! Although, my rock hunting trips are commonly mixed with fishing and hunting and swimming and such... so its not ALL tumbling expenses...
But I love it, and ya gotta do what you love right? However, considering the cost, I will be a little more careful about tumbling "crap" that really isn't that special. A lot of these river rocks that Im tumbling would probably be well served hit with a shot of lacquer since they are dang smooth already... the agates and wood are worth tumbling for sure!
I am going to keep my eyes open for 1/6 and 1/8 hp motors and I think ultimately I want to set up a tumbler with one motor that will run my 3 big barrels and a few 6# Lortones...
That 1/4 hp motor was running hot, now its not at all. I think those bearings were gummed up or something from sitting so long, cause that one pillow block got pretty dang hot to start with but now all four are running cool...
Thanks all!!
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