Enigman
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2013
Posts: 163
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Post by Enigman on Nov 17, 2015 17:19:20 GMT -5
I guess I am now a member of the club whose only dues is having a tumbler barrel break open while running.
I have two Thumlers Model T tumblers on the top shelf of a rack unit in my spare bedroom/office. I was sitting at my desk shipping sales when I heard something that sounded like a 300 pound cat throwing up a hair ball. It took me 2.5 seconds to realize that it was a tumbler barrel. Ironically, the two model T's were sitting on the shelf side-by-side with the barrel openings facing each other. The left machine barrel blew open and threw up all over the right machine barrel and both machines. Fortunately they sit on a deep pile bath mat that caught most of it, but not before spinning pulleys threw slurry and stones ... you know ... everywhere.
Everything and other machines on the lower rack shelves cleaned up well, but some stones and slurry hit the floor and got into the carpet. The slurry was 60/90 grit so we're talking dark gray.
Does anyone know how to get the gray stains out of carpet?
Thanks.
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Post by glennz01 on Nov 17, 2015 17:48:49 GMT -5
lots of soap.. I had that happen with my ar-12 once.. Now i have a lortone c-40 woth a heavy rubber ring and metal barrel to basically eliminate that problem.
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Post by broseph82 on Nov 17, 2015 17:54:25 GMT -5
I see this being turned into a comedy. I can picture all of it and brought a smile to my face. Thank you
I've yet to have an explosion but I did have my Lot-o turn over on the counter once sending small ceramics, beads, and rocks everywhere!
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,154
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Post by jamesp on Nov 17, 2015 18:45:02 GMT -5
I have had the rubber cap bowed out almost an inch. Aimed the barrel to the ceiling of the greenhouse and had it launch like a missile as band clamp was loosened. Went right through the greenhouse plastic cover and continue on for 200 feet LOL. Potato canon/pipe bomb comes to mind. But no carpet any where near.
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,681
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Post by Fossilman on Nov 17, 2015 19:10:41 GMT -5
I use Oxy carpet stain remover and WD-40 for my carpets...Works great... Mine puke in my shop,Wife says no for the house-LOL...The smell is awful,it smells just like puke too....
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Enigman
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2013
Posts: 163
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Post by Enigman on Nov 17, 2015 20:11:18 GMT -5
I see this being turned into a comedy. I can picture all of it and brought a smile to my face. Thank you Yeah it was a hoot. Glad I could brighten your day. It really was fodder for a sitcom. I'm thinking something with Tim Allen. "OOOooooohhh no" (sounding like an ape). Actually, I wouldn't have had any on the carpet at all except for my own stupidity. I had the power cords all nicely loomed and wire tied to the rack to be neat, so when the slurry hit the fan, I started cutting wire ties to get the cords loose. I got one machine off the shelf and down into a plastic bin on the floor. Then I grabbed the second machine and pivoted left to put the machine in the bin. Apparently, I had missed one wire tie near the plug so I made it to about a foot above the bin and ran out of cord slack. The cord snapped taut like a guitar string and pulled the machine right out of my hands. Just like dropping a piece of buttered bread, the slurry and stone covered machine will land; (a) right side up, or (b) upside down? EEEEEeeeeeee ..... YES, "B" is correct. Thank you for playing! The machine landed upside down, splattering slurry coated stones and the gooey barrel across the floor. "OOOooooohhh no" Que the laugh track ... fade to black ... roll credits.
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Enigman
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2013
Posts: 163
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Post by Enigman on Nov 17, 2015 20:14:46 GMT -5
I use Oxy carpet stain remover and WD-40 for my carpets...Works great... WD-40? And what gets THAT out of the carpet? I have a carpet shampoo machine (ironically out on loan to one of the kids) that I will get back tomorrow and jump on the area with that.
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Enigman
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2013
Posts: 163
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Post by Enigman on Nov 17, 2015 20:20:34 GMT -5
lots of soap.. I had that happen with my ar-12 once.. Ohhhhh ... 12 pounds worth? I'm glad mine was only a 3 pound barrel. I will probably replace the two model T's with one Lortone 33B. Half the electricity usage and I have never had a Lortone barrel come even close to breaching.
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Post by johnjsgems on Nov 17, 2015 20:20:14 GMT -5
When I ran a Thumler's AR2 I worked restaurant refrigeration. I snagged a bread rack pan one was throwing out and kept it under the tumbler. I only had one lid blow out but had many loads that dripped at start until they sealed themselves. Never had carpet anywhere near though.
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meviva
Cave Dweller
Member since July 2013
Posts: 1,474
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Post by meviva on Nov 17, 2015 22:37:35 GMT -5
I guess I am now a member of the club whose only dues is having a tumbler barrel break open while running. I have two Thumlers Model T tumblers on the top shelf of a rack unit in my spare bedroom/office. I was sitting at my desk shipping sales when I heard something that sounded like a 300 pound cat throwing up a hair ball. It took me 2.5 seconds to realize that it was a tumbler barrel. Ironically, the two model T's were sitting on the shelf side-by-side with the barrel openings facing each other. The left machine barrel blew open and threw up all over the right machine barrel and both machines. Fortunately they sit on a deep pile bath mat that caught most of it, but not before spinning pulleys threw slurry and stones ... you know ... everywhere. Everything and other machines on the lower rack shelves cleaned up well, but some stones and slurry hit the floor and got into the carpet. The slurry was 60/90 grit so we're talking dark gray. Does anyone know how to get the gray stains out of carpet? Thanks. Just curious...what did you feed the tumbler to make it sick? Andrea
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Enigman
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2013
Posts: 163
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Post by Enigman on Nov 17, 2015 23:56:37 GMT -5
I am running cobalt blue landscape glass with 1/4" to 1/2" pebbles for media. On the bright side I noticed that the stones rounded up much quicker than anticipated, so when I rebuilt the machine and reloaded I went ahead to the next grit.
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Enigman
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2013
Posts: 163
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Post by Enigman on Nov 18, 2015 0:06:46 GMT -5
When I ran a Thumler's AR2 I worked restaurant refrigeration. I snagged a bread rack pan one was throwing out and kept it under the tumbler. I only had one lid blow out but had many loads that dripped at start until they sealed themselves. Never had carpet anywhere near though. Yeah, I thought of adding a high sided cookie sheet to hold both machines, but I was afraid of fostering noise from the sheet metal, so I ran out today and got two shallow (2.75" deep) Rubbermaid style rectangular basins, one for each machine. They should be big enough to catch another blow-out if it happens. But, I'll check for barrel distortion more often. I'd have thought that three times per day would have been enough, but whadayagonnado.
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Post by glennz01 on Nov 18, 2015 2:34:14 GMT -5
lots of soap.. I had that happen with my ar-12 once.. Ohhhhh ... 12 pounds worth? I'm glad mine was only a 3 pound barrel. I will probably replace the two model T's with one Lortone 33B. Half the electricity usage and I have never had a Lortone barrel come even close to breaching. Yeah it wasn't fun... It didn't explode (although I seen my barrel bloated once like a pot bellied pig after i tried putting sugar in the mix). What happened was the rocks wore through the plastic lid. The stuff was everywhere because it was probably tumbling for a good 24 hrs before it was noted.. Between that and breaking belts I am now only using that tumbler for small stones on final polish.
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Enigman
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2013
Posts: 163
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Post by Enigman on Nov 18, 2015 13:30:35 GMT -5
I was lucky that I happened to be sitting right in front of it when it let go. I only spend about an hour or two per day sitting at the desk in the office. Another 15 minutes and I would have been out of the office and gone from the house. I hate to think of what would have happened with the two machines covered in rock slurry and still running unnoticed. Gives me chills ...
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Post by Starguy on Nov 27, 2015 10:23:32 GMT -5
EnigmanI run two Lortone tumblers, a 12 pounder and a 3 pounder. The only time I have had problems was when I was running glass or obsidian. My theory is that the glass has small bubbles of pressurized gas in it. As the glass grinds, the pressure is released. I haven't used Thumlers but with the Lortones it's easy to tell when they are building pressure. They start to bulge. It seems to help if you heat the stones in hot water prior to charging your tumbler. Use hot water when you charge too. Good luck. Sounds like quite a mess.
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Post by captbob on Nov 27, 2015 11:04:09 GMT -5
Since this was bumped... Yeah, I thought of adding a high sided cookie sheet to hold both machines, but I was afraid of fostering noise from the sheet metal, so I ran out today and got two shallow (2.75" deep) Rubbermaid style rectangular basins, one for each machine. I just went out and measured that 2¾" against one of my Thumlers units. That height puts the sides of your Rubbermaid just over half way up your motor. May not matter, but I would be concerned about lessening the air flow around the motor. They run hot enough as is, and restricting the air flow may not help that matter. Again, it may not matter, but I would find a way to keep the catch bin for spills and raise the unit so the motor is more in the open air.
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Enigman
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2013
Posts: 163
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Post by Enigman on Nov 27, 2015 12:35:06 GMT -5
Enigman I run two Lortone tumblers, a 12 pounder and a 3 pounder. The only time I have had problems was when I was running glass or obsidian. My theory is that the glass has small bubbles of pressurized gas in it. As the glass grinds, the pressure is released. I haven't used Thumlers but with the Lortones it's easy to tell when they are building pressure. They start to bulge. It seems to help if you heat the stones in hot water prior to charging your tumbler. Use hot water when you charge too. Good luck. Sounds like quite a mess. I think with glass the situation is a chemical reaction between the glass and grit, water, etc, that produces gas chemically rather than chewing into trapped air. Lortones have a much stronger seal than the Thumler's 3 pounders. The Lortones have that wide edged rubber inner lid backed by a metal disk and then clamped by the outer metal lid. The Thumler's have a thin plastic disk lid and only the pressure of an O-Ring on the outside to keep it from moving. However, I have discovered that it is easy to burp the Thumler's barrel without unloading or removing anything. I just place it on the counter and push the outer edge of the barrel away from the disk in one spot. It will hiss and release pressure along with a bit of slurry. Then just clean it off and put it back on the machine. I can even induce negative pressure buy putting something under the bottom of the barrel and push down on the barrel while burping. I have also seen some of my loads go to negative pressure naturally during the run. I can watch the bottom of the Thumler's barrel pull inward further and further. The only thing I can guess is that water slowly evaporates through the lid seal. I think the reason heated stones and water help is basic chemistry or thermodynamics. When the barrel is sealed and the stones and water cool off, contraction occurs and a negative pressure is created. Have you ever done that science experiment where you boil a small amount of water inside a paint can, then you take it off the heat and immediately seal the can? A few minutes later the can begins to crumple into a smashed wad. The same principle applies to a lesser extent when you heat the stones and water. Fun stuff ...
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Post by captbob on Nov 27, 2015 12:45:59 GMT -5
However, I have discovered that it is easy to burp the Thumler's barrel without unloading or removing anything. I just place it on the counter and push the outer edge of the barrel away from the disk in one spot. It will hiss and release pressure along with a bit of slurry. Then just clean it off and put it back on the machine. I see that practice bringing trouble. If you burp it and get "a bit of slurry" with the trapped gas, you are getting slurry in the area where the lid seals. I don't see how you are going to be able to "clean it off" well enough to remove any and ALL grit in that lip that the lid fits in without completely removing the lid. Had you done this burping method to the barrel that the lid came off? I would recommend completely removing the lid if/when your barrel needs pressure released. The area where the lid fits in can then be cleaned up with a water spray bottle pretty easily. And, it's pretty rare that you would even need to to this at all. Maybe on an obsidian (or the like) load, but the majority of rocks won't off gas.
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Enigman
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2013
Posts: 163
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Post by Enigman on Nov 27, 2015 13:00:21 GMT -5
Yeah, I have them sitting on folded towels. I'm not really concerned about about the model T heating, though. The motor box has top breather holes and bottom side breather holes. The heat rises out of the top and pulls in air from the bottom. I would guess by touch that the motor housing is maybe 100 to 110 degrees, even in the trays.
If you watch Thumler auctions on eBay you could have seen someone selling an AR-2 chassis where the motor had been mounted inside a tall plastic food container that opened out sideways. I could only assume since the container opened away from the rollers they did that for splash protection from barrels breaching during runtime. But the motor was so far back in a hole that it must have run just blazing hot. I'm amazed that it didn't melt the container. Then again, the chassis looked like it had never been used.
I keep a tight watch on motor heat for all the machines, checking a couple of times per day. I have to be a little bit anal about keeping an eye on them for everything from heat to noise since they are all setup in a closet.
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Enigman
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2013
Posts: 163
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Post by Enigman on Nov 27, 2015 13:11:46 GMT -5
Yeah, I thought about that, but I keep the pry spot narrow and induce a little negative pressure as well which should counteract any seepage of slurry or loss of traction. We'll see. No, the barrel that breached had never been touched. I run a lot of glass and that's the only one where I have done the "easy burp". Yesterday one Thumler barrel started making a lot of noise so I opened it completely. Didn't find anything amiss, so I washed the rim with a squirt bottle and wet paper towels until it was clean, then reclosed. But today it is back to being "weird" noisy running labradorite so I am going to break it down and reload. Something just isn't right according to the little hairs on the back of my neck.
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