Is Tumble-Bee the Smart-Car of the Tumbling World??

[zebra61]

Remember seeing the super-small two-passenger ‘Smart Car’ driving down the highway? I always thought they’d be fun for trips around town but I wouldn’t want my friends to see me driving it.




Well… I may have purchased the ‘Smart Car’ of the rock tumbling world. I dropped $99 on one of the Tumble-Bee TB-14 single barrel 4lb tumblers last week and it arrived on March 22nd. So I peeled it out of the box last night and looked it over for a few minutes before going to bed. This morning I took some time to lubricate the shafts and check the drive belt which was off the pulley. Before putting the cover back on I plugged it in and realized that a belt adjustment was mandatory before proceeding. It was producing lots of noise, a complaint that I witnessed in a YouTube video I’d seen. After a little tweaking of the motor and belt it was back to being tolerable, almost quiet.




It’s plugged-in and running a full load of Zebra Jasper right now. It runs about 10 degrees warmer than my Lortone 33b’s under load. And it came with a nice barrel but it has a smooth interior. Not sure how I’ll like that but it’s easy to hear the tumbling so that’s good.

For those of you that don’t know already, the tumbler frame and case are all made out of a rigid composite plastic which seems okay but I’m going to be watching the shaft bearings closely, I could see issues if a bearing wears out and lets a shaft ride on the frame material. Time will tell.

So is it the Smart-Car of the tumbling world? We’ll See.

[velodromed]

My cousin bought a tumble bee a couple years ago and then lost parts. So I grabbed it six or seven months ago, found the missing parts and used it for a few months. It definitely spins too fast but was a decent machine overall, good for breaking down rough Rock. I gave it back to him about a month ago, along with instructions on how to use it, rocks and decent grit.

[zebra61]

Mar 24, 2024 10:29:03 GMT -5 velodromed said:

My cousin bought a tumble bee a couple years ago and then lost parts. So I grabbed it six or seven months ago, found the missing parts and used it for a few months. It definitely spins too fast but was a decent machine overall, good for breaking down rough Rock. I gave it back to him about a month ago, along with instructions on how to use it, rocks and decent grit.

It's faster than my Lortone 33b's by 9 rpm and I noticed that when I first turned it on. My 33s are running right at 50 to 51 rpm and the Tumble-Bee is running at 60 rpm exactly. 45 rpm would be my preference with all of them but I'm planning a grit check on the 5th day to see how things are progressing. It's got a load of zebra Jasper so I'm curious anyway. 

I'm also wondering what difference the smooth interior of the barrel will make. There should be less agitation but would the rocks roll more and do less crashing? I know that Jugglerguy has a video using a clear cover on the barrels to see the way different loads move in the barrel but did he play with different styles of barrels? I'll have to do a search and look at the video again.

I'm also planning to throw it on the Kill-A-Watt to see how efficient it runs. It's always fun to check these things out when a person has the time. 

I'm not too sure how well I'm going to like the 'timing' belt either. It seems like that style of belt adds some noise into the equation and I'm so confident in the drive system I ordered 3 extra belts just in case I experience failures. Spares make me feel better anyway. 

[Jugglerguy]

Mar 24, 2024 12:49:42 GMT -5 zebra61 said:

Mar 24, 2024 10:29:03 GMT -5 velodromed said:

My cousin bought a tumble bee a couple years ago and then lost parts. So I grabbed it six or seven months ago, found the missing parts and used it for a few months. It definitely spins too fast but was a decent machine overall, good for breaking down rough Rock. I gave it back to him about a month ago, along with instructions on how to use it, rocks and decent grit.

It's faster than my Lortone 33b's by 9 rpm and I noticed that when I first turned it on. My 33s are running right at 50 to 51 rpm and the Tumble-Bee is running at 60 rpm exactly. 45 rpm would be my preference with all of them but I'm planning a grit check on the 5th day to see how things are progressing. It's got a load of zebra Jasper so I'm curious anyway. 

I'm also wondering what difference the smooth interior of the barrel will make. There should be less agitation but would the rocks roll more and do less crashing? I know that Jugglerguy has a video using a clear cover on the barrels to see the way different loads move in the barrel but did he play with different styles of barrels? I'll have to do a search and look at the video again.

I'm also planning to throw it on the Kill-A-Watt to see how efficient it runs. It's always fun to check these things out when a person has the time. 

I'm not too sure how well I'm going to like the 'timing' belt either. It seems like that style of belt adds some noise into the equation and I'm so confident in the drive system I ordered 3 extra belts just in case I experience failures. Spares make me feel better anyway. 

I did not experiment with different barrel styles. I initially got a Thumler's A-R2 just so I could easily put a glass lid on it. Those have some sort of polyhedra shaped barrel I think, and I believe the Nat Geo has a round barrel. Those are the two I compared, but the Nat Geo was going way faster, so it's not much of a comparison.

[khara]

It’s cute! 🐝 Look forward to hearing how it does long term.

[zebra61]

Mar 25, 2024 19:33:33 GMT -5 khara said:

It’s cute! 🐝 Look forward to hearing how it does long term.

'It's cute!' - 

[zebra61]

Mar 25, 2024 18:32:16 GMT -5 Jugglerguy said:

Mar 24, 2024 12:49:42 GMT -5 zebra61 said:

I did not experiment with different barrel styles. I initially got a Thumler's A-R2 just so I could easily put a glass lid on it. Those have some sort of polyhedra shaped barrel I think, and I believe the Nat Geo has a round barrel. Those are the two I compared, but the Nat Geo was going way faster, so it's not much of a comparison.

Thanks for the clarification Rob and thanks for making the video. It's been a long time since I watched it so I needed the update. 

So now I'm wondering if a slower speed with the smooth barrel would be a disadvantage? Would the load tend to slide rather than roll & tumble? Thinking that even rock size & shape might have an effect on that. But right now it's running right and doing the job for which I purchased it. 

[Jugglerguy]

Mar 26, 2024 14:43:35 GMT -5 zebra61 said:

Mar 25, 2024 18:32:16 GMT -5 Jugglerguy said:

Thanks for the clarification Rob and thanks for making the video. It's been a long time since I watched it so I needed the update. 

So now I'm wondering if a slower speed with the smooth barrel would be a disadvantage? Would the load tend to slide rather than roll & tumble? Thinking that even rock size & shape might have an effect on that. But right now it's running right and doing the job for which I purchased it. 

Most of my Lortone barrels are smooth and round, but they all seem to do a good job of making the rocks smaller.

[zebra61]

Just a little update on my Tumble-Bee that I bought back in March 24.... I did my daily tumbler check a few days ago and noticed the TB was running significantly slower. Pulling the barrel out didn't change the speed at all and the humming noise continued. Pulled the whole thing apart and checked the shafts noting the driven shaft was difficult to spin. Pulled the belt off the motor and the driven shaft was right back to normal. But the motor wouldn't move without assistance.

So I contacted Tumble-Bee by email and they responded in record-time telling me my tumbler was still under warranty and they'd send out a replacement motor (with drive pulley) via USPS today. I'm impressed.

Overall this little 4lb tumbler has been going 24/7 with an occasional break for cleaning and lubrication. I like the size of the 4lb barrel and really can't tell any difference in smooth vs ridged barrel action. I have noticed that my coarse grit 60/90 is usually gone in 5 to 6 days so I schedule accordingly. It's still got the original belt running on it but I do have spares just in case. I keep my little IR Thermometer handy to check motor temps and this one typically runs at 94°F in my 70°F basement. For comparison the Lortone 33B's run about 89° most of the time. For a $99 tumbler it's been a pretty good unit. I'm hoping this is the last of my motor issues.

Mark

[chris1956]

Sept 17, 2024 10:24:28 GMT -5 zebra61 said:

Just a little update on my Tumble-Bee that I bought back in March 24.... I did my daily tumbler check a few days ago and noticed the TB was running significantly slower. Pulling the barrel out didn't change the speed at all and the humming noise continued. Pulled the whole thing apart and checked the shafts noting the driven shaft was difficult to spin. Pulled the belt off the motor and the driven shaft was right back to normal. But the motor wouldn't move without assistance.

So I contacted Tumble-Bee by email and they responded in record-time telling me my tumbler was still under warranty and they'd send out a replacement motor (with drive pulley) via USPS today. I'm impressed.

Overall this little 4lb tumbler has been going 24/7 with an occasional break for cleaning and lubrication. I like the size of the 4lb barrel and really can't tell any difference in smooth vs ridged barrel action. I have noticed that my coarse grit 60/90 is usually gone in 5 to 6 days so I schedule accordingly. It's still got the original belt running on it but I do have spares just in case. I keep my little IR Thermometer handy to check motor temps and this one typically runs at 94°F in my 70°F basement. For comparison the Lortone 33B's run about 89° most of the time. For a $99 tumbler it's been a pretty good unit. I'm hoping this is the last of my motor issues.

Mark

Good to hear they are standing behind their equipment.  

[zebra61]

Sept 17, 2024 10:30:49 GMT -5 chris1956 said:

Sept 17, 2024 10:24:28 GMT -5 zebra61 said:

Just a little update on my Tumble-Bee that I bought back in March 24.... I did my daily tumbler check a few days ago and noticed the TB was running significantly slower. Pulling the barrel out didn't change the speed at all and the humming noise continued. Pulled the whole thing apart and checked the shafts noting the driven shaft was difficult to spin. Pulled the belt off the motor and the driven shaft was right back to normal. But the motor wouldn't move without assistance.

So I contacted Tumble-Bee by email and they responded in record-time telling me my tumbler was still under warranty and they'd send out a replacement motor (with drive pulley) via USPS today. I'm impressed.

Overall this little 4lb tumbler has been going 24/7 with an occasional break for cleaning and lubrication. I like the size of the 4lb barrel and really can't tell any difference in smooth vs ridged barrel action. I have noticed that my coarse grit 60/90 is usually gone in 5 to 6 days so I schedule accordingly. It's still got the original belt running on it but I do have spares just in case. I keep my little IR Thermometer handy to check motor temps and this one typically runs at 94°F in my 70°F basement. For comparison the Lortone 33B's run about 89° most of the time. For a $99 tumbler it's been a pretty good unit. I'm hoping this is the last of my motor issues.

Mark

Good to hear they are standing behind their equipment.  

With the exception of the motor it's been a great little rotary. $99 isn't bad but it's hard to pass up an HP dual 3lb for $170. Hard choice if I'm gonna add another.