carneliancanuck
having dreams about rocks
Member since November 2010
Posts: 63
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Post by carneliancanuck on Mar 9, 2011 11:24:17 GMT -5
i recently purchased a double barrel lortone tumbler (3lb barrels). this thing is a nightmare compared to my 3lb thumlers tumbler. first of all right of the bat.....wanna use it......then fix it. you have to set the motor from the pulley until the belt is right but then the screws that hold the motor in place........dont hold the motor in place. so i had to reinforce it with more washers and different bolts. so now thats fixed. there is no way this unit tumbles like a thumler. i can here the ricks tumbling in my thumler. i cannot in the lortone probably due to the different shape of the barrel. after tumbling for two weeks in the lortone, i am still seeing enough grit floating in the barrel that there is no point in recharging. i have added fillers, plastic pellets, but can still visibly see the grit after seven days. i dont get it. i finally shut it off because i was getting fed up. after about a week i thought i better not give up on it. so i plugged it in and........nothing but a hum. it wouldnt even turn. so i took the thing apart again and had to wd40 the drive shaft then add more oil. i got it working again. i did not bother to entirely put it back together because i have to take it apart at least once a week. does anyone else have these problems with lortone. i know the barrels have to be filled properley without over filling or the unit cant handle the weight. why is the grit not doing its job and why is it still visible and not worn at all after two weeks. my thumler produces everytime without a hitch. i bought the lortone brand new on ebay and it was new it was still in the box. any advice on the lortone would be appreciated, i really do want to try and get along lol
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Post by 150FromFundy on Mar 9, 2011 12:21:44 GMT -5
You left one important detail out. Thumler tublers are a classic "candy apple" red colour. Lorotone tumblers are a depressing shade of "old man" blue usually resolved for golfer's clothing and really bad liesure suits.
All kidding aside (not that I was), if there is grit left over, for some reason you are not getting enough tumbling action. This could be the result of:
- an unbalanced load - too much grit - too much water - not enough RPM due to low voltage or brown-out - not enough RPM due to belt slippage or problems with the motor
Given that you are successfulr with a Thumler and have problems with a Lorotone, perhaps it is an idication of an inferior tumbler. It will be interesting to hear what others have to say, especially those RTHers thay run both machines.
Darryl.
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carneliancanuck
having dreams about rocks
Member since November 2010
Posts: 63
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Post by carneliancanuck on Mar 9, 2011 12:31:22 GMT -5
i get the feeling that the rocks are simply not tumbling but rather sliding inside. i have checked the rpm and it is the same as my thumler so thats all good. i also get lots of foam in the lortone and a strong ammonia smell coming from the barrels when i open them. i am surprised because i see some people here praise them, but i personally wouldnt give mine to my worst enemy. which according to my wife that would be myself lol.
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stefan
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,095
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Post by stefan on Mar 9, 2011 12:46:02 GMT -5
Ammonia smell is not a good thing! I'm not sure why the Lortone would be acting up? I have the CHinese knock off (Chicago Electric sold by Harbor Freight- Pretty much identical to the Lortone but in Red instead of Blue) and it works pretty well (not as well as my Thumlers, but well enough that I do use it). I'm also a bit worried as I have seen some Ebay Lortones that look like they are Lortone knockoffs. Perhaps you can contact the ebay seller with your problems and they can be resolved that way?
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lparker
fully equipped rock polisher
Still doing too much for being retired!
Member since March 2008
Posts: 1,202
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Post by lparker on Mar 9, 2011 13:05:32 GMT -5
I've got no problems at all with my 33b - bought mine from the rock shed. Have no idea why you would smell ammonia, unless it is in the rocks you are tumbling. I've run mine anywheres from half full to 3/4s - water to just below the top layer of rock and 3-6 Tbsp of grit and a good mixture of sizes - nothing over 2" and few that size.
Lee
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Minnesota Daniel
freely admits to licking rocks
A COUPLE LAKERS
Member since August 2011
Posts: 891
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Post by Minnesota Daniel on Mar 9, 2011 13:37:26 GMT -5
I have a used Lortone 33b and have never experienced most of your problems, but... if you use too much abrasive it will not grind the rock the way it is supposed to, and the grit will not break down. I've done it. First thing I'd say is to use less grit.
Mine was used when I got it and I needed to change the belt after a while. I suppose you may have to tinker with the motor mount so that the belt tracks straight on the pulley if it wasn't correct from the factory. I use a ratcheting socket wrench on the bolt head and a box wrench on the nut to hold it in place. I have never had any trouble with the nuts not getting tight enough to hold it in place. The position of the motor will shift if you tighten the first nut completely on the first try however. Like any other multi-bolt attachment (think car wheels), you need to tighten each one only part way, then the next, then the next and keep going around in maybe 3 rotations before you use full pressure.
If you tighten the belt too much it won't turn. It has to be looser than you'd think, but it says so in the instructions. If you put 2 full barrels on at a dead standstill and then plug it in, it will sometimes sit there until you give the barrels a gentle nudge to get it started. Especially true if the belt is too tight, or too loose. If the belt is too loose it can slip and the barrels will slow down and sometimes stop turning.
One time I forgot to add the water. It didn't sound right so I checked it after about a half hour. It doesn't work without water. Once I forgot to tighten the lid and after a couple hours the contents were all over the floor. The grit won't doesn't break down that way either.
There should be no ammonia smell at all. Do the rocks have any soil or other organic material, (however slight) on them? Are you adding something to the slurry that is different than you use in the Thumblers?
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carneliancanuck
having dreams about rocks
Member since November 2010
Posts: 63
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Post by carneliancanuck on Mar 9, 2011 14:08:35 GMT -5
i have done everything identical with the lortone as i do the thumler. i should have added that when i opened the box the barrels smelled of ammonia when they were still brand new. it was a strong smell and im hoping that it will go away with use or if i ever get to a burnish stage. i notice that with my thumler i have a lot of mud after 7 days, and no visible grit. so i simply recharge and carry on. but with the lortone i do not have as much mud even after two weeks and when i dump out the barrel there is more fresh grit than there is mud. so i dont recharge because why would i add more grit when i can see that there still is approximately 4 tablespoons of what looks like fresh grit still in the barrel. i also notice that the rocks are not really wearing as well as they do in the thumler. i would guess about half as well as the thumler and the rpm is the same. thanks i will keep experimenting
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Minnesota Daniel
freely admits to licking rocks
A COUPLE LAKERS
Member since August 2011
Posts: 891
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Post by Minnesota Daniel on Mar 9, 2011 14:32:05 GMT -5
The ammonia then is just a manufacturing residue and will go way soon I'm sure.
Is this rock you've tumbled before? Lake Superior Agates take 6 years to polish. OK, I'm exaggerating, but of course some rock just resists tumbling more than others. If you've gotten the barrels to turn at the correct RPM, then I can only surmise that since the Thumlers and Lortones use different shaped barrels, the grinding action might not be the same, and maybe the amount of grit to use might be different for each. I'd still say try less grit, but I have never heard that one brand of rotary tumbler uses less grit than the other.
I'm sure there are people here that run both brands of tumblers, at the same time even. They would be the ones to answer your questions. Anything else is just speculation, and I've done too much of that already. I am interested to hear what the experts say (so I'll shut up now).
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