I've had it with Lortone

[carolelgin]

sirroxalot said:

I haven't even replaced the belts yet, just keep adding rubber bands around the pulley. .

Is this a trick that could be shared? I have one unit that the motor is as far over as it will go. I am not real clear on what you are talking about.

Thanks
Carol

[polished]

Wow, having it intimated that I'm an idiot was one thing, now I'm being accused of selling for another brand?

To the majority of you here offering up very helpful suggestions and kind advice, I thank you. So far putting some tape for "traction" around the barrels has worked - and I plan to roughen up the rubber of the barrels this Sunday when the rocks need to be cleaned and inspected. They're tumbling with the tape right now.

To those of you who seem to think I'm too stupid to know a BMW from a Lortone tumber - well, being a lady, I'm going to ignore you.

[rhodescabbin]

Hi Polished, your not the only one in this thread to complain. Actually your still actively trying to get yours to work, I gave up on mine yet my other tumblers have never gave me a problem. I have an old 3 Lb gem tumbler that I have used rubber bands on over the old belt for years now.
I have had enough bad experience's that 5 years ago I wrote a polite letter to Lortone explaining my disappointment in the decline in quality, they never answered.
I don't want to sound like Lortone is a lemon period, but rather, if one is needing a dependable, steady workhorse I would not recommend them anymore. I still say (Go used and proved) as it is no fun to constantly have some sort of trouble with a unit.
The problems you have stated I hear all the time and have experienced many times, I have tipped the tumbler, sanded the barrel, took the housing off. Sometimes it works for awhile but like one person said, if one has to continue to work at keeping something running, there is a Major problem with the unit. I have always felt the bigger tumblers simply don't have the power needed...
I hope yours gets fixed and gives you years of enjoyment.-Dale Rhode

[Toad]

I bought a 12# Lortone last year and am very pleased. It has been running 24/7 for 6 months now with no problems. Sounds like you're starting to beat the problem.

[rockds]

I've got 4 lortones and other than 1 or 2 little problems I have been trouble free for over a year.That said, I will probably not buy another lortone in the future. People on this board and the problems they have had with lortone products makes me think I am lucky with what I've got - and I don't wish to push my luck when it comes to my rocks. Hopefully I will not need to buy another one any time soon as 4 meets my needs right now.

robert

[rhodescabbin]

I may have just gotten lemons as they exist in all brands. But like so many other things, even brand new cars, they are not made like they were 25 years ago...To me 4 tumblers for over a year running smooth, is an excellent deal...Did you buy them brand new??? I'm just curious how many people have gotten brand new Lortones in the last couple years and ran pretty well trouble free??? The reason why is this was 5 or 6 years ago so maybe they improved...
This thread has prompted me to go digging in my rock shop, that will be a chore lol. But I want to find this old tumbler that I bought at a yard say for $20.00. I can't recall the brand but its an oldie, 12 lb with a double roller that rock n rolls 24/7.
I shouldn't have singled out Lortone on the new saws either as I have seen and heard horror stories of other saws...-Dale Rhode

[spacegold]

Polished, it sounds like it was a traction prolem alright, and you have a leg up on it now. I have found tape to be only a temporary fix. The rubber cement idea may work better, I know the heater hose fix really works. The only caveat is that you have to match the inner hose diameter to the roller diameter.

[Duckbean]

I've got two 33a's that do the same thing. Simple fix take electrical tape and wrap the drive shaft several times with it. The tape wears out after a few months, But I just take the remaining old tape off and replace it with new. I got some low pressure tubing at Lowe's and it worked also but was much more trouble then it was worth to slide it over the drive shaft, Since it had to be heated and lubed wit soap and water to get it on. So now it's jut tape. The 45c and qt66/12 all come with rubber tubing on the shafts and I've never had a problem with them.

[LCARS]

I should have mentioned that I slipped some heat shrink tubing onto the drive roller of my 33a then shrank it on tight and it's been slip free ever since.

The smaller Lortone tumblers are simple straight forward machines and that's one of the major reasons why I like them. Not much to go wrong and if something does then it's usually easy and cheap to fix.

Maybe it's just me but isn't there some kind of primal satisfaction in working out a few little tweaks and mods that customize and improve a stock tumbler's performance...?


Oh-yeah and Polished, I apologise if you took my comments personally. I didn't mean it to make you out as an "idiot" or a "snob" or whatever you thought, just tried to make a point.

[puppie96]

I've got 5 Lortone units acquired in somewhat less that 3 years. In the beginning I had problems, thought I needed to rough up the barrel, had to tilt my first unit, had others hang up. After that first time I've never again roughed up a barrel, I don't think that was ever the problem. Now I rarely have them stop anymore. I couldn't tell you exactly what I do differently now, but for some reason experience makes a difference. I do think that I tended to overload the barrels in the past, & now I'm pretty careful to keep the load not much over half to 5/8, like they say. Eventually you need to do the equivalent of an "OFL" on them -- gotta get in there with solvents and de-gunk the roller bars, the bearings, the pulley, and anything else exposed. I would assume that this is necessary on other brands, as well. The oil gets dirty and collects crap and the rods get a tarry deposit. Most of the oil will dissolve in alcohol, but I use paint thinner to get the tarry stuff off of the rods.
Probably the first 2 helpful rules I have would be:

Take the housing off and don't even consider putting it back on again. Plan on keeping kids, pets, and long hair away from the units.

Get a can of belt dressing and use as directed when things get annoying.

When I tried putting rubber bands on a pulley. they just got chewed up and disintegrated. Could someone please explain exactly how you use the rubber bands?
THANKS!

[SirRoxalot]

I get a week or three outta the rubber bands. Annoying, but I'm too lazy to hunt down replacement belts. This may be the winter I manage it though.

[polished]

Well I've left the casings off since the other day - seem to be running a little cooler (or I could be imagining that) but at least I can see the workings all the time now, and it's easier to work on them that way.

So it's okay to leave the casings off permanently ? They're in a clean area, no pets go near, no dirt flying around. I turn the units off and move them out of the area whenever I use the rock saw. It seems to me now that the cases are just there to keep the units somewhat clean - but if I keep them in a secure area, I guess I could just keep them off all the time now. (?)

[puppie96]

Mine are always off. Only way to go. When I used the workforce saw in the basement I didn't turn them off & nothing bad happened.

[desertdweller]

Hi Polished,
Harbor freight sells a brand called "Chicago Electric" and its a 3 lb tumbler, the price is $21.99, just happens to be on sale this month. They also have a duel drum with a 6 lb capacity. We have had ours for 2 or 3 years, replaced the belt and thats about it. This is our homemade rock tumbler, its a little messy but we can tumble agate broken up with a hammer to where its almost round in less than 5 days. With two tires running we can tumble about 30 to 50 lbs at a time.

We have actually made covers for the tires so nothing spills out but neither of us can wait more than 10 minutes before stopping the tires and checking the material so we haven't used them much.

[desertdweller]

Sorry, forgot the picture of our tumbler,



Just looked up the duel barrel tumbler at harbor freight and its 34.99 this month.

www. harborfreight.com

[RockyBlue]

Hey Polished!
I had the same problem with mine {lortone 33] Somebody here at RTH suggested cleaning the rollers with lighter fluid or something that will remove excess oil,and sand the belt with 120 sandpaper.I did that and there still running.Hope this helps.............Rocky

[darrad]

I have 3 of the "Chicago Electric" 3# that have been rolling for over 3 years now. I have had to replace belts about once a year. They are easy to find on ebay or you can order from the factory. The manual has the phone number. A 3# tumbler for under $25.00, I will change a $2.00 belt once a year. Word of advise. When you buy a new one first adjust the fan blade to be in line with the main pully wheel. They come out of the factory really out of alignment.

[kjohn0102]

If anyone happens to read this post a month later, here's my experience with an old 3A 1.5# Loretone-barrel out of wack, stopped turning. I just put some tape on the drive shaft. runs a little rough, but the tape gives the contact the barrel needs to turn and it seems to be working fine. Stonewizard-wow on the CE-I go through a belt once a week. Longest I've gotten out of one has been 2 weeks. Now the fan pully has broken and having hell of a time finding replacement-Loretone pully does not fit on the shaft. OH WELL

KJ

[RockyBlue]

Hey Polished!
I have the dual 33b fron Lortone,and a couple of times that has happend
make sure you didn`t over oil it.When mine stopped they don`t need a squirt of oil,just a drop will do.if there`s too much oil or dirt on ihe pulleys your belt will become glazed on the pully side of your belt [inside] so what i do is take my belt loose or off sand the inside of my belt till it`s not shiney,you want it dull looking,and while the bely is off take a Q tip and put some lighter fluid on the Q tip and clean inside the pulleys ,big one and little one {grooves]then put everything back together and put your barrel or barrels on the rollers gently and see what happens.I also had to put a paint stick under one end for my tumblers to work better,i hope this helps,Sometimes we make mountains out of mole hills,i know i sure do.good luck............Rocky

[creativeminded]

Polished
I have been running my Lortone 3a for 3 years without the casing and yes it is a little dirty, however, it is running great, now the only reason my barrel won't turn is because the barrel is wet.
I also have an old 33b that I got off of e-bay and I have had to change the motor, however, from what the people said at Lortone it is probably a 30 year old machine. The people I bought it from said that it had been sitting in a garage for a long time. I found that I couldn't leave the casing off of the machine because that is what held the rods in place so I found a small tower fan and layed it on it's side and I have been running it like that for about a year now.
Tami