herchenx
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2012
Posts: 3,360
|
Post by herchenx on Jul 15, 2012 17:27:54 GMT -5
I bought a used lortone QT66 that the lady said was running weak - meaning that the motor turned but if there was a full batch it would stop.
I thought I was smart, and replaced the very worn belt and it seemed to work fine.
Well after I got a bunch of new rock yesterday I went to start it up and it was running slower than the other QTs on the bench.
Came home from church today and it was not turning. I went over and pushed the barrel and it turned a little then stopped.
The motor seems to run smoothly - no grinding bearings at all, it just seems to be lacking any horsepower. I can stop the bar from rolling by grabbing it. The motor isn't smoking or anything funny, it just stops and hums. I can touch it and it is as hot as the other QT motors get (which is pretty hot) but it isn't any hotter.
SO is my motor shot, like i need to replace it - or is there some maintenance I can do?
I do oil the bushings on the roller bars every week and they spin freely.
Thanks for any help, I am only marginally mechanical.
|
|
|
Post by jakesrocks on Jul 15, 2012 17:32:30 GMT -5
Have you tried a drop or 2 of light oil on the motor bushings ? Don't use more than a couple drops. It will gum things up if you do.
|
|
herchenx
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2012
Posts: 3,360
|
Post by herchenx on Jul 15, 2012 17:47:27 GMT -5
Hi Don,
I haven't oiled the motor. I don't see anywhere to add oil, just the open vent holes along the edges. Do I need to dissasemble the motor to access the bushings? I'll post pics so maybe you can point me in the right direction.
Thank you for responding!
|
|
herchenx
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2012
Posts: 3,360
|
Post by herchenx on Jul 15, 2012 17:55:41 GMT -5
this is the only hole i see other than the vents, and its corrolary on the right side. I'm sure oiling the bushings makes total sense, but you should know by now i am essentially an imbecile.
|
|
herchenx
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2012
Posts: 3,360
|
Post by herchenx on Jul 15, 2012 18:06:55 GMT -5
those are the oil ports, as per this page, talking about Thumler: rocktumbler.com/tips/lortone-thumler-comparison/Thanks Don, I never knew to oil there, going out now with the three-in-one. Just one drop. How often should I be oiling these? The big motor on the saw is like once every year. I oil the bar bearings/bushings in these rotary's once a week or so when they are running, but didn't know to oil these motors, or how to. THANKS!
|
|
snuffy
Cave Dweller
Member since May 2009
Posts: 4,319
|
Post by snuffy on Jul 15, 2012 18:11:54 GMT -5
John,when the barrel stops turning,is the motor still turning? I've had that problem in the past with my Lortone 12lbers.I still have one that will stop and moved by hand to get going.I spray the roller bearings with lithium grease,and it gets going again.On one 12'er,I had to drill the motor holes out a little further on the frame to get enough tension on the belt to turn the barrel.I may be wrong,but my belief is the pulleys wear down over time just enough to where even a new belt will hardly work with the original motor holes in the frame.When mine stop though every time the motor shaft is still spinning.I've got 3- 12lbers running,have plenty of experience with them.Luckily,no motor replacement yet
I bought a couple new pulleys to put on to see,but havent put em on yet.
snuffy
|
|
|
Post by johnjsgems on Jul 15, 2012 18:19:08 GMT -5
If the holes pictured are oil ports you will see tiny tubes in the hole that go to the bearings. If there are no tubes (and I don't see them) they are holes in the casing where tubes would be on another model. You can try to put a drop or two where the shaft exits the motor. A little may run back into the motor. You probably should prepare to replace the motor.
|
|
|
Post by jakesrocks on Jul 15, 2012 18:23:15 GMT -5
Hey John, 3 in 1 oil should work good. Take the belt off and put a drop in each hole. Run the motor for a couple minutes, then put another drop in each hole. The bushings are oilite bronze. They're porous and will soak up oil. A couple drops every 2 or 3 months should do it.
|
|
herchenx
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2012
Posts: 3,360
|
Post by herchenx on Jul 15, 2012 18:30:59 GMT -5
well for now I put it in the ports (already did that before I saw the new replies). There is no change that I can tell in the motor, it is still running slow but maybe it just takes a little time to absorb as Don suggests.
Snufffy, Yeah I thought maybe the tension wasn't enough on the pulley, but it is the same as the others. I did replace the belt and it is snug without being overtight. The roller bar things free spin so I don't think anything is bound at all.
John, if the speed doesn't change I will try oiling the ends of the shaft.
Thanks everyone for helping me out!
|
|
snuffy
Cave Dweller
Member since May 2009
Posts: 4,319
|
Post by snuffy on Jul 15, 2012 18:40:02 GMT -5
Sometimes I also have buildup on the rollers,and I scrape them off and get a piece of sandpaper and hold under the roller shaft as its turning and really roughen up the roller.This has gotten them going in the past too.
snuffy
|
|
|
Post by jakesrocks on Jul 15, 2012 18:52:30 GMT -5
Another thing you can try is to soak a Q-Tip in alcohol and clean out both pullies. They may have an oily buildup on them.Change Q-Tip's several times until they come out clean.
|
|
snuffy
Cave Dweller
Member since May 2009
Posts: 4,319
|
Post by snuffy on Jul 15, 2012 19:07:51 GMT -5
Another thing you can try is to soak a Q-Tip in alcohol and clean out both pullies. They may have an oily buildup on them.Change Q-Tip's several times until they come out clean. Don,thought I'd done everything with em,but not that. Thanks snuffy
|
|
|
Post by jakesrocks on Jul 15, 2012 19:15:58 GMT -5
Learned that one the hard way on my 15 lb Thumlers. Tried everything but that with no luck. When I cleaned the pullies, it took right off.
|
|
herchenx
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2012
Posts: 3,360
|
Post by herchenx on Jul 15, 2012 20:38:19 GMT -5
Well I felt the motor end of the pulley and sure enough it is slipping! Apparently the former owner somehow got oil or grease on the pulley - ARGH!
I don't have any alcohol around here that isn't in a beverage container, but I did have an old can of engine degreaser. I soaked a half dozen qtips and let them clean off the pulley and it is a little better.
I also let some fine grit sand paper clean the pulleys for a bit.
It's still not running as fast as the QT12 or other QT66, but it is improved, and the motor seems to be in perfect condition.
In the end, I should have checked the pulley before putting on the new belt, I just never conceived of the notion that someone would have had oil on there!
|
|
herchenx
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2012
Posts: 3,360
|
Post by herchenx on Jul 15, 2012 20:38:50 GMT -5
Thanks again everyone for chiming in and helping me out. I also learned how to oil the motor, so this was not a fruitless exercise for me.
|
|
|
Post by johnjsgems on Jul 15, 2012 21:57:54 GMT -5
If you don't have 1/8" tubes in those holes you would be better off not putting oil in the motor. If the motor has oil ports it usually says "oil semi annually" or some such. If permanently lubed, the bearings are sealed and dropping oil in the holes will just put oil in the motor ends. Could be not a good idea. Just my opinion but I worked with a lot of motors in my 30 years in HVAC/Refrigeration.
|
|
herchenx
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2012
Posts: 3,360
|
Post by herchenx on Jul 15, 2012 22:17:19 GMT -5
Yeah I don't see anything about oil, so I will keep that in mind.
|
|
billg22
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 451
|
Post by billg22 on Jul 16, 2012 0:15:29 GMT -5
Great info!
|
|
|
Post by 3rdrockfromthefun on Jul 16, 2012 1:08:00 GMT -5
This is interesting. I don't have a tumbler (yet :cheesy: ) but I am familiar with slippage caused by oil, grime and just plain polishing of both metal and rubber.
I'm wondering if the belt itself became contaminated by the pulley since you did see some improvement cleaning just the pulley. I would take the belt off and clean it (not sure what it's made of so you or someone else here will have to determine what to use) and re-clean the pulley (if the belt got contaminated by the pulley it has possibly re-contaminated back to the pulley again) before putting the belt on.
|
|
herchenx
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2012
Posts: 3,360
|
Post by herchenx on Jul 16, 2012 1:37:46 GMT -5
yeah I am thinking I just toss the belt, clean the pulleys good and put on a new belt. It is still rolling though, so I'll let it eek out a few more miles.
|
|