roxmonket
off to a rocking start
Member since March 2010
Posts: 6
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Post by roxmonket on Apr 4, 2011 2:14:38 GMT -5
Howdy all,
I have a Lortone 33b that has been freezing up periodically. The barrels seem to randomly stop spinning. If I manually get them moving, it will run for 12-36h, then stop again.
I think my barrel weight is ok, and I've checked the tension on the belt. I've periodically lubricated the bearings with a drop of machine oil. Recently, I've noticed a very small amount of black gunk around the bearing junctions that I clean off with a cloth, but that seems to be normal in my experience. No unusual sounds. Motor temp is warm but normal, and the tumbler is level. The rods spin freely.
I'm no expert, or even journeyman, but I've been doing this for a couple of years so I think I have a handle on the weight, belts, and oil. I don't know what to make of the gunk, other than congealed oil. If I add another drop to the bearings, it seems to get better for 3-5 days, then lock up again.
Any ideas?
Thanks!
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drjo
fully equipped rock polisher
Honduran Opal & DIY Nut
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,581
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Post by drjo on Apr 4, 2011 5:02:04 GMT -5
I've got a 33B also. There's no substitute for good maintenance (but I've come up with some really good excuses ). When it stops, does the motor stop too? Have you lubricated the motor? A drop of light oil on each side of the bushings (both front and rear). The black stuff (coming from the bushings) is dirt and old oil and needs to be cleaned out. As a temporary more you could put some paper towels under the unit and flood (several drops of oil) the bushings to help wash them out. Are you handy enough to take the unit apart and clean the bushings completely and re-lube with a light grease? And if your that handy it's only two more screws to take apart the motor and clean and lube it too. New bushings for the shafts are available for a few dollars. Keep us posted on what you find. Dr Joe .
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,466
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Post by Sabre52 on Apr 4, 2011 8:05:22 GMT -5
I'm no longer a big fan of Lortones. Have a pile of them that will not run well. I find that if you run normal weight loads, the motors give out quite quickly. I've been tumbling about 40 years and in olden times the motors lasted about three years with no problems. Now, the tumblers need constant tinkering and don't last worth spit ( at least for me)....Mel
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stefan
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,095
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Post by stefan on Apr 4, 2011 10:27:53 GMT -5
The motors are thermally protected. they shut themselves down when the overheat. You say the motors are warm but how warm? I use an infrared temp gun to take the temps of mine (operating under full load for at least an hour). They run anywhere from 110° to 140° (Thumlers models: T, AR-2; AR-12). I'm not sure but on similiar motors thermal cutoff is in the 160 to 180 range. Perhaps your motor is just cutting out due to overheating (a simple fan moving air across the motor is all it would take to cool it back down). Also that black gunk is not good- it is very sticky and will add undue strain to the motor- Clean it up. Aother area to check is the pulleys. THey can accumilate a build up that causes them to become tacky (hence putting strain on the motor). Hope you slove your problem!
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roxmonket
off to a rocking start
Member since March 2010
Posts: 6
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Post by roxmonket on Apr 4, 2011 21:45:20 GMT -5
Thanks for the suggestions everyone.
The motor runs warm but nowhere near 160, but that was a good thought. Hadn't considered that.
I'm comfortable breaking it down and that's what I think needs to happen. When I get some time one of these weekends I'll give it a shot. In the mean time, I flooded it with WD40, cleaned everything off, and reoiled. Seems to be running ok for the last day or so, perhaps it will buy me some time until I can do a more thorough refurb.
Thanks again for the great responses. It's a shame to hear about the reliability issues, I heard so much positive about Lortone quality before I bought it. Then again it's run 24/7/365 for more than two years with nothing more than oil and a new belt, so objectively I guess that's nothing to complain about.
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Dave Schmidt
off to a rocking start
Member since May 2015
Posts: 10
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Post by Dave Schmidt on Jun 24, 2015 15:21:05 GMT -5
The motors are thermally protected. they shut themselves down when the overheat. You say the motors are warm but how warm? I use an infrared temp gun to take the temps of mine (operating under full load for at least an hour). They run anywhere from 110° to 140° (Thumlers models: T, AR-2; AR-12). I'm not sure but on similiar motors thermal cutoff is in the 160 to 180 range. Perhaps your motor is just cutting out due to overheating (a simple fan moving air across the motor is all it would take to cool it back down). Also that black gunk is not good- it is very sticky and will add undue strain to the motor- Clean it up. Aother area to check is the pulleys. THey can accumilate a build up that causes them to become tacky (hence putting strain on the motor). Hope you slove your problem! I've noticed over the last week, totally by accident as I leave my tumbler run in my basement without 'supervision,' that my motor will stop in that the drive spindle doesn't spin yet the motor is 'running, i.e., receiving current, though the fan isn't running. The motor and the motor housing become quite HOT. I can start the drive spinning again so that the barrel will rotate for a few hours but then the motor will again seize up. There is a build-up of gunk on the spindles though this seems unrelated to the motor overheating and stopping, though as I said, the motor continues receiving current, etc.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Jun 24, 2015 15:34:00 GMT -5
I had a 33b that was giving me similar issues. In my case I had been running the belt too tight. This had caused damage to the bushing and fan/pulley shaft. New motor and a little less tension. Ran for another 3 years or so before I retired it in favor of a larger machine.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Jun 24, 2015 20:00:41 GMT -5
Read this.. In my case, the bearings had worn through and also wore through the shaft. I ordered a new shaft and bearings and it's been working fine since.
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Jun 25, 2015 16:36:31 GMT -5
I have an older Lortone QT66 and when it started running really hot I went to the local CVS and bought a small desk fan, very small. and set it next to the motor to help cool it. It has helped a lot , the motor is definitely running cooler. Best part is the fan only cost 6.00 & tax.
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