rxscram
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2011
Posts: 484
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Post by rxscram on Jun 21, 2016 17:21:26 GMT -5
So, I was doing a load (about 50 pounds or so) in my Ultravibe 45 on Sunday. Outside temperature was about 107 degrees F, in the shade.
I start the load fairly early in the day, about 9 am or so. Around 3 PM I check on it, add some water, and then leave it be. I'm not able to check on it again until about 11:30 at night... and it's a good thing I did.
The slurry had dried out a bit (still muddy, but not nearly as liquid), and the tumbling action of the rocks rubbing against each other with this muddy slurry caused significant self heating. As soon as I opened the lid, steam started pouring out of the barrel, and I could hear the rocks hissing!! I quickly poured in a gallon of water, and even more steam came out! Another gallon of water into the barrel, basically fully covering everything, and it stopped wanting to boil. I reached my hand in the water to check on the rocks, and it was like very hot bath water.
I've run lots of loads with similar times between checks, but never in temperatures this hot. I thought it was interesting how much of a difference an extremely hot day can make!
(The good news... no damage to the barrel I could detect, rocks are fine, and the motor casing of the tumbler never got hotter than I could touch.)
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