richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
|
Post by richardh on Dec 27, 2016 23:28:32 GMT -5
I hope everyone is having a nice holiday season. I'm having a little (ok a lot of) frustration with my HF tumbler. It is the six pound model with two three pound barrels that looks like a knock off of the Lortone 33b.
The first issue is that the barrels refuse to sit straight on the rollers. Instead the one opposite the motor wants to ride crooked causing the edge of the barrel to wear off due to rubbing against the housing. I have a total of three barrels and it doesn't matter which one is in that position or how much the barrel is loadewith d. The same thing happens every time. The only way I have been able to stop it is to tape the tow barrels together but even then it doesn't run smoothly on the rollers.
The other problem and probably the more disturbing is an intermittent loud scraping noise that is coming somewhere from the unit. I have used some light silicon oil on the bearings and replaced the belt but neither thing seems to have helped.
I have been watching it and just can't figure out where the noise is coming from. When the noise does happen it is quite loud.
Any suggestions are appreciated.
|
|
|
Post by orrum on Dec 28, 2016 7:32:17 GMT -5
Keep barrels. Throw unit away. Watch Ebay. Peeps list units without barrels all the time.
|
|
ChicagoDave
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2016
Posts: 720
|
Post by ChicagoDave on Dec 28, 2016 10:02:23 GMT -5
I had the crooked barrel issue also. The plastic on the rollers had slipped all the way to one side and actually went over the "bearing". This caused one side of the barrel to angle down since it was now riding directly on the metal rod. I got so fed up with the tumbler I packed it all back up and got a refund. Not sure if this is the same issue for you, but it would be something to check.
|
|
richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
|
Post by richardh on Dec 28, 2016 16:38:48 GMT -5
Thanks for the help! I checked my tumbler and sure enough the plastic on one of the rollers has slid way to one side. I need to figure out how to get the plastic back where it belongs. It is pretty darn difficult to budge.
|
|
napoleonrags
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2015
Posts: 474
|
Post by napoleonrags on Dec 28, 2016 16:51:52 GMT -5
I had a similar problem and was doing the HF return dance until I eventually got a refund after about a year and four machines. Bought a Model B.
|
|
ChicagoDave
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2016
Posts: 720
|
Post by ChicagoDave on Dec 28, 2016 17:19:58 GMT -5
Thanks for the help! I checked my tumbler and sure enough the plastic on one of the rollers has slid way to one side. I need to figure out how to get the plastic back where it belongs. It is pretty darn difficult to budge. I had to take the roller off the machine. I was then able to slide the plastic portion down to the right location. It was not easy to do this! I put some gorilla tape on each end hoping that would stop the migration, but it still did it again after a few days. I decided I wouldn't mess with it anymore after that. Hopefully you can find a solution that works!
|
|
richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
|
Post by richardh on Dec 28, 2016 18:47:54 GMT -5
I had a similar problem and was doing the HF return dance until I eventually got a refund after about a year and four machines. Bought a Model B. The Model B is definitely on my wish list. While trying to trouble shoot this problem I have watched quite a few videos, several of which were about the Lortone 33B that looks basically like what the HF tumbler is a copy of. Taking my HF apart and watching those videos really made it obvious to me how much better engineered the Lortone machines are. In this case I think you do get what you pay for. Unfortunately for me at the moment money is pretty tight so I will be trying to keep the HF going as long as I can as I don't think I will be getting any new tumblers for a while.
|
|
richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
|
Post by richardh on Dec 28, 2016 18:49:20 GMT -5
Thanks for the help! I checked my tumbler and sure enough the plastic on one of the rollers has slid way to one side. I need to figure out how to get the plastic back where it belongs. It is pretty darn difficult to budge. I had to take the roller off the machine. I was then able to slide the plastic portion down to the right location. It was not easy to do this! I put some gorilla tape on each end hoping that would stop the migration, but it still did it again after a few days. I decided I wouldn't mess with it anymore after that. Hopefully you can find a solution that works! That doesn't sound encouraging. Maybe I need to epoxy it on or something similar. I tried taking the roller off but it is proving a little more difficult than I expected.
|
|
quartz
Cave Dweller
breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
Posts: 3,341
|
Post by quartz on Dec 28, 2016 23:58:52 GMT -5
Try dipping the part in hot water, plastic expands more with heat than metal, should ease the slide of the roller.
|
|
richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
|
Post by richardh on Dec 29, 2016 1:47:30 GMT -5
Try dipping the part in hot water, plastic expands more with heat than metal, should ease the slide of the roller. This is my plan as soon as I get enough time to take it apart enough to get the roller out.
|
|