scaboorocks
starting to shine!
Member since May 2021
Posts: 34
|
Post by scaboorocks on Jun 1, 2021 18:14:39 GMT -5
Is it better to clean the rocks before they are tumbled?
I'm wondering if the sand and dirt on rocks will help in the course grit. Obviously it would ask be washed out for the continuing stages.
|
|
|
Post by amygdule on Jun 1, 2021 18:25:55 GMT -5
The rocks should be cleansed of Organics. Dirt and moss, they may develop gas Bloat your barrels and give them Colic.
|
|
scaboorocks
starting to shine!
Member since May 2021
Posts: 34
|
Post by scaboorocks on Jun 1, 2021 18:31:35 GMT -5
The rocks should be cleansed of Organics. Dirt and moss, they may develop gas Bloat your barrels and give them Colic. So should I tumble them with Dawn for an hour or so before the first stage?
|
|
|
Post by amygdule on Jun 1, 2021 20:12:48 GMT -5
Something like that
You want to make sure that your rocks are clean Before you tumble them
|
|
|
Post by rockpickerforever on Jun 1, 2021 20:33:23 GMT -5
The rocks should be cleansed of Organics. Dirt and moss, they may develop gas Bloat your barrels and give them Colic. Don't forget to wash off the blood, sweat and tears shed over them when one is extricating them from the ground!
|
|
pizzano
Cave Dweller
Member since February 2018
Posts: 1,390
|
Post by pizzano on Jun 1, 2021 21:40:28 GMT -5
Is it better to clean the rocks before they are tumbled? I'm wondering if the sand and dirt on rocks will help in the course grit. Obviously it would ask be washed out for the continuing stages. Yes.....time to get your hands dirty again from the hunt & collecting.......: There a lots of methods to effectively clean and rinse, soiled, caked, crud covered rocks one intends to tumble....In my opinion, the cleaner the better. If they are hard packed caked with imbedded debris, bio-matter, clay, firm soils.....spray off all the loose material (a garden hose sprayer will work), then soak them in a bucket over night. After soaking, scrub with a stiff bristle nylon brush, then rinse again with hose. My preference for detergents is a ratio of 1.5 to 1.0 (water to detergent) Borax......other RTH members may have their own soap preferences.......some soaking may take longer than over night. Don't rinse or dispose of Borax over your lawn, garden or place of importance....and don't pour it down your sink, tub or any facility that is connected to a public waste water system. If breaking, cracking, chipping of material is desired/required to reduce size for tumbling, cleaning before or after is one's personal option.......I clean before and again after.
|
|
|
Post by Garage Rocker on Jun 1, 2021 22:21:42 GMT -5
I don't reckon I have ever bathed a rock before tumbling. I also don't tumble a lot of self collected material, unfortunately, so most I get in the mail looks pretty clean already. If I have a dirty rock, I'll knock the crud off, but that's about it. If I'm cutting it on the tile saw, I guess that would count as a wash. Luckily, I have never had a gassing issue.
ETA: Just how dirty are your rocks? I suppose that could make a difference.?
|
|
tumblee
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2021
Posts: 154
|
Post by tumblee on Jun 2, 2021 0:15:05 GMT -5
Can't see how encrusted dirt would hurt anything in stage one.
|
|
|
Post by fernwood on Jun 2, 2021 5:05:07 GMT -5
I always clean rocks before doing anything with them. It is difficult to determine what a rock is when coated with dirt, moss, etc. If it is a workable rock, based on appearance, then a hardness test is sometimes done. All depends on if the rock ID is apparent.
Agree, that organic materials on a rock put in the tumbler can cause problems. I do not want to have a blow out, due to gasses building up in the tumbler.
Organic materials on rocks that are slabbed/cabbed can cause blades, belts, etc, to wear down fast.
To me, the extra time cleaning is well worth it.
I use garden hose or a pail of water and brush to clean all rocks. If they are still dirty, I do a water soak with Dawn dish soap or vinegar, depending on the rock. Then more brush scrubbing.
Only when everything organic is off the rock will I proceed.
|
|
fredrickk655
off to a rocking start
Member since June 2021
Posts: 1
|
Post by fredrickk655 on Jun 2, 2021 8:55:46 GMT -5
Hi. There are many ways to effectively clean and rinse dirty, dried, muddy stones that are about to topple over, the cleaner the better it is obvious. tell me how I can clean fragile stones .. what cleaning methods do you know and could advise. Thank you ( Frederick ,employee monitoring staff)
|
|
scaboorocks
starting to shine!
Member since May 2021
Posts: 34
|
Post by scaboorocks on Jun 2, 2021 9:10:47 GMT -5
ETA: Just how dirty are your rocks? I suppose that could make a difference.?
My self collected rocks can be quite dirty sometimes. I dig a lot out from next to creek beds. They are covered in mud sometimes. I am tumbling my second group through the course grit on a NG rotary. I didn't clean them off, but have been checking every other day to determine how quickly the grit is used up. Maybe that is why I haven't seen any gas build up from organics.
I do rinse them off with the hose, but have left algae and moss.
Thanks for the replies!!!!!
|
|
ericabelle
spending too much on rocks
Instagram acct: @erica_shoots_everything
Member since April 2021
Posts: 482
|
Post by ericabelle on Jun 2, 2021 12:15:22 GMT -5
Most of my rocks are self collected from clay dirt. I brush them off with either a pedicure brush or a grout brush. Sometimes after they are wet, they do develop some green areas from moss or algae. I put them in the tumbler anyway. Sometimes I get some bubbles in the tumbler, but gas never really builds up. Could be because I check them every 3-5 days or maybe it's because I'm tumbling in a 15 pound barrel, so there is more room for the gas.
|
|
tumblee
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2021
Posts: 154
|
Post by tumblee on Jun 4, 2021 3:05:52 GMT -5
Have read that using hot water on initial fill will eliminate bloating. When the hot water cools it should offset the heat generated from friction. Not sure how organic matter contributes to excess pressure.
|
|
scaboorocks
starting to shine!
Member since May 2021
Posts: 34
|
Post by scaboorocks on Jun 4, 2021 10:39:23 GMT -5
Have read that using hot water on initial fill will eliminate bloating. When the hot water cools it should offset the heat generated from friction. Not sure how organic matter contributes to excess pressure. 2 ways I can think organics might add gas 1 the literal breakdown allows bacteria to respire and multiply adding CO2 2 the breakdown of organics creates volatile organic compounds to be released. Similar to tumbling glass and obsidian.
|
|
|
Post by greig on Jun 4, 2021 20:14:15 GMT -5
My rocks tend to get more dirty after I touch them. LOL
I will tumble stage 1 if they have clay or sand. It only adds to the slurry. The comments about organics get my attention. I don't like gas. As Shrek says "better out than in"
|
|
ericabelle
spending too much on rocks
Instagram acct: @erica_shoots_everything
Member since April 2021
Posts: 482
|
Post by ericabelle on Jun 5, 2021 12:29:49 GMT -5
Coming from a medical standpoint - comparing with proteinuria (protein in the urine) which is also foamy, is caused because proteins have some surfactant properties. So with agitation, they produce foam. Some algae and mosses have proteins in them, and bacteria have proteins also. So maybe that is the reason for the foam from dirty rocks. I also have a few aquariums, and I've read to watch for foam as an indicator of too much protein in the aquarium water. I watched a guy on YouTube once use a rock tumbler to tumble various weird things. One of the things he tumbled was pennies. He couldn't keep the lid of the barrel on because so much gas was produced. Probably because they were filthy! Anyway, that's my two cents worth on the reason for the foam from organic matter. I'm sure there are other reasons besides dirty rocks to have foam in your tumbler. I haven't tumbled any rocks yet that produce gas, and I'm not sure which ones do. I'll probably find out accidentally someday!
|
|
scaboorocks
starting to shine!
Member since May 2021
Posts: 34
|
Post by scaboorocks on Jun 5, 2021 12:40:00 GMT -5
Coming from a medical standpoint - comparing with proteinuria (protein in the urine) which is also foamy, is caused because proteins have some surfactant properties. So with agitation, they produce foam. Some algae and mosses have proteins in them, and bacteria have proteins also. So maybe that is the reason for the foam from dirty rocks. I also have a few aquariums, and I've read to watch for foam as an indicator of too much protein in the aquarium water. I watched a guy on YouTube once use a rock tumbler to tumble various weird things. One of the things he tumbled was pennies. He couldn't keep the lid of the barrel on because so much gas was produced. Probably because they were filthy! Anyway, that's my two cents worth on the reason for the foam from organic matter. I'm sure there are other reasons besides dirty rocks to have foam in your tumbler. I haven't tumbled any rocks yet that produce gas, and I'm not sure which ones do. I'll probably find out accidentally someday! I'd agree it is the proteins. I'm an oceanographer by day. The proteins in all things listed are what cause sea foam. Also in keeping salt water aquariums, we use protein skimmers which create tiny bubbles that the protein stick to and create a foam that is then removed.
|
|
|
Post by greig on Jun 6, 2021 13:26:10 GMT -5
Does foam add to the volume in the barrel? I would argue that foam is not inherently bad, but gas which if not addressed will blow the top off the barrel. I have had plenty of tumbles where I had foam and it didn't cause any issues. Other times, I could see the bottom of a Lortone barrel bulge from gas that had to be burped, but not necessarily was there foam.
|
|