Engineering Student, Questions about building

Hi Joshua,
Welcome to the forum. That sounds very interesting, be cool to see pics and hear how it works.

1. No, it won't hurt your "barrel" to sit for awhile without tumbling. I would suggest you shake it every now and then to keep the grit from settling.

2. Most of my tumblers run between 40 and 56 rpms.

3. Yes, there was someone who made a barrel out of 4 in pvc. Glued one end shut and put one of those "plugs" for a cover, the kind with the screw in the middle that tightens it to fit tight in the barrel. (did that make sense?)

4. I'm sorry, I don't have any other advice but I'm sure if others see this they will.

Hope you really get interested in rock tumbling and stick around. Please let us know how your project goes, we love pics here ... hehehe just take a look at the Members Photos forum, it's jammed.

Cher

Dear RosebudMN,

Thank your for your help. It has been instrumental in my building process. Also thank your for relpying so quickly, I was not exspecting anything that fast.

thanks again,

Joshua

wow, i really like the idea of using wind power to tumble rocks. i guess that is what happens when engineering students get bored, eh?

Cher and Pho have pretty much covered the questions, i'm just adding enthusiasm here.

i think the rate of speed that the barrel tumbles at is fairly important, too slow and the rocks don't "tumble", they slide. too fast and they don't get the right "tumbling action" either.

i like the battery idea as a backup.

please keep us advised of your progress, Joshua!

KD

My 2 cents worth is that you need to do more reading on this forum and most of your questions have been delt with in the past. look in the back posts the information is of great value. I have made a barrel out of PVC pipe and have found that the store bought ones have better action inside them from the built in flat spots. I would use a 15 lb. Thumlers barrel for a model I have one of these and it does the best job of moving rock around. the steadier the rpm the better the rock will turn out. If you were to use automotive parts alternator for power to a battery and a heater motor on the tumbler all 12 volt noswitching power from DC to AC. send me a pm and I will help all I can

Joshua, if it were me, I would use the wind to power a generator. I would use the batteries as primary power source. Running mecanical items that distance, increases the drag and potential for repair.
The tumbling/grinding process will work better throughout if the speed is steady.
I made a generator years ago by taking the diode bridge out of automobile alternators and stacking five to the vanes. I stepped down the voltage to charge 20 older automobile batteries.
The five alternators will produce 120 volts. I went with the batteries as I needed the predictability when the wind died. My hope was to completely power my house.
I would go with wind power to electric. You will get the results you want there.

A bio diesel, oiy! Constant maintenance! When Otto Diesel patented the Diesel engine in 1897, it was originally designed to run on vegetable oil, peanut oil, and other, garbage grades of oils. It was not really intended to be run on fossile fuel.
To get off the grid, first off, it is unlawful to not be hooked up to an utilities company in a primary residence in the U.S. Even in locations in "Way out There Arizona", it is a recquirement to be on the grid. Temporary waivers are issued for primary residences more than 20 miles from an utility source.
That said, it is also lawful for an utility to compensate for power input into the grid. There are details to integrate the power but they do provide the cycle balancing equipment.
I owned an house years ago, that I designed and built. It was full solar, with utility hookup. It was self heating, self cooling, and self powering. I used automobile alternators, batteries, windmills, solar cells, rock storage in the basement, double walls, solar greenhouse comprising 1/3 of the house.
I got paid a token amount and the rest was free as long as my batteries did not break down, the alternators did not all go out at once, and there were no storms.
An interesting note. In the state I lived in, it was the law that any home generating power and selling to the grid, had to be disconnected during power outages! The conversion equipment HAD to use the grid to function! In other words, to use my power, I had to go to the grid first, then back into my home.
Now, a small windmill with 20 12V automobile batteries, power invertor, can power a tumbler, or a few light bulbs independantly.
The replacement batteries, acid, and used alternators cost as much as the electricity, but, I felt a measure of accomplishment. I got about 12$ a month for the electricity I generated.
Then came hurricane Bob. The grid went down, so did I, even though my windmills were intact, batteries were up, and my service was functioning. The components to enter the grid had been shut off with the grid shutting down. I had all the capacity to power my home, with no potential to do so.
I know more today, but that was then.
It can be done.