ejs
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2008
Posts: 478
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Post by ejs on Aug 25, 2008 9:38:38 GMT -5
Greetings, all.
My Lortone 33A 3# tumbler, about 9 months old, is having trouble. A few days ago, I noticed that the barrel was not rotating. The tumbler seems to be having a hard time getting the barrel around. It can turn an empty tumbler, so I thought maybe I overloaded it. I took some out, weighed it (2.7 lbs. including everything), and restarted it. It spins for a while, then slows down, then stops, then struggles to start again, goes for a while, stops again. When it stops, the silver metal rotating bar is not turning (that is, it is not the case that the bar is turning but the barrel is not).
Engine trouble? Can a mechanically inept guy like myself fix it? I'll have to check on the warranty. I ordered it on 8/30/2008 from Dad's Rock Shop (one year is up in a few days!).
Any advice? Thanks!
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Post by Jack, lapidaryrough on Aug 25, 2008 9:46:43 GMT -5
Are you saying the motor slow down ? to a stop or the shaft drive is slipping ? As for the barrel and how full the material is it should be 3/4 full Wt. dos`t matter design to run 3 Lbs. rock plus grit plus water gross Wt. may exceed the 3 Lbs. that fine.
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Post by akansan on Aug 25, 2008 10:07:39 GMT -5
Could the belt be slipping? When the bar stops spinning, is the motor pulley still turning or is it stopped as well?
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ejs
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2008
Posts: 478
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Post by ejs on Aug 25, 2008 10:20:26 GMT -5
Sounds like I need to open it up and investigate further. Will do. (Eek! A screwdriver!)
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ejs
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2008
Posts: 478
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Post by ejs on Aug 25, 2008 10:28:06 GMT -5
Okay my six year old took the blue cover off. :-) When the barrel stops, we see that the main shaft is still spinning (the one that turns the fan) so that the fan is still spinning, but the belt and the shaft that it is connected to is not spinning. This seems to imply that we need a new belt. I'll order one, swap it out, and see what happens!
A week without tumbling! The horror...
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Post by akansan on Aug 25, 2008 10:43:28 GMT -5
Actually, you might just try cleaning the belt. They get gunked up. Take fine sandpaper to it and lightly sand it.
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ejs
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2008
Posts: 478
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Post by ejs on Aug 25, 2008 10:45:41 GMT -5
Shawn at The Rock Shed (where I bought my 3B) also suggested that I loosen the screws that hold the motor in place and slide the motor back a bit to tighten the belt. I'll give that a try.
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Post by Jack, lapidaryrough on Aug 25, 2008 11:33:58 GMT -5
tighten the set screw on the motors pulley.
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ejs
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2008
Posts: 478
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Post by ejs on Aug 25, 2008 12:45:59 GMT -5
Thanks for the advice. Here is what I did:
1. Removed and cleaned the belt (which showed no signs of wear/stretching/etc.).
2. Adjusted the motor toward the back of the unit a bit so that the belt was tighter.
3. Loosened the allen screw on the fan collar, adjusted the position of the rotor so that it was perfectly aligned with the other one, and then tightened it down.
Between those 3 things, the unit now appears to be running fine. In the mean time, I ordered some replacement belts, figuring that they are due to run out any time now.
Thanks all!
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nansaidh
spending too much on rocks
Jewelry artist, graphic designer, dog lover, car nut (etc.)
Member since August 2008
Posts: 311
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Post by nansaidh on Aug 25, 2008 12:48:02 GMT -5
My barrel stopped turning once too - the belt had stretched and adjusting the motor position fixed it. I ordered a few replacement belts at that time to make sure I had extras in case of a break.
Nancy
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Post by akansan on Aug 25, 2008 12:57:57 GMT -5
Great to hear! And you said you weren't mechanically inclined.  |
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ejs
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2008
Posts: 478
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Post by ejs on Aug 25, 2008 16:14:05 GMT -5
I give all the credit to my son. They were his tools!  |
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