sheltie
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since January 2012
Posts: 982
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Post by sheltie on Oct 15, 2012 15:50:40 GMT -5
This is directed at those who live in town as opposed to those who live in the country and have more options. How do you dispose of grit after it has been through the various cycles and is no longer needed? The same applies for tumblers and vibrating laps. Pouring it down the sink isn't an option and my rock "garden" is beginning to get looks from the neighbors . Is there an easy, convenient way to "legally" dispose of it?
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Oct 15, 2012 16:03:09 GMT -5
thats a legitimate question, We use the five gallon bucket with a strainer method for cleaning our barrels and when the water level in the bucket gets to the bottom of the strainer we empty just the water out and all the sludge stays in the bucket. I dug a 2 foot diameter hole and filled it with pea gravel and I dump the dirty water there. The pea gravel lets the water soak in to the ground and the hole wont keep getting filled back in with dirt that way. when the sludge in the bucket gets a couple inches thick we scoop it out and get rid of it in plastic bags in our regular garbage. We do keep some of that sludge for when we want to thicken up our slurry in the 60/90 stage.
I will keep an eye out on this one to see what others are doing.
Chuck
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sheltie
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since January 2012
Posts: 982
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Post by sheltie on Oct 15, 2012 16:17:57 GMT -5
Good idea but where I live in central Texas, digging more than 4" is almost impossible with a jackhammer!
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herchenx
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2012
Posts: 3,360
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Post by herchenx on Oct 15, 2012 16:30:34 GMT -5
I live in a neighborhood with nice restrictive covenants so digging is out for me too.
I use the 5-gallon-bucket in the garage method as well, but when I need to dump it, I just have a rocky area near the back of the yard that I drain the water into. So far (9 months) it hasn't become a problem. I haven't had to scoop the bucket out yet, but it is pushing 3/4 full of sludge and is tough to move. I think I may just haul it to the landfill and leave it there.
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Post by catmandewe on Oct 15, 2012 20:41:09 GMT -5
I pour mine in the alley, it becomes rock dust again. If it is a slurry that has Borax in it I dump it along the back fence in the alley as Borax is a weed killer so it keeps the weeds from growing there.
Tony
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Oct 15, 2012 21:21:57 GMT -5
I put all the slurry in plastic tubs and set it out in my carport to evaporate.. once dry i put it in an old pretzel jar and use 1 tbls for my 1.5's and 3-4 tbls for my 6 pound barrels..... since it is broken down, especially if you've been doing agates.. it can be used in the rough or med stages on a rolling tumbler. I usually let my barrels run for a week before recharging and the rough I use it ground down pretty well by the time I change it out so I can use it in my medium sparingly as a thickener, or heavy in my rough grinds since it'll be there for a while.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Oct 15, 2012 22:09:43 GMT -5
I know you said that digging is out, but for anyone else interested, I buried a box in the woods behind the house. I'm not sure what will happen when the water freezes in the winter though.
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snuffy
Cave Dweller
Member since May 2009
Posts: 4,319
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Post by snuffy on Oct 15, 2012 22:16:10 GMT -5
I'm in the country and dont have the problem in the city.I pour mine on my garden rows,except when I use borax.Veggies love the ground up minerals.
snuffy
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Oct 15, 2012 22:21:47 GMT -5
I know you said that digging is out, but for anyone else interested, I buried a box in the woods behind the house. I'm not sure what will happen when the water freezes in the winter though. Dirty Ice ?
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Post by johnjsgems on Oct 16, 2012 8:22:48 GMT -5
You would have to see the limestone in Austin are to understand why digging is out. On my property just outside Austin you can only dig under the oak trees. Everywhere else you hit limestone after about 1"-2" of soil. Not sure why the weeds and prairie grass do so well. As far as the grit, it isn't considered hazardous waste. Let it dry out and put it in the trash if you can't dump it in the yard. As mentioned, without borax it is generally beneficial for the garden.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2012 8:47:42 GMT -5
I can dig but like John I let it dry out and put it in the trash. We have a dumpster in the alley so it is quite easy. Jim
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Oct 16, 2012 9:31:52 GMT -5
guess I should clarify, the pit I dug is just for dumping the 5 gallons of dirty gray water so it don't spread over a large area on the ground. I throw all the grit and rock snot that settled at the bottom of the bucket in the trash ( I keep some to thicken slurry in stage 1 and 2).
Chuck
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Post by johnjsgems on Oct 16, 2012 9:36:04 GMT -5
Chuck, want to trade back yards?
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Post by rockpickerforever on Oct 16, 2012 9:54:18 GMT -5
I pour my tumbler out into a large plastic colander, which fits nicely into the top of a five gallon bucket, and rinse the rocks. After about a week, most of the sludge has settled to the bottom. I pour off the grey water on top into the yard. The "Princess of the Night" cactus which climbs into a hibiscus bush in my backyard had the largest flowers ever this year - I believe it liked the added minerals!
After about another week, the remaining sludge has dried, and I put it into a trash bag. It then goes in with the regular trash to the curb, gets picked up and goes to the dump. Nothing hazardous, nothing illegal. Jean
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Oct 16, 2012 10:17:58 GMT -5
yeah, I know what you mean about hard ground. I can't put a tent anywhere on my vacation property up north because you cant pound in a tent stake, there's only a few inches of dirt then solid limestone/dolomite. When I had my power poles put in they had to use dynamite for 8 poles. I still have sharp chunks of dolomite all over the woods from that project. The other fun project was having a well drilled at a cost of $6000 to use diamond tipped well drilling equipment.
Chuck
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Post by Bluesky78987 on Oct 16, 2012 10:28:10 GMT -5
I use the same method as most here it seems:
1. Let settle for a few days in a bucket. 2. Pour off most of the clear water on top (mine just goes onto the patio where it dries). 3. Let the sludge dry up and evaporate. Handily, it shinks as it evaporates, making it easy to get out of the bucket with no scooping. I just dump it from the bucket into the dumpster. So far so good.
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