GASEOUS LOADS

I have wondered the same thing. Glass bottle bits are REALLY gassy. If I use them I have to burp the barrel every day or maybe every 48 hours if I just use a few.

you could always try grinding a couple pills of Gas-x or beano and add it to your tumbler to see if it stops the gas build up. or any other anti gas forming item that you may know of.

Organic matter seems to cause it because dying and decaying is known to produce a gas buildup and movement and higher temperatures could speed the process. Some rocks could have LOTS of invisible organic matter hitchhiking on them and some rocks might have some encrusted, or on the inside as well. I’m sure that there could be many other processes contributing to it too. So that’s why it’s always a good idea to wash rocks well before tumbling them.

Checking the barrels after the first days could help noticing if we will be having this problem. If we notice the problem adding a teaspoon of baking soda for each 3 pounds of rocks will solve the problem.

When I saw your post I liked your idea about pH and went to test my (obsidian) slurry to test out its pH. Came out neutral, I will check it out throughout its other stages to see if it changes. I think that different combinations of rocks and grit during different stages could create different results.

I have a Milwaukee ph tester but could not use it because the slurry will damage it, so I used a Rapitest mini pH/Moisture tester for plant soil. I’m sure that there are better testers out there to get more accurate readings but probably much more $$$!

Thanks this was a very interesting and motivational post.

OK, what did I miss? This thread is a very weird read now!

I got a little off track, so I removed my "too long" posts.

What I should not have deleted was that I fill my barrels with the hottest water I can get out of the taps. It has less dissolved gas in it, and the barrels contract when it cools down, leaving more room for off-gassing. I'm pretty sure that the over-the-counter meds you can take for a gassy stomach aren't going to work in a tumbling barrel. Different processes.

I did look it up and apparently the sheen obsidians are that way from teeny tiny bubbles that happened when the liquid obsidian contacted water. The bubbles are water vapor. I have no idea if they make the barrel bulge, or if there are also other gasses.

I am trying to figure out the gas problem It is happenning to me on all 3 barrels.Can not get a ph test as water is too dirty.My stones have a lot of limestone attached.I am guessing an overly alkaline brew.And it smells a bit like concrete....?It gases up quick and then rubber caps bulge.So would you add vinegar?It may not be PH...I may do well using litmus paper,it may not care if water is mucky.These barrels run glass on occasion,and they bulge.But never popped the cap off. This is a lot of pressure.The rocks are agate and limestone covered silicified coral.I will try vinegar for a few hours in one barrel..Maybe the cap will draw inward,as the often do.Thanks in advance

The vinegar is not the solution.Any other ideas?Too much water?Clean rocks and start over?Never had so much pressure before over a 24 hour period.I did have the water about a half an inch over the rocks.Normally i run on the dry side(and pasty).

Run off from peat rich swamps cut through limestone bedrock leaving 50 foot bluffs.PH 5 is common for the run off water flowing into the river during the wet season.That leaves a lot of undissolvable silicifications behind laying on the bottom of the river.During the hot season the rivers drop exposing those treasures.PH has a huge influence on our ecosystem.I respect the power of PH.I am guessing that gases formed from low PH mixing with high PH contents within the tumbler barrel are causing havoc.The highest pressure was in the 16 pound cap tumbler that had 12 pounds of cooked coral...Added 4 pounds of river agates to get 16 pounds total.Maybe it's the cooked coral. Wondering out loud

You are right St.EdMo,interesting and complicated.Oxygen and dozens of other compounds,mixes,elements etc.No simple answers.Let's hope were not making pipe bmbs!