matt2432
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2014
Posts: 171
|
Post by matt2432 on Mar 20, 2015 8:16:06 GMT -5
Here's a question for the community. What's the lowest temperature that you can tumble before the water in the barrel starts to freeze?
I've had mine in the basement all winter, but it's much more convenient for clean out if they are in the garage. The noise is another concern with them in the basement. The only problem is I live in North Dakota where the temperatures are only above freezing for 6 months out of the year. Would it be possible to put the tumblers in an enclosure with a heat lamp? Looking for some ideas here.
-Matt
|
|
jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,563
|
Post by jamesp on Mar 20, 2015 8:51:35 GMT -5
I keep most my tumblers outside in a greenhouse Matt. The standing water in the greenhouse buckets and benches may get 1/4 inch layer of ice, no problems with the tumblers. One tumbler is outside, it freezes at @ 20-22F air temp. OK @ 25F and above. Thought about putting salt in that tumbler. But do not want the corrosive effects.
|
|
|
Post by snowmom on Mar 20, 2015 9:00:07 GMT -5
here is a thread from not too long ago. I live on the 45th parallel my tumbler lives in the garage. I shut it down once temps got below freezing for more than a couple of weeks. Keeping an incandescent light burning above the tumbler or making a nice insulated box for it to live in, then putting a light inside that might help, but I can't imagine anything working in the weeks of below zero stuff we just came through. It gets above freezing most days here now, so the tumbler is back in action. best wishes! forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/thread/63546/using-kind-antifreeze-tumblers
|
|
Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,711
|
Post by Fossilman on Mar 20, 2015 9:47:10 GMT -5
Matt,I don't think I would put anything out in that ND cold..LOL -50 below zero temps would ruin your machines.... How big are your tumblers...Mine don't make much noise at all..........I would say any temp above 25 degrees,as long as there is motion going 24/7..........Tumble away..
|
|
matt2432
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2014
Posts: 171
|
Post by matt2432 on Mar 20, 2015 14:14:12 GMT -5
So it sounds like 25 degrees is the general consensus. I guess I'll just make do with it being in the basement for 1/2 the year.
Fossilman - My tumblers are not large, I have a AR-2 and Model B. The noise is subtle, but you can hear it from anywhere in the house through the floor. Kind of like a white noise machine.
|
|
Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,711
|
Post by Fossilman on Mar 20, 2015 14:33:27 GMT -5
Stick a cheap Styrofoam cooler over the machines...LOL They cost about a few dollars...
|
|
quartz
Cave Dweller
breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
Posts: 3,352
|
Post by quartz on Apr 2, 2015 23:23:46 GMT -5
It's not a good idea to completely cover a tumbler, the motor needs to breathe so as not to burn up from overheating, I've seen it happen. If you have some of that rubber shelf liner, try a piece of a thickness or two under the machine, softens the vibrations into the floor and therefore the noise.
|
|
rockit
starting to shine!
Member since January 2015
Posts: 44
|
Post by rockit on Apr 3, 2015 19:23:33 GMT -5
I stuck some chunks of styrofoam under my tumbler...quieted it down considerably. My tumbler is in the basement (right below the living room) and I can barely hear it now.
|
|
matt2432
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2014
Posts: 171
|
Post by matt2432 on Apr 3, 2015 20:19:11 GMT -5
Good idea with putting something under it. I was thinking along more elaborate lines. Like a plywood sound enclosure lined with foam. It would of course need a baffle for cooling air to come in and a fan to push the hot air out. Probably way overkill, putting a piece of Styrofoam under it sounds like a good place to start.
|
|
KathyG
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since February 2015
Posts: 85
|
Post by KathyG on Apr 9, 2015 9:28:34 GMT -5
I stuck some chunks of styrofoam under my tumbler...quieted it down considerably. My tumbler is in the basement (right below the living room) and I can barely hear it now. Styrofoam is a great idea. I have an AR-2 and I put a thick amounts of newspaper underneath it and it is much quieter now. That probably works as well as styrofoam, not sure, but anything soft with some thickness to it would help.
|
|
renie
off to a rocking start
Member since December 2009
Posts: 20
|
Post by renie on Apr 11, 2015 22:41:16 GMT -5
WE have an old refrigerator in the basement that no longer works. It's wonderful for putting the tumblers in. I leave the door propped open a few inches for air circulation, but not enough to be too noisy.
|
|