rickfl
starting to shine!
Member since January 2022
Posts: 28
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Post by rickfl on Jan 11, 2022 15:03:27 GMT -5
Hi. I have my first Lot-O tumbler and am having issues getting my slurry right. It keeps clumping at the bottom and hardly covers the rocks. I'm on my 6th try and nothing is working. The slurry definitely looks nothing like what I see on the youtube videos.
I have a mix of rocks and ceramic media, along with some smaller river rocks that I use to fill my rotary tumblers. Rocks vary in size from a few golf ball to smaller marble. Mix is probably 50-50 rocks and media.
I pretty much follow instructions.
- I add about 4 pounds of rocks and media.
- Fill it with water, turn it upside down and drain it
- Put barrel in tumbler and turn on
- Add 1/2 lid of water
- Add 2 tbsp of 220 SIC slowly as the rocks tumble
I have noted that it doesn't seem to turn over as fast as I see it on youtube (Michigan Rocks). After about 30 minutes, there is hardly any grit on the rocks. I have tried taking the barrel out of the tumbler, turning it upside down and shaking it. The slurry (if you can call it that) is spread out but then goes back to the bottom. The last time I tried adding more water thinking it was clumping because it was dry. It made little difference.
Any suggestions? I can take photos if that will help.
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Post by Son Of Beach on Jan 11, 2022 15:09:07 GMT -5
Hi. I have my first Lot-O tumbler and am having issues getting my slurry right. It keeps clumping at the bottom and hardly covers the rocks. I'm on my 6th try and nothing is working. The slurry definitely looks nothing like what I see on the youtube videos. I have a mix of rocks and ceramic media, along with some smaller river rocks that I use to fill my rotary tumblers. Rocks vary in size from a few golf ball to smaller marble. Mix is probably 50-50 rocks and media. I pretty much follow instructions. - I add about 4 pounds of rocks and media. - Fill it with water, turn it upside down and drain it - Put barrel in tumbler and turn on - Add 1/2 lid of water - Add 2 tbsp of 220 SIC slowly as the rocks tumble I have noted that it doesn't seem to turn over as fast as I see it on youtube (Michigan Rocks). After about 30 minutes, there is hardly any grit on the rocks. I have tried taking the barrel out of the tumbler, turning it upside down and shaking it. The slurry (if you can call it that) is spread out but then goes back to the bottom. The last time I tried adding more water thinking it was clumping because it was dry. It made little difference. Any suggestions? I can take photos if that will help. My first guess is the additional water. How long are you letting it run before ditching the batch? It does take a while to see a slurry from what I've experienced.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Jan 11, 2022 15:14:14 GMT -5
Don't add the half lid full of water. That's washing your grit off the rocks and settling it to the bottom.
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rickfl
starting to shine!
Member since January 2022
Posts: 28
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Post by rickfl on Jan 11, 2022 15:36:22 GMT -5
Thanks for the quick replies.
Lumberlegs - I've let it run all night and it looks the same.
Jugglerguy - The first few times I followed the recipe in the descriptions of some of your Youtube videos, which don't call for the added water. The reason I added water was because I wasn't having any success and wanted to try the manufacturer's instructions in case I was missing something. I pretty much get the same result with or without added water.
I'll go get a couple of photos showing how it looks now after running several hours, and another showing the rocks/media mix.
There are only a few components to this, so I'm guessing I have something that is throwing it off.
Question - I have well water that is not softened. Would that make any difference?
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waterboysh
spending too much on rocks
Member since April 2021
Posts: 386
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Post by waterboysh on Jan 11, 2022 17:13:52 GMT -5
I can't help you with your problem. My Lot-o arrives tomorrow. I'll be following along though to see if you figure out what's going on. I think some more information about your setup could be helpful, just based on other threads I've read here.
1. How is your Lot-o mounted? 2. Are you just resting the barrel on top of the frame, or pushing it down in? It's my understanding that you just want it resting. I read in one of the threads that someone put a small block under theirs to keep it from sliding down from the vibrations. I forget who that was. 3. Make sure the weights in the fans are in the same position on both side. They're friction fit so you should be able to adjust them as needed.
Posting a few pictures might help. Some pictures of the Lot-o itself. Maybe a picture of the rocks you're trying to tumble all laid out.
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rickfl
starting to shine!
Member since January 2022
Posts: 28
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Post by rickfl on Jan 11, 2022 17:39:51 GMT -5
Waterboysh - Thanks for the reply. Good luck with yours. Like you, I'm excited to see the results once I figure out what I'm doing wrong. 1 - My Lot-O is mounted on a cinder block that is filled with concrete, with the Lot-O mounted to it per instructions. I'm sure it must weigh 250 pounds after carrying it into the garage. I did follow their instructions and painted it with a primer. 2 - This is a great question and one that I didn't see any reference to when reading the instructions that came with it, but I may have overlooked it. I was initially pushing it into the frame. I had a thought that maybe that was causing some of the issue, so I started just setting it into the frame. I will cut some wood to put underneath it to keep it from sliding down. 3 - I had not noticed the weights, I will check them to see if they are int he same position. I took some photos but don't have a Cloudinary account, so I'll need to create one before I can post photos. I'm sure they will help diagnose what I'm doing wrong. Thanks again for the input.
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Post by michigander2005 on Jan 11, 2022 17:44:28 GMT -5
I'm new with lot-o tumbler I don't add water just wet rocks from rinse. When I went with directions and added water the mix slowed down. I ditched the instructions and use Rob's Michigan Rocks spray bottle way when extra water is needed.
I didn't put a hole in the top on ours ,, top is held down with rubber bands. Ours is running 1000 A0 then A0 polish.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Jan 11, 2022 17:53:05 GMT -5
You're getting some good advice here. I push my barrel down into the frame, but not too much. You don't want it resting on the bottom. I wouldn't say it's just resting on top, it's tighter than that. Try everything else suggested here first. If those things don't work, then you might need to tune your Lot-O. Read more here: forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/thread/88524/lot-polish-stage-issue
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rickfl
starting to shine!
Member since January 2022
Posts: 28
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Post by rickfl on Jan 12, 2022 10:18:57 GMT -5
Okay. I got my account setup and have attached photos showing the rocks in the barrel and in a colander to show sizes. I can't remember if I posted above, but the rocks weigh about 3.5 pounds. I had removed some larger rocks that I thought my be interfering with the tumbling action. Rocks after 2-3 hours, no slurry at all on rocks. Grit stuck to bottom Rock and media
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rickfl
starting to shine!
Member since January 2022
Posts: 28
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Post by rickfl on Jan 12, 2022 10:28:17 GMT -5
Jugglerguy - I clicked on the link to your video (which happens to be the one that I used to get your recipe) and noticed that your rocks are turning over a lot (LOT) faster than mine do before anything is ever added.
My Lot-O is fresh from the factory and solidly mounted to a cinder block that looks similar to yours (primed, holes filled with concrete).
I'm wondering if maybe my Lot-O needs tuning?
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jimmie
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2021
Posts: 233
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Post by jimmie on Jan 12, 2022 10:48:05 GMT -5
I had the exact problem, not going like the one in the video. I cut the glue loose and adjusted the dowel while running. It helped. It does take a little time to “dial” it in. You can tune a lot-o , but you can’t tune a fish!
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rickfl
starting to shine!
Member since January 2022
Posts: 28
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Post by rickfl on Jan 12, 2022 11:00:24 GMT -5
jimmie - I think I may need to try that. I just read several pages in the thread that Rob linked to above, and saw where aDave had problems that were also resolved by moving the dowel. I've attached a couple of photos of my setup so y'all can see what you think. The center mark on the dowel is probably 5/8 to 3/4 inch away from the vertical upright.
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rickfl
starting to shine!
Member since January 2022
Posts: 28
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Post by rickfl on Jan 12, 2022 12:13:10 GMT -5
I just moved the dowel about 1/4 inch closer, and things are moving like my stomach after Taco Tuesday. I followed the advice not to add any additional water and things are already looking better. Thanks for all the input and help. I'll post a follow up in the next day or so. I will try to contribute to this forum as much as I can with the little experience that I have. We don't have many rocks in Florida that are worth tumbling, but I can post pictures of tumbled beach sand.
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waterboysh
spending too much on rocks
Member since April 2021
Posts: 386
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Post by waterboysh on Jan 12, 2022 15:10:37 GMT -5
My Lot-o arrived today. I've got the cinderblock holes filled with cement, but still need to paint the block. I'll do that over the next couple of days and I should be ready to start this weekend. I think before I even try putting good rocks in it, I'll get a bunch of rocks from the garden bed and fill it up and make sure it has good tumbling action. From everything I've read in the above linked thread, it should be fairly obvious that something is wrong before even adding grit and waiting for slurry. rickfl I'm also in Florida. I feel your pain about there not being rocks. But we do have a ton of fossils if you know where to look.
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jimmie
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2021
Posts: 233
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Post by jimmie on Jan 12, 2022 17:20:27 GMT -5
I’ve lived in Florida 3 different times, can you tumble sand spurs?
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rickfl
starting to shine!
Member since January 2022
Posts: 28
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Post by rickfl on Jan 12, 2022 17:48:29 GMT -5
My Lot-o arrived today. I've got the cinderblock holes filled with cement, but still need to paint the block. I'll do that over the next couple of days and I should be ready to start this weekend. I think before I even try putting good rocks in it, I'll get a bunch of rocks from the garden bed and fill it up and make sure it has good tumbling action. From everything I've read in the above linked thread, it should be fairly obvious that something is wrong before even adding grit and waiting for slurry. rickfl I'm also in Florida. I feel your pain about there not being rocks. But we do have a ton of fossils if you know where to look. I have found some fossils; mostly shark teeth. I did find two complete mammoth teeth and some pieces of mastodon teeth. If you haven't tumbled mastodon teeth fragments they actually turn out pretty nice. I am going to dig out some pieces and put them in the Lot-O since it won't wear them down like the rotary does. I want to get to the Suwannee river to find some agatized coral. I wanted to go this fall, but the river level was too high.
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rickfl
starting to shine!
Member since January 2022
Posts: 28
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Post by rickfl on Jan 12, 2022 17:50:11 GMT -5
I’ve lived in Florida 3 different times, can you tumble sand spurs? Those things are brutal. My mother-in-law downsized and moved to a new house that is covered with sand spurs. We went to visit for Christmas and the dogs couldn't even go out in her yard because of the spurs. I hate those things.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Jan 12, 2022 18:53:10 GMT -5
Do a search for some of jamesp's threads on tumbling FL coral.
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waterboysh
spending too much on rocks
Member since April 2021
Posts: 386
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Post by waterboysh on Jan 12, 2022 21:55:10 GMT -5
Quick mounting question for y'all. My Lot-o came today. I've got my cinder block filled with cement. I just need to paint one of the surfaces. How necessary is it to put down primer first? I thought I had some, but when I opened the can it was completely solidified.
Also, I measured and the dowel was exactly 1/2" away from the vertical upright.
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Post by michigander2005 on Jan 13, 2022 6:39:27 GMT -5
Quick mounting question for y'all. My Lot-o came today. I've got my cinder block filled with cement. I just need to paint one of the surfaces. How necessary is it to put down primer first? I thought I had some, but when I opened the can it was completely solidified. Also, I measured and the dowel was exactly 1/2" away from the vertical upright. I didn't use primer , block was clean and good latex house paint was used. Pretty sure it was advertised as all in one paint.
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