jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,560
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Post by jamesp on Jan 13, 2022 10:16:10 GMT -5
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,709
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Post by Fossilman on Jan 13, 2022 11:05:06 GMT -5
I have a buddy that doesn't use the recommended water method either, he just wets the material and uses a misting bottle if needed...
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rickfl
starting to shine!
Member since January 2022
Posts: 28
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Post by rickfl on Jan 13, 2022 14:35:18 GMT -5
Wow. Beautiful stuff - thanks for posting. I had no idea that it would polish so well. I bought a small jon boat and motor primarily for going to shallow rivers. I also have a kayak and canoe (can't have too many boats in Florida). Do you think a light jon boat that I could pull over rocks would work, or would the kayak/canoe work better? Any suggestions (PM would be fine) as to what to look for in the river that would indicate that coral heads are present?
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rickfl
starting to shine!
Member since January 2022
Posts: 28
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Post by rickfl on Jan 13, 2022 14:42:01 GMT -5
My mixture did get a little dry over night and slowed down. I misted it with water and it picked back up. I cleaned it out around lunch and am on my second day with the 220 actually working like it should.
I really appreciate the help from everyone.
I don't have anything spectacular in the Lot O. A mix of Arizona petrified wood that I bought from Dobell's ranch, various rocks that came in a bag purchased online (The Rock Shed maybe), and some material (jasper, agates, unknown) that I picked up while I was in Minnesota on business.
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Post by Son Of Beach on Jan 13, 2022 14:47:30 GMT -5
My mixture did get a little dry over night and slowed down. I misted it with water and it picked back up. I cleaned it out around lunch and am on my second day with the 220 actually working like it should. I really appreciate the help from everyone. I don't have anything spectacular in the Lot O. A mix of Arizona petrified wood that I bought from Dobell's ranch, various rocks that came in a bag purchased online (The Rock Shed maybe), and some material (jasper, agates, unknown) that I picked up while I was in Minnesota on business. Good on you man. I bet they turn out just fine
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,560
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Post by jamesp on Jan 13, 2022 16:03:43 GMT -5
Wow. Beautiful stuff - thanks for posting. I had no idea that it would polish so well. I bought a small jon boat and motor primarily for going to shallow rivers. I also have a kayak and canoe (can't have too many boats in Florida). Do you think a light jon boat that I could pull over rocks would work, or would the kayak/canoe work better? Any suggestions (PM would be fine) as to what to look for in the river that would indicate that coral heads are present? I would do a kayak to this location because the paddle trip is short. Outboards can be problematic.(I use a small GO Devil). And I often go at 100 cubic feet per second when there is a 2 foot ledge at the boat ramp ending. (My Trailer is designed to fall off the edge without pulling the axle off when pulling away.) Go to the up stream boat ramp in White Springs(at Hwy 129 ?) and paddle downstream about 1/4 mile. Note rocks on left, they are about all coral. It's ok to dig if you don't get caught. Florida doesn't like people digging in the river channel. Mind you the river has to be say 300 cubic feet per second or less to see the rock bar. (see US GS river level data) If you have a wet suit you can snorkel the bottom in some spots along the way and score. But that rock bar I mentioned has tons of coral covering the bottom of the river. That that you see on the left is just the tip of the iceberg. Coral covers the bottoms of these rivers but in most cases you need to get in the water, a great summer pastime. It is all about knowing what is underwater in most cases. Knowing the dry season is important. Sometimes the river stays too high all year. Another place is upstream from the I-75/Suwannee crossing. But must have low water and good climbing ability to carry rocks up steep river banks lol. Coral is intermittent from north or south of I-75 in the Suwannee. Problem is getting to those sections of the river. This is the coral at that rock bar after selective collecting www.flickr.com/photos/67205364@N06/albums/72157646481569350this is the rock bar It does polish well
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rickfl
starting to shine!
Member since January 2022
Posts: 28
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Post by rickfl on Jan 14, 2022 10:59:44 GMT -5
Jamesp - Thank you so much for that detailed information, I really appreciate you taking the time to post it. You provided more information in one post than I have been able to pick up reading and watching videos.
I had intended to take the jon boat and motor and explore, but it sounds like I would have had problems launching and running it. That would have been frustrating after driving 3 hours. I'll definitely take the canoe and watch the river flow.
Thank you again for the information, it was very helpful. After seeing your photos, I am stoked about getting a chance to go collect some for myself.
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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 16, 2022 12:59:45 GMT -5
So I'm running my first patch of polish in my new Lot-o and it started great, but after about 24 hours I have almost no movement. I think it's possible I may have added to much water, but I've only been squirting in very small amounts at a time with a spray bottle. I started yesterday morning with 1 tbsp of borax and 1/2 tsp of AO polish. Here's what the movement looked like when I started.
This was just like maybe 10 minutes after I started. I checked on it every couple of hours and if the movement seemed to have slowed a lot, I'd add a small squirt or two of water in and the movement would pick back up. This morning when I woke up and went to check in it, the lid had come off. I know everyone said to use rubber bands but we literally do not have any somehow. I've rigged something up now using some bungee cords. Anyway, I slowly added some water back in, and I thought everything was fine. We ran some errands and I checked it again when we got home. There's still movement, but it's very slow. Here's what it looks like now.
Being new to the Lot-o, I don't have any experience with it. I'm tempted to just rinse everything out and add more polish, especially since it doesn't use much. I may have added to much water this morning, so for now I'm letting it run with the lid off.
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Post by Rockindad on Jan 16, 2022 14:02:05 GMT -5
So I'm running my first patch of polish in my new Lot-o and it started great, but after about 24 hours I have almost no movement. I think it's possible I may have added to much water, but I've only been squirting in very small amounts at a time with a spray bottle. I started yesterday morning with 1 tbsp of borax and 1/2 tsp of AO polish. Here's what the movement looked like when I started. This was just like maybe 10 minutes after I started. I checked on it every couple of hours and if the movement seemed to have slowed a lot, I'd add a small squirt or two of water in and the movement would pick back up. This morning when I woke up and went to check in it, the lid had come off. I know everyone said to use rubber bands but we literally do not have any somehow. I've rigged something up now using some bungee cords. Anyway, I slowly added some water back in, and I thought everything was fine. We ran some errands and I checked it again when we got home. There's still movement, but it's very slow. Here's what it looks like now. Being new to the Lot-o, I don't have any experience with it. I'm tempted to just rinse everything out and add more polish, especially since it doesn't use much. I may have added to much water this morning, so for now I'm letting it run with the lid off. Too much water. Your polish and borax are sitting in a puddle at the bottom of the barrel. Using the recipe you listed you only need to spritz when the borax/polish noticeably thickens up to a paste-like consistency. Your rocks are coming back to the top almost clean instead of everything having an even coating. Stick with it, it takes some getting used to.
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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 16, 2022 14:11:56 GMT -5
> To much water
What's the best solution to that? Just rinse it out and start over?
EDIT: Just went out and looked. It's been running for about 2 hours with the lid off and the action is noticeably better than the 2nd video.
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Post by Rockindad on Jan 16, 2022 14:23:08 GMT -5
> To much water What's the best solution to that? Just rinse it out and start over? EDIT: Just went out and looked. It's been running for about 2 hours with the lid off and the action is noticeably better than the 2nd video. Generally speaking starting over is easiest but as you have seen letting evaporation do its thing can also work as long as you are not too soaked. Adding a bit more borax can do the trick as well but only experience will tell you how much is just right.
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saxplayer
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since March 2018
Posts: 1,327
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Post by saxplayer on Jan 16, 2022 16:29:50 GMT -5
The main issue with no movement is the rocks sitting standstill and vibrating against each other causing fractures / spalls etc. That's my main concern when it dries out and stops running (or is too wet and isn't running).
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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 16, 2022 17:56:33 GMT -5
Well, I ended up not resetting. I let it run for a few hours with the lid off and added about 1/4 tsp of borax. It's running much better. This is pretty much how it was running when I went to bed last night.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Jan 16, 2022 18:00:54 GMT -5
Well, I ended up not resetting. I let it run for a few hours with the lid off and added about 1/4 tsp of borax. It's running much better. This is pretty much how it was running when I went to bed last night. Next time you add water, do a squirt and then wait for it to cycle around. If it needs another squirt, give it another, but then wait again. It's easy to add water too fast. As you have discovered, it's harder to take it back out.
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rickfl
starting to shine!
Member since January 2022
Posts: 28
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Post by rickfl on Jan 17, 2022 11:26:51 GMT -5
> To much water What's the best solution to that? Just rinse it out and start over? EDIT: Just went out and looked. It's been running for about 2 hours with the lid off and the action is noticeably better than the 2nd video. I'm glad that you posted your problem above. I ran into the same problem yesterday that you did. I had sprayed too much water and ended up with a thick mix down at the bottom. I didn't see the comment I quoted about letting it run with the lid off, so I emptied it, cleaned out and started over yesterday evening. I've been careful about adding water. This morning it was thickening up, so I gave it one very light spray based on the comments above. It is definitely helpful to learn from other people.
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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 21, 2022 12:37:23 GMT -5
Just realized I never posted my update. So like I mentioned above, I let it run for a bit with the lid off and added 1/4 tsp of more borax. Here's what the movement looked like later that day. So definitely much better. If you want to see the end result of this, I posted pictures over here.
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