malduin
starting to shine!
Member since June 2022
Posts: 29
|
Post by malduin on Jul 1, 2022 19:36:20 GMT -5
First time Lot-O user here and feel my Lot-O action is on the slow side. Here are the steps I have gone through : - Mounted to painted and cement filled cinder block, placed on a rubber mat on a table (not so sturdy)
- Followed juggler's Stage 1 process and recipe to the letter
- Noticed very slow rock movement
- Noticed dowel placement matching juggler's new Lot-O
- Decided this had to be the issue and moved dowel to edge of frame start (same position as jugglers)
- No noticeable improvement
- Read some threads about how you should place on a flimsy table (like mine)
- Also noticed my load was 2 inches from lid instead of the recommended 1 inch so I added ceramics to bring it up
- Also placed block directly on garage floor
- Came back later and noticed improvement (not sure if table was problem or low load was problem)
- Put back on table and came back later and it looked slower
- Back to floor
- A tad better on the floor but still slower than what I see from others... I think?
Suggestions?
|
|
|
Post by As I in does tries! on Jul 2, 2022 9:36:03 GMT -5
1: Too much mud, a squirt water should fix it, the mud should resemble a thin batter thus too much grit.
2: Your stones all appear on the large side; you should only have one or two large stones.
|
|
jimaz
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2018
Posts: 463
|
Post by jimaz on Jul 2, 2022 10:22:58 GMT -5
I thought movement looks pretty good. May want to remove a couple of the larger rocks. For 120-220 grit I use 1 tbs, after that I use 1/4 tsp.
|
|
malduin
starting to shine!
Member since June 2022
Posts: 29
|
Post by malduin on Jul 2, 2022 14:32:11 GMT -5
I decided to check everything over and discovered a loose bolt connecting the frame to the back double springs. While I was at it, I replaced the dowel since it was a bit beat up and also tightened the fan clips. They were pretty loose and were causing the fans to get out of sync. I restarted the 120/220 with the same load and immediately noticed better movement though I really need to see how it moves once the slurry thickens up. Fingers crossed. If this does not work, I will try adjusting my load and reducing grit as suggested. I am trying to limit the number of variables that I change...
|
|
waterboysh
spending too much on rocks
Member since April 2021
Posts: 386
|
Post by waterboysh on Jul 6, 2022 11:47:19 GMT -5
Probably need to adjust your dowel. Check out this post I made a few months ago.
|
|
malduin
starting to shine!
Member since June 2022
Posts: 29
|
Post by malduin on Jul 6, 2022 12:42:45 GMT -5
Yeah waterboysh, I adjusted the dowel to the same location that yours is at. But just like phixer in your thread, mine was running slowere at factory dowel setting and better at the newly adjusted dowel location but still slower than yours. What I am finding is that I need to rotate my barrel multiple times a day to get back to good action. But it only stays good for an unpredictable amount of time and eventually slows down. Water is not the problem in mine and the barrel rotation is the only thing that seems to work at this point. Sometimes I just need to rotate it a quarter turn or so. Also, in many of your videos I see your barrel oscillating, mine has NEVER done that. I am left wondering, like phixer, if they changed the motor or something and it isn't as strong as the previous one...
|
|
waterboysh
spending too much on rocks
Member since April 2021
Posts: 386
|
Post by waterboysh on Jul 8, 2022 10:34:01 GMT -5
Also, in many of your videos I see your barrel oscillating, mine has NEVER done that. So... that is a byproduct of having one of my fans not being straight and wobbling back and forth. You can really see it in this video I took using the slow-mo 120fps option on my phone. This is probably a bad thing and I'm pretty sure one of the main causes of my premature motor failure. On the inside of the motor is a spring washer. Mine broke. I suspect it was because of the side to side motion that wobbly fan was causing. Idealy, there should be no side to side motion going on. I just received my new spring in the mail yesterday and put the motor back together, but I am going to order a fan replacement as well. So my lot-o is still out of commission. Once I am done, I plan on making a new post with either a success or failure report. I'm really hoping I won't have to buy a new motor (which doesn't come with the fans anyway so there's not really any risk in going ahead and ordering new ones).
|
|
malduin
starting to shine!
Member since June 2022
Posts: 29
|
Post by malduin on Jul 8, 2022 19:32:11 GMT -5
Well, I wish you good luck on your motor and hope you have a successful report! My problems continue as I have to rotate the barrel at smaller time increments as I get closer to the end of a stage. After my first batch completes (tomorrow), I am going to try a new batch and if the problem persists I will have to call the company because I should not have to rotate the barrel every half hour!!!!!
|
|
CLErocks
spending too much on rocks
Member since October 2021
Posts: 342
|
Post by CLErocks on Jul 8, 2022 19:37:01 GMT -5
First time Lot-O user here and feel my Lot-O action is on the slow side. Here are the steps I have gone through : - Mounted to painted and cement filled cinder block, placed on a rubber mat on a table (not so sturdy)
- Followed juggler's Stage 1 process and recipe to the letter
- Noticed very slow rock movement
- Noticed dowel placement matching juggler's new Lot-O
- Decided this had to be the issue and moved dowel to edge of frame start (same position as jugglers)
- No noticeable improvement
- Read some threads about how you should place on a flimsy table (like mine)
- Also noticed my load was 2 inches from lid instead of the recommended 1 inch so I added ceramics to bring it up
- Also placed block directly on garage floor
- Came back later and noticed improvement (not sure if table was problem or low load was problem)
- Put back on table and came back later and it looked slower
- Back to floor
- A tad better on the floor but still slower than what I see from others... I think?
Suggestions?
I’d wait and see results before you get too worried. My “action” is often slower…but I’m super happy with results. So just run a few batches before switching everything up. If you’re not happy, THEN , make changes. Just my 2 cents.
|
|
malduin
starting to shine!
Member since June 2022
Posts: 29
|
Post by malduin on Jul 10, 2022 7:54:42 GMT -5
Completed my first ever batch after much babysitting of the lotto. Many of the rocks that I would have expected a perfect shine show tiny light gray spots, similar to really tiny hard water stains. Though, after further inspection, these gray spots appear to just be where the shine did not "take". Some rocks have tiny undercutting spots but those are on rocks that are susceptible to that like the quartzites (maybe some grains a tad softer than surrounding ones). Is there any way to fix the dull spots? What stage would I need to go back to if I wanted to correct this and attain a glass like finish? Attaching a pic of the batch I ran becuase I also want to make sure if the load I ran may have caused the slowness in my Lot-O, I did have a lot of oval and oblong rocks in comparison to other sizes, would that have contributed? Thanks! First Batch
|
|