About that Harbor Freight Tumbler

[Old Katz]

Finally bought the 3Lb tumbler this weekend and trying to get used to
the best way to use it.


Last night, just before twelve midnight, I started to tumble the coins. At 5:30 this morning I stopped the machine, cleaned out the tumbler and dried the pea gravel in the microwave.
The coins came out ok but not what I expected. Some of the coins did not clean up well at all. Here is a picture of the coins before the tumbling process. Notice how dark they are. This is mineralization from being in the ground. Some of them have turned a reddish color; I have no idea why they did not go black like the others. I threw in some silver rings as well to see if there would be any noticeable difference.

I began by tumbling them for six hours but they did not look much better than before. The second tumbling session lasted from 12:00am to 5:00am, a total of five hours. This time I did something a little different; I cut back on the water. I put about four serving spoons of water in the mix and added some liquid dish soap. The coins came out much better than before but the rings (not shown in this last picture) did not look any different. If anything they actually looked dull.

However I am a little disappointed; notice that the coins in the center have shined up reasonably well while the coins on the left, right, and bottom are still blackened. It is possible that if I had let them tumble for another two hours they too would have shined up nicely.

How do YOU all clean coins in the tumbler. What is your recipe?

Katz

 

[oldranger]

Hi OldK

I use a squirt ( a LITTLE ) squirt of
dishwashing liquid and small
pea gravel..so far i cant complain about how
the coins come out i usually tumble overnite
or
if its a lousy Sat maybe 8 hrs


Ron

Rangers Lead The Way

 

[cwilk]

Some coins will never come clean. I'd say about 10 percent. I remove those from the tumbler after one round and use them at the laundromat where they usually work fine. The rest clean up nicely. It takes about 24-36 hours to clean some heavily stained coins back to bright shiny condition. Here are a few suggestions. Change the water every 4 hours or so. I use a small squirt of dish detergent. I've tried many brands, none seems to work any better than another. Laundry detergent also works. Remove the coins that meet your standard for return to circulation and add some new, dirty coins. Repeat. Use just enough water to cover the coins and gravel. Smaller batches seem to work better. About 30 bucks in dimes and quarters mixed. Ten dollars in nickels is a good batch. I reckon that is about a pound and a half of coins. Keep coppers separate. I do them in batches of 300 and only for about 2-3 hours which is long enough. I generally start my tumbler on Saturday night and by Monday morning they're all ready for the bank. I usually process $60 - $80 every other weekend. Experiment around. Maybe you'll find a better method. I tried tumbling a batch for 48 hours once. The coins got very dull. A few three hour tumbles with clean water polished them right up.

I would NOT tumble any rings. Use a jeweler's cloth or wheel.

My two cents. Possibly worth at least that.

Chris

 

[ohio fred]

I use a little dawn dish soap and harbor tumbler for a few hours and they come out pretty clean.Try not to use any thing that would cause a gas to build up in tumbler it way blow top off.You could also pre soak them while you set tumbler up to clean them.

 

[BusDigger]

I clean them the same way (with the exception of using aquarium gravel, the pea gravel may be too smooth?), but just to get the majority of the crud off them......they still spend the same

BTW, I replaced the belt on a friends HF tumbler with one of similar size made for a sweeper, only modification was notching the flange next to the belt (sweeper belt requires more clearance). Not sure if they still have belt problems but the HF tumblers were notorious for eating belts.

Just out of curiosity....why do you "dry" the gravel in the microwave? And as a warning, generally rocks & heat don't play well together (and can explode)....so be careful around them.

Smitty

 

[Old Katz]

I just heat them for about 45 seconds, run my hand through them, let them dry
then again, maybe four or five times, then I put the gravel back in the bag with the other new gravel.
I suppose it isn't necessary though. I could just let it sit out over night.

 

[Uncle Willy]

Throw a half of a brillo pad in with your cleaning solution.

Bill

 

[Uncle Willy]

Yeah pea gravel is way too smooth. You need someting with a "bite" to it.

Bill

 

[Mat in MA]

[size=large]I have to agree with Oldranger and Ohio Fred. I just use aquarium gravel and a squirt of dish detergent in my HF tumbler along with WARM WATER. I feel that the warm water cleans better than cold. Depending on the coins they get clean in under an hour.

I then dump the contents in an old colander and rinse clean. If they are still too dirty I do it over again.[/size]

 

[fishercz20]

Use the Orange soap detergent.

 

[Terra1959]

Hi Katz,

I have good results in 1-2 hours on Aussie nickel silver coins
I agree that you need something with more bite to it.
I use coarse beach sand (washed free from salt), a dash of white vinegar , a dash of detergent and as little water as possible
just enough water to have the coins nicely tumbling over.

Proper tumbling grit is the better than sand though.
It comes in various grades of coarseness and from lapidary stores, it is moderate in cost
happy tumbling

T59

 

[Clad2Hunt]

I just roll them and put a few newer ones on both ends. I tried the tumbler and by the time you add electricity and time there goes your profit margin.

 

[Old Katz]

I am amazed!!!!!!!!!!

I tumbled some more clad, dirty stuff, and used vinegar instead of water,
plus a dash of dish washing liquid. I did let the clad soak over night in
the vinegar. I imagine that helped.

After 12 hours the clad came out looking like it was fresh from the mint!
A am truly amazed!!!!!!!

Katz

 

[kag56]

Crushed Corn Cobb got it at Wal Mart pet department and a of caps full of a liquid car polish

 

[mitto]

I mean no disrespect to all who tumble their coins, but why is this done. Are there banks or stores who will not accept them. I guess I have never had an issue spending them once all of the dirt is rinsed off. Vending machines don't seem to take offense.

Just wondering. I'm really not trying to be a smart a**

 

[Old Katz]

There are some banks that don't want it because they don't want to give it as change to
their customers. When it is a dirty as the stuff I find in the ground, many banks consider it
defaced and will not take it. There is a bank across the street from me that will take it and
send it to feds but most out here complain about having to deal with it. It's at their
discretion. Some stores will complain as well. I went to Wal-Mart and bought a couple dollars
worth of things and the cashier just looked at it for a moment and then at me. She took it but grudgingly.
Katz

 

[mitto]

I was just curious. i just usually just plug the vending machines or parking meters with it.

 

[antibeous]

I always used a little electrolysis doodad I made out of a 18 volt power cord and some little clamps.