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I AM INTRESTED IN PURCHASING A COIN TUMBLER, I HEAR THE RUBBER BARRELLS SOMETIMES SMELL BAD AND SOME SEEM TO GET HOT, IS IT ANY TRUTH TO THIS. ALSO WHAT TUMBLER WOULD YOU SUGGEST BASE ON YOUR PERSONAL EXPIERENCE. ANY ADVISE A PLUS. THANKYOU
Rubber barrell but if you clean after every use. No smells....... Keep clean gravel.Change every few months if you tumble small amounts at a time..If more often then change rocks more often.
Use two diffferent sets of stones for Silver/Clad....... and then the other batch for copper..
I have had my Lortone model 3a tumbler for close to 20 years now and it is still running strong. Buy an extra barrel, it comes in handy.
No experience with the Harbor Freight tumblers some guys use, but I'm sure it isn't the quality of the Lortone tumbler. You get what you pay for.....
I've had mine for 34 years, still going strong. After using, I always clean gravel and let gravel and tumbler air dry, never have had any odor problems. HH
John,
What type and color of gravel do you use? I have both the light brown pea gravel sold for aquariums and also the Lortone Red (for copper) and Blue (for silver) brand gravel that loses its color after several uses. I would like to see what color you use, how many times you use the same gravel and what additives do you mix in for best results and amount of time that you are tumbling for. I have never heard of anyone using a tumbler as long as you have so your feedback would be greaty appreciated.
HH - WestTn
I bought a Vibrating tumbler at Harbor freight and use Walnut shells with it. It cleans a least 5 times plus as many coins at one time. I will admit it is loud, but I close my work shop door and let it vibrate for a few hours. JMO
I use regular aquarium gravel, gray in color. I change it about every 6 months and tumble it for about 30 minutes with just water and dawn dishwashing liquid to get all the dust out before loading the first load of coins. I do tumble coins separately, quarters only, dimes only, nickles only, etc, seems to clean them better and keeps them looking more their color than turning them brown. I normally tumble the coins for a couple of hours. I use warm water and dawn liquid, just a very small squirt. Mine has many, many hours on it and still going strong. My wife says to buy a new one, not to be cheap but hey, it still works.....HH
I use a 5 lb Sears tumbler I found at a rummage sale. It has an all metal barrel, the lid I secure with a gasket and 6 wing nuts. It is a chore loading and unloading but the other day I did 5 dollars in pennies, probably overloading it some. I found a small one but dont want to bother with multiple loads. I have another 5 dollars in pennies to run, as well as in other coinage, at least another $100 to do. Ive left it out in the rain so the barrel is quite rusty. Dont know if Ill find another one like that again, big heftly motor too. CO
Joe, where do you get the walnut shells and how long do they last? I have some very dirty coins, do you pre-treat them before putting dirty coins in with the shells?
HH - WestTN
JOE in MD said:
I bought a Vibrating tumbler at Harbor freight and use Walnut shells with it. It cleans a least 5 times plus as many coins at one time. I will admit it is loud, but I close my work shop door and let it vibrate for a few hours. JMO
I started using plastic beads like they said instead of walnut shells, but then I found out that my work uses Walnut shells to clean pipes so I got a bag from work. Don't think of actual shells though. They are grounded up so small they look like kitty litter size. I Harbor freight sell it,
Are the coarse or the fine walnut shells the best for cleaning coins?
JOE in MD said:
I started using plastic beads like they said instead of walnut shells, but then I found out that my work uses Walnut shells to clean pipes so I got a bag from work. Don't think of actual shells though. They are grounded up so small they look like kitty litter size. I Harbor freight sell it,
I have wanted to try some of the stainless steel media reloaders use to clean their brass before reloading. It is expensive but it would never wear out and it does an awesome job on brass.
I looks like lead from a pencil and is various lengths. It wouldn't be cost effective unless you had a few buddies wanting some also.
