Stinking Rock Tumbler

Ray S ECenFL · Dec 29, 2007

No kidding. I have been using a Lortone, model 3a, single barrel tumbler for many years and have been very satisfied with its performance. Yesterday I purchased a Chicago double barrel tumbler from Harbor Freight. It works just fine except the rubber containers have a very strong offensive odor. I tried cleaning them with ammonia, soap and water etc... They still smell.

I am seeking suggestion on how to cure this smelly problem. Any ideas?

The two tumblers are currently banished to the back yard to air out. My wife had been complaining about the bad smell in the garage ( that is my play room). The odor is very strong. Please Help.

Thanks.
Ray S

Patrol · Dec 29, 2007

Ditto! My wife bought me one for Christmas and it stinks! I ran it for 8 hrs. The next time I used it the belt broke. Looked like a very old and dried out belt. I put in the replacement belt and it is now working fine except for the smell.

If you find a solution to the stink let me know. Mine is a single barrel so it only stinks half as much.

TE

OkieMike · Dec 29, 2007

I just bought one about 30 min. ago.It smells like a box of moth balls.I washed the rubber barrel with toothpaste and that helped some.

Ray S ECenFL · Dec 30, 2007

Daydream,

LOL Yours only smells half as much. LOL

OkieMike,

Mothballs is putting it mildly. If you come up with a way to kill the smell please feel free to share.

I have currently saturated both rubber drums with a scented anti bacterial spray and will leave them out overnight to air out.

If it helps any with that 'mothball' smell I will let you know.

Ray S.

SomeGuy · Dec 30, 2007

I would try coating the outside of the drum with shellac to seal in the stink.

echostar61 · Dec 30, 2007

You guys are right,I have one and after over a month of daily use (I tumbled rocks) it still smelled as bad as day one.I thought it was maybe the grit that made the smell worse :P . And they are belt eaters.

Terri

RON (PA) · Dec 30, 2007

I use scented dish soap and ammonia each time I use it. That has cut down on the smell a bit. When I got mine, it was still summer. I put it on the window sill (with the window open) and let it air out. I think that helped the most. When I opened the box, the smell, was foul. Never smelled anything like it before.

borninok · Dec 30, 2007

Just out of curiosity....has anyone called Harbor Freight and told them of the smell? Maybe they might have a solution to the problem....or maybe it's a factory defect that needs correcting. Just a thought. I was thinking seriously of getting one...now I think I will hold off and look around.
--Mel

borninok

warsawdaddy · Dec 30, 2007

I bought one (single drum),2yrs ago but have never opened it yet.Still out in the garage.You guys are gonna make me go out and open it.BTW,a good tip some time back was that on the Harbor Freight tumblers,when the belt breaks,just replace it with a wide rubber band.Works great and you can buy a pkg of those rubber bands at lots of places.

Ray S ECenFL · Dec 30, 2007

warsawdaddy said:
I bought one (single drum),2yrs ago but have never opened it yet.Still out in the garage.You guys are gonna make me go out and open it.BTW,a good tip some time back was that on the Harbor Freight tumblers,when the belt breaks,just replace it with a wide rubber band.Works great and you can buy a pkg of those rubber bands at lots of places.

I have read other posts concerning the belt on this unit and some people replace it with an O ring. I have not looked at the belt to see what it looks like, but an O ring sounds like a good replacement.

After spraying both drums with the anti bacterial sparay (after the scented ammonia bath) the smell has not gone away, but it does not seem to be as strong. I just finished wiping both drums down with alcohol and respraying the antibacterial spray on them again. Will let them air out overnight again.

BTW, I have two drums for my Lortone unit and they work fine on the Harbor Freight unit. I used these two drums to clean my finds for the year.

If I can not get the stink out of the drums an alternative it to purchase replacement drums for a Lortone unit. Hate to have to do that, but it is an option. I have price them out and most places sell them for $20. I have found one place that has them for $10.

http://www.jatayu.com/Merchant2/mer...TPO-0647&Category_Code=TPO-LR&Product_Count=7

Ray S

Ray S ECenFL · Dec 30, 2007

borninok said:
Just out of curiosity....has anyone called Harbor Freight and told them of the smell? Maybe they might have a solution to the problem....or maybe it's a factory defect that needs correcting. Just a thought. I was thinking seriously of getting one...now I think I will hold off and look around.
--Mel

borninok

borninok,

I will attempt to contact Harbor Freight about this and see what they say. Thanks for the suggestion.

Ray S.

Ray S ECenFL · Dec 30, 2007

Sent an email to Harbor Freight. Can only call Mon - Fri.

If nothing else, they are now aware of the problem.

Perhaps we can get everyone with one of these units, who is having this problem, to contact Harbor Freight. Strength in numbers.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/cs.taf?f=mail&to=cs@harborfreight.com

Ray S.

Boobydoo · Dec 30, 2007

These smells are caused from hydrolysed proteins, sulphur bearing amino acids and the foul smelling volatile fatty acids trapped in the autocoagulated rubbers. Once the rubber has been cured, these smells are basically locked into the compound.

The best bet would be to scrub it up with a commercially available antibacterial detergent, preferably one with an attractive smell.

You might wan't to put an air freshener product, maybe the plug in type, near it out in the garage to also mask the odor.

It's a horrid smell huh... similar to baby poop maybe

Good luck!
BDoo

borninok · Dec 31, 2007

"...caused from hydrolysed proteins, sulphur bearing amino acids and the foul smelling volatile fatty acids trapped in the autocoagulated rubbers."

What's that you say, Bdoo? Ha/ha There you go again...using 50 cent words for.................IT STINKS LIKE BABY POO!

Happy New Year!

Thanks, Ray, for sending the email. I'm going to hold off on ordering one at this time. It's really strange....all of the threads on tumblers...yet this is the first one that tells me I will have to put up with a stinch...ha/ha
---Mel

borninok

SC_hunter · Dec 31, 2007

Just a thought..anyone tried soaking them in Lemon juice for a spell...Sure cuts the smell of fish...

Shortstack · Jan 1, 2008

You say they are rubber containers?? If so, then they are still curing. Rubber and vinyl products will continue to cure or "gas off" for a long time. If the items are boxed up for shipment, that only extends the curing time. While driving for a large national trucking company, I found that out first hand. I'd picked up a shipment of auto parts and when I reached the receiver, we discovered that about 4 dozen vinyl floor mats were included that were not ordered. They rode in the right floorboard of my truck until I could get to one of our terminals and man did they stink. They were still "gassing off".

I believe if you can accelerate the curing, the smell will go away. If you can "cook" them a bit in a simple homemade solar oven, maybe that would finish the "gassing off" a lot quicker. Make a simple solar oven with a cardboard box lined inside with aluminum foil. Crumble the foil then open it out again first so it will have a rough, wrinkled surface. You'll need a box large enough to allow plenty of room all around the tumbler can for hot air to freely circulate. Place a piece of clear glass or Plexiglas on the open top. If you put a brick in the center of the bottom of the box for the rubber drum to sit on, the drum will be more in the heat zone. Place the box in the sun where the sunshine can come in through the glass top and bounce around off of the aluminum foil and it will heat up nicely. As a matter of fact, you can get temps up to as high as 400 degrees F.---enough to bake a chicken or roast. So you will need to monitor the temp. Adjust the glass top to allow some venting. Too high of temps will melt the rubber. You want the heat to be high enough to cure the rubber, but low enough to prevent melting it. Believe it or not, even though we're all getting some real low temps now, the sun shining through the glass and bouncing off of the foil WILL give you the high temps--even in the middle of winter. If you have a storm door for your home with a removable glass panel, "borrow" the panel for this project and save some money. (unless you break the panel, ::)

, then you're on your own)

Ray S ECenFL · Jan 1, 2008

borninok said:
"...caused from hydrolysed proteins, sulphur bearing amino acids and the foul smelling volatile fatty acids trapped in the autocoagulated rubbers."

What's that you say, Bdoo? Ha/ha There you go again...using 50 cent words for.................IT STINKS LIKE BABY POO!

Happy New Year!

Thanks, Ray, for sending the email. I'm going to hold off on ordering one at this time. It's really strange....all of the threads on tumblers...yet this is the first one that tells me I will have to put up with a stinch...ha/ha
---Mel

borninok

Checked email today and no reply yet. Will let you know what they say when (if) they reply.

Ray S.

Patrol · Jan 1, 2008

I have had mine a few months now and finally the stench has subsided! I guess it has cured and the thing stopped stinking overnight. Hooray for little victories.

TE

Ray S ECenFL · Jan 2, 2008

I received a reply to my email, telling me that they received my email and to call their Customer Service (technical) dept. I will do that, but have to go back to work tonight in about 15 minutes. (Worked all day also)

Will keep you all posted. My tumblers have been airing out for a few days and the smell does not seem to be as strong. I will give it a few more days of airing out.

Ray S.

downindixie · Jan 2, 2008

Air is probably the best bet.Adding chemicals or perfumes might just add to the problem.I have one and it stinks.The problem with mine is that once it starts warming up the barrel slows down and eventually stops.