Stone
Contributor
Has anyone on SB built a DIY tank tumbler?
DIY Tank Tumbler
- Thread starter Stone
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Dectek
Guest
One of them is Vance. He shows how in his Oxyen hackers Companion available at Airspeed press. I would be surprised if mddolson or UP has not made one. rmediver2002 has posted some information about tumbling tanks so you may want to PM him.
OP
Stone
Contributor
Due to the variability in motors and materials one can use, Vance keeps the directions very top level.
My specific question is: What's a good distance between the power roller and idler roller? Assumes 7.25 and 8 inch diameter tanks.
My best engineering estimate is to keep the rollers as close together as stability allows, but rules-of-thumb derived from experience are usually better in DIY applications.
My specific question is: What's a good distance between the power roller and idler roller? Assumes 7.25 and 8 inch diameter tanks.
My best engineering estimate is to keep the rollers as close together as stability allows, but rules-of-thumb derived from experience are usually better in DIY applications.
Dectek
Guest
Maybe others will be able give you more information as to how they do it but I called a friend that used to tumble tanks and he said that the distance was not really that important. He said that their tumbler was very adjustable for doing different size tanks. Dave told me that :
The faster you turn....move the idler roller away to avoid a tank from climbing over the roller and rolling away. Remember the farther away the idler roller is, the faster it turns and the better the bearings must be but speed is not the goal. He said that the distance is not a biggie as long as they are close enough to keep the tank from falling out the bottom. When I pressed to nail him down on a measurement he said somewhere between 3 and 7 inches.
Now that I just spent time typing out what I was repeatedly told was not an issue and just about any distance between zero and total tank diameter would work..... I realized I answered no questions.
How are you at eye balling a measurement? There is a tank tumbler halfway down this page at Deep-Six
A DIY tumbler can be seen at Deeper stuff
The faster you turn....move the idler roller away to avoid a tank from climbing over the roller and rolling away. Remember the farther away the idler roller is, the faster it turns and the better the bearings must be but speed is not the goal. He said that the distance is not a biggie as long as they are close enough to keep the tank from falling out the bottom. When I pressed to nail him down on a measurement he said somewhere between 3 and 7 inches.
Now that I just spent time typing out what I was repeatedly told was not an issue and just about any distance between zero and total tank diameter would work..... I realized I answered no questions.
How are you at eye balling a measurement? There is a tank tumbler halfway down this page at Deep-Six
A DIY tumbler can be seen at Deeper stuff
chris_b
Contributor
Pretty sure FredT has, you might PM him and ask.
OP
Stone
Contributor
Thanks for the input. I have seen the "Deeper Stuff" write-up and may incorporate the "floorplate with set screw" idea for connecting the power roller to the shaft.
As an aside, this statement doesn't make sense to me (if we are talking about the distance of the power roller from the idler):
The rpm of the power roller determines the rpm of the tank - which determines the rpm of the idler roller; therefore, the idler could touch the tank on any point on the tank's circumference and it would have the same rpm, i.e., the distance between power roller and idler doesn't influence the rpm (speed) of the idler. That being said, the diameter of the idler will affect the rpm and bearing selection.
By the way, my motor rpm, pulley ratio, and power roller diameter will give me about 35 rpm on the tank. I am using skateboard wheels (still attached to the "trucks" as the idler rollers).
As an aside, this statement doesn't make sense to me (if we are talking about the distance of the power roller from the idler):
The rpm of the power roller determines the rpm of the tank - which determines the rpm of the idler roller; therefore, the idler could touch the tank on any point on the tank's circumference and it would have the same rpm, i.e., the distance between power roller and idler doesn't influence the rpm (speed) of the idler. That being said, the diameter of the idler will affect the rpm and bearing selection.
By the way, my motor rpm, pulley ratio, and power roller diameter will give me about 35 rpm on the tank. I am using skateboard wheels (still attached to the "trucks" as the idler rollers).
FredT
Guest
Try to kep the tank contact angles to the rollers at about 45° off of vertical. This causes the tank to "settle in' and not want to jump out, and also minimizes the middle idler or drive roller size if building a "double". I built my tumbler to accept tanks from 4" to 12" in diameter. 4" allows tumbling of pony's and small medical O2 bottle, 12" allos me to use a large pipe "barrel" to tumble small metal objects (rifle brass and other parts.) Actual spacing of the roller centerlines will depend on the roller diameters available. A bit of trig will work out the exact centers you need.
If you can allow a 10" or 12" cylinder longer than the tumbler is wide to fit on it. That will allow cleaning of storage bottles. Bearings should be sized to handle a 1000# load if storage bottles are in your future as it's hard to place them on the thing "gently".
I have seen everything from air motors to purpose built high torque gearmotors and motors scavenged from fans, washing machines and dryers powering tumblers. As long at it will turn the drive shaft it'll work if you can hang it on the frame correctly. I have a scavenged 90 RPM sealed explosion proof reversing gearmotor I'm planning to adapt for a wet "flushing" tumbler. It came to me without any wiring specs so I have a bit of homework to do on wiring that one. Try for a final tank RPM of about 60 for the most comon size of bottle to be tumbled. If you fill the tank to be tumbled about 1/3 full of media you should hear the media fall inside the tank. If it slides you are going too slow, if it stays pinned to the outside of the tank you age going too fast. that gravity vs centrifigal force thing comes into effect there. You want the rotation to bring the media "almost" up to center, but let gravity bring it down. Variable speed drives are nice to maximize the tumbling action on the various diameters of tanks, but way too expensive for tumblers unless you are using a variable diameter pully on the driver.
FT
If you can allow a 10" or 12" cylinder longer than the tumbler is wide to fit on it. That will allow cleaning of storage bottles. Bearings should be sized to handle a 1000# load if storage bottles are in your future as it's hard to place them on the thing "gently".
I have seen everything from air motors to purpose built high torque gearmotors and motors scavenged from fans, washing machines and dryers powering tumblers. As long at it will turn the drive shaft it'll work if you can hang it on the frame correctly. I have a scavenged 90 RPM sealed explosion proof reversing gearmotor I'm planning to adapt for a wet "flushing" tumbler. It came to me without any wiring specs so I have a bit of homework to do on wiring that one. Try for a final tank RPM of about 60 for the most comon size of bottle to be tumbled. If you fill the tank to be tumbled about 1/3 full of media you should hear the media fall inside the tank. If it slides you are going too slow, if it stays pinned to the outside of the tank you age going too fast. that gravity vs centrifigal force thing comes into effect there. You want the rotation to bring the media "almost" up to center, but let gravity bring it down. Variable speed drives are nice to maximize the tumbling action on the various diameters of tanks, but way too expensive for tumblers unless you are using a variable diameter pully on the driver.
FT
Dectek
Guest
We were also talking about making the drive end of the roller a cone shape and the farther out you pushed the driven wheel on the cone the fast it would roll. That part of the conversation had nothing to do with your question in the post.
Sorry I was typing faster than I was thinking.
pcscuba
Contributor
Maybe I'm just stupid but what is the purpose of a tank tumbler?
FredT
Guest
With the proper media and solutions they can be used to quickly and easily oxygen clean the inside of either aluminum or steel tanks.
They are also used to remove corrosion products from aluminum tanks and rust from steel tanks prior to performing a visual inspection.
I also use mine, with a purpose built drum, to polish or deburr several types of small metal products including plate harness hardware and ammunition casings prior to reloading them.
FT
They are also used to remove corrosion products from aluminum tanks and rust from steel tanks prior to performing a visual inspection.
I also use mine, with a purpose built drum, to polish or deburr several types of small metal products including plate harness hardware and ammunition casings prior to reloading them.
FT
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