Wet tumbler safety I had never thought of......

[BowWow]

Like a lot of people, I load my wet tumbler in the garage, basement, patio or whatever and walk away from it. I was about 2 steps away from walking back into the house and I hear the tumbler motor bog down. The power cord had gotten caught between the roller and the drum. I imagine that would have eventually rubbed the insulation off and then got down to the copper wiring. Pay attention!

I had never even thought about this possibly happening.

 

[falconew]

Luckily for me my cord is just long enough to reach the outlet in the garage the it about 3 ft up the wall. So it’s actually stretched out.

But yeah that could of gone bad. But hopefully it would just pop a breaker and nothing else

 

[Harold2689]

My mishap wasn't nearly as possibly dangerous as it was just a big mess.

I usually tumble on the kitchen counter, right next to the sink. I always use the hottest water my water heater can muster, then seal the container, shake it up, then relieve any pressure inside by pushing in on the bottom of the tumbling container. That creates a LOWER internal pressure, and I've never had a problem. I don't know what happened this one time, but enough pressure built up inside the container to pop the lid off. From the other room, the tumbler just started sounding a little "different." When I checked on it, there was brass and stainless steel pins all over the kitchen floor. The brass was easy enough to pick up, and you'd think that with a magnet, the pins would be too. Not so much... We picked up stray pins here and there for months. Now, I still tumble on the kitchen counter, but I have since found a small dish tub that the whole tumbler fits in, and tumble away. It's never happened since then, but if it ever does again, at least everything will be contained in the tub.

 

[Harold2689]

My mishap wasn't nearly as possibly dangerous as it was just a big mess.

I usually tumble on the kitchen counter, right next to the sink. I always use the hottest water my water heater can muster, then seal the container, shake it up, then relieve any pressure inside by pushing in on the bottom of the tumbling container. That creates a LOWER internal pressure, and I've never had a problem. I don't know what happened this one time, but enough pressure built up inside the container to pop the lid off. From the other room, the tumbler just started sounding a little "different." When I checked on it, there was brass and stainless steel pins all over the kitchen floor. The brass was easy enough to pick up, and you'd think that with a magnet, the pins would be too. Not so much... We picked up stray pins here and there for months. Now, I still tumble on the kitchen counter, but I have since found a small dish tub that the whole tumbler fits in, and tumble away. It's never happened since then, but if it ever does again, at least everything will be contained in the tub.

I spoke too soon...

Today I deprimed about three hundred .38 special/357 mag cases, and started tumbling them. I had both of the rubber barrels loaded with about 75 cases in each, with SS pins, ArmorAll Wash, and Wax, and a little lemiShine. I started the tumbler on the kitchen counter, as I always do, and came in the computer room. About a half hour later, BAM!!! then silence...

The small tub I so proudly used to contain everything had no friction under it, and on a granite countertop, had absolutely nothing to keep it in place as both tumbler barrels spun. The vibration of the whole setup walked the dish tub and tumbler to the edge of the counter, and everything wound up on the kitchen floor... Again...


What a mess!!!

There were SS pins and brass everywhere!


My wife and I cleaned it all up, and I started it all up again, but this time, in the laundry room... ON THE FLOOR!!!


It's running right now, and if anything goes wrong again it should stay contained within the dish tub.

There was even a part of the tumbler in the dog's water dish. She made herself scarce in the dining room, least she get blamed for any part of it.

We gave both of her dishes a thorough cleaning, and she's good to go.

I'll bet we'll be picking up stray SS pins for a while in the future...

 

[BowWow]

Oh man ! At least it's just dirty water. Frankford Arsenal makes a magnet for pickup up the pins, and it's not very expensive. Well worth it!

 

[Harold2689]

Oh man ! At least it's just dirty water. Frankford Arsenal makes a magnet for pickup up the pins, and it's not very expensive. Well worth it!

I have a magnet to pick up the pins, and got all that we could see... But I'm sure there's still plenty that are still lurking around on the floor...

After I put the tumbler on the floor there was no vibration, and it didn't budge a bit. Why did it "walk" across the counter, but not across the floor?

Anyway, the brass cleaned up beautifully.

 

[Toprudder]

I spoke too soon...

Today I deprimed about three hundred .38 special/357 mag cases, and started tumbling them. I had both of the rubber barrels loaded with about 75 cases in each, with SS pins, ArmorAll Wash, and Wax, and a little lemiShine. I started the tumbler on the kitchen counter, as I always do, and came in the computer room. About a half hour later, BAM!!! then silence...

The small tub I so proudly used to contain everything had no friction under it, and on a granite countertop, had absolutely nothing to keep it in place as both tumbler barrels spun. The vibration of the whole setup walked the dish tub and tumbler to the edge of the counter, and everything wound up on the kitchen floor... Again...

View attachment 551035
What a mess!!!

There were SS pins and brass everywhere!
View attachment 551036

My wife and I cleaned it all up, and I started it all up again, but this time, in the laundry room... ON THE FLOOR!!!
View attachment 551040

It's running right now, and if anything goes wrong again it should stay contained within the dish tub.

There was even a part of the tumbler in the dog's water dish. She made herself scarce in the dining room, least she get blamed for any part of it.

We have both of her dishes a thorough cleaning, and she's good to go.

I'll bet we'll be picking up stray SS pins for a while in the future...

I will make a suggestion to elevate the tumbler off the bottom of the tub. If the tumbler rests directly on the bottom of the tub and the barrels leak, it might be possible for the water level to reach the motor. I would also make sure it is plugged into a GFCI protected outlet.

 

[Harold2689]

I will make a suggestion to elevate the tumbler off the bottom of the tub. If the tumbler rests directly on the bottom of the tub and the barrels leak, it might be possible for the water level to reach the motor. I would also make sure it is plugged into a GFCI protected outlet.

Point well taken. I was toying with the idea of adding rubber feet to the metal base of the tumbler. I'll definitely do it now. And, yes, that outlet as well as all the outlets in the kitchen are GFI protected...