I made a new tumbler!

[44man]

I thought you would like to see my new one. It would probably hold 50,000 cases but who knows? It took a day and a half because I could not find my chain. I finally took one off my old mower.

[44man]

I thought I would get a thousand comments!
I am pulling your leg guys! That is one of my water tanks that needs a liner change but it has rust inside. I rigged this up and dumped some sand and gravel in it to remove the rust. I will clean it out and pour some paint in and roll it around, let it dry good and put in the new liner.
Even I don't have THAT much brass.

[Nueces]

It's still a cool lash-up. Was cooking an omelette, or I'd have seen it in time to get my leg pulled.

Mark

[montana_charlie]

I will clean it out and pour some paint in and roll it around, let it dry good and put in the new liner.
About ten years ago, I picked up a three-bottle kit in a motorcycle shop that creates an epoxy-coated interior in gas tanks, and other containers.
You'll find it more durable than paint, and might even make that new liner unnecessary.
CM

[OLPDon]

44Man
If I were you I would cut 1/3 off and make a smelter. Next take the remaining 1/3 cut top off of that and you got base rim for a nice smelter.
Don

[454PB]

How about using it to tumble the crud off of wheelweights for smelting?

[kywoodwrkr]

A now retired gunshop owner/distributor in Louisville Ky used a cement mixer as a case cleaner.
He'd shovel in sand and cases and let'er go.
He got scrap brass off the ranges at Ft Knox.
I got this information first hand so know it to be a truthful statement.
DaveP

[45nut]

When I toured Nosler a couple years ago I noticed they used cement mixers modified to polish their bullets. I think they had 9-10 in one room.

[44man]

Yeah, it would work. That moter happens to be the one I use on my cement mixer.
CM, That paint sounds interesting but the liner is needed as it is a captive air tank. There is air pressure above the liner to give us water pressure. I need a smooth surface inside to keep the liner from being scuffed and leaking. Once water gets into the air space, the tank needs replaced.
I will never figure out why these tanks are not stainless.

[Pepe Ray]

44Man,
I can't see how your tank is fab'd. I must replace tanks every 5 or 6 yrs.
I've never seen nor heard of a water pressure tank that comes apart for R/R of parts. Neither are any of my acquaintences aware of these things. Most of us older Yanks do our own stuff but are somewhat limited in knowing whats "out there".
Thanks for any thing you can tell me. Pepe Ray

[wills]

I will never figure out why these tanks are not stainless.

There would probably be too much customer resistance to the price of the first one, and once you had one they would never sell you another.

After twenty five years of living with a water well, a water well guy finally told me you have to regard de watering the tanks as routine maintenance and do it every two or three months.

[ANeat]

Heres my 5 gallon bucket; gear reduction motor tumbler. Does about 20lbs at a time.

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h165/aneat/tumbler2.jpg

[MT Gianni]

What brand is your pressure tank 44? I had one at our last place that took a replacement liner but when we went to replace it the liner cost was 85% of the cost of a new tank. It started with a C but that's all I remember. gianni.

[No_1]

It is an awfull shame that it is not a real tumbler for brass. Sundog (I think) and Felix have the MOAS (Mother Of All Smelters), Felix has done the MOAGSGB (Mother Of All Gas Check Group Buys) and you could have had the title of MOAT (Mother Of All Tumblers). If painting does not work out, then you have the start of it. Just cut/hinge a hatch on the end opposite of the motor, bolt some angle iron vains it in and you will be in there....

Robert

[Ricochet]

I'll bet some of these discarded BBQ propane tanks would make decent tumblers, with the middle part of the top with the filler valve cut out for access. Build a stand with a couple of rollers, one motor driven, to set the tank on and let it roll.

[TCLouis]

a piece of 10" or 12" PVC pipe about 18" long.
A xerox machine take off geared motor a couple of pillow block bearings and some 2X8s and I can tumble a bunch of brass at a time.

Being the cheapskate that I am the walnut media is avian bedding from Petsmart.

I do have some coated/treated media to but I tumble brass to clean, NOT polish so I seldom use it.

[44man]

That is a Sears tank. The bottom flange is screwed on and the old liner can be cut out. (Won't come out any other way.) Then the new one is folded or rolled to fit in the hole. The liner wasn't expensive and came with a new flange.
The problem is any sharp rust will shorten the life of the new liner. They are very thick but cut real easy.
The old water tanks did not have a liner, they had a foam float on top of the water and had to have the water removed from above it often. They compressed the air above the float when water was pumped in. I never did figure out what you did after draining the water out from above the float, how did the tank gain back the air pressure? You must have to drain the entire tank with the drain valve open, then close the valve to refill it.
Everyone around here has those small, blue, throwaway tanks. I don't like them because the pump runs all the time when you use water. Mine holds 32 gallons and before this one gave me trouble, I had two piggy backed for 64 gals. The pump ran longer to fill but hardly ever came on.
When the tanks are empty, they must have the turn on pressure in them above the liner, usually 30#. Those little blue ones take 28#. If you push the tire valve and water comes out, the tank is shot. Water above the liner is a nasty place for bacteria to grow too. I was getting spoiled home brew for a while until I found a leaky liner letting bad bugs into my rinse water. I no longer rinse the sterilizer from my buckets, just drain it.
I hope this helps some of you well owners, fixing stuff takes away from casting and shooting.

[schutzen]

Ricochet and others, be careful using discarded propane tanks. Propane is very difficult to purge from metal tanks, it becomes trapped in the pores of the metal. If heat is applied to the tank, the propane cooks out. The explosions resulting from hobbyists cutting/welding on propane tanks have filled many emergency rooms and funeral homes. My advice is; find a discarded air compressor tank. Most people fail to drain the water from the tank and it rusts the bottom out. A quick patch with a welder or just bolt your angle iron paddle over the hole. There are too few reloaders in the world and even fewer bullet casters. We do not need to lose any to propane explosions.

[montana_charlie]

CM, That paint sounds interesting but the liner is needed as it is a captive air tank. There is air pressure above the liner to give us water pressure.
Gotcha! I didn't realize (from the earlier description) that you were dealing with a well pressure tank. Mine has a diaphram in it that separates air from water, while yours uses the replaceable 'bladder'.
I knew those exist, but have never seen one. Kinda wondered how useful that 'repairable' feature is.

That epoxy 'liner' I described will definitely make the tank interior rustproof, but a good two-part epoxy paint...like they sell for refinishing kitchen appliances...might be a bit cheaper.

If I was you, I would tumble the tank clean (like you're doing) to take out the scale, then spray the surface rust with Ospho. It chemically changes iron oxide (rust) into a substance (can't remember the name) that is not rust...and it won't turn back into rust. The Ospho needs to have a rusty surface (without scale) to work on, and is also a good primer.

Then, to protect the remaining steel (which can rust), apply that epoxy appliance paint. If you don't end up with a rustproof interior I'll be surprised.

As for you guys with punctured bladders or torn diaphrams...
You know it has happened when your well starts running frequently, like once every minute...and only runs for a few seconds. It even happens when you are not using water.
Check the 'tire valve' on the tank for the presence of water instead of air.

To keep your system from being overworked, shut down power to the pump and drain the pressure tank. Then shoot in enough air through the valve to establish the correct precharge. If your pressure switch says 40/60, 38 pounds is about right. Use 28 pounds if you have a 30/50 switch.

Reconnect power, and your system will operate normally until the air in the top of the tank becomes saturated again. You might be able to go for two weeks before needing to repeat the purge. This gives you time to arrange for the installation of a new tank...or to wait for the UPS man if you are a 'bladder guy'.

I learned a lot of this the hard (expensive) way, but I'm happy to pass it on without monetary remuneration.
CM

[tomf52]

My son is in the water well/pump business and all the tanks we install are spun fiberglass. No more rust or rot.

[44man]

Tom, who makes and sells the spun glass tanks? I am in the eastern panhandle of WV near harpers Ferry and want to look for one.

[MT Gianni]

With well tanks the bigger the better. We have a 32 piggybacked with a 50. Making the pump run when it's on and minimizing starts which are hard on motors.

[MT Gianni]

To purge an old propane tank remove the valve and turn it upside down for a day or two then fill it with water and let it set for another couple of days. Gianni.

[pumpguy]

44man
There are two really good fiberglass tanks out there. The one I am most familiar with is a Well-Mate. They have a blow molded polyethylene coating and a chemical (chlorine) resistant bag. The only metal in the tank is the brass snifter valve on the top. The other is made by Sta-Rite. One thing people have a hard time accepting is that you should use as big a tank as possible. The bigger it is, the fewer cycles on the pump. This makes both last longer. As a rule, you want at a minimum, a tank that allows the pump to run at least one minute so the motor has a chance to cool. ie. 15 gpm pump needs a tank that has at least 15 gallons of drawdown. This is not the volume of the tank. A thirty two gallon volume tank only has about 10 gallons of drawdown with a 30/50 pressure switch and only about 8 on a 40/60. You would need a 60 gallon voume tank for a 15gpm pump minimum. Hope this helps.

[44man]

Thank you very much. I will look for them. I agree with a larger tank and is why I had these piggybacked.