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Rembetis's DIY Dry sifting contraption

Rembetis

Active member
you need a 5/16 square rod to drive the rotisserie motors. You can thread the other end to take a 3/8 nut to attach to the wheel. I found a cheap 6 rpm rotisserie motor. I may get one to play around with.
 

JCF

Member
Got it, thank you. I will be reporting later a different approach to rotation speed. I ordered a small A/C motor speed controller in hope it will work with the reduction drive I have. More to follow at a later date.
 

JCF

Member
Okay, I have photos uploaded into an album I created. The name of the album is "Tumbler, homemade." I can't get the photos out of the album onto this message box. Any ideas, anyone?
 

JCF

Member
Got Pics

Got Pics

Recently finished, awaiting trial. In a few hours the temps will drop and I can try out my bud tumbler!
 

Rembetis

Active member
Give it a spin!
It should work well. There was another guy on here that made a tumbler with a wiper motor. Does the wheel come out?
 

JCF

Member
First run, was surprised!

First run, was surprised!

Whoa! Am I glad I payed attention and actually got off my butt to make one of these tumblers.
After bringing in the initial run this morning I told my wife I am so glad I did this. I think back to all the times I dealt with water, ice, buckets, spoons, ether, cooking off ether, alcohol, Majic Butter machine, blaa, bla, bla. Because I am human I will naturally seek the method which uses the least of my time and effort for achieving acceptable results. This method qualifies as being not only the easiest but yields great results!
I did find I need a larger gathering tray and also need to work on getting the trichromes to slide on the directional louvers (bottom of wheel angled into gathering tray).
The wheel does come out. The front support has bolts/wing-nuts for attachment and the "drive shaft" (vinyl tubing) is friction fit so it can slide on/off.
Holler with any further questions, I will try to help out.
 

EsterEssence

Well-known member
Veteran
I like really smooth surfaces inside the tumbler, mine is a plastic inner drum, inside it is enamel coating, very smooth surface...
 

JCF

Member
My surfaces are wood. Cabinet paneling.
Do you experience any static electricity with the plastic?
 

Rembetis

Active member
I added the two brown masonite front and back baffles to help with funneling the resin into the tray. I also use a silicone silk screen squeegee to wipe down the baffles and sides of the box after each run. There is a small amount of Resin mainly on the baffles. I went with a wood box because I felt that with a plastic container static would be a problem and resin would be all over the inside

Otherwise great results. Keep churning out the gold!

Took me so long to answer I see you two already answered
 
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Rembetis

Active member
J,

the reason I asked about being able to remove the wheel is for cleaning purposes. I use my air nozzle to blow out the screen and wheel when I am done. Especially if there are warm days coming. I am afraid any residual resin left might clog the screen. Add those front and back baffles and you will be good to go
 
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JCF

Member
Thanks. Now I know thinking of compressed air is on the right track.
The side baffles (guides, whatever) are a cabinet finish and, of course, one side had more build-up that the other due to rotational direction. I used a piece of scrap wood to scrape it down and it seemed to work ok. I like the idea of a squeegee. I did think "old windshield wiper" and may look for one.
You reminded me I do have some Masonite and may cut some to fit inside as the white surface would show more than the woods colors and easy to wipe clean.
 

Rembetis

Active member
I think I confused you. I went back to the previous post and changed it. I should have said front and back baffles. Go back to the first page and look at the photo. The two brown pieces are important. The lack of those two pieces is why some of the resin is missing the glass tray.
 

redlaser

Active member
Veteran
If the kief starts accumulating on the inside of the box, I’ve found that parchment paper held in place with magnets will help with collection and keeping it clean. Also nice to put parchment on bottom of gathering dish for easier collection, especially with multiple runs same day.
Also parchment helps speed things up if dividing the run into different batches, like first 2-3 minutes, 2nd 2-3 minutes, for as many as you want.

It might not seem needed but dry ice is really a game changer for efficiency, keeps it brittle cold. Can crush the dry ice/ cannabis mixture once cold, and increase yields while not contaminating with plant matter. ( at least true for me, with a 120 mesh screen).

Nice project Rembetis, looks like it could do 3/4-1 lb if you wanted to
 

JCF

Member
Always confused

Always confused

I think I confused you. I went back to the previous post and changed it. I should have said front and back baffles. Go back to the first page and look at the photo. The two brown pieces are important. The lack of those two pieces is why some of the resin is missing the glass tray.

Pics tell everything. Nice interface with the RH/LH baffle.
I also read about parchment in a post on this thread and seeing how I have some Masonite I will give it a try and may cover a surface with parchment too see how that works.
Our temps are down for the next few days so that will help. The other piece of data I want to get is how much stuff I can get in and have tumble satisfactorily. As of this writing I think the restricting factor is the motor size. If I gotta go bigger I want to get ordered.
Thanks for the info.
 

JCF

Member
No photos yet. I loaded the machine with some shake from last year. We had kept about a half a brown grocery bag of leaf and popcorn buds from trimming OG Kush, 2019. I'll guess 6 oz.
It fit and the tumbler motor turned it. Yes, I was surprised.
I put 2.5 hours on it last night and am extending another 1/2 hour this morning. I placed a white sheet of paper on top of the collection container to determine what is currently falling out. I plan to run until either the trichomes stop or I start seeing plant matter in the trichomes. More to follow.
(My last check after 2.5 hrs. was only trichromes, no plant matter. My initial reaction is the tumbler may not break up plant matter the same as bubble hash bags).
 

Rembetis

Active member
It breaks the buds into smaller pieces but I havent had any green matter come thru the screen yet either. I ran until the yield became quite small. 12 hour runs are common for me with the slow rpms. Quality has remained excellent.

Post some photos when you are finished. Hope you get a big pile!
 

JCF

Member
Another success!

Another success!

:bigeye:
It breaks the buds into smaller pieces but I havent had any green matter come thru the screen yet either. I ran until the yield became quite small. 12 hour runs are common for me with the slow rpms. Quality has remained excellent.

Post some photos when you are finished. Hope you get a big pile!

Yep, got big pile. Very pleased. I should have weighed before.
I did start another batch of "shake" which was leaf, small and medium bud sizes. I stripped the stems out and just piled it in the tumbler. Seven ounces (weighed). The machine turned it. Not sure how much more it can take before motor says ugh.
 
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