cleaning pennies

[Boxtopp]

Question? When cleaning pennies with a tumble using vinegar and salt do you use strait vinegar? Or is there a better way?

[gerber]

Boxtopp,

Having tried the vinegar and salt formula, I've decided I like the results better using simple dish soap. Even in diluted quantities, the acid in the vinegar turns the copper a funny color. I just wasn't overly pleased with the results. On the other hand, those I soaked in dish soap looked pretty normal, just more cleaned up.

With silver clad, I tried sudsing ammonia with good results.

You might want to experiment yourself to see how things work for you.

HH,

Dan

[cyberdan]

Here is something I wrote for my clubs website. It worked fine for common clad. I even put in some cruddy pennys, thought they were modern, but after tumbling found out they were wheats.

www.westcoasters.org/tricks/clean.htm

[Vagabond]

Any reloaders out there, if so have you tried your tumblers for cleaning coins.
Just wondering how walnut shells would work

[MetalEd]

I use the dish soap method in the tumbler all the time, but learned a trick a while back that really cleans them up, even the metal bubbling zinc ones (where the metal bubbles up from all the fertilizers used, it makes them usable in the coin star machines once again!)... Run your dish soap method as usual, for the same amount of time, but try adding a tablespoon of sand... Nothing special, just some ordinary sand to give it a little grit to rub up against the dirt and bubbled metal... I usually run the tumbler for an hour with straight water, then dump out the mud. Then fill 2/3 with clean water, a squeeze of dish washing soap and a tablespoon of sand. Works a LOT faster and a lot better than just straight dish washing liquid!
Works better with the water change, my guess since it does not have the mud to cushion it... just run this over night... save up any REALLY crudy zincs to run in a load along with some other really bad ones later on...
Oh, if you need to get some sand to try it out... try the kids area at the local park or grab a cupfull at the beach on the next beach hunt, no need to get a 50lbs bag of it at the home improvement store.
Cheers and HH!
Ed

[DFX]

put a drop of tabasco on the pennie & wait for 15 minute then wash it with cold water.

[Steve (Fairfield)]

I've used my reloading tumbler with walnut shells. It works okay, but takes a long time. Three or more days, also the media costs more than dish soap and fish tank gravel or sand.

HH

Steve

By the way Harbor Tools had a special last month on rock tumblers, they may still be on clearance.

[MetalEd]

Steve said:

I've used my reloading tumbler with walnut shells. It works okay, but takes a long time. Three or more days, also the media costs more than dish soap and fish tank gravel or sand.

.

OH Boy! I can't believe I forgot that part in my advice..... Use Aquarium Gravel as well! My tip on sand is in addition to aquarium gravel, sand and liquid dish washing soap! Boy what a mistake!
Run coins for 30 minutes with just water, dump out the mud water. Then fill tumbler 2/3rds full with pennies, aquarium gravel, water, tablespoon of liquid soap and a tablespoon of sand! Run overnight... Works a heck of a lot better that just the aquarium gravel and the soap... the tiny grit of the sand is what really gets them clean! Better than just the gravel!
Sorry for the double post... not enough sleep or too much Halloween Candy.. I don't know, but the missed aquarium gravel must have sounded silly to just run with a tablespoon of sand and soap!
Cheers! Ed

[cyberdan]

Steve said:

By the way Harbor Tools had a special last month on rock tumblers, they may still be on clearance.

I bought my tumbler there. The drive belt lasted a very short time, good thing they sent two. The pullys are too far apart. I drilled out the motor mount and moved it closer at least 1/8" and there was less tension on the belt. It worked pretty good for a while then that belt broke.

I was hunting a tot lot one day and saw one of those ponytail bands that girls use. It did not have the metal connector on it and I thought it looked the right size. It worked great. It has now done over 30# of coins in small batches. Probably should start looking for another.

The tumbler is well built except for that one design flaw.

[Anthony]

This weekend I bought one of those tumblers from Harbor Freight, it's a 3 pound tumble. You can't charge the tumbler with too many pennies, if you do it will strat to strain or it won't run at all. I used a hand full of swimming pool sand, a small squart of dish soap and about 1/2 cup of water and it worked good for me.

The pullys are too far apart. I drilled out the motor mount and moved it closer at least 1/8" and there was less tension on the belt.

cyberdan, if the pulleys are to far apart, how can moving the motor closer correct the tension problem?

The belt seems to be a common vacuum cleaner type and it could be purchased almost anywhere.

[cyberdan]

Anthony,
Moving the motor closer will relieve tension on the pully, it was just too tight.

The pully belt on the one I got was about 1/8" in dia. the vacuum cleaner pully belts I have seen were flat and 1/2" wide. Maybe I have a different model or the engineers fixed the problem.

Dan

[Anthony]

Hi cyberdan.

Oh, I should have known what you meant, my bad.
Some upright vacuums cleaners utilize flat belt and some utilize band type belts. Vacuum cleaner band type belts come in a few different sizes, they are exactly like the one that the tumbler comes with. The one that the tumbler uses is a band type belt, here is a pic:

[925Bill]

What the heck kind of tumblers are you guys talking about? Does the belt drive rollers, that the tumbler sits on, and rotates?While the belt and pulleys, and motor shaft are mounted on the outside and protected with a metal cover?
Who ever said aquarium rocks. That was what I was going to suggest. Small ones about 1/4 in. in diameter.

They used to have cut copper wire bits, similar looking to those sprinkles, they put on cakes. Bigger though. Almost look like mouse "pooh" "pooh's!"

Steel shot,copper B.B.'s. Some have gotten good results from these. And some kind of soapy solution. Good luck. 925Bill.

[Anthony]

Yes 925Bill, it works the way you have described. I have the smaller one at this link, sand gives the coins a satin finish.

order.harborfreight.com/EasyAsk/harborfreight/results.jsp

[Rudy]

I use a Thumler's Model T No. 100 3 lb capacity tumbler. Works great and is easy to maintain. Bought one used in eBay and then found another one at a flea market.

www.thumlerstumbler.com/rotary.html

Aquarium gravel and sudsing ammonia or dishwashing detergent for the clad coins.