Lortone QT-12 Rotary Rock Tumbler by Lortone

Super product easy to use.

Works great but lid doesn't like to seal and sometimes starts leaking several hours or days after starting the Tumblr

I already had one of these but wanted another to keep up with all the rocks we pickup and tumble. Good product and reliable.

Works Great Has Large Volume. I can wet Clean Or Dry Clean with any kind of MediaI would recomened to a FriendJerry

Works great

Works great, really enjoying it.

I researched and compared this Tumbler to the Thumler's Tumbler Model "B" high speed and made the decision to go with this tumbler instead. The main reasons why I selected this tumbler is because of the overall attention to detail, workmanship and the simpler lid/sealing. I hope this helps you decide on which model is best for your needs.Advantages:1) The overall finish of the unit is very good and the quality of the motor is great. The motor also has more vent holes to allow cooling air to circulate during operation. The motor does run relatively hot after a few hours and having more airflow definitely helps.2) The belt is a grooved belt. There is no chance of the belt slipping unless something is very wrong to jam the mechanism. The belt also has a protective shell to prevent users from potentially getting fingers or debris wrapped around the shaft. The Thumler uses a rounded belt and has no shell to protect the drive belt.3) Shaft and bushings. Both tumblers appear to have similar shaft, but the Lortone has the shafts completely enclosed by the chassis. The Thumler's shafts appear to be riding on the top and not supported by the frame. The side walls also appear to be flimsy compared to Lortone since they are just vertical sheet metal. The tumbler may shift laterally with a heavy weight. Lortone also has a lateral support connecting the two side walls to provide better rigidity. The angled sheet metal provides a very sturdy support. The bushings on the Lortone are standard sized and can be easily available from other sources other than Lortone. In fact, there are brass bushings in the same size that can provide longer life (but it may be a little noisier than the plastic bearings).4) It is very quiet! I have the machine running in the next room with a light load and I can not even hear it run with the door open. I used my sound app on my tablet and it is reading approximately 59 dB within 6 inches from the unit. The Lortone chassis has vibration dampening grommets on the feet to reduce noise. I can not tell if the Thumler has that feature since the base is not obvious. The barrel is also entirely made out of rubber, so that also helps to reduce noise level as opposed to having a metal shell. Some people had problems with the Lortone making a lot of noise, but they later realized the belt was misaligned or the bearings were due for replacement. Maintenance is the key to keeping the unit very quiet.5) The barrel is entirely made out of rubber. I see this as an advantage since it reduces noise and will not have issues with rust. There are debates about the square shape of the Thumler's barrel that helps increase the tumbling action. I did not notice any problems with Lortone since the insides have flat facets also. The other main advantage is the sealing of the Lortone is through a single nut in the middle. If you put a block under the barrel before you seal it to reduce the internal volume, it will create a slight vacuuum and the sealing is great. On the Thumler, there is number of wingnuts that you use to lock the lid. Some people have replaced the wingnuts to make sealing easier. The inside of the Thumler's barrel is also not painted/coated, so any moisture trapped in that cavity may cause rusting. Having a all-rubber barrel prevents any issues with rust. Since Lortone's barrel is rubber, it creates more friction against the shaft since the shaft has a rubber insert. On Thumler's the shaft has a rubber insert, but the barrel is smooth metal. The friction is slightly less than the Lortone's configuration.Disadvantages:1) Slower tumble speed than Thumler High Speed model. The Thumler tumbler spins faster and reduces the time needed to complete the tumbling, but you will have more noise than the Lortone. The standard speed model should be approximately the same speed as Lortone.2) Capacity is less with the Lortone tumbler. Thumler is rated for 15 lbs and Lortone is for 12 lbs.3) There is no power switch on the Lortone. Thumler's have a switch on the power cord. I also do not like the fact the wire comes directly off the motor without support to reduce the stress at the weakest point, when the wire goes into the motor. To be fair, the Thumler also have the same issues.4) The metal outer shell on the Lortone barrel is EXTREMELY sharp when it comes from the factory. Since you have to use your fingernails or a tool to pry off the part to open the barrel, I think this is very dangerous. Luckily, the solution is relatively simple. You just run sandpaper or a file around the edges to knock off the sharp edges and you are fine. I think Lortone should deburr these edges in the future since this is not acceptable. The edges on the belt pulleys are also very sharp, but at least there is a protective shell around it.Additional minor nits about the Lortone.1) There are some residual rubber on the barrel from the injection molding process. You have to trim these small rubber burrs off the barrel to prevent marring of the shaft over the life of the barrel. Its relatively minor, but just use a razor blade and shave those high points off.2) The hardware supplied to mount the bracket to hold the center nut is zinc plated. I replace those hardware with stainless to prevent any potential rusting if water gets on the machine. There is just one hole in the middle to mount the bracket, so the bracket may rotate slightly, so I added two additional holes to keep the bracket firmly in place it will not rotate. Another option is to use some sort of double sided tape and it would prevent any rotation of the bracket.3) I eventually added a tie-wrap mount on the frame of the Lortone and used a tie-wrap to firmly mount the wire to the frame with stress relief. This is to ensure the wire will not be stressed at the motor connection to cause a short or open.4) I added an in-line switch to the wire cord to turn the unit on and off without unplugging. Make sure you use a switch rated for the amperage/voltage and more since the initial start-up of the motor draws more current.