Tumblers made from Washers and Dryers

I want a tumbler, for recycling glass, making seed balls/fuel pellets and cleaning parts.
I have derelict washers and dryers.
I could rewire one of the existing devices, or I could scavenge them to build my own.

The existing devices are self contained and the dangerous bits are already covered up.
On the other hand, they are low to the ground,  bulky and heavy, relatively small in capacity with a lot of extraneous bits inside them.

Has anyone here built their own tumbler?
I think Pearl has, though her uses were quite different.

Yeah, mine was for dirt/compost sifting. It was a commercial dryer drum, that ran off a 1/2 horsepower air conditioner motor, and was made to be high enough to put a wheelbarrow under it.



For the purposes you are looking at, you want no holes in the basket, and both washers and dryers have holes. For most applications I can think of, low to the ground is a definite asset. The height of mine was a problem, lifting things up that high hurt after a few minutes.

If I wanted a tumbler like that, personally, I'd start with a dryer and put a removable barrel type thing in it. It could be sealed tight (rock tumblers are watertight, I suspect some of your needs would want that too) and removed for messing with.

If I were experimenting with it, I'd put a tightly closed 5 gallon bucket in a dryer and see how it works, so you know whether to scale up (to use the space better) or down (a bunch of one gallon jars packed in tightly might be more effective)  or whether a dryer motor won't turn it. Don't forget where the shaft comes in on the back, that's the center of pivot, and it'll have an easier time turning things that center on it in a balanced fashion than it will turning something with the weight on the outside edges and loaded asymmetrically. Packing things in with towels or blankets etc would work well, and be easy to change as needed if your containers change.

:D

Thank you Pearl for elaborating on your build!
My mind is on avoiding bending over to empty the machine, or on the case of making seedballs, operating it.
I think you are right on the money when it comes to adding a removable drum to the existing device.
I could have a different drum for glass tumbling vs. Seedballing.
Removing the door switch from the circuit will mean I can use a barrel that sticks out of the machine.
A cradle of casters could hold up that end.
I had envisioned a 55 gallon drum, but they are almost 2 feet across, too big for most openings.
A 40 gallon water heater  would fit inside most dryer door openings, maybe even with the insulation on, which would help with noise.
Designing the chocking to hold the drum centered  seems like my kind of fun!

I am torn between putting it in my basement, and putting it over at the yarden.
The basement is where I am and it has power, lights, heat and a roof.
The yarden is where I want to be.
Coming and going with masses of dirt, charcoal and glass cullet  is a not an issue at the yarden.
If I start small, with a 5 gallon bucket like Pearl suggested, it can live in the basement till the yarden has power.
5 gallons is plenty big enough for proof of concept.
By then, I might want to build a second one.
Parts cleaning is definitely a basement thing anyway, and 5 gallons is a huge capacity for small parts.
Minimum modifications should be needed, so it might even remain viable as a dryer...
Unlikely, but a solar thermal tumble dryer is on the to do list, and the  western wall of my house gets lots of solar gain!

Ok, crazy rambling turned to OFF,  for now!

Thinking about this makes donating the washer to a charity the best option.
There is place near me called Building Value, they sell used appliances and they work with a repair shop.