I looked at a bunch of DIY tumblers, but I’m not a carpenter and I don’t have the vast amount of tools needed to craft a well done tumbler, so I’ve had to buy one. I think I found one that costs about as much as building one would cost though!
I’ve been leaning heavily towards buying this tumbler. It’s within my price range at $118.64 (including shipping) and the independent reviews I found raved about it’s quality build and ease of use. Unlike some other brands I didn’t find endless complaints about the motor going out (I’m looking at you Bubble Magic & RosinTech).
It appears to be the right size for doing manageable batches and it’s just small enough I can put the whole thing inside the chest freezer I have access to which would make it a “set an alarm & do other stuff” operation.
They offer a 150 micron OR a 180 micron screen with each order. I went with the 180 micron screen, which will increase the chances of “green” getting into the kief, but it should also allow the largest 160 micron trichomes to get through too. If the 180 turns out to have too much “green” in it I’ll order one of their 150 micron screens, which are also pretty affordable.
The product should arrive shortly and I’ll document it’s use and quarks in this thread, including videos and photos. In the coming months I’ll also be running seeded materials through it to see how well it separates those out as well!!!
I’ve also contacted the manufacturer to see if we can get a discount code for Overgrow members, because why not, right?
If you have experience with this, or any other dry sift tumblers including DIY versions, this is definitely the place to voice those experiences.
Pollen Extractor Best Practices
a.k.a. What not to do!
Undried or fresh frozen flowers should never be used in the dry sift cylinder.
A couple of issues will occur: the flower will freeze to the entire inside of the cylinder and not tumble, and the added moisture from the flower will cause a thin frost layer to form on the outside of the cylinder which prevents the rubber drive wheel from gaining the needed friction to turn the cylinder.
Update: after a dozen or so runs the plastic container cracked, a plastic spindle rest shattered, and the motor burned out.