[Review] Elenco Rock Polishing Machine | 2024

Another kids entry level tumbler, this time from Elenco. This is a space age looking gadget the kids will love, it is quite large in terms of its base footprint size – but also the barrel is a bit bigger than other entry level machines.

It is mains powered and has the universally unique feature of buttons on the front which allow the owner to pre-set timed tumbles in sets of upto 7 days. This is actually really handy because quite often it’s easy to forget how long a batch of rocks has been running for – and this is important when softer rocks are being worked.

The lid on the machine is completely detachable allowing you to place the barrel into position, it acts as a bit of a sound barrier and is effective to some extent, but as always – the tumbling process is somewhat noisy.

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Elenco Rock Tumbler Pros and Cons

Pros

  • It looks good – so the kids will love it.
  • It does the business and has a slightly larger barrel than most kids tumblers.
  • The barrel has raised parts inside it – this greatly increases the performance as flats cannot form easily because the rocks are continuously “flipped” over into different positions as the strike against the ridges.
  • Handy (and we believe unique) timer facility allowing the user to put a limit on the time the barrel is running.
  • Quite heavy due to its size – this is good for stability.
  • The motor will not work untill the cover is securely in place – this prevents small fingers getting into the cogs on the inside whilst it is turning.
  • Comes with more than enough media such as polish and grit to grind down your first batch.
  • A good set of rocks which we suspect is fairly random, but included Green
  • Aventurine, Citrine and Tiger Eye (plus others).
  • Includes the jewelry starter pack – which isn’t obvious on the sales material.
  • Really solid thick walled barrel with excellent seals and the ability to tighten the lid down hard

Cons

  • The barrel is turned using a cog which “grips” a rubber ring on the outside of the barrel. Ours was very prone to slippage and it is essential that this whole of the outer barrel is 100% dry before setting up.
  • The cover is a bit fiddly to put into place, but not a big deal really – the switch is depressed by a prong on the lid cover itself, we had to press down quite hard to get this into the slot and connect with the switch.
  • Again, only one barrel – MUST BE KEPT SPOTLESS!
  • The shape of this barrel, whilst its a good size and extremely robust, means that grit can accumulate around the lid parts. Not something to deter a buyer, but bear in mind that cleaning is a little more difficult as you have to get something like your finger bent round beneath the lid – whereas on straight moulded types its just a case of a wipe around the top.

Tumbler Dimensions : 16.8 x 13.5 x 23.5 inches
Weight when not Loaded : 3.2 pounds
Country of Manufacture : China
Manufacturer Age Range : 10 – 15 years

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