5-gallon bucket rotary tumbler

once you see the world through the lens of rotation and agitation, you can’t go back.

do you have kitchen compost? you could buy a fancy electric composter, enjoy a brief honeymoon, and then wonder why it’s always jammed or smoking. or you could buy a decent mechanical composter and wonder why the compost never ends up homogenous.

plant potatoes or turnips or carrots in bags or buckets? you’ll burn more calories sifting soil for texture than you’ll get eating them.

do you polish for reloading, machining / 3d printing, or just tumble beach rocks? if so, you know the price tags and size limitations already.

do you develop film, especially with an eco-friendly process like caffenol? “gentle but constant agitation” needs no introduction.

sick of those rusty bolts or pins only getting half clean? no more forgetting to kick the bucket.

do you harvest small patches of buckwheat or oats by hand? it’s no combine, but with the right angle and a fan just close enough …

you get the idea.

there are other designs for 5gal tumblers out there, but i wanted something that was:

• ac instead of dc, so i can run it off portable lithium packs or 110v straight from the barn
• direct coupling to simplify rpm calcs and improve consistency
• dead easy to assemble and disassemble so i can use the motor on other rigs

version

this is v1 of the build. the goal was function over form, creating a tool that can run for days on various power sources, whether in the barn or out in the field. it’s classic “hillbilly style” – robust, simple, and built from repurposed parts.

parts & materials

motor

• model: G6N-10K
• description: a 250w 110v ac single-phase motor with a variable speed controller (0-135 rpm) and gearbox.
• source: amazon (asin: B0C81CJKH8)
• notes: i went with an ac motor so it could be easily powered for days off portable lithium battery packs (like a jackery or ecoflow) in addition to the 110v outlets in the workshop.

coupling

• description: 15mm keyed flange coupling.
• source: amazon (asin: B0DNW7XDHR)
• notes: finding a 15mm metric flange is harder than it should be. this one had six pre-drilled screw holes that worked perfectly for mounting.

bucket

• description: standard 5-gallon, 90mil food-grade buckets.
• source: epackagesupply.com
• notes: we have dozens of these lying around, and they’ve held up so far. any bucket you can drill through will do the job.

mounting

• description: the bucket is fastened to the flange using a circular wooden plate as an interface.
• hardware: a handful of screws attach the plate to the bucket, and then the whole assembly fastens to the six holes on the flange.

assembly

the process is straightforward.

1. prepare the bucket: drill holes in the bottom of the bucket to align with your mounting plate, then attach the plate.
2. mount the bucket: fasten the bucket and plate assembly to the 15mm flange, then slide the coupling onto the motor’s keyed shaft.
3. build the frame: construct a simple wood or metal frame to hold the motor and support the weight of the bucket and its contents.
4. wire it up: connect the ac motor to the variable speed controller.

media & gallery

TODO: add pictures and videos of the build process and the tumbler in action.