BallReviews
General Category => Coverstock Preparation => Topic started by: Artimust on February 03, 2014, 04:48:04 PM
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Was on the other thread in regards to ball spinner torque, but I'd like some opinions on the Donkee.
I have read both good and bad, but mostly bad in regards to the vibration. Is it really that bad or is is exaggerated? How's the quality? I know most will say go to Vertex or Innovate or Jayhawk, but the Jayhawk is really expensive, and the shipping cost on the Innovate is $100. Vertex never responded to my inquiry about shipping. Donkee quoted me about half the cost of shipping than Innovate.
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It's bee 10 years since I sold the maxi-vibrating Donkee for a Vertex. I would certainly hope that in those 10 years Donkee has seen fit to modify their spinner to reduce those vibrations. I can't believe they stayed in business this long unless they had modified their spinners, but I have not tried them since then.
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I've had a donkee spinner for 12 years now.. best $100 I've spent
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Vertex is offering free ground shipping on orders over $199. It's a no Brainer! :)
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Vertex is offering free ground shipping on orders over $199. It's a no Brainer! :)
Artimust, check the Vertex website. Vertex does offer Free shipping on any order at $199 + which would cover your order. It is hard to believe that Innovative would charge $100.00 to ship. Where did you see that?
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Vertex is offering free ground shipping on orders over $199. It's a no Brainer! :)
I think that must be for shipping within the 48 states. Arimust is in Hawaii; that's definitely going to be extra.
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Yes, I'm in Hawaii! In most cases, the free shipping costs the 48, but has to be shipped via air to Hawaii.
I'm going to try and contact vertex again, or maybe Amazon. Hopefully one company will have a deal for me, just have to keep looking.
But still looking for more satisfied Donkee owners to chime in.
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The shipping to Hawaii is terrible. I've been wanting one but I'm not paying that much.
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We have had a donkee spinner for around 5 years. It vibrates a bit, but it isn't terrible once a person gets use to it. It would certainly vibrate its way off a table if we weren't paying attention though
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I had a donkee and it loved to walk off the workbench. I would have to push against it while using it to keep it from moving. I sold it and bought a used Vertex 1/2 HP for $100, very happy with it.
The only "advantage" to the donkee is the 3/4 HP 2 Speed. You can not get that from Innovative or Vertex at that price point. A 2 speed innovative spinner is going to be over $500 IIRC.
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I've had my Donkee for ten years now. It does shake sometimes but I've never had a problem with it. Never had to replace anything. For the price it was a great little machine.
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I had a donkee and it loved to walk off the workbench. I would have to push against it while using it to keep it from moving. I sold it and bought a used Vertex 1/2 HP for $100, very happy with it.
The only "advantage" to the donkee is the 3/4 HP 2 Speed. You can not get that from Innovative or Vertex at that price point. A 2 speed innovative spinner is going to be over $500 IIRC.
This^^^
Had the same problems even with it bolted to the bench, took it apart the shaft wears out the slot it goes in and this is what creates the wobble. Not a very good design and cheap parts. The two speed is nice at that price..
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Bought mine in 2003 and have only replaced the belt, it does vibrate but not as uncontrollably as some state.
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The only "advantage" to the donkee is the 3/4 HP 2 Speed. You can not get that from Innovative or Vertex at that price point. A 2 speed innovative spinner is going to be over $500 IIRC.
I've had the 3/4 HP 2 Speed model for about 14 years. I use it a lot, and the thing just won't die. :)
I've always felt the Donkee vibration thing has been overplayed. I have mine secured on a B&D workbench, and I've never had an issue with wobble while sanding. Balls I've refinished/refreshed dozens of times are still round. What a concept….
At low speed, the unit is fairly stable. There is no issue keeping consistent abrasive contact to the ball while it's spinning.
But what separates the Donkee (as stated above) is the high speed mode. It creates a speed that's simply superior for creating friction for cleaning, and burning in polish on tough surfaces. For these high speed purposes, I don't care that the ball sometimes wobbles a little. It's not going to hurt anything.
For me, the Donkee tradeoffs for the 2-speed make sense. I'll buy another Donkee when the one I have finally bites the dust.
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The only "advantage" to the donkee is the 3/4 HP 2 Speed. You can not get that from Innovative or Vertex at that price point. A 2 speed innovative spinner is going to be over $500 IIRC.
I've had the 3/4 HP 2 Speed model for about 14 years. I use it a lot, and the thing just won't die. :)
I've always felt the Donkee vibration thing has been overplayed. I have mine secured on a B&D workbench, and I've never had an issue with wobble while sanding. Balls I've refinished/refreshed dozens of times are still round. What a concept….
At low speed, the unit is fairly stable. There is no issue keeping consistent abrasive contact to the ball while it's spinning.
But what separates the Donkee (as stated above) is the high speed mode. It creates a speed that's simply superior for creating friction for cleaning, and burning in polish on tough surfaces. For these high speed purposes, I don't care that the ball sometimes wobbles a little. It's not going to hurt anything.
For me, the Donkee tradeoffs for the 2-speed make sense. I'll buy another Donkee when the one I have finally bites the dust.
All of what these guys said above. I've used my buddy's two speed Donkee before and you can't beat that higher speed for polishing balls well. I have a one speed Donkee, but always wished I had opted for the two speed one. The weeble-wobble doesn't bother me at all. I've had mine for 8 years now, no problems.
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It seems like for some, the vibration /wobble is a deal breaker, but for others, it's ok to deal with. So bottom line is that there is a vibration "issue" but it still gets the job done and the trade off is the 2 speed option. Now to decide between 2 speed and wobble or 1 speed.
I did find one place that will ship an Innovate for about $65, but now I'm interested in the 2 speed option Donkee.....
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My vertex 1/2 is great.
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Wow shipping costs sure have gone up. I bought the 1/2HP Vertex in '07 and they shipped it for $43 to Hawaii (USPS). Did notice if you go through their website it does actually deduct the shipping even if you put in a Hawaii address but not sure they'd honor it. I don't think I miss the dual speed, but I don't typically used polished equipment.
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I use more polished equipment than non-polished.
I did contact Donkee and they said that they have been having wobbling complaints, but it was on spinners that were older than 7 years. The current owners bought Donkee 7 years ago and did a rebuild on the machine to eliminate the wobbling and have not been having this issue.
Anyone with a newer model Donkee can chime in?
I'm still weighing my options, kinda want the 2 speed, but the Other brand 2 speed models are way more expensive (then the crazy shipping cost added on!).
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I use my Donkee extensively. The amount of wobble depends on the position of the ball in the spinner. The most stable is face down.
The only problem I have had is the slow speed switch is marginal. By that I mean that I have to start it in high speed, then switch it to low speed. Also the spindle keeps vibrating loose, so I have to tighten it about once a month.
I put the whole thing in a Tub to keep the spray from getting everywhere.
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dmonroe, how old is your Donkee?
So with the switch, you can't just start it on low speed, but switch it from high to low? Is this normal or a problem with your switch?
It does say on the Donkee site to routinely tighten the pulley, is this hard to do? Meaning, do you have to remove this and that to get to the pulley to tighten, or is it just loosen a nut, pull, and tighten? Do you have to do this with the Innovate and Vertex as well?
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My Donkee spinner is 15 years old and still going strong.
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dmonroe, how old is your Donkee?
So with the switch, you can't just start it on low speed, but switch it from high to low? Is this normal or a problem with your switch?
It does say on the Donkee site to routinely tighten the pulley, is this hard to do? Meaning, do you have to remove this and that to get to the pulley to tighten, or is it just loosen a nut, pull, and tighten? Do you have to do this with the Innovate and Vertex as well?
As far as problems, I suspect the Donkee is going to similar to any other spinner. Some will be problem free (like mine for 14 years), and others will have minor glitches. Spinners in general aren't mechanically complex devices, so it shouldn't be a major concern. What's important is if the company stands behind it.
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dmonroe, how old is your Donkee?
So with the switch, you can't just start it on low speed, but switch it from high to low? Is this normal or a problem with your switch?
It does say on the Donkee site to routinely tighten the pulley, is this hard to do? Meaning, do you have to remove this and that to get to the pulley to tighten, or is it just loosen a nut, pull, and tighten? Do you have to do this with the Innovate and Vertex as well?
Artimust My spinner is about 3 years old. Pully is very easy to titghten. Just lift is up and tighten it up with an allen wrench. I have to start it on high and switch to low. not sure if it is an anomolly or normal for Donkee.
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Thanks for all of your comments! Getting a ton of great input and would love to hear more.
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Another thing that I am looking at is warranty.
Donkee-3 year on unit, 1 year on motor.
Vertex-5 year on unit, 3 year on motor.
Innovative-5 year on both unit and motor.
Checked on prices for all three and with shipping, they are with $15 of each other.
The Donkee warranty is not looking very good to me. 1 year is not a very long time, so might have to scratch the 2 speed option. Might....
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Here's the thing. Innovative now owns Vertex. Vertex makes a good low end spinner. My least favorite thing is putting too much pressure slows it down. Donkee didn't slow down when you put pressure on it. However, the feet being really thick rubber squishes as the weight block shifts making the whole spinner shake and vibrate. The plastic also isn't strong enough for the weight block, so it too bends enough to make it shake. The best way to handle a Donkee is to get a rubber mat to absorb the shaking. Bolting it down doesn't do any good. I've tried bolting them down, and it doesn't work. I'd recommend operating Donkee's on a cement floor again with a rubber matt underneath.
Vertex is rock solid when it comes to not shaking. It's only as good as what you put it on though. If you put a Vertex on a table that really shakes, then it will not matter. I have a super heavy duty work bench for $150, and there's no wobble.
Innovatives are the most rock solid on the market and won't slow down no matter how much pressure you apply.
All in all, Vertex is probably the best bang for your buck. If you don't care that much about money then go with Innovative.
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My vertex is 1/2 HP and no matter how much pressure I use it does not slow down.
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Here's the thing. Innovative now owns Vertex. Vertex makes a good low end spinner. My least favorite thing is putting too much pressure slows it down. ....
I have a 1/3 hp Vertex. I cannot understand your being able to slow it down. The torque on mine is enough that I cannot slow it down; I am 6', 240 lbs. I am not weak.
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I have a 5 year old Donkee 2 speed. Yes it does wobble depending on how the ball is oriented in the spinner. I really like the 2 speed feature tho. Much better for applying polish than a 1 speed machine.
I have had no problems with mine. The wobble is an annoyance but only on the higher speed setting. On low speed the wobble is next to nothing. I have mine sitting on a carpeted floor. It does not walk anywhere on the carpet. The motor is powerful enough that it is difficult for me to push hard enough on the ball to bog the motor down. And even at that it only when polishing a ball that the bogging down happens. When using any abralon pads it never bogs down.
I bought the Donkee primarily because it was the cheapest 2 speed spinner on the market. So far it has served me well.
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My Donkee is about 10 years old. It does wobble a little on the low setting, but not enough to pose a problem. I have mine on a rubber mat to dampen it a bit. Even though others have done so without any issues, I'd hesitate to bolt it down. If you don't give the vibration somewhere to go/release, I'd think it would place a lot of torque on the shaft and housing.
I rarely use the high speed, but if you only use it for cleaning and polishing there isn't a problem. Just place the ball in the most stable position for the core and you won't have any problems. A highly asymmetric ball might wobble more, but for me they are usually my oil balls so I never apply polish to them. If you need to sand 4 or 6 sides I only ever use the low setting. When the core gets too far off center, it can wobble a lot on the high setting. In my opinion, you don't need the high setting for sanding.
For home use with a normal arsenal, I think the Donkee is perfectly acceptable. If you are trying to maintain equipment for several other people, you might look at other options.
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With the cost for all 3 spinners being within $15 of each other (with shipping included) I had to look at warranty.
Being that the Donkee had only a 1 year on the motor, I could not take that chance that it would peter out after a year. I really did want the 2 speed option though.
The best warranty was the Innovative with a 5 year, 2 years more than Vertex for the motor. Hopefully I never have to have it serviced or have any problems because shipping will be outrageous. I'm hoping that because they back up their machine with a good warranty, that it is built to last.
Thank you everyone!
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Bought mine in 2003 and have only replaced the belt, it does vibrate but not as uncontrollably as some state.
Still working flawlessly after 18 years.
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I never commented on this thread before because I don't think I have a Donkee. In fact, I don't know what model I have as there is no name on the unit nor was there on the box it came in.
I ordered it from a pro shop back east around 1995. Not sure if the online bowling sites were running then. The only name I can see is on the motor - Dayton sump motor.
If anyone has an idea of what brand it is, I would appreciate knowing.
But whatever brand it is, it is still running good with no maintenance done on it for about 25 yrs.
I know it was from around that time period because I found a card with notations on what grits I was experimenting with on a Piranha back in Jan, Feb, and March of 1996.