Wet Tumbler Brass Cleaning

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Wet Tumbler Brass Cleaning

Post by Member-Deleted » 26 Sep 2018, 10:47 pm

What would be a good wet tumbler for me I only do about 100-150 brass every 4-6mths I've got a vibrating one but
finding it takes too long and still doesn't clean the brass properly I get about 3 cleans out of the medium then it starts to take longer like 4hrs
and still not properly cleaned my boy's are going to buy me a wet tumbler so was wondering which would be a good one something that's
not going to burn out after 6mths or so
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Re: Wet Tumbler Brass Cleaning

Post by No1_49er » 26 Sep 2018, 11:45 pm

Don't know what the prices are but these two are worth a look - Lyman "Cyclone" 7631551, and Frankford Arsenal 909567 rotary tumblers.
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Re: Wet Tumbler Brass Cleaning

Post by wanneroo » 27 Sep 2018, 12:14 am

I've run a Frankford Arsenal one for maybe 3 years now, I've run tens of thousands of pieces of brass through it and it runs like a train. I use stainless steel pins, a splash of Lemishine(citric acid), a splash of Hornady case cleaner and water. 2 hours of running it will get your cases looking as new as they will ever be. I then rinse with water and put in the Frankford Arsenal case dryer for an hour or so. Sometimes you might have a slight bit of primer residue left but it gets most of it.
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Re: Wet Tumbler Brass Cleaning

Post by eddahenry » 27 Sep 2018, 12:23 am

Si use the Lyman cyclone but for the amount of brass you will be cleaning it’s to big ,, a load for me is 200 creedmoor and 500 9mm , I would recommend the 3kg one from eBay for 100 cases
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Squirt of morning fresh (supermarket)
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Re: Wet Tumbler Brass Cleaning

Post by Member-Deleted » 27 Sep 2018, 12:28 am

Yeah they look nice and clean eddahenry
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Re: Wet Tumbler Brass Cleaning

Post by Member-Deleted » 27 Sep 2018, 12:30 am

How do you get on when some tumblers are only 110v does it comply with Australian 240v or how do you fix that?
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Re: Wet Tumbler Brass Cleaning

Post by Gaznazdiak » 27 Sep 2018, 1:57 am

Like you I only do 50 or 60 at a time and only need to do it very occasionally so I just use a plastic ice cream container, warm slightly soapy water and a touch of vinegar. I let them soak for a couple of hours and agitate with a bit of elbow grease every hour or so, then rinse and sun dry.
I can't see the point in wasting money on a machine I'm only going to use onnce or twice a year. I have enough dust collectors now.
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Re: Wet Tumbler Brass Cleaning

Post by Rod_outbak » 27 Sep 2018, 6:08 am

I run 2 'Thumlers Model B' tumblers; wouldnt go back to dry cleaning of brass.

Take a look at the smaller Lortone models here:

https://www.aussiesapphire.com.au/index ... bcd6e950b8

Thats the Lortone 45C; roughly 4lbs capacity.
In comparison, my Thumlers is a 15lb capacity, and can clean ~100 .308 cases in one session, or ~150 .223 cases. I'm guessing the smallest Lortone would be good with ~30 .308 cases at a time.

For $275, it comes with the pins, and looks to be small enough capacity to suit you.
If you want a bit more capacity, the Lortone QT6 is about half the capacity of the Thumlers.

I've dealt with these people before; always been prompt getting the gear to me.

When the older one of one of my Thumlers barrels falls apart, I plan to replace it with a Rebel 17 barrel, as they run the same footprint:
https://www.stainlesstumblingmedia.com/ ... age-2.html
[I just wish I could buy the damn thing in Australia for that sort of money...]


Cheers,

Rod.
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Re: Wet Tumbler Brass Cleaning

Post by Sergeant Hartman » 27 Sep 2018, 7:06 am

My friends have the rcbs rotary case cleaner. There is another brand that's exactly the same but slightly cheaper but I can't remember the name. I have heard facebook rave about the ebay rotary cleaners (clear perspex ones)
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Re: Wet Tumbler Brass Cleaning

Post by Member-Deleted » 27 Sep 2018, 7:21 am

Thanks people many thanks now to look see each of them
thanks again
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Re: Wet Tumbler Brass Cleaning

Post by Rod_outbak » 27 Sep 2018, 7:50 am

An additional suggestion about wet tumblers:

I'm not a fan of timers on them. Brass starts to tarnish really quickly if sitting in the liquid if not tumbling(especially any which is half out of the water).
Also, the crud which has come off the brass (and is suspended in the liquid) starts to coat everything, if given the chance.

Many of the smaller models have timer of up to 3 hours on them.
To be honest, if the tumbler has to keep running for another hour until I get to empty it out, I'd prefer that to the brass sitting in it.

My experience; other might have found different.

Cheers,

Rod.
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Re: Wet Tumbler Brass Cleaning

Post by Rod_outbak » 27 Sep 2018, 8:15 am

Just further reference;

The Lortone 45C has a ~4lb capacity drum, which is ~1.8kgs capacity.

Roughly half that capacity will be in water & pins, so deduct ~ 1 Kilogram.
That would give you ~800 grams of brass.

I just weighed a .308 brass case, and it comes in at 10.8 grams or therabouts.
I also weighed a .223 case, and it came in at around 6 grams.

So, I'm thinking a 4lb Lortone drum should be capable of tumbling ~50 .308 cases, or ~ 100 .223 cases.
The 6lb drum should be capable of tumbling ~75 .308 cases, and ~ 150 .223.
[In theory, my 15lb Thumlers should be good for 150 .308 cases??]

I would stress that I rarely run my Thumlers tumbler anywhere near it's capacity.

I note that Lortone rate their tumblers to be able to run 24-7-365.

Might be handy to know this to make your decision.

Cheers,

Rod.
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Re: Wet Tumbler Brass Cleaning

Post by marksman » 27 Sep 2018, 10:23 am

I have the rebel 17 and rate it very highly but its way to big for what you want
all I would add is to make sure you use the right ingredients (dish washing liquid, citric acid ect) and flush the cases in cold water after cleaning
I was advised to try warm water but found cold is better
I have heard very good reports about the Lortone models :drinks:
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Re: Wet Tumbler Brass Cleaning

Post by Member-Deleted » 27 Sep 2018, 11:15 am

Yeah thanks guys all good info i'll just cift through and look at them and then decide have got a few brass to clean

Cheers
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Re: Wet Tumbler Brass Cleaning

Post by wanneroo » 29 Sep 2018, 1:26 pm

Rod_outbak wrote:An additional suggestion about wet tumblers:

I'm not a fan of timers on them. Brass starts to tarnish really quickly if sitting in the liquid if not tumbling(especially any which is half out of the water).
Also, the crud which has come off the brass (and is suspended in the liquid) starts to coat everything, if given the chance.

Many of the smaller models have timer of up to 3 hours on them.
To be honest, if the tumbler has to keep running for another hour until I get to empty it out, I'd prefer that to the brass sitting in it.

My experience; other might have found different.

Cheers,

Rod.


I use distilled water in my tumbler to avoid any contamination with well water, even though that water is filtered. I wouldn't use city water either being treated with chlorine and other crap. Also the last 10 minutes of tumbling I'll often dump the filthy solution, reload with fresh water and tumble another 5 or 10 minutes.
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Re: Wet Tumbler Brass Cleaning

Post by 1886 » 22 Dec 2019, 10:25 pm

Old posts but for those interested I have a 15lb Model B Thumler Tumbler for sale in WA. Will send east but its weight could make for a high postage cost.

Its 240V and in excellent condition. With stainless media $350.

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