Life expectancy of tumbler media

[juststarting]

Hi All

Just wondering what is the life expectancy of tumbler media. Not sure what I have... Green looking stuff And generally, how would I know when to chuck it and refill.

Cheers

[Apollo]

When you cases come out looking worse than when they went in ...

Green sounds like "Corn Cob" .... it will change colour to looking dirty and it will take longer to get cases nice n shiny.

When it gets dirty you can wash the media, dry it and add some case polish..NOT Brasso...!!! Something like Lyman Brite, designed as an additive for Untreated Corn Cob Media.

[juststarting]

Thanks, Apollo.

[yoshie]

Ive been going quite a while on my first batch, washed it half a dozen times in an old stocking and put in nufinish car polish

[juststarting]

Ye, I was more interested in the first cycle, before you chuck it or wash it. I.e. don't know how it should look at the time when it needs a clean. But this all makes sense.

Don't think I will be adding any polish in there. I just want them clean without crap on them to fall back into action, if they shine or not - not really a big deal.

[Apollo]

The "Lyman Brite" I mentioned is specifically made by Lyman for the purpose.

The beauty of this product is that it adds a protective coating to the cases as well as a high polished look. There's nothing to fall off or contaminate your rifle.

I have some Lapua Cases I polished near two years ago that still have that high shiny look, no dulling and no sign of tarnish that happens especially if they are handled.

Out hunting, shiny cases are easy to see if droped. Shiny cases are also far easier to inspect for faults and keep your equipment clean when reloading. Just in case anyone wonders why bother making them super shiny.

[tom604]

Lyman brite? looks like i have another thing to buy

[Baldrick314]

I've found a good indication that it's time to clean the media is when your cases come out with a layer of dust/soot on them from the carbon built up in the media.

I use walnut media which is a bit different to your corn cob but I washed mine for the first time after 2 or so years. I'd estimate it had cleaned around 7,500-10,000 cases of various calibres before I noticed a drop off in cleaning efficiency

[yoshie]

Ye, I was more interested in the first cycle, before you chuck it or wash it. I.e. don't know how it should look at the time when it needs a clean. But this all makes sense.

Don't think I will be adding any polish in there. I just want them clean without crap on them to fall back into action, if they shine or not - not really a big deal.

It really depends on how many cases your doing, what type and how dirty they are, my 3006 cases come out quite dirty but 9mm and 44 mag not so much. I really load up the tumbler with 150 or so pistol cases at a time but only a dozen or so large rifle cases.

[Apollo]

Lyman brite? looks like i have another thing to buy

It's actually called "Lyman Turbo Brite" and described as a Brass Polish for Shell or Corn Cob Media. I would not use it with Walnut Media since the walnut is not absorbent like corn cob. I have both types of Tumbler Media and in my view Walnut is only ever used for cleaning very dirty hard crusted cases and does not shine cases like corn cob does. Corn cob is for mild cleaning and a high polish.

My Lyman Tumbler also is setup for Moly Coating Bullets with different smaller and much thicker bowls.

Lyman Tumbler, best investment I made many years ago.

[Lyam]

Check our Lorgar's post on this here too JS.

Before and after washing tumbler media.

He's using walnut, not corn cob, but same difference.

[BadCompany]

In a pinch you can use white rice (uncooked). Cheaper than using the media from a gun shop and does a decent job.

Another handy tip is to empty between cycles and wipe out the bowl. You'll get a lot of the dust and crap out of your media that way because it tends to stick to the bowl a bit.

[Lorgar]

When it gets dirty you can wash the media, dry it and add some case polish..NOT Brasso...!!! Something like Lyman Brite, designed as an additive for Untreated Corn Cob Media.

Check our Lorgar's post on this here too JS.

Before and after washing tumbler media.

He's using walnut, not corn cob, but same difference.

Yep I wash mine. Never used corn cob media so can't comment on results for that but after washing and drying the walnut it works better than it did when new every time.

[WayneO]

Apollo, just out of genuine curiosity, why not Brasso?

[brett1868]

There's 2 different formulas for Brasso, the old one used an abrasive and apparently works much better then the new one which contains ammonia. Fine abrasives in the old formula are likely to adhere to the case / chamber and ammonia has been proven to weaken brass, turning it brittle. I gave up tumbling brass a while back and now use a pair of Frankford Arsenal stainless pin tumblers, primer pockets come out like new and no media stuck in the flash hole.

[Apollo]

Brett beat me to it.

For as long as I can remember (decades ago) my Mother cleaning her stuff with Brasso and my use many moons ago, you could smell the ammonia in Brasso.

Ammonia (like in Sweets 7.62 Solvent) strips copper from your bore and anything else it comes in contact with. So, it strips the copper out of brass cases thus sending them brittle and weakening them.

[WayneO]

Thanks guys, I never knew that. Appreciate the advice and info.

I use the stainless steel shot type tumbler. Warm water, dish washing liquid, steel shot and 3 hours of tumbling, makes your brass look like new both inside and out. Even the primer pockets are spotless, and as Brett says, nothing left trapped in the flash holes.

[Carter]

I gave up tumbling brass a while back and now use a pair of Frankford Arsenal stainless pin tumblers, primer pockets come out like new and no media stuck in the flash hole.

Bit off topic but what pushed you to stainless pin tumblers over an ultrasonic one?

Look down that road before going stainless?

[brett1868]

Bit off topic but what pushed you to stainless pin tumblers over an ultrasonic one?

Look down that road before going stainless?

Ultrasonic has its place and is fine for small quantities but has limitations when trying to do bulk brass. I found that even with a 18L 400w commercial sized ultrasonic cleaner I could only effectively clean 40-50 of the BMG cases. Brass is very good at absorbing ultrasonic energy which limits the quantity of cases that can be cleaned and never really did a good job on primer pockets. Stainless will do over 1000 9mm cases in 3 hrs and they come out as new inside and out. The big cleaner has been relegated to parts cleaning, does a great job on muzzle brakes

[WayneO]

Ultrasonic is fine for rifle in small batches. But when it comes to 9mm, you cant be cleaning in batches of 100 at a time.
Trust me, nothing beats stainless.

[brett1868]

Lastnights brass is in the wash now. I've got some before pictures and when it's done I'll get some after pictures....I'll let the pictures do the talking

[Apollo]

How can a topic get so off track.

The OP asked about "Life expectancy of tumbler media" and now we are into numerous replies about Ultrasonic and Stainless Tumbling.

If he wanted that information I'd say he would have asked with a specific topic.

I use an Ultrasonic and quite happy with the results but I didn't mention it as it wasn't relevant to the topic. I have no problem what so ever with using a normal Tumbler, in fact with the additive I use I bet my cases stay bright n shiny way longer by years than done by any other method.

Maybe I too should show some before and after, bet my after win.

[juststarting]

Seems to happen a bit here, probably directly correlated to the age of the respondents

[Apollo]

Yes, maybe I'm just too old and cranky. Been at this story for many, many years and I'm happy with what happens plus the results which do vary on how you attack the situation, plus what media you use.

Walnut Media is the most agressive and doesn't result in the highest polish finish. Un-treated Corn Cob is next but doesn't clean really old rubbish off plus the finish isn't tops but better than Walnut. Treated Corn Cob about the same but it contains a polish so the result is a lot more shiny. My old, old Corn Cob washed many, many times then treated with Lyman Brite gives the highest polished finish. Looks great, but the point I found is that whatever is in Lyman Brite the gloss finish stays that way for a long time, like at least a year or so and finger marks don't tarnish the finish so that's what I prefer to use.

Let's take a bad example of the end polish result but gee, these started off as some old, really old .243W Winchester Cases I found out in my outside shed. They came from the very early 1970's when I first started reloading, have been shot many times (too many to remember) and were laying in an old rusty steel tin for again, many years. They were put in a tumbler with Walnut Media so the polish isn't that great but well good enough to examine for case faults and some had a sign of a crack around the neck which I found out on reloading then firing was the end of their life.

Some of these are still being used but they really do need to be annealed when and if ever I decide to go down that path.

Now to figure out why I can't add the attachments.... working on it.

Before..



After..



Some other cases ......

30BR



And another before n after ... before on the right, sorry. Carbon wiped off with Ballistol before tumbling.

[Apollo]

BTW...

If you want to start a Topic on Ultrasonic and/or Stainless Pin Cleaners please feel free.

I can give some hints on the Ultrasonic with solutions that are used and why. These are cheap and very effective for small quantities.

Stainless wet cleaners I have no idea, don't need one nor do I do huge bulk cleaning.

[brett1868]

Yes, a bit of a diversion from the OP's original question but without a little diversion he may otherwise not have known the pros & cons of other case cleaning methods. I've got a pair of vibratory tumblers that are not used anymore and a big ultrasonic I use on occasions to clean muzzle brakes, money essentially wasted and I wish I'd heard / seen the pin tumblers first.

Pictures below are self explanatory.

Before

IMG_2306.JPG (227.77 KiB) Viewed 4668 times

Oh So Shiny

IMG_2308.JPG (331.33 KiB) Viewed 4668 times

Inside same as outside

IMG_2310.JPG (235.91 KiB) Viewed 4668 times

Pockets clean as new.

IMG_2311.JPG (272.98 KiB) Viewed 4668 times

Appllo, Yes, you are a cranky old bugger and looking forward to visiting you in the near future How are the insides of those .243 cases?

[Apollo]

When you get old, you get cranky cause nothing works like it use'd to do and the young chicks don't like that much.

Since the .243W don't have a big wide mouth it's a bit hard to tell down that little dark hole but not as clean as your's. Bet they are many decades older too and were never cleaned inside like happens these days to a few.

Boy, those cases are tiny. Do they come out of a "toy" gun ...

Before you come for a visit Brett, I'll have to invest in a few dozen Ear Muffs for the neighbours and give them a few weeks notice so they can book a holiday away... or come join us.

So, is this going to happen before winter gets worse, during winter or wait until the mirage is so bad you can't see past 100m...

You won't lose a 50BMG case in the grass these days. What grass....