The Original CZ Forum
GENERAL => Ammunition, questions, and handloading techniques => Topic started by: Dan_69GTX on November 27, 2019, 10:08:21 AM
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I've tried various dry media tumblers. The Frankford Arsenal, Lyman, and Hornady. All make it just past warranty (a little over a year) and die - the motor typically. The motors I've found are as much as the unit.
Do you have a recommendation of one that will last longer? I see the dillon cv-750 and cv-2001 have a 5 year warranty. Do they last that long (or longer)?
So, what have you used that you LIKE and will LAST? or does something like that not exist?
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Try a Thumler. I bought one used, so I have no idea how many hours are on it, but I've let it run for 8 hours at a time.
https://rocktumbler.com/thumlers/model-uv10.shtml They make a bigger one, as well.
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Such is the case with things like this today. I have a Midway 1292 tumbler that I bought 25 years ago. Tumbled gazillions of cases with it and shows no indication of failure anytime soon. I think if I was buying a new one I'd look at the offerings from Dillon.
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Berry's has a 3 year warranty on their tumbler motors and a lifetime warranty on the plastic in them. After the warranty expires, they will completely rebuild it for $20.00, including return shipping, but you have to pay shipping it to them. I've done this twice with a Berry's that I bought when they first came out.
https://www.berrysmfg.com/product/ber-qd-500-vib-tumbler-110v
However, for longevity, go with the Thumler's tumblers. I've got two UV-18's that are at least 35 years old, and I've replaced the motors once in each of them. I also have a UV-45, the big monster, but I don't know how old it is, since I'm the third owner that I know of. That one will handle a couple thousand handgun brass at a time, but it's big and noisy. It's made for industrial use, and is HEAVY DUTY.
http://thumlerstumbler.com/vibratory.html
My tumblers get a lot of use, and it's not uncommon for me to have all four tumblers going at the same time for days on end. You get what you pay for, and the Thumlers are top of the line, but Berry's has the best warranty for the inexpensive hobby tumblers. While smaller, they do a good job.
Hope this helps.
Fred
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My Dillon has given me over 25 years of service and still works but I have moved on to wet tumbling it is much faster and cleaner I can do a 20 lb load and have it dry and ready to reload in about an hour and a half using DC Armory brass cleaning concentrate. I'll do 5 or 6 loads in a afternoon and have several months worth of brass for reloading.
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Thanks for all the replies - keep em coming.
I don't want wet - I want dry. I'm currently building my own wet tumbler.
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Mine(Berry's) has been going strong for at least 4 years. Granted, since I started wet tumbling last year I only use the dry tumbler for short periods to clean up loaded ammo.
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My Frankford Arsenal tumbler is 10 years old..... but only runs 4 or 5 hours per week.
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I've used Dillon tumblers all my life because that's what I got in the first CraigsList deal. The used CV-500 had to get a new motor about 2 years into ownership. Since then I've swapped for a CV-750 which has done much better.
I also got a used CV-2000 in the same deal which is massive, but also has a equally massive motor. That thing has lasted over 18 years now.
What I understand is that the cheaper motors with plain bearings are the ones that give out. Look for motors with ball bearings.
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Thanks for all the replies.
I checked with Dillon and they will rebuild, but not sell parts. Since I'm in VA and they are in AZ - that is a lot of shipping. Thumbler sells motors and parts, so I ordered the UV-10.
Time will tell if....I chose wisely.
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I must admit that having CZ Customs, Dillon, and HBI as local to me is convenient.... but sometimes too convenient. But I’m not complaining!
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Also, short life on one of my cheaper ones was caused by me overloading it trying to speed things up. When I loaded it too heavy the motor got a lot hotter.
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Thanks for all the replies.
I checked with Dillon and they will rebuild, but not sell parts. Since I'm in VA and they are in AZ - that is a lot of shipping. Thumbler sells motors and parts, so I ordered the UV-10.
Time will tell if....I chose wisely.
Did you order the std, or industrial, model?
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I still have my original Lyman Pro 1200 turbo model I bought back in Feb 2012 when I started reloading. I think the key is knowing the max and constant load limits of the motor and not overloading it with the amount of brass and media.
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Did you order the std, or industrial, model?
I ordered this one
https://www.cabelas.com/product/Thumlers-Tumbler-Ultra-Vibe-Tumbler/705516.uts?slotId=0
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Did you order the std, or industrial, model?
I ordered this one
https://www.cabelas.com/product/Thumlers-Tumbler-Ultra-Vibe-Tumbler/705516.uts?slotId=0
That's the lighter duty model. Same one I have.
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Also, short life on one of my cheaper ones was caused by me overloading it trying to speed things up. When I loaded it too heavy the motor got a lot hotter.
One way around this is realize that the motors are sized for a specific load. One way to "tune" the load to the motor is to turn the unit ON. As the unit vibrates, pour in either your tumbling media from a separate container OR your brass. At some point the brass/media mixture will start to "churn". Stop pouring when things are moving as they should.
After a couple of sessions like this you'll learn what the proper churn looks like.
• If you want to keep your tumbler full of media, then you'll be pouring in your brass. The churn will tell you when to stop adding brass.
• If you want to keep your media in a separate container, then you'll be starting with your brass dancing around in the tumbler while you add the media. Again, the churn will tell you when to stop adding media.
Not only will you get better/faster cleaning results (because the churn is optimized), but your motor will never be over-loaded.
Side Note: This is also the proper time of year to buy a 2 hour Christmas light timer (Like This (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FPWK4YM?aaxitk=mHngoNrwZu9Scr0T8l32mQ&pd_rd_i=B07FPWK4YM&pf_rd_p=44fc3e0f-4b9e-4ed8-b33b-363a7257163d&hsa_cr_id=1818072230101&sb-ci-n=dealBadge&sb-ci-v=Black%20Friday%20Deal&sb-ci-m=blackFridayDeal&sb-ci-a=B07FPWK4YM)) which you can plug your tumbler into. This is a great thing to have as a "backup plan" in case you get called away suddenly.
Hope this helps.
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When I was selling police range brass I had 3 of the Frankford tumblers. The most used one did 1500 POUNDS a year for 3 years and is still going. Never overloaded as it was used as Wobbly said. Weighed each load.
Sold the newest one and still have 2 but now only personal use.
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Wobbly,
Thanks for that explanation on how to properly load the tumbler. I don't think I ever did that or know if my father ever did that (he does all of the cleaning).
Looking forward to this new tumbler. And if I ever have time I will get my wet tumbler built.
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Thanks for that explanation on how to properly load the tumbler. I don't think I ever did that or know if my father ever did that (he does all of the cleaning).
After killing a Dillon CV-500 and running a CV-750 into the ground, I decided step back and think about the problem. This method was what I came up with. I don't know that's it original thinking, or simply common sense, but it seems to work because I stopped sending truck loads of money to Scottsdale, AZ. ;D
One other lesson....
DO NOT use the pet type of corn cob media. Yes, it's the same corn cob, but it's much larger and much more coarse. Meaning some of it always gets stuck in even straight-walled brass. It won't come out in the sieve, but it will come out in your case feeder and jam the works !
The best deal I've found on dry corn cob tumbling media is on Amazon (delivered free via Prime)...
Frankford Arsenal 15 lb Bag for $18.00
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0063GT330?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_dt_b_product_details
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The best corn cob media is 20-40 grit blasting media from zoro.com. It's $27.25 for a 40 pound bag, and with zoro, shipping is free for orders over $50.00.
Here's the link: https://www.zoro.com/econoline-blast-media-corn-cobb-size-2040-40-lb-526040z-40/i/G2641952/
Zoro is owned by Grainger, so just about anything Grainger's sells, Zoro sells, so it's easy to get a $50.00 order together. If you sign up for their emails, they often have sales, which can lower the cost even more.
Hope this helps.
Fred
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The best corn cob media is 20-40 grit blasting media from zoro.com. It's $27.25 for a 40 pound bag, and with zoro, shipping is free for orders over $50.00.
Here's the link: https://www.zoro.com/econoline-blast-media-corn-cobb-size-2040-40-lb-526040z-40/i/G2641952/
Zoro is owned by Grainger, so just about anything Grainger's sells, Zoro sells, so it's easy to get a $50.00 order together. If you sign up for their emails, they often have sales, which can lower the cost even more.
Hope this helps.
Fred
Yup. I agree. I still have to open up the second 40 pound bag I ordered in order to get the free shipping. You can also get 15% off of $150 order offer when you sign up for their emails.
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My 1st was a lyman and it died in about 1 year. The bearing bushing failed.
then i bough a used Dillon 1200 from my lGS. He used it and and moved up. its still running.
but you really dont want to overload them since they will work better if not overloaded.
as far as media goes, look for an "industrial" abrasive shop in your area. We have some here and i can get walnut/corncob for cheap. Its usually in a large bag so i just split it with someone.
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Got the tumbler. Boy is it quiet compared to the others I've had.
Will wait to test it until after Christmas - it is a gift for my Dad (to clean brass for me O0)
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Will wait to test it until after Christmas - it is a gift for my Dad (to clean brass for me O0)
This is so wrong or very smart. I’ll go with the latter since I had done the same with my dad O0 O0
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My first Franklin Arsenal vibratory cleaner lasted 8 or 9 years. Sometimes I'd forget to turn it off and it would run all night. I'd hear it when I went to the garage to get the car to drive to work. The bearings went out on the motor.
I bought bearings, replaced them and it still didn't work right.
I bought another Franklin Arsenal vibratory cleaner ($35 on sale at Cabela's made it hard to pass up).
That one lasted all of about 1&1/2 years before the metal frame around the bearing wore through. No idea how that happened. By then I'd bought another one and was running one to "clean" brass crushed walnut shell media and one to "polish" brass with crushed walnut shell media and nufinish car wax.
So I had a fairly new one that died and a really new one that was running great. Then it hit me, grab the original one (I put everything in the bowl and set it on a shelf, somewhere in the garage - I have trouble throwing stuff away) and see if the parts were the same. They were. Grabbed the motor frame pieces from that first one that was going on 10 years old by then) and fix the 2nd one.
So, as I type this I still have two running Frankford Arsenal unit. But they are only 2 to 3 years old.
No idea how much brass they clean. Sometimes I clean brass a couple times. Clean it, I may resize/bell the pistol brass and set it aside to reload and then get sidetracked by another project/caliber/pistol/rifle and it's a couple years till I grab that brass again. It sat there and tarnished some, so it goes through the polisher again to be nice and bright and shiny before I reload it.
It's tough fore me to spend $80 on something if I can get a similar one (seems similar on the surface of it, I know) for $35. Like the PSA 18" AR15 upper I bought. I paid nearly as much for a brand name barrel and the bolt I used was fairly expensive as well for another 18" build. Took both to the range and if the cheap PSA rifle didn't shoot as well, if not slightly better, then I haven't built/shot a single AR in my life. One offs don't prove anything. But sometimes you get lucky and it makes it hard to tell best from better.
Good luck with what ever model/brand you buy.
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I use large, older model Dillon that my Dad purchased years ago. He and his buddies loaded a lot of ammo back in the ‘90s and this tumbler definitely saw some use! It sat for quite a few years until I started reloading 5-6 years ago. I sent it back to Dillon for a little work a few years back (the old ones have a lifetime warranty), and they replaced the cord, the lid gasket and the lid hold down knob. Despite these wear items, it was still running strong. I wired both the Dillon and a Thumblers for wet tumbling with timer switch outlets so I can run them for a set time and not worry about remembering to turn them off. Works great!
Based on the service from this old Dillon, I would definitely buy another when the time comes.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191219/17e0e4c7f594c0c2811b2b0752b7d28d.jpg)(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191219/dcb782e745af72da149665ffe0b64d3f.jpg)
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My Dillon has given me over 25 years of service and still works but I have moved on to wet tumbling it is much faster and cleaner I can do a 20 lb load and have it dry and ready to reload in about an hour and a half using DC Armory brass cleaning concentrate. I'll do 5 or 6 loads in a afternoon and have several months worth of brass for reloading.
+1 on Dillon. Mines pushing 20 and never missed a beat. I’ve used it hard and it’s been great. Dillon customer service is top notch to boot.
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+1 on Dillon. Mines pushing 20 and never missed a beat. I’ve used it hard and it’s been great. Dillon customer service is top notch to boot.
The smaller Dillon CV-500 didn't fare so well. They had to replace a lot of motors, and then finally the replacement motor was no longer available. Then they introduced the CV-750 which has been OK.
But the larger CV-2000 has always been a workhorse tumbler. In part because (getting back to the filling by churn technique discussed earlier) it's probably hard to find enough brass to over-fill this monster.
;)
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Maybe I just got lucky. I've been using the same Lyman tumbler since about 2000. I do a couple hundred cases a week for about a hour. With Hornady media they come out looking like new. I'll never go back to Lyman media.
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The Thumbler works GREAT! Cleans in 2 hour what the others took 6 hours.
Now, time will tell if it will outlast the Frankford and the Hornady. It cost 3x as much so hopefully it will last at least 4 years. :o
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Both of my Thumler's UV-18's are over 35 years old. I've replaced the motors in each of them once in that time, and they're still going strong. I have no idea how old my UV-45 tumbler is, but I know I'm at least the third owner of this beast. It's industrial grade and everything on it is heavy duty.
I think at four years your UV-10 will just be hitting it's stride. Thumler's knows how to make tumblers that last, and they're nice people to deal with, too.
Hope this helps.
Fred
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Fred,
Thanks! Your testimony, Painter's, and others is why I went with the Thumbler.
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Well, if you get the kind of service out it that I've gotten out of mine, you'll be calling them in about 20 years for a replacement motor. ::)
Fred
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That would be GREAT!!!
In reality - if I get the service out of the existing Hornady as I did out of the last Hornady, I'll be ordering another Thumbler in less than a year.
We like having one for the walnut and one for the corncob. 8)
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As an aside, as another option, you can use a wet tumbler with an extra drum of walnut media. I'm not sure how much your processing, but it seems like a rotary tumbler would last a bit longer than the vibes. Extra drums can be made or sourced pretty easy. Best of both for cheap. If you have the lyman one, call and tell them you are getting cases stuck in the top and bottom of the rim (old design) and they may send you one for free.
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Already in the process of making a wet case cleaner. Fairly simple to do. However, I got sidetracked making the base for the Ransom Rest. Then, I needed to clean the gutters. Then I need to reseal a window in the garage. Then I needed to rotate and balance the tires on the truck. That is taking longer because the truck tires are not getting any lighter. Then my son’s car needed some work. At least that is mostly supervision now.… So… Someday… It will get finished…
Worst of all, I still need to go to work during the day.
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My wife has just re-assigned you. Your day job is now the Ransom Rest. You can drive the truck to the hardware store for parts. That's all the rotation those tires need.
I've been assigned to come clean your gutters.
Painter has been assigned to seal and paint the garage window.
She who must be obeyed has spoken !!
;D
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Update:
Still haven't gotten the wet cleaner finished - no where near enough of a priority for that.
Haven't cleaned brass in about a year. Had so much already clean and little shooting due to hand surgery.
Now I'm needing to clean some brass.
Thumler tumbler is still working GREAT!
Hornady just died. The lower bearing in the motor worked it's way out of the housing. Looked at the Thumler and the bearing is encased where it can NOT come out.
Just ordered a Dillon 750 cleaner and will post my thoughts on comparison with other's I've used.
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Sounds like a great start to 2022! Hope your hand gets better.
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Update:
Still haven't gotten the wet cleaner finished - no where near enough of a priority for that.
Haven't cleaned brass in about a year. Had so much already clean and little shooting due to hand surgery.
Now I'm needing to clean some brass.
Thumler tumbler is still working GREAT!
Hornady just died. The lower bearing in the motor worked it's way out of the housing. Looked at the Thumler and the bearing is encased where it can NOT come out.
Just ordered a Dillon 750 cleaner and will post my thoughts on comparison with other's I've used.
if the bearing has like a rubber isolator (rubber band) around it and the isolator is working its way out. Its toast. i spend alot of time trying to figure out how to get an isolator back into the housing. thats what failed on my lyman.
if you are making a wet one, why not made/mod it for dry?
i have an idea in my head for a unit to do both, but no drive to make one since im downsizing.
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if the bearing has like a rubber isolator (rubber band) around it and the isolator is working its way out. Its toast. i spend alot of time trying to figure out how to get an isolator back into the housing. thats what failed on my lyman.
if you are making a wet one, why not made/mod it for dry?
i have an idea in my head for a unit to do both, but no drive to make one since im downsizing.
No insulator on the bearing (that I can see) just vibrated out of the "ring" holding it and down the shaft to the weight. The ring holding it is now too large ID to hold the OD of the bearing. Yup - toast.
Currently (still) don't have the time to do the home made cleaner since I've got too many other things to do. Eventually I will make it - I hope.
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Here's how to clean brass, lot's of brass...LOL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5y_dsP3dsM
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Did you order the std, or industrial, model?
I must be very lucky, my Lyman is still going strong since 2016.
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Got the Dillon and it works great - as expected.
The motor is HUGE compared to any of the others I've used. The motor shaft is MUCH larger diameter as well.
Time will tell what happens - just figured I'd let you know about the motor on the Dillon.