RCBS vibatory tumbler went down

[Jaybird78]

I got back from the range this morning and threw my brass into the RCBS tumbler. I have it out in the garage so I don't have to listen to it. I went out to check a hour later and it wasn't on.

Checked it out and it would not work. It's an '05 manufacture date and I'm just a every other week shooter. It doesn't get a workout if you know what I mean. I start thinking I'm going to have to buy a new one.

The more I thought about it, I decided to disassemble it and see what was the problem. Turns out the cord is spliced by solder to the motor leads. My hot wire splice had somehow broke (from vibration perhaps)and was concealed by heatshrink. I went ahead and used a barrel stak-on to re-splice and she is as good as new.

Moral of the story: Remain calm and work your problem.

P.S. I like shiny brass.

 

[Remo-99]

Turns out the cord is spliced by solder to the motor leads. My hot wire splice had somehow broke (from vibration perhaps)and was concealed by heatshrink.

Yep, the intentionally imbalanced motor shalf can cause alot of wear 'n' tear on motor components.
I just done a makeshift repair on an old case vibatory tumbler that stopped working, took down the motor and found the end housing (at the offset weighted end) had flogged out the bearing seat.
So packed some shim between the bearing and housing, reassembled and is running again, for now anyways.

 

[qajaq59]

Remain calm and work your problem.

That works well for any problem in the reloading hobby.

 

[CPT Kirk]

I have two vibratory tumblers - sold by Midway. Older one has run for years with no issues at all. The newer one has broken both of the electrical wires off at different times. I had to splice an extra piece of wire in each time to get enough length for the repair, but the tumbler is still running fine. Took me some time to figure out why the tumbler quit the first time and to find the broken wire. Second time took me a while to remember how I fixed it the first time. But all ended well.

 

[762NATO]

Someone was telling me yesterday that all his reloading "accessories" are RCBS because they have a lifetime warranty. Is this not the case?

 

[kimbernut]

RCBS

Electric products are generally subed out- they do not carry the lifetime warrenty but it wouldn't hurt to call if a problem developes. They are great folks to work with.

 

[RedAlert]

Sounds like the manufacturers aren't leaving enough slack from the grommet in the base to the motor. A little more slack would reduce the stress on the soldered contacts.

 

[dbltapem]

Thanks for letting me know. This is my second RCBS tumbler, my first one broke at the base. It was the Large Capacity. The long "screw" just broke right in half. I called RCBS and they let me have products from their catalog of equal worth. Then I bought a new RCBS and after about 6 months of cleaning the power went out! I will do what you did and see if I can fix it. I have also gone through 2 Lyman large capacity tumblers! Both died after about 6 months!

I just ordered from Cabela's the Thumler's Tumbler Ultra Vibe 18 Tumbler. I have read online that they last at least 5 years! All mine seem to break within a year. I am a casual shooter and reload about 500 rounds a week. Mostly .223, 45 ACP, and .308. and I too like shiny clean brass!

 

[FROGO207]

I have the Dillon 5000 and use it almost every day for about 10 hours. In 10 years I have not broken it yet-and I ABUSE it often. Too many casings and it will not clean well at all. I know. I have gone through about 30 gallons of corncob media and the same of walnut so far. Oh and I bought it well used from a guy going out of the hobby besides. Nothing to say but good for that tumbler.