Busted another tumbler!!

[FROGO207]

Well the Frankfort Arsenal tumbler did not perform well at all It did not last for an entire year. It just slowed down then stopped dead with a loud hum today. To be fair I did tumble a fair amount of brass with it--say 50K a month at the minimum but I figured it would last longer than that.:banghead: The last one was a Dillon and it lasted over 12 years, and I got it used at that. Guess I will get the upgrade kit to fix the Dillon CV500 when my temporary repair of it wears out. I also have a Thumblers so I would not have to be out of business till it gets repaired but I like to tumble my finished ammo and use the FA or Dillon tumbler for that chore.
Oh yeah I got it in march so I may try to send it back to Midway after I talk to them Monday.

 

[1SOW]

Could just be it needs a thorough cleaning and relube. The "hum" is the motor trying to drive the eccentic weight.

I have the Cabellas and am told if it fails, go exchange it for a new one. It also works well (for the last 3 years?), has an on-off switch, a clear top and not excessively noisy.

 

[gamestalker]

I've been using a Ultra Vibe for about 6 or 7 years now and it's still going strong. I'm not very nice to my tumbler either. I'll run 50 - 75 pieces of 7 mag brass for 24 hours non stop with not even enough time to cool down before it's loaded back up and going for another full day. According to Ultra Vide the tumbler's they make use an indistrial sealed motor with actual bearings instead of bushings or what ever the common standard is, and then larger brushes and a fan cooled motor. I don't know anything about the Frankfort Arsenal but I would think it is a good product. is it belt driven? If so maybe the belt stretched or broke?
They aren't very inexpensive, but the extra money seems worth it to me. I don't know how much you tumble but the UV 10 will handle a pretty large load of pistol brass and about 100 rounds of 7 mag brass with no trouble.

 

[FROGO207]

This one was full of 45 ACP brass (350) when it died. I took the old Dillon apart and found it had roller bearings and was sleeved with a rubber type bushing that held the bearing in. The rubber had pounded itself to shreds and allowed the rotor to rub/bind against the casing while the roller bearings were still OK. I used RTV Silicone to build a new rubber bushing and it still works a year later. but I figure it will come apart again.

 

[stan rose]

My uncle was unhappy with his tumblers so he upgraded. Now please understand he dances to quite a different beat, but he bought a small, plastic barreled cement mixer for a couple of hundred dollars. He then filled it with crushed walnut shells and set up a sifting mechanism to seperate the shells after cleaning. He has been very happy with his heavy duty contraption.

 

[JohnM]

Be a little slow going, but what's his wife think about the thing churning away in a corner of the living room?

 

[stan rose]

Oh Kathy is a very patient woman, my uncle stored his motor cycle in the living room for a year once, trying to convey to her that art is dependent on the viewer. But he is also lucky enough to have a 3,500 square foot shop about fifty yards from his house. As for the speed of the tumbler he says he loads it up the brass and media and frogets about it for 8-12 hours, that insures that even with the slower rpm the brass get clean.

 

[JohnM]

 

[josephbw]

I had the same thing happen to me last week with my Hornady tumbler. I wound up tearing it completely apart and cleaning and relubing the bushings in the motor. Runs like a champ now.

 

[A-FIXER]

I had the same thing happen to me last week with my Hornady tumbler. I wound up tearing it completely apart and cleaning and relubing the bushings in the motor. Runs like a champ now.

Ditto.... worked for me too.

 

[FROGO207]

Called FA today and got a great gal that when told my problem is going to send me a complete replacement tumbler at no charge. Did not even want the old one back so I took the liberty of taking it apart to see what was the problem. The bearing closest to the fan was frozen up solid. Cleaned it with carb cleaner and when freed up and clean put aerosol chain lube back in it. Works great upon reassembly. Running a batch of 300 45 ACP in it now. The bearings are 626-ZZ. I found some replacement bearings on the net that are motor duty and also rubber sealed. They are 626-2RS. Cost is $.99 each plus S&H at wwwvbx.com so I will get a couple sets to have on hand when the regular ones wear out.

 

[1SOW]

A Win-Win situation.
Good job.

 

[evan price]

I run the Berry's/Cabelas tumblers 24-7 and they just keep going. So far three years with only a shutdown for cleaning once in a while.

I used to use a polymer-barrel mortar mixer before I had to use it for mortar. 50# walnut, 5-gallons of brass, let it run all day and all night. Used a Rubbermaid tote with some hardware wire mesh on top to sift. Those were the days, back when I had a lot of brass to work each month.

 

[ranger335v]

"It just slowed down then stopped dead with a loud hum today."

The oil in the motor's simple bronze bearings have run hot long enough to dry into a sticky varnish-like gum and it's seized the 1/8" diameter motor shaft. Clean the bearings and put a few drops of high grade light oil in them and all be well.

Lyman and Berry/Cabela's tumbers have 1/4" motor shafts and sealed ball bearings - good way to go.

 

[Captaingyro]

I drilled some air holes into the bottom shroud of my FA tumbler when I got it. As it's built, theres almost no way for air to circulate around the motor, and it just looked like it was going to run hot. So far, so good.

 

[rondog]

Don't set 'em on carpet, they can't get any airflow that way since they "breathe" from the bottom. They need to be on a hard surface like concrete or tile. Carpet will dampen the vibrating action too. My Lyman Turbo Pro 1200 runs circles around the FA that I had, difference like night and day.

 

[FROGO207]

Well when my Dillon CV500 motor dies again I am going to get the upgrade kit and I might get another 20 years out of it. In the scheme of things I now have a Thumblers with SS media for the first polishing and the corncob/walnut vibrator will be for polishing the finished rounds with NU Finish so I bet it lasts a lot longer this time around.