how often do you change out media and how long do you tumble for?

[seeds76]

how often do you change out media and how long do you tumble for?

 

[ArchAngelCD]

How long I tumble depends upon how long it takes to clean the brass. Some brass will clean up in an hour or sometimes it will take 6 hours. I've found the more you shoot the brass the longer it takes each time to clean it. BTW, I'm not looking for super shinny brass, I'm only interested in it being clean.

As for media, again, it depends on how dirty the brass is. I've used some media as long as a year but I do use cut up USED dryer sheets to clean the media. You would be surprised how much dirt the dryer sheets remove from the media. I use a cut up sheet about every 4 uses and that seems to keep the media fairly clean for a very long time.

This is just what I do. I'm sure everyone has a different way of doing things...

 

[Afy]

I tend to tumble for 4-5 hours. My current lot of media has been in use for over a year now. I do use dryer sheets, and media polish every few tumbles.

 

[RugerBob]

I had come corn cob material I used for about 2 years. Just changed it and got some tuff nut. I usually tumble about 3 hours. I don't need it lookin new, just cleaned up.
+1 on the dryer sheets.

 

[tschlich]

I just received my tumbler kit from Cabelas and did my first load of .223. After emptying the hopper, I noticed some wear on the inside from the tumbling action. Is this normal until it gets a uniform wear pattern? I am just wondering if I am doing something wrong-maybe too much brass or not enough media? Any help would be a appreciated.

Tim

 

[RugerBob]

Where is the wear? On the brass or the inside of the tumbler? If brass, maybe more media needed. I have not had this problem with my 30-06s. And I run at least 70-80 at a time for 3 hours +- 15 mins. I resize and decap 1st. I have heard of some that have gouges on the side of the tumbler and damaged brass necks. Hard to say tho.

 

[Otto]

I've been using ceramic media thats lasted for three years and it still looks brand new.
With walnut I usually toss it after 8 tumblings or when it turns black.

 

[fireman 9731]

I just received my tumbler kit from Cabelas and did my first load of .223. After emptying the hopper, I noticed some wear on the inside from the tumbling action. Is this normal until it gets a uniform wear pattern? I am just wondering if I am doing something wrong-maybe too much brass or not enough media? Any help would be a appreciated.

I have the same tumbler and the same thing happened to me too... I think its the case mouths getting in a bind and continually rub against the tumbler. It doesn't seem to hurt anything though.

 

[berettashotgun]

My brother uses corn meal with a tablespoon of oats.
It works!, I laughed when he told me this, but his reasoning was sound as displayed by the range master stopping a shoot and telling everyone that," This is how a reloaded round SHOULD look".
He gets about 40hrs of tumbler time before he changes out the media.
I'm going to try this on my next batch, I currently use pecan hulls with some rouge for my stuff and am very happy, since I get the nut hulls for free

 

[ants]

Depends upon how you want the medium to perform.

I use the same walnut for years and years and years. It gets dirty, but still scrubs well enough for me. I usually tumble 75 minutes.

I don't need shiny brass because I certainly don't want a range master to stop everyone in the middle of a shoot.

You make your own decisions. Your choices may be wrong for me, mine may be wrong for you. Cleaning is a personal choice.