Tumbling question

[HANDLOADER]

Just got my first tumbler in the mail and was wondering if I am harming the tumbler by leaving it running for 2-3 hours at a time. Should I allow a cooling break as well for the motor. I have used it for the past few days that way doing small quanties of 38 spl. So if I am harming it please let me know.

God bless

Handloader

 

[solvability]

Mine runs for days at a time - sometimes daily for weeks.

 

[brentwal]

I run mine 12+ hours at a time, your GTG.

 

[CRITGIT]

All the major tumblers can and are expected to run for much longer periods than 2 hours. Some here have run them for days!
Just get some suitable media.... walnut, corn or even pecan...maybe a couple strips from one of those fabric softener sheets or even paper towel and a squirt of brass polish or Nu Vinyl car wax and ..................you're jake!
Congrats and enjoy your new tumbler!

CRITGIT

 

[kingpin008]

What they've all said. I dunno about you, but if I bought a piece of equipment and was really worried about keeping it on for less than a day being harmful for it...I wouldn't have bought that piece of equipment!

 

[Wildfire]

All are right.

Hey There ;
I have had a few. I had so lond it wore out. I have one (smaller) Lyman.
That I use for moly coating bullets only...
I also have a large Dillon. That cleans brass ONLY.
They run , and run , and run.

Just one silly question . If you are just now getting your first tumbler, how did you come about the handle of HANDLOADER ? Just kidding.

They get warm but they keep on ticking.

 

[David Wile]

Hey Handloader,

After many years of polishing cases by hand and then later moving up to the much better method of turning them on a hand drill by sticking the case mouth on a mandrel chucked in the drill, I finally broke down and bought a big Lyman vibratory case cleaner that I have now been using for maybe 20 years. In that time, there were several times I forgot and left the thing running for 24 hours or more. It is still working just as it did when I bought it.

I paid a good bit for that Lyman cleaner back then, and I would guess they are a lot more expensive now. However, I have seen vibratory cleaners for sale at Harbor Freight stores at a very low price. I doubt if the Harbor Freight unit is as well made as my old Lyman, but for the price difference, I think I would at least try one of the Harbor Freight ones these days.

Best wishes,
Dave Wile

 

[Wildfire]

Forgot to say .

Hey :
I did not say this but it works for me. I use one of those plug in timers. I can set it for as long as I want it to run. It was cheap and has been working for years.

 

[Halo]

The only thing I can add is: make sure you put your tumbler on a clean surface. That will ensure the cooling fan on the bottom can pull in air unobstructed.

I've accidentally left mine running overnight many times and it doesn't hurt it at all. I've learned however that after about 3 hours my brass doesn't really get any cleaner so there's not much benefit in letting it go on for hours.

 

[Floppy_D]

I've run a pair of tumblers, a cheap Frankfurt Arsenal and a large Dillon. The FA does the same job as the Dillon, it's just noisier. Both have seen 50k+ pieces of brass, and I sometimes run them 20+ hours a day (only off while sifting and swapping brass).

I'm not sure if you have a preferred method, but crushed walnut, pet store variety (Lizard Litter) is cheap and wonderful. I treat it with wal-mart chrome wheel polish, and add torn up used dryer sheets (they sponge up debris; they come out dirty as hell but lower the dust content.) Follow this with crushed corncob (again, pet store variety) and it comes out shiny as a churchbell. After loading my rounds, I toss it back in with the corncob to pull off any lube and polish it up one last time.

Good luck!

 

[Ben Shepherd]

As posted above:

Just watch where you set it up. It needs to be able to pull air in from under the feet to keep cool(ie, don't run it on thick shag carpet).

Also noted above, a good firm surface is best. The way the vibration stays in the bowl as designed, instead of dissipating into the surface you set it on.

 

[Wildfire]

Tips.

Hey there ;
I now see where this is going. Walnut is Ok for really dirty brass. It cleans very well. But , It does not ploish as well as corn cobb. Treated corn cobb is the best for a nice shine.
Be careful what you put in the thing. Anything with amonia in it will eat on the brass and weeken it. Brasso is a good brass polish , but not for ammo cases. It has amonia. It will weeken that brass. All of the medium addatives for reloading brass cleaners say right on them "Contains no amonia"
There is a reason for that....
Also , only one here mentioned it. Good clean floor and not on carpet.
The tumblers get their air from the bottom and cant if setting on heavy carpet. The carpet also seems to add to the dust or lint. Don't bother asking me how I know all this. I graduated from the school of hard knocks.

 

[Otto]

what brand of tumbler did you get?

 

[sweetbeard]

I bouht this off craigslist for $25 and leave it for 12 hours at a time no problem.

Harbor freight special
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93252

 

[DWARREN123]

Mine has been know to run for a couple of days at a time. No harm.

 

[Bwana John]

wondering if I am harming the tumbler by leaving it running for 2-3 hours at a time.

I leave my tumbler on for 12 hours + all the time.

 

[jenrob]

Tumblers are also used to tumble rocks. just think of how long it takes to do this job. Some of the instuctions for this show running for 7-10 days at a time then changing to a different media and running another 3-5 days. I no I have left for work with mine on and found myself out of town for 3 or 4 days with my tumbler running. come home to still have a shop with a tumble running.

 

[Walkalong]

I routinely run mine overnight or all day. No problems. When the media is dirty, I just squirt some more case polish in it and tumble dirty range brass overnight or all day. I have been known to forget about the tumbler, which is out in the shed, and leave it running for days.