Small VS Large Brass Tumbler??

[drd]

Hi - New to reloading, reload only .32 SWL & H&R Magnum, and only shoot maybe 100 even two weeks.

Now I am sick of cleaning brass with Fitz and a terry cloth so I am thinking of a Tumbler. BUT most of them have large capacities 300 or 500 cases and some of the comments I have read say that they work best when they are near capacity??

I have considered Berry's but its capacity is much larger than I will be using, say 100 .32 cases at a time. so I would be using 1/4 capacity.

I also considered Lyman's 600 and Smart Reloaders NANO tumbler.

Do the tumblers work best when filled near capacity? Thanks

 

[PDL]

If you're concerned about it, try this one.
Lyman Turbo Twin Case Tumbler 110 Volt

It's got both size bowls.

 

[Maximumbob54]

I don't know what fill level has to do with it. I don't have enough .44 magnum or .45 Colt brass even combined to fill my tumbler and my cases look like new when I'm loading them.

 

[max]

Midway has a decent small tumbler. I have been using mine for over 20 years or so. It doesn't have to be full of brass, but the more media, the better.

 

[dswancutt]

Go with the Berry's (they make Cabela's also), it will work just fine with 100 cases. More importantly, they stand behind their product, with a one year warranty.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I agree, the Berry's 400 (Cabela's and Graf's) will work very well for your needs.

Might I suggest buying a few hundred more cases so you only need to clean them once a month and you can make better use of the tumbler. Starlin has 32 H&R Magnum cases in stock, 500 for $78. The 32 S&W Long are only 50 cents more... Smaller quantities are available online like from Midway USA. (100 32 H&R Mag, $16.99)

 

[colt_saa]

I have both a large and a small vibratory tumbler. I tumble lots of brass.

You can clean one case at a time just as clean as 300 cases.

As stated, plenty of media is important

 

[Rule3]

I would say the opposite is true. The less cases in a tumbler the better. If you over load it, it's well overloaded

More free space for the cases to move around in the media.

Just like a washing machine. If it jammed full the items can not circulate.

Any of them size wise will work.

 

[arjay]

My experience has been that the more cases in the tumbler,the longer it takes to clean them.Bigger is better.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

The "Vibrating" case cleaners vibrate less the more full it becomes, then it takes longer but you are doing a larger batch. The rolling drum brass tumblers (either wet or dry) move at the same speed within their weight limit, and do small or large batches in pretty much the same amount of time. The Columbus, Ohio PD used to reload their own practice ammo, and had a tumbler made out of a 30 gallon drum at about 3 or 4 rpm. So I made my first tumbler out of a 5 gal. bucket with a 2 inch tall "baffel" on one side my rpms were about 10 or 12, used walnut media (CPD used corn cob untreated), mine was very,very loud, but would do 1000 9mm's or 800 38's in about half an hour. Did I say it was loud? When I moved I went to vibrating style and in 27 years burnt up 6 or 7 some in a few weeks (overheated) the last one is a RCBS unspecified warrenty (basicly forever if not abused or commerical) and it is doing fine, I switched to Thumbler's Tumblers Model B for the wet stainless steel pin media. It will clean your brass no matter how bad! I've done brass with black powder corrision that is years old and it looks like new. This is on of the best out there but the kit was around $240 a year ago. It will last fot the rest of your reloading days, but that's alot of cash. So #2 on my list would be a small RCBS vibrator. I hope this helps you make an informed choice. Ivan

 

[Vulcan Bob]

I rarely run more than fifty at a time as I like to keep the same "lot" of caseings together for thier usefull lives and have no problems with my "big" tumbler. I really dont see much of a difference when I run a lot of range brass compared to the small load. I would say get a bigger one in case you do run more in the future.

 

[drd]

Thanks

Thank you all for the good info. D

 

[SMSgt]

I've been using the small Thumblers Tumbler for years. I don't reload mass quantities, so it works fine for me. It will easily clean 50 rounds in a session.

It's the movement of cases and media that cleans, so you don't want to over stuff a tumbler.

Get whatever size you think will do, but a large tumbler will clean a few shells; a small one won't clean a lot--at least on in one session.

 

[Rule3]

I've been using the small Thumblers Tumbler for years. I don't reload mass quantities, so it works fine for me. It will easily clean 50 rounds in a session.

It's the movement of cases and media that cleans, so you don't want to over stuff a tumbler.

Get whatever size you think will do, but a large tumbler will clean a few shells; a small one won't clean a lot--at least on in one session.

I just got one of those CHEAP at the pawn shop. Like new. I can not believe how quiet it is compared to my Lyman Turbo 1200! I put more than 100 in it and have clean brass in 2 hrs.

It's a really nice product!

 

[SMSgt]

Yeah. I set mine in the garage floor and then often forget about it. Later the next day I've got some really shiny cases!

 

[jepp2]

I can not believe how quiet it is compared to my Lyman Turbo 1200!

??? I read about people having noisy tumblers. My Lyman Turbo 1200 is whisper quiet provided I put in the correct amount of media and don't seriously overload it. It does create more noise if I use the Lyman pre-coated corn cob media. I use Drill Spot corn cob in 20/40 sieve size, and the fine Harbor Freight walnut blast media (also 20/40 sieve size). Both clean and polish well, and don't create any noise when running in the tumbler.

Just because you shoot 100 rounds every 2 weeks now, that doesn't mean you will 2 or 3 years down the road. If you buy a tumbler with more capacity than you need today, what is the downside? Will not take any more electricity. Will not take any longer to clean the brass. You media will stay clean longer. The ultra small tumbler will cost the same as the mid size tumbler, so you don't save any initial costs.

I would suggest you buy the tumbler that you feel is the best model for you, and if it can handle more brass than you currently put in it, there is no downside.