Dillion Tumbler

[Trident]

I thought that I would post this for anyone who may be in the market or considering a new tumbler. For what it is worth I tried several different tumblers by a variety of manufactures but hands down, everything form the quality of construction, the performance, the service, the warrantee, is at least twice that of any competitor. The Dillion is so far superior and worth the extra investment. I bought the large one and couldn't be happier. I purchased the Berry's Bullets media separator and wish I now had purchased the Dillion as I'm sure it would be better but I thought not having a top, which keeps down the dust, and then being able to place the separator on/over a bucket would be a plus which it most likely would if I opened up the bottom so media could just drop through but I have to do two dumps from every one tumbler load which is a pain.

The one thing that makes life better is to have a second lid with one section cut out so you can exchange lids to pour our the contents instead of scooping it out and making a mess. A lid from Dillion with a removable or hinged section of the lid would be gold.

So far everything that I have purchased from Dillion has met this same satisfaction and been a blessing.

Edited November 7, 2012 by Trident

[Fried Chicken Blowout]

Well I've got to tell you that I'm SO IMPRESSED with mine. It's quiet, large and powerful. I've done 2.5 Gal buckets of brass in it in one shot. I've got the larger of the two and I'm glad I do. It's worth the money. I outlined my happiness with it in my blog post about reloading that you can get to from my signature link.

Get one, you won't look back. I also have info about where to get bulk media for cheap in the blog post.

[Steve RA]

Get a 2nd tub and hinge it to the first.

[quigleysharps4570]

I've had my CV-500 for about 12 years...been a good one. Their separator is a good one too.

[Got Juice?]

CLICK ME!I got tired of tumbling..... and burning out tumbler motors.... and being restricted to only 1000 cases at a time.

so I bought this as a tumbler. 12,000 cases at a time. 45 min wash, 45 min rinse, 10 min neutralizing bath, and then tumble in media to dry.

So, I processed some 30K in a day. Shoot it all, tumble once a year I say. Then if I ever want to pour some concrete.... I can

Edited November 8, 2012 by Got Juice?

[Got Juice?]

There.

[Steve RA]

Out of curiosity, what are you using to wash the brass with ( other than water )?? And also, the neutralizing bath ??

[Got Juice?]

Sunlight Dishwashing Detergent.

Rinse with water until clear of soap.

Then rinse with 1 cup baking soda

Then tumble with media.

The water from the wash comes out nasty. Oily black carbon, dirt (from range pickup) and other crap.

I have since removed the metal paddles (ruined 5 cases) and have replaced with link belting. Much quieter and no brass damage. The paddles bolt in, so it is easy to turn back into a cement mixer if needed.

[Steve RA]

"link belting" ???

[Got Juice?]

"link belting" ???

Conveyor belting that has thousands of 'rubber fingers' embossed into the surface. The fingers are linked in sections (Offsetting the fingers)

http://www.megapowerbelt.com/products.php

[Steve RA]

Ok, thanks.

[Got Juice?]

While rinsing off the soap, keep the tumbler moving. When the water runs clear, reset the timer, drop in the baking sofa (the water will self regulate its own level if you keep the machine operating) and 45 min

Later do a final rinse.

In the sunner you can add dry media to wet brass and it works fine. But in cooler climates, dry the brass prior to tumbling, or at least get the excess off

[Steve RA]

Yes, we do the stainless pin method, and have found that the easiest way to dry the cases is just to seperate them from the pins (which removes a lot of the water) and then into a vibrating tumbler with corncob and Nu-Finish car polish. I've never understood people saying they bake them in an oven, or take a day or two to dry them in the sun, as it really seems like the hard way.

"different strokes and all that"

[Got Juice?]

I shudder to think of how many pounds of SS pins would be needed for the cement mixer.

Edited November 10, 2012 by Got Juice?

[Bob DuBois]

I have the Dillon set up, two large tumblers and a large seperator. Works great with corn cob and New finish, very pleased. I've seen concrete mixers work out with corn cob and Brasso or new finish just takes a little more area to work in. New concrete mixer at Harbor Freight Friday was $179 and that's without any coupons or discounts.

I found the tip on New Finish auto polish on the forums here. On my first bottle and it works out quite a bit better than Brasso. Media seems to stay cleaner, last longer and the brass comes out with a bright shine. Even cleans the inside of the cases better.

I usually spend a day cleaning and sorting brass then place the brass in five gallon buckets kept in the loading room. Once the brass is cleaned I lube it in a 18qt rubbermade dishpan using a jelled lube. When I start a loading session I'll have brass to work with and spend the afternoon loading. Tumbling in corn cob and New Finish after loading produces a nicely finished product.

[Steve RA]

The old Brasso worked great because it had ammonia in it. Since the reformulation it really sucks.

And before anyone says the ammonia is bad, I used the old Brasso for 40 years or so and never had any trouble with any of the brass I used it on.

[Tom Freeman]

I have two of the big Dillons and am very happy.

I tumble some of my rifle caliber in stainless, but none of my pistol calibers.

[BullyDog]

I have two big dillon media tumblers, and two stainless tumblers.

I prefer the stainless over the media, but find myself using the media more.

The media is much faster, and I can do a lot more brass.

[Tom Balko]

For those using the large dillon tumbler: How does it handle lesser quanity of brass? I already know I can overload a smaller tumbler and kill the agitation, but is it possible to underload the larger tumbler with the same result? I've only used corn cob and walnut media, no stainless.

Thanks!

[Steve RA]

I doubt underloading is a problem as the tumbler with no brass and just media seems to agitate nicely.

[blaster113]

CLICK ME!I got tired of tumbling..... and burning out tumbler motors.... and being restricted to only 1000 cases at a time.

so I bought this as a tumbler. 12,000 cases at a time. 45 min wash, 45 min rinse, 10 min neutralizing bath, and then tumble in media to dry.

So, I processed some 30K in a day. Shoot it all, tumble once a year I say. Then if I ever want to pour some concrete.... I can

now thats what I call a tumbler!

[blaster113]

I have a Dillon CV500; wanted the smaller one just due to limited bench space. Night and day difference over the cheap Midway unit which died out on me after years of service.

[Got Juice?]

now thats what I call a tumbler!

Well, I like simple. Tumble everything. Then load it and shoot intil you run out.

Then start it all over again.

This weekend I want to try 17k 9mm cases at one go. See if the same 45 minutes can work

[Steve RA]

What brand of mixer is the one you have ???

[Got Juice?]

Steve, it is a Black Lynx cement mixer.

1/2 HP 3.5 cubic foot model with the poly drum.

IIRC I paid 390.00 for it.

Considering the cost of the 3 tumblers I have worn out, this beauty should last me a lifetime.

I shoot trap/skeet/5 stand so I also use it on my 12gauge AA hulls, pistol, and rifle brass.

Only my opinion but, if you have the space for it, this is a very economical and efficient way to tumble.

My only complaint is that it has no lid. So when dry tumbling, you will get dust, even with a dryer sheet.

And it is a bit noisey