Vibrating Case Cleaners

[SAW45]

Hello!

I'm interested in buying a case cleaner. I'll probably be cleaning around 200 45ACP cases at a time, once I get started. I'm wondering which are the best cleaners both in function and reliability. I have about 5000 cases now, that I want to clean first. Maybe a large cleaner would be best? Will a large cleaner work, if only a couple of hundred cases are cleaned at one time? I've also seen the spinning cages that supposedly empty the media from the cleaned cases. Is this the way to go, and is there a brand that is better then the others?  Thanks!

[Carlos]

Lyman brand turbo 1200 works for me, although the large Dillon is better quality for the long haul.  I tried the cheapo media seperator from Natchez (like $17 to $20) and it effectively coated my bathroom in dust made of walnut, powder residue, lead, mercury salts, etc. etc. There is only one choice for those who reload in the city/indoors: buy the RCBS enclosed and covered media seperator.

[Shipster]

I'll Second that on the Dillon.  It's the toughest vib cleaner I've used.

[Flexmoney]

I am getting by just fine with the Midway stuff.  Buy it in as a "kit" and save.

(I think I'll go throw some brass in now.)

[Nik Habicht]

I started with a small Lyman and a kitchen colander as a sifter.  Eventually broke down and bought the big Dillon Tumbler and their big media separator.  Don't know how I lived without them.  My tumbling chores have gone form a couple of hours (of my handlabor) to do 2000 cases to about 5 minutes now.  Buying the big stuff has been one of the biggest speed improvements in the reloading process.

[EricW]

The tumblers probably all work equally well.  The Dillon's are the best built and come with Dillon's impeccable warranty.  

Get the Dillon separator.  Ignore the price...just get it.  Nothing else gets the media out as well.  Especially out of rifle cases.

E

[benos]

"The Dillon's are the best built and come with Dillon's impeccable warranty."

And, you can get them from be.com!

[Sixgun]

I second what Flexmoney said! The Midway stuff is working fine for me.

Ray C.

[danny]

I have two Dillons and there going on 12 years now, my shooting partners MIDWAY took a dump after 6 months. I'll stick with Dillon.  

[Shooter Grrl]

My Midway tumbler caught fire - don't use these!

By the big Dillon and the separator - you will not be sorry!!!!!

[shred]

You might want to grab a timer while you're at it.  It's really handy to stick in a load of brass, set it to run for a few hours and go do something else.

I adapted one of those cheap pegs-in-a-circle timers-- pulled out all the 'on' pegs, set the 'off' pegs to 2am and 3pm.   When I want to run a load for say 2 hours, I crank the dial around to midnight and manually flip it on.

[Carlos]

Yeah, the big Dillon is the ticket for this sport - just wait until you buy that 1st batch of 1000 pieces of once fired brass real cheap at a big match - then get home and find your Lyman Turbo 1200 only holds about 350 and you have to keep emptying and refilling the thing and coating your bathroom in toxic dust 'cause there is no place out on the sidewalk in front of the building where you can sift cases without gathering a crowd of gawking people (gee- think that dust has had an effect on my mind??!?!). Buy the Dillon. D.

[sfinney]

Dillons work. No B.S. Warranty. 'Nuff said.

[vluc]

Get the clear lid with the midway tumbler...fill it up, turn it on and just watch the brass move around...kind of soothing the first few times.

Now it's throw in about 400-500 cases at midnight, let it run overnight in the garage, then dump into the seperator the next morning...pretty, shiny brass.

(Edited by vluc at 4:37 pm on Sep. 12, 2002)

[warpspeed]

I use both a  Dillion and a Hornaday.

The Dilion is way better, way better. And the separator is the SH@T!! As far as the tumbler goes, the dilion is a little louder. But the garage has yet to complain

[Sheldon]

The Dillon units have the biggest motors going and as such can be loaded up with brass.  The more loaded the tumbler is, without losing appreciable agitating motion, the more effective the tumbling you will get.  Let the weight of the load of brass work with you to really get the media to aggessively scrub the brass clean.  I know for a while there Dillon was using the same sized motors on both the small and large tumblers......don't know if that's still the case.  I have the smaller Dillon, a Hornady, and a Midway. Of them all, the Dillon is by far the strongest and best.  I don't like the grooves in the bowl of the Midway as it really bogs down the motion of the bowl when you try to load it up with brass.  

[warpspeed]

One little bit of info...

Dillon offers a 1 year warranty on the motor. Unfortunately, I had ne go bad. They require you to send the unit back for motor replacement.

FWIW

[Sheldon]

Warpspeed.  Out of curiousity, how much did Dillon charge to replace the motor?  I wonder why they require you to sent the whole unit back as it seems anyone would be able to replace it themselves without the added hassel and expense of shipping the whole tumbler back?  Hmmmm.

[Thomas Moore]

I have the large Dillon cleaner as well and I suggust if you can afford it to buy the Dillon.

[Edmond]

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Quote: from shred on 5:35 am on Sep. 12, 2002

You might want to grab a timer while you're at it.  It's really handy to stick in a load of brass, set it to run for a few hours and go do something else.

I adapted one of those cheap pegs-in-a-circle timers-- pulled out all the 'on' pegs, set the 'off' pegs to 2am and 3pm.   When I want to run a load for say 2 hours, I crank the dial around to midnight and manually flip it on.

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Hello, I am very happy to announce that DCB case cleaner can be obtained in USA through http://securityarms.com/dcb/index.htm and that it is being tested by a few american reloaders , one of them being a famous champion. have a look at this new tumbling media.

[TJ]

If you want the very best case cleaner and are able to wait a few weeks for delivery then you won't do better than DCB case cleaner. Check it out at Http://securityarms.com/dcb/

[cardboardkiller]

I'll put in a vote for the big Dillon, I don't have to waste my time tumbling because of the sheer amount of cases I can put in the damn thing, plus their "no BS" warranty makes me feel better about spending the extra cash.

[John Dunn]

Used a Midway tumbler for years with no complaints until I started reloading for a shooting buddy and seriously increased the amount of lead launched downrange.  The Midway is just too small for volume reloading.  I've recently upgraded to the big Dillon and can't recommend it enough.

I tried to think why I got the Midway in the first place over Dillon, and then I remembered...I was dirt poor at the time:)!  There is a place for both Chevettes and Cadillacs in the world, buy the best you can afford.

[gm iprod]

I have two Midway tumblers, I use them for small amounts of brass and Moly coating projectiles. They work great.

For the HUGE amount of brass that I seem to do, I use my Dillon. It holds a lot more and cleans fine. But the seperator is the best part of the whole kit. I don't care what tumbler I use but you have to have the Dillon seperator, it's the ducks nuts.

What was SG doing to her poor defenseless tumbler to set it on fire?????

(Edited by gm iprod at 1:01 am on Nov. 6, 2002)

[John Dunn]

I know there was a recall of Midway tumblers a few years ago for being a fire hazard, I checked and mine wasn't involved in the recall.  It couldn't hurt to give them a call and make sure your tumblers are groovy.