Foxbat Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 (edited) I saw several methods mentioned for drying the cases after wet tumbling, including spreading on a towel, putting in the oven, etc. I came up with a different approach. After I have it drained and rinsed, I keep the strainer caps on the container, and I send a very strong jet of air through it, as I again spin the tumbler. The jet is produced by a compact, but very strong fan, and in less than an hour the cases are totally dry... AND they are spotless, because they are constantly rolling during drying. I had that fan in my possession, but something like that can be purchased easily on ebay or from a surplus house. I need to make a more permanent installation, and the fan can be fed from the tumbler's timer. Edited November 10, 2015 by Foxbat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDA Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 I saw several methods mentioned for drying the cases after wet tumbling, including spreading on a towel, putting in the oven, etc. I came up with a different approach. After I have it drained and rinsed, I keep the strainer caps on the container, and I send a very strong jet of air through it, as I again spin the tumbler. The jet is produced by a compact, but very strong fan, and in less than an hour the cases are totally dry... AND they are spotless, because they are constantly rolling during drying. I had that fan in my possession, but something like that can be purchased easily on ebay or from a surplus house. I need to make a more permanent installation, and the fan can be fed from the tumbler's timer. Great idea. Seems like that would work really well if you had a second drum for this purpose. I am one that lays mine out on a towel to dry after toweling them off briefly, costs me nothing and they also come out spotless but it takes longer (which I don't mind as I have 1,000s of cases prepped and waiting for loading already). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TacticalJesus Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 I went to lowes and got a cheap screen door, put it on two stands and laid them out with a fan blowing across them. Works great and when dry you can stand up and sort them if you feel like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPatton Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 Brass laid out on an old towel in the sunshine is quick and easy. Polish enough brass in the summer to last the winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzw26n Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 Food Dehydrator (not my idea) but got one for less than $200 on eBay, 15-20 minutes @ 165 degree's, completely dry. I run ~500 cases at time, load in a Large zip-loc bag and spray Case Lube and roll the bag through my hands for a few minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techj Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 I use a salad spinner to get most of the water out and then just lay the cases on a towel for a day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickd1 Posted November 10, 2015 Share Posted November 10, 2015 Food Dehydrator i got mine on ebay for $60 2hrs later bone dry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxbat Posted November 10, 2015 Author Share Posted November 10, 2015 Some people complained, and I had a chance to observe, the stains, where the stationary cases touch each other during drying. With the spinning drum there are no such stains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
safeactionjackson Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 (edited) Use a dry towel to remove the heavy stuff, then placed in my sub $100 food dehydrator. It can handle 1500 pieces or so at a time (9mm), and allows me to start tumbling my next batch of brass ASAP. Good thinking, but your setup wouldn't work with me as I usually try and knock out 4K pieces on a Sunday or Saturday. ~g Edited November 11, 2015 by safeactionjackson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outerlimits Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 $25 at harbor freight...worx great. http://www.harborfreight.com/5-tier-food-dehydrator-66906.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mush from PA. Posted November 11, 2015 Share Posted November 11, 2015 I have about 20 plastic inserts that come with pistol ammo boxes dug out of trash bins at the range (yes, I reload...so I collect brass also). I found this idea from a u-tube video. Place the plastic insert in a metal pie pan or sheet cake pan then take a handful of 9mm cases and place the handful on top of the plastic insert. Shake the insert so the cases fall into the 50 holes in the insert. The base of the case is heaver than the open end so the case will mostly fall primer down. Any that do not can be picked out and flip primer side down. Keep pouring and shaking so all 50 holes are filled. Pick up the insert level and place the same size insert on top of the filled insert so the holes line up. Hold both inserts together and flip so the cases fall into the empty insert. This will place the open end of the case down so any water will drain out. I then place the filled inserts in a pie pan and place on top of the water heater or out side in the sunshine to dry. A bonus for 9mm and 380 cases mixed up, the 380 is shorter so you will see the difference in size when the brass is in the insert and can be picked out with medical tweezers. This also makes counting drying brass easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speediesparks Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 When you use a food dehydrator such as the one from Harbor Freight,how many cases do you have on each level?How long does it have to run to get the cases dry?I have been using the towel method for sometime now,just looking for a faster way of drying. THANKS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterthefish Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 When you use a food dehydrator such as the one from Harbor Freight,how many cases do you have on each level?How long does it have to run to get the cases dry?I have been using the towel method for sometime now,just looking for a faster way of drying. THANKS I use the FA dehydrator / dryer. 90 mins gets them dry, and I get about 250 9mm on each of 5 levels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glynnm45 Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 I use a $10 Toaster Oven I got from Goodwill set @ 200°, that's after I roll them around on a couple of towels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
safeactionjackson Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 I've picked one up at Cabelas, it has 10 levels.... I don't use the top or bottom ones, and can easily do 1500 rounds of 9mm.... @160 degrees for 90 minutes is more than enough. An entire batch will dry well before the next one has completed being tumbled. ~g Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Miles Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 I saw several methods mentioned for drying the cases after wet tumbling, including spreading on a towel, putting in the oven, etc. I came up with a different approach. After I have it drained and rinsed, I keep the strainer caps on the container, and I send a very strong jet of air through it, as I again spin the tumbler. The jet is produced by a compact, but very strong fan, and in less than an hour the cases are totally dry... AND they are spotless, because they are constantly rolling during drying. I had that fan in my possession, but something like that can be purchased easily on ebay or from a surplus house. I need to make a more permanent installation, and the fan can be fed from the tumbler's timer. After seeing this, I'm going to use my leaf blower on low speed to see what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve RA Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 I use the towel method, but, the little blower looks like a neat idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keydet08 Posted November 28, 2015 Share Posted November 28, 2015 I got the frankford arsenal dryer to go with the wet tumbler. I run the dryer at the highest heat setting, about 158 degrees, and let it dry for the three hours the next batch is in the tumbler. It works very well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregJ Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 Drying is very important. I thought my fan was goid enough, but it wasnt. I had problems with light loads and squibs due to moisture left in case. Got the FA dryer and no more issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxbat Posted November 29, 2015 Author Share Posted November 29, 2015 How big is the FA dryer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speediesparks Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 The frankford dryer is about the same size as the HF dehydrator from I can find out.I looked around and found the frankford dryer on Amazon for 56.00 dollars.Used my Amex points and got it shipped free,we'll see how it works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moneytree78 Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 I have a front load washer/dryer. I put the sneaker tray in the dryer and lay the brass on a towel....30 minutes its bone dry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 I have a front load washer/dryer. I put the sneaker tray in the dryer and lay the brass on a towel....30 minutes its bone dry.I have one of those as well. If I get in a hurry I may try it someday. Good tip! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxbat Posted November 30, 2015 Author Share Posted November 30, 2015 I have a front load washer/dryer. I put the sneaker tray in the dryer and lay the brass on a towel....30 minutes its bone dry. 5 minutes and my balls would be in the dumpster... The Mrs does not fool around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve RA Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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