Drying Brass in the Oven

[MissionaryMike]

I wet tumbled some 9mm brass w/ SS media last night, and as always the cleaned brass came out a very light shade of a yellow gold. Then I shook most of the water off, placed the brass onto some old cookie sheets, and popped them into the oven. I never thought much about the effects of drying brass in the oven. It just seems like an efficient and sensible way of completely drying out both the inside of the case and the primer pocket in a relatively short amount of time. I've done it a couple of times already, but this last time I went a little higher on the temp (375* F) b/c I had more brass to dry.

While looking up other information on reloading, I came across a topic expressing concerns w/ drying brass in an oven, which surprised me and lead me to do some research. I think I've read enough on this issue from a few online sources. There seems to be two rival thoughts: any drying of brass in an oven is risky (even low temp), and heat doesn't affect brass until you get close to about +500* F. I'd like to see if I can get a definitive answer from you guys here on BEnos - what do you guys have to say about this? I don't want to wasteful if I can help it. However, the main concern is safety.

Thank you,

MM

[Solvability]

The only thing I have noticed is that it turns the brass somewhat rusty brown - I do not go about 250 degrees - the main thing you want is to be near boiling to drive off the water trapped in primers.

I do not know where you would reach the point of annealing the brass - clearly annealing the base could be a real issue.

[MissionaryMike]

I do not know where you would reach the point of annealing the brass - clearly annealing the base could be a real issue.

Are there any visible markers of annealed brass?

[Miranda]

dull cherry red... maroon they call it...

around 800 If my memory serves me. usually the whole part is annealed at that temp and it my not be what you want.

with cartridge cases.

what I do not know is when any hardening starts to anneal.

I can imagine that a long 500 ish degree soak could anneal brass.

water boils at about 250. use that temp and you should be good.

miranda

[Bummy425]

I just leave mine on a towel overnight with a fan blowing on them....zero issues and still shiny

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[ChemistShooter]

I get the water off with denatured alcohol. Pour drained brass out of beaker onto towel to remove most of the water. Back into the beaker and cover with alcohol. Shake a little to mix. Let sit for a minute. Pour alcohol back into container for next time. (It's reusable.). Pour brass onto dry towel or paper towel. Spread brass out. It'll air-dry in an hour or two.

[MissionaryMike]

Thanks, guys. I appreciate you sharing with me how each of you goes about drying brass. I would, however, also like to know if the brass that I have already oven dried is still usable, or will pose a safety risk if I were to reload a new batch of ammo with them.

[Steve RA]

I'd say it's OK. Load up a few and see.

[Kaldor]

I dry in the oven if Im in a hurry. Set the oven at 350. Put in brass. After preheat, cook it for 10 minutes. Shut off oven, and let it sit in the oven. Takes less than 30 minutes. Normally I just air dry it, put it on a rack in with a towel on it, its dry the next day

[Bkreutz]

I used to dry in the oven, used 250 since the boiling point of water is 212. After my shooting amount went up, I didn't want to deal with hot brass so I just put the cleaned brass on a towel on a table (I use a cart), In the wintertime it takes about 3 days in my heated shop, in the summertime, a couple of hours in the sun (unless it's raining, which it occasionally does in Seattle, if this happens I default to the winter method).

[RayUSPSA81]

I heard it is hard on the brass. I just air dry to be save. In the hot summer just lay it on a piece or cardboard on the deck and let the sun do its work.

[RDA]

I heard it is hard on the brass. I just air dry to be save. In the hot summer just lay it on a piece or cardboard on the deck and let the sun do its work.

How hard can it be on brass compared to each time it endures 35,000 - 65,000 psi when it is fired?

Edited May 24, 2016 by RDA

[Jim Watson]

I dry BPCR brass in the oven at 225 F. I preheat the oven so the elements are not shining radiant heat right on the brass except as required to keep the temperature up after preheat. I have a couple of pans marked "Not for Food."

Fans, dehydrators, waiting for a sunny day are all less convenient.

So is washing or wet tumbling brass in the first place, I seldom do it for anything but black powder cases. Dry nut hull is good enough for smokeless.