Anyone use both a Dillon and "Cheap" case tumbler?

[steveknapp]

I'm pretty much sold on a Dillon 550 for when I start reloading. But in trying to plan the costs I'm curious about the case tumblers.

There are a number of cheap units sold as kits, such as:

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/...&t=11082005

And there is the Dillon CV-500. Which is ~3x the cost.

Some of the specs imply that the Dillon unit is better made. And my understanding of the use of these devices is that you turn them on and leave them on for hours.

Is there any huge benefit to the blue one vs the cheaper ones? Anyone used both?

[sargenv]

I use a Dillon Large tumbler for all of my large batches but I have a Midway orange tumbler that I've had for probably 20 years that refuses to die.. and I use it for small batches. I put them both on a timer and usually run them at 2 in the am when I'm sleeping for an hour or two..

[Intel6]

I started with an old thumbler's tumbler and then got the smaller Dillon years later. I use the old one to do an initial clean to get rid of all the carbon/sand/gunk and then put it in the Dillon for a final polish. This works good as it keeps the media from getting dirty too quickly and I get nice and shiney brass, just the way I like it.

I finally klilled the motor on the dillon (after 10+ years of hard use) and had to get it replaced but that old one is still going.

Neal in AZ

[DonT]

yeah, I've been using the rcbs vibratory for only a couple of years and it works fine. I actually run it hard so I'm also interested in seeing how long it's going to hold up.

[1911jerry]

I used the small Dillon vibrator cleaner for about 1 year and after about 15,000 cases cleaned, the motor started to cycle on and off, faster then slower. I called Dillon and since it was still under the one year warranty they said they would replace it. I asked if I could return it and pay the difference on a the larger model, the CV2000. They said no problem. I have since cleaned well over 50K on this larger model with no problems.

Jerry

[Catfish]

I had the Midway tumbler till it caught on fire.

Use the Dillon now.

[HighVelocity]

I like my Lyman turbo tumbler. It works well and is VERY quiet. My old midway tumbler is pretty loud.

[steveknapp]

Fire eh...

The Lyman and Dillon are nearly equal in price, so in that case I'd just go for Dillon I guess.

The MidwayUSA one is tempting just due to the price. I hate buying low quality tools, then buying them again. But clearly there is some gear that is just beyond my needs and means. I'm not expecting to reload large volumes, so it may be OK for me for the near term?

[Joe4d]

Tumblers are hit and miss some run forever some die in less than a year some even sooner. It doesnt seam to matter what brand. If you read the reviews at Midway or Cabelas you will find both types of reviews on the same brand. My tumbler history started with the Midway 1292 ran about 6 years and the wire burnt up fixed it ran another few years put it aside and bought a Lyman. Got deployed and my idiot roommate ran the Lyman with the strainer lid with red lyman media and left it on for about two weeks. The red powder covered everything in the garage and fouled up the motor and burnt it up. When I got home I told chucklehead he owed me a tumbler I also noticed Midway had a recall on 1292's sure enough mine was the barcode recalled for the motor wires burning. Gave it to chucklehead to mail off and got a brand new 1292. Ran that for about 5 years and it started giving up on me so now I bout the big giant Lyman. I would have bought another 1292 but they are discontinued and the reviews for the frankford brand arnt as good plus Midway was out of stock on everything.

[chirpy]

I have also used the Large Dillon (won it as a door prize) and the Thumblers. Don't remember what I did with the Thumblers but it worked great because I wasn't shooting high volume then. The Dillon "just keeps ticking" after thousands of cases cleaned. Would get another if this one dies...

Richard

[Mr. Chitlin]

I've got the smaller Dillon and the Midway. Both are 5 to 10 years old, and heavily used. Both do a good job. The Dillon is considerably quieter than the Midway. Other than that, go with which ever one you like.

[lneel]

I have a Lyman 1200 and a Dillon CV-500. Both get the job done but the Dillon is a bit quieter and a more solid unit.

[Jaxshooter]

I have a Lyman 2500 and an old blue Midway tumbler. The Midway is really loud but it cleans the brass faster than the Lyman.

[DirtDiver]

I HAD MY MIDWAY TUMBLER FOR ABOUT 14 MONTHS......TILL THE GARBAGE COLLECTOR REMOVED IT FOR ME!!!!!

[steveknapp]

I HAD MY MIDWAY TUMBLER FOR ABOUT 14 MONTHS......TILL THE GARBAGE COLLECTOR REMOVED IT FOR ME!!!!!

Did it fail? What are the differences?

[astephenson]

OP: I've had that same kit for several months now, and it works fine...you'll probably want to chunk the brass polish that comes with it, though, because it's pretty useless. I use NuFinish car polish and a little mineral spirits in mine.

I also use a Dillon 550

[warpspeed]

I like my big Dillon tumbler. I like my little Dillon tumbler. They both get the brass clean fast.

I have a Hornady cheapy tumbler. It works OK but takes twice as long to get same shine. I use it to tumble small batches of rifle brass to remove lube after sizing.

[Bwana Six-Gun]

Like Intel6, I started with a thumblers that worked great when I was just shooting for S**** and grins, but when I started shooting IPSC and needed high volume, it just would not cut it. The belts kept breaking and it just took too long. The wife got me a Midway tumbler and seperator as a package deal about 12 years ago, and it is still going strong. I have forgotten and left it on all night after a range session or a match and it still keeps going strong.

[RePete]

I started with a Lyman Turbo 1200 in '85 and it's still running strong. Last year I got a Lyman 2500 Pro Magnum for the volume. Now I use both.

[spook]

I have always loaded on Dillons (SDB and 650).

And I have used their CV-500 tumbler and separator. All great stuff (of course )

I started shooting again after a 2 year layoff and switched to another Dillon SDB and decided to save some money on the tumbler. I bought a Frankford Arsenal tumbler and separator combo. So for I really like it, compared to the Dillon. I see no difference in performance. Brass comes out really shiney. The separator is smaller, which I like.

It all feels a little less in quality. The Dillon stuff was thick plastic and it felt "solid and expensive". The Frankford feels a little more like cheap and brittle plastic, but again, there's no difference in performance.

I haven't tumbled a lot yet (maybe 5K 9mm), so I can't say anything about durability yet.

[J.Wedge]

I have a cheep-o cabelas tumbler, the first one i got lasted about 6 months, took it back, got a new one, it has lasted 2 years so far, and still going.

[Shaky Dave]

Frankford arsenal tumbler ,cheap price good quality . Have cleaned 10 - 15 k pieces of brass ayear for 3 years with mine .

[EricW]

There are two choices:

- Cheap(er) tumblers

- The big Dillon

Do yourself a favor and don't buy in-between. It's more than the cost of the tumbler. It's the cost of your time dinking around with broken equipment. I love Dillon, but the motor in the small Dillon tumbler just doesn't hold up. Maybe things are different now, I don't know.

[HoMiE]

My CV-500 is going on 8 years. Just don't try to stuff too much in a batch and overload them.

[Vulture]

I had an RCBS tumbler that had really good action or movement of media if you will, but it died so i bought a Lyman 1200. The basket on that was so flimsy that the media action was deminished so, wanting two, I ended up buying the cabella's one because it had the best action for a small price and had a warranty. I then took the basket from the rcbs and put it on the lyman base and that runs good. My advice is to buy quality even though these things can be hit or miss.