CV-500 problem. No joy from Dillon

[45junkie]

To make a long story short, I purchased a CV-500. Within the warranty period the motor died and in typical Dillon fashion they gave me an RMA and replaced the motor under warranty. I didn't use it for about 3 months after they returned it to me. (I clean and load in large qtys). When I opened it up and tried to use it for the first time it didn't seem to aggitate the media as aggressively as it once did. I called Dillon and the customer service rep was quite polite and told me that the tumbler was working properly and I just needed to tumble my brass longer to get it clean. I tried to make the point that I was pretty confident that it wasn't working properly. The customer service rep told me there was nothing else he could do. Fast forward to yesterday, I put 250 rounds of 45ACP brass into the tumbler let it run for 12 hours and it was difficult to tell the clean brass from the dirty. So my question is should I just junk this thing and buy another brand or try Dillon customer service again. I don't want to be a jerk about it but I honestly believe this new motor is defective. You can actually hear the motor surge and then get very quiet. I am a blue koolaid drinker 2 sdb's 1 650 and an SL-900 plus all the accessories to go with them. I hate the thought of non Dillon equipment on my bench but I need a tumbler. Any advice will be appreciated.

[yoshidaex]

if dillon can't help you, and you feel the motor is defective, you have the option of doing a cross reference and buying a replacement motor. not sure how much it'll cost but hopefully its not more than a new tumbler.

[Taildraggerdave]

I would call Dillon back again and remind them of how loyal a customer you are and that the tumbler is being returned for warranty service, again. Offer to let them charge you for repairs if they find nothing wrong.... Once they get it back in their hands, they will see that it is not up to spec. Hopefully.

Take care,

Dave

[BNorth]

I had the motor die on my CV-500 after the warranty had expired. It was the same thing, it didn't completely stop..just wasn't up to full speed. For the price of a new motor and shipping, it's back up and running again.

[larry cazes]

I had a small tumbler that I won at Area2 die after 2 batches, maybe 250 cases per batch. They gave me credit towards the larger model and it is now not working at all after less than a year. I have had enough of dillon tumblers. Gonna put in an order for the another midway tumbler.

[21 shooter]

It sounds like Dillon got in a batch of defective motors, and they probably can't fix/replace anything until that problems is rectified. That's just an opinion of course. I would give them a call again. My tumbler died after many years of hard service and they replaced the tumbler because they no longer had a motor that would fit it. The few times I have called them they have always helped. And my loading bench is covered with blue equipment.

[Taildraggerdave]

It sounds like Dillon got in a batch of defective motors, and they probably can't fix/replace anything until that problems is rectified. That's just an opinion of course. I would give them a call again. My tumbler died after many years of hard service and they replaced the tumbler because they no longer had a motor that would fit it. The few times I have called them they have always helped. And my loading bench is covered with blue equipment.

I was using a buddies CV-500 and it was probably 10 years old or better and still worked perfectly. I just picked up my own a few months ago and it works fine so far. Hopefully for a number of years.

Take care,

Dave

[1911user]

EricW's comments on motors in this thread might be relevent: http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?...l=tumbler+motor

[gm iprod]

I run a large gunshop, and of all the thing we sell for reloading the tumblers (all of them) fair give me the SH%ts. Dillon and Hornady are probably the most reliable. Everything else is a pain. BUT, they all look after the customer 100%, we may get a few more failures than I would like. But we always get a resolution one way or the other. Ours are 220Volt and quite often we have to wait for replacements the next time i order from the supplier, but within the warrantee period they are good guys to deal with. Like most electrical equipment they are likely to fail. Considering the dust and crap that gets into tumblers I am sometimes amazed at how well some of the really old ones do. Remember you only get to hear of the one or two you and your best buddies know about. I sell 150+ tumblers a year and get to see lots. The funny thing is, I also get to see lots that we did not sell. As the sellers of those try and hide from there responsibilities. This is why we stock those that we do.

I vacuum the motors on mine out every year and make sure there is very little dust inside, but that residue from the media just gets everywhere. Try also to use them in as clean an area as possible, saw dust & plaster dust just kills the motors. Do not try and set a world record for the most brass in a contained spce. That will kill the motor for sure. It is better to do two smaller loads with more media than everything you own jammed in till the lid bends. It will take about the same amount of time in the end as the tumbler will actually clean better.

Just for the record I have -

1 x CV2000 Dillon, 3 years old. 35,000 brass a year at present on average. Runs on a timer for no more than 4 hours, stops over heating.

2 x Midway (old rounded bowl) 6 years and 8 years. The old one is now used only for Moly Coating projectiles, it gets cleaned out 3-5 times a year depending on how many bullets I have done, it is not as good as it once was and will require replacing sometime soon, but as long as it turns on and does not catch fire it will stay.

1 x Lyman 1200, ?years, bought it in 1993 used, rarely used by me these days but I used it solid for 4-5 years 20,000 brass a year at least. My brother steals it from time to time to polish brass and some metal hardware he uses for plumbing. It comes back needing a clean eveytime, but he does not overload it with weight. That will earn him a kick in the pants, and a bill for a new machine.

GrantJ on here has had the same tumbler (Midway I think) since 2003 - 4? and it gets hell during May when we go up there and use his load bench at least 8000 brass in two weeks (much appreciated) so who knows what we have done to it, plus what he puts through with him and his wife shooting Action Pistol. Again we never really over load it. But it go all day when we are at the range.

As previously suggested call Dillon, explain carefully what you have done, what they have done and how it all worked out. Write it down as well and if neccessary send that to them. That will reduce errors due to mis-understanding what was said, do not deviate from what you write, that will surely confuse them, then ait fo rtheir response. If you are still unhappy work your way up the line. The buck does stop in that company with someone. But always be reasonable. It will win you more fights than not. Good luck.

FYI the biggest pain the rear is CHEAP ELECTRONIC SCALES, buy good ones, there is no such thing as cheap, reliable and accurate, you can have any two but not all three.

Edited September 1, 2008 by gm iprod

[45junkie]

Well Dillon does it again. I called and talked to a customer service rep and was told that there wasn't anything he could do. I asked for board member "Dillon", explained the problem to him and he didn't hesitate to give me an RMA. I will continue to drink the blue koolaid. Again I am a happy camper.

[benos]

45junkie,

I sent Gary at Dillon an email to check on this tomorrow, when he gets a chance. He'll probably send you a new motor, with return shipping for your current one.

be

[Rocket35]

When my motor died in my CV-500 it was doing the same thing, kind of a surging speed. Anyway I sent it back and they replaced the motor and charged me for the part, labor and shipping. I found out later that the old company that used to build them stopped making that particular size motor and Dillon was forced to go to another supplier/manufacturer. I think the new manufacturer is using lower grade parts. When mine dies again, I will upgrade to the big boy.

[Mr. Chitlin]

Well Dillon does it again. I called and talked to a customer service rep and was told that there wasn't anything he could do. I asked for board member "Dillon", explained the problem to him and he didn't hesitate to give me an RMA. I will continue to drink the blue koolaid. Again I am a happy camper.

Gary has taken care of me when I needed a little extra help.

[45junkie]

Well I shipped the tumbler back to Dillon on the 8th of Sept. (NC to AZ) I received it back on the 23rd. Very fast service!! It is as good as new and running as we speak. Thanks again Dillon.

[PCFlorida]

I've had a CV-2000 since the mid 1980's. I can't even begin to guess how many hundreds of thousands of empty brass it has cleaned for me. I've probably paid more for new media over the years than I paid for this tumbler to begin with. If it dies today (but I'd prefer it didn't) I'd have no complaint. It is a solid machine.

[1911jerry]

I had the small Dillon tumbler a few years ago. It died. I called and asked if I could send it back and get it fixed, they suggested that I could get credit for it towards a new large tumbler. Best decision I have ever made.

JS

[jfrey]

I am currently using my friends CV500 because my Midway tumbler crapped out after only 4 months. The CV500 has had thousands of rounds through it and still runs quieter and better than the Midway ever did.

[dand38s]

I have a small Dillon tumbler. Not sure of the age, but I am pretty sure that it is a teenager at this time. I have never had a problem with it. I even keep it in a shed outside so my wife does not get upset about the "noise". The handle on the media seperator is rusted, but the tumbler works perfect.