Tumblers are one of the most overlooked items in the reloading hobby. Reloading tumblers aren’t a particularly fun item to use, but they are an important purchase. Taking out your first batch of brand new looking brass is strangely satisfying. Since the brass case is the only part of the bullet that you actually reuse it’s where you will see the majority of your savings.
What is The Best Reloading Tumbler?
1. Frankford Arsenal Platinum Series Rotary Tumbler 7L
This Frankford Arsenal Rotary tumbler is an excellent investment into your reloading hobby. This tumbler will not only clean your brass it will save you a significant amount of time. The Frankford Arsenal Rotary tumbler is one of the best on the market and doesn’t break the bank . This is a completely sealed unit and will hold up to 1000 .223 cases. If you want to clean 500 to 1000 pieces of brass at a time this is the tumbler for you. There is a 5 lb bag of stainless steel media included with this kit. Just follow This Link to amazon if you don’t already know how expensive stainless steel media can be. Luckily stainless steel media never needs to be replaced, so you should be set for life.
Other than the capacity of this units drum, the best feature this unit has is it’s timer. The inclusion of a timer is an excellent feature that you don’t find on a lot of reloading tumblers. Actually a lot of tumblers don’t even have the included on off switch which makes even less sense. You’ll be surprised when you see the speed this tumbler spins. The motor on this product is very strong for the price and is comparable to extremely high end units. This unit is for you if you want an amazing product at a low price.
2. Extreme Tumblers Rebel 17 Tumbler With Stainless Steel Media
If you have never used a rotary tumbler with stainless steel media you need to buy one. There is no product on the market that will clean your brass better than a rotary wet tumbler. In a few hours you will have brass that looks brand new both inside and out. This is something that you won’t see with even the best dry tumblers. With excellent performance comes a high price tag. Rotary tumblers are extremely expensive, but as the saying goes you get what you pay for.
I typically like to wait for a company to become established before I review a product, but this tumbler is an exception. In a market dominated by companies that have been around for decades you need to have an excellent product to stand out among your competition. Just looking at this product you can see the craftsmanship that goes into this tumbler. The Extreme Tumblers Rebel 17 comes from a relatively new reloading company, but they are quickly gaining steam in the market. These tumblers scream heavy duty construction and come with a 1 year motor 3 year parts limited warranty. Good warranties are something that you don’t see often on reloading tumblers so that is a huge plus if the company sticks around. Tumblers are an item that is regularly abused in the reloading world. Especially when you first buy one you will want to clean every piece of brass you’ve ever found, but this unit seems like it can take the abuse.
If you follow the directions and don’t overfill the drum this tumbler should last years. The only thing that I see eventually failing is the motor and you can easily buy a replacement.
3. Lyman Cyclone Rotary Tumbler
The Lyman Cyclone Rotary Tumbler is a relatively new offering in the reloading marketplace. The Lyman Cyclone case tumbler not only cleans brass it’s one of the fastest tumblers on the market. This is the unit to buy if you live in an apartment or small house. The Lyman unit is much quieter than the competition at close to the same price. This is due to the rubber lined tumbler and strong bearings. You will be surprised at how much the rubber lining quiets down the sound on this tumbler. This tumbler uses a stainless steel wet media, and comes with a 5 lb bag of stainless steel media.
This Lyman rotary tumbler is a closed off system that is easy to use. With this tumbler you can get cleaner brass in far less time without the noise and dust. This tumbler is a very solid unit with an internal motor. Weighing in at approximately 25lbs this is a very well built unit. Like the Frankford Arsenal tumbler this tumbler comes with a three hour timer. This tumbler also comes with a media sifter so it should be an all in one solution. This is an excellent choice if you want a rotary tumbler at a good price.
4. Lyman Pro 1200 Tumbler (115-Volt)
If you don’t want to buy a rotary tumbler this Lyman unit is the next best option. This tumbler will do a great job cleaning your brass in a short time. With this tumbler you can clean your brass with a dry media solution mixed with a brass cleaning polish. You can fit up to 350 cases into the bowl of this tumbler. The bowl also has a sieve for a lid so that you can easily separate the media from your brass.
The biggest downside to this tumbler is all of the dust. The dusty dry media mixed with the sifter lid makes for a messy work area. After a few hours it’s guaranteed that some of the dry media will fly out while you are tumbling. This is one of the quieter dry tumblers on the market.
Why use a Case Tumbler?
Anyone who has purchased new unfired brass from Starline or other manufacturers can tell you that it’s the most expensive component of the bullet. It’s almost impossible to keep your bullets priced below factory offerings if you buy your brand new brass. Like any hobby you shouldn’t get into reloading to save money. In the long run you’ll either spend more on equipment or shoot a whole lot more than you would otherwise. So if you want to keep your costs down cleaning and reusing your brass is a necessary step.
Rotary Tumbler vs Vibratory Tumbler
There are two primary types of Reloading Tumblers. You have open faced dry media tumblers, and rotary wet media tumblers. These two different types of tumblers are very similar in how they work. The tumblers work by causing friction to rub off all of the dirt and soot. With a dry media tumbler you use a dry media that typically consists of corncob to clean off your brass. A rotary tumbler uses a wet stainless steel media to clean the brass. As long as you don’t accidentally throw away your stainless steel pins you should never have to replace them. Typically a rotary tumbler will perform better better and costs significantly more.
What’s the Best Way to Clean Your Brass?
There are two main ways to clean your brass? You can either use a brass case tumbler or a reloading sonic cleaner. Both of these products offer their own set of advantages and disadvantages.
A case tumbler uses friction to clean your brass. If you want the best looking brass cases possible, I would recommend a quality case tumbler. Your brass will come out polished and like new. You will get the best possible cleaning out of a case tumbler. A case tumbler uses either a dry or wet media solution to clean your brass. The type of media that you use will depend on the brass tumbler. The biggest downside that reloading tumblers have is their cleaning time. The typical cleaning times will vary but it typically takes around 3 hours to completely clean your brass. The process can take as little as 30 minutes if you don’t care about perfect looking brass. Another major disadvantage to reloading tumblers is the potential mess. A lot of case tumblers use a dry media which can get extremely dusty. I would recommend using one of these in your garage or a room with hardwood floors that are easy to clean up.
So if case tumblers work so well why would anyone get a sonic cleaner? The primary advantage a sonic cleaner has is the cleaning time. The entire process will take about 20-30 minutes and you will see good results. Your brass won’t be as clean as with a case tumbler but it will look pretty good. If you’ve never used a good tumbler you might even think that the brass looks great. Another key advantage to a sonic cleaner is their ability to clean small handguns and rifle parts. Most of them are large enough to at least fit a 1911 slide.