Brass Dryer

[GUNNER75]

Looking for ideas, pics of what you have done, commercial equipment, etc for a brass dryer. Mainly used after running the 40lb STM Tumbler.
http://www.stainlesstumblingmedia.com/stm-40-tumbler-18.html

Don't really have the time to build but would consider if need be. May even consider purchasing a dryer with a basket just for this purpose if it works as well as some have said.

Any input? Processing 500 cases per run, per month.

 

[milo 2.0]

Re: Brass Dryer

How about a commercial grade food dehydrater.

 

[former naval person]

Re: Brass Dryer

Do you have a clothes dryer? Sacked up inside of two or three of the nylon bags sold for the purpose might do it for you. A low kitchen oven, 175 degrees or so will also work without harm to the brass. NOT a countertop oven...gets too hot. Alternatively, a couple of gallons of 95% alcohol will serve 500 rounds for a long time. Dip and toss and roll, then lay out overnight. When the time gets too long, sell it in the ghetto and buy another gallon or two. (Bad advice...use it in your windshield washer with a little Windex added)

 

[turbo54]

Re: Brass Dryer

 

[BirdEyes]

Re: Brass Dryer

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: milo-2</div><div class="ubbcode-body">How about a commercial grade food dehydrater.

</div></div>

or a cheap $25 harbor freight unit such as http://www.harborfreight.com/5-tier-food-dehydrator-66906.html It will hold at least 400 .223 cases

 

[Engine 22]

Re: Brass Dryer

How quickly are you expecting to get the cases dry?
I use a large beach towel, roll the cases around in the towel every once in a while like a hammock. It helps to lay the towel in the sun coming through the sliding glass door. I know you have plenty of sunshine out there in Dodge

. Sitting the towel/brass outside in the sun would be the next best thing, and it's free.
This will get me loading within 24 hours.

I haven't tried the alcohol treatment yet, but sounds promising.

 

[GUNNER75]

Re: Brass Dryer

Appreciate the input fellas. Yep plenty of sunshine out here. LOL.

Leaning on a cloths dryer route due to volume and short turn around time.

 

[GreatGonzo]

Re: Brass Dryer

Sweater rack in the dyer is the best I've found. I can be loading in an hour if I'm In a pinch.

 

[turbo54]

Re: Brass Dryer

The above pictured during box takes 45 minutes to get bone dry, draws only 102 watts, and does not make the woman in the household unhappy.

 

[judgedelta]

Re: Brass Dryer

In winter I use the clothes dryer with the stationary rack. Rinse with rubbing alcohol, roll on towel, put on perforated pizza pan on rack. Gets hotter than you want to hold in about 15 minutes.

 

[country888]

Re: Brass Dryer

I built a dryer from a metal toolbox from Tractor supply, with a fan and light bulb in it kinda like the ammo can above. A hour or so in it and they are dry. It will dry about 350 or so 223 cases at a time.

 

[NoFail]

Re: Brass Dryer

I gotta tell you my method. I just started cleaning with SS wet media method a few weeks ago but I didn't account for any kind of drying setup.

I happen to have a Milwaukee heat gun and it blows out the heat somethin' fierce. So after trying a few looser ideas I remembered the heat gun. After rinsing & draining the latest brass I mounted the heat gun upside down in the vise (gentle on the squish) with nozzle pointed low towards the bench top, where I then laid out all my wet brass on a cotton towel. with the heat gun on high the brass got pretty hot real quick.

10 or 15 minutes & it's done, all of them, and I think they don't need that long. The brass gets too hot to hold like it just that instant got ejected from a semi. But it's as dry as a frigid bitch.

When I first thought of using the heat gun I thought it to be temporary. Now I don't see a need to do anything else. It doesn't get near as hot as it would have to be to ruin the brass cases.

I'd give you a pic but it's so simple to set up you don't need one. You just need the heat gun and vise or other means to hold it.

 

[Drumie]

Re: Brass Dryer

I have tried the dryer and heat guns but what I use now is methanol. I just shake the water out of the brass, then throw all of the brass into a bucket. Dump in methanol till it covers the brass, and shake it a little bit. I then drain out the methanol to save it, you can use it a bunch of times. Then I throw the brass in the media seperator and spin it a little bit. Throw the brass on a towel and let dry for about a hour. They come out with out any water spots this way.

 

[gimpy]

Re: Brass Dryer

I took a .50 ammo can and made a hole in the side at the bottom and stuck my wife's hairdryer in the hole. I put a mesh colander in the top and let it do its thing with me occasionally stirring the brass. On a side note, I think High Binder said you can dry/ displace the water with alcohol. I'm thinking of trying that.

 

[You-Two]

Re: Brass Dryer

Here is my homemade setup: $15 fan, a few $ worth of nylon screen material, and some extra wood I had laying around.

I put the brass in a towel and shake it around a few times before putting it on the dryer. I get back to it whenever I have time and it is great. Totally eliminated any tarnishing or spots I was getting letting the brass dry on a towel.

 

[Boomholzer]

Re: Brass Dryer

dirtbag approach that works

there is a stainless kitchen basket/bowl at the bottom that allows any excess remaining media/crud/water to fall through

 

[normbal]

Re: Brass Dryer

The wife bought a bundle of these super-absorbent towels for drying the dogs off after their baths. Some kind of micro-fiber. After I tumble the cleaned brass in the media separator, get as much water off as possible, I pour the brass out onto a towel, fold it over and pat down the whole pile. Gets all the water off the OUTside. I then pour them into a stainless colander and put it in the oven I've heated to its lowest setting (170) and shut off the oven. It sits for an hour or so and all the water disappears. Let it cool to room temp before handling. Duh. Pretty easy. And it isn't hot enough to discolor the brass. Works for 9mm, .45 acp, .223, .308, .338 and more.

 

[Jimichanga]

Re: Brass Dryer

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BirdEyes</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: milo-2</div><div class="ubbcode-body">How about a commercial grade food dehydrater.

</div></div>

or a cheap $25 harbor freight unit such as http://www.harborfreight.com/5-tier-food-dehydrator-66906.html It will hold at least 400 .223 cases </div></div>

Wow, that is priced right. Anybody try this thing?

I ended up copying a metal trash can design that I saw in the STM thread. Small trashcan, fan and lightbulb, all the cheapest components I could find. It quietly dries about a batch (160ea 223) in under an hour without spots. I don't towel dry, just spin it in the separator and dump into the dryer.

 

[clmayfield]

Re: Brass Dryer

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BirdEyes</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: milo-2</div><div class="ubbcode-body">How about a commercial grade food dehydrater.

</div></div>

or a cheap $25 harbor freight unit such as http://www.harborfreight.com/5-tier-food-dehydrator-66906.html It will hold at least 400 .223 cases</div></div>

Have you tried this and how quickly does it work? I have mostly relegated drying to an overnight process, then annealing removes the rest of the water, but in a pinch, I would like to be able to dry quickly.

Man, I remember when I first started using stainless media, I got a batch of cases that I needed to reload that night for load development the next day. I blew them out with compressed air and called it done.

I lugged my chrony out to the range and got set up after arranging cartridges with a number of charge weights all sharpied up. The first couple of shots went fine. Then "click." The next round fired. Then "click." About a third of the cartridges wouldn't fire because of wet powder and/or primers.

Needless to say, I did not find my load that day. And horribly frustrating. I hate load development. And to go through the whole process and end up with nothing. That ruined my week.

 

[Jackalope33B]

Re: Brass Dryer

After I tumble the brass in my STM, I put all of it onto a towel. I then pick up the towel in both hands (brass should be in the middle like a taco.) I simply raise one end of the towel while lowering the other end fast. This causes the brass to move back and forth allowing all the water to escape into the towel and somewhat dry it. Once this is done I place all the brass onto a cookie sheet and dry it in the oven at 170deg for about 10-15 min or so. DONE!
Of course do all this before the wife comes home

 

[18Echo]

Re: Brass Dryer

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Jackalope33B</div><div class="ubbcode-body">After I tumble the brass in my STM, I put all of it onto a towel. I then pick up the towel in both hands (brass should be in the middle like a taco.) I simply raise one end of the towel while lowering the other end fast. This causes the brass to move back and forth allowing all the water to escape into the towel and somewhat dry it. Once this is done I place all the brass onto a cookie sheet and dry it in the oven at 170deg for about 10-15 min or so. DONE!
Of course do all this before the wife comes home

</div></div>

Same here. Kitchen oven works like a charm.

 

[Mudcat-NC]

Re: Brass Dryer

yup, oven at 200F or less works like a charm, and fast.
just stick cases on a baking sheet, toss them in and let them dry.

 

[Greg Langelius *]

Re: Brass Dryer

I have a number of applications that require gentle drying. I have a cheap electric roaster that has a temperature-graduated heat control. About 250 F. works really well.

Actually, I use it for molding balsa propeller blades and bent wingtip, etc., laminations for my model aircraft.

I still use walnut and my case vibrator.

Greg