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Annealeez modifications

black5.3

black5.3

Sergeant
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Minuteman
Jun 1, 2017
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Hey guys,

Did some seaching and found where people are putting a regulator on the annealeez machine to help keep the flame constant and get a better annealed piece of brass. I just ordered my annealeez yesterday and hopefully should have it thursday or friday(i know the 4th will delay it a day or two). I would like to go ahead and order the fittings and regulator i need to hook it up to a regulator and just run it off the small camping bottles of propane. I dont really have a desire to hook it up to a bigger propane tank. What im thinking is plumbing it up where i have a cutoff valve(preferably a ball valve) hooked up inline between the regulator and tank. That way i never have to touch the torch tip other than fine tuning the flame. What are some of the pieces and part numbers yall have used to do this? It looks like amazon has plenty of adaptors and fittings i just dont want to order the wrong thing. Thanks for the help!
 
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You'll want a Goss regulater. You will want to replace the gauge with a 0-15psi so you can fine tune the gas. On/Off gas ball valve, fittings, I have setups for both the small camp bottle and the large 20lb propane tank. I also installed a 8A PWM Motor Speed Controller With Digital Display & Switch. Also listed the different types of fittings I used below. Make sure you use both the PTFE thread tape and thread sealant together. We all have also upgraded our torches as well. They have come out with much much better torches than what came on my Annealeez. You leave the valve knob on the torches wide open and use the regulator to adjust the flame. I have the settings recorded in my files for each make/caliber brass I anneal with the regulator PSI settings and digital PWM speed. Each time I anneal that given brand and caliber brass I know right what to set the regulator PSI and PWM motor speed to. I only had to use Tempilaq the first time for each piece of brass to find these settings.


- Goss EP-70G High Pressure Propane Regulator
- Wika 0-15psi Commercial Pressure Regulator Gauge
- 8A PWM Motor Speed Controller With Digital Display & Switch
- Atian Articulating Arm
- 1/4 Male Pipe Thread x 1"-20 Female Throwaway Cylinder Thread Fitting
- 1/4 Male Pipe Thread x 1"-20 Male Throwaway Cylinder Thread Fitting
- Coleman 5 Ft. High-Pressure Propane Hose and Adapter (To connect Annealeez to a 20lb Propane Tank)
- Homewerks VGV-1LH-B2B Premium Gas Ball Valve, Female Thread x Female Thread, Brass, 3/8-Inch
- LA-CO 44094 Slic-Tite PTFE Gas Line Pipe Thread Tape, Premium Grade
- TFE 14003 Pipe Thread Sealant with PTFE

Torch (both are a huge improvement over the stock torch but I prefer the Swivel Head torch. Most use the swirl flame)
- Bernzomatic TS839T Swivel Head Torch
- Bernzomatic JT539T Swirl Flame Brazing Torch



[IMG2=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","src":"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/hqCZd40.jpg"}[/IMG2]

[IMG2=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","src":"http:\/\/i.imgur.com\/3w2U80E.jpg"}[/IMG2]
 
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That is exactly what im looking for Padom! Thanks!

So if i dont plan on hooking it to a #20 cylinder i can just leave off the 5' high pressure hose?
 
Awesome. Does the new torch head make that big of a difference? Did you notice better bullet seating or even better es/sd after switching nozzles?
 
I'm also running the same Goss regulator that Padom has linked above. My setup is a bit simpler, just straight off a small bottle through the two Mr Heater fittings and regulator, then back into the hose and torch that came with the Annealeez. It was a bit fussy getting set up and getting adequate gas to flow well through that many pin/needle fittings but got it to work after a bit of troubleshooting. I kept the standard pressure gauge that came with the Goss rather than the upgraded low pressure gauge shown above. I think you only need that if you get the nicer benzo torch.

One other pressure regulator option I came across when researching was from Tejass smokers. They have a bunch of different kits and I never really looked into which ones fit best but there's potential to make one of these work for a bit less money than the Goss.

https://tejassmokers.com/High-Pressure-Regulators/29

The other thing I did was upgrade the torch holder and the catch bin as shown in this video. Both well worth doing.

https://youtu.be/n2HKXaCbXv4

Mine runs at 35 psi and I use the on/off valve that came with the torch setup. The torch head stays wide open, then I just open the on/off valve and light it up and let it run. Same flame, every time.
 
Thanks Sheldon N... another quick question. All the fitting and stuff losted above are 1/4" but the ball valve that was listed is 3/8". Is 3/8" right? Im trying to order this stuff tonight or tomorrow morning.
 
Not sure... I didn't run a ball valve, just the normal on/off valve at the bottle end of the torch and hose combo that came with the Annealeez.
 
Gotcha, so it sounds like all i really need is the 2 fittings, and the regulator? I can just use the on/off control on the bottle end of the hose to control flow to the regulator.
 
Yep, that's how mine is set up. The regulator is always under pressure and the on/off valve is after the regulator.
 
Got the annealeez in the mail yesterday and the regulator/fittings should be trickling in over the next week. I was very impressed with the packaging and simplicity of the unit. I sat down this evening with about 150 5.56 cases and ran them through it. Took about 4-5 cases to get the speed right but then i just stacked them all up and let it do its thing. I sat in the room with it fairly dim and just watched the flame to make small adjustments. I can see how the regulator will help out a ton! As the flame on the brass was just starting to go orange they were dropping. Like i said, i am bery pleased with it and will tackle my lapua 30-06 brass when i get it set up with the regulator.
 
Mine arrived Saturday and so far it's been well worth the $$$. Thanks to padom for all the excellent info. The articulated arm will be here Monday. For $16 from Amazon it was a no brainer compared to trying to adjust the torch placement via a J-hook, nuts and a washer. I'll probably add the motor controller as well.

For now though I'm going to stick with the existing torch and a small propane bottle. In the hour and nearly 300 pieces of brass I annealed with it on Sat I was very pleased with the units performance.
 
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Just now getting a chance to update you guys.. so i got my annealeez thursday and set it up to check it out. I had already bought me a couple 1lb propane tanks to have on hand. I ran about 100 pieces of 5.56 brass through it to get my speed about right and it was doing good, brass looked annealed good. The regulator and fittings came in friday from amazon so i set out saturday morning to get the regulator and everything installed. So after 2.5 hours of dicking around and not getting any flow out of the torch nozzle i ended up determining that there was not enough pressure getting to the nozzle to open the little ball check valve that is under spring tension. So i removed the valve core in the hose that threads directly to the torch nozzle and used a 1/16" drill bit to drill out the check valve in the nozzle.. Now everything is working fine and regulator adjusts my flame perfectly. It was pretty aggravating but i finally got it figured out and i am truly pleased now. Well worth the cash!
 
Haha! That's the exact same problem and exact same solution that I had. I should have been more specific above when I said that it was fussy to get it set up, lol.
 
I wonder if there was a difference in our hoses or something. Either way it works great now. Ive annealed several hundred 556 cases and 100 30-06 cases.
 
I finally got my goss regulator hooked up and had the same problem black5.3 and Sheldon were having -- cant' get enough flow to light the torch.

Any chance you guys could give me some advice on how to remove the valves? Did you just whale away with a metal drill bit? Id be especially grateful if you could post some pics of what it looks like after the modifications. thanks
 
The schrader valve can be removed with a smaller flat blade screwdriver or a valve core removal tool that mechanics use. There was a very small check ball kinda thing in the torch head of my setup that i had to drill the hole out big enough for the ball the spring to come out. It may have been a 1/16” drill bit. I didnt have to drill the hole out much at all for it to come out though.
 
Ah ok - I follow you, I think. I'll give it a whirl. thanks


By the way, the best modification I made to my annealeez is some black electrical tape over the power switch cover. That blue light was burning my retinas.
 
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Yeah the blue light is pretty annoying when im sitting in a dark room watching for flame color change. You will see what im talking about. The torch head that threads on to the hose going to the fuel source there will be a little extruded part of it that pished the schrader valve down to allow flow of gas. There is a little hole right in the middle of it where the gas flows through. Thats what yoir drilling out slightly.
 
I got mine working with a swirl torch, but no luck with the original torch. I’m running the swirl at about 10 psi, otherwise rather flames are too ragged.

One issue I have with the swirl torch is that the cartridge get back into the flame for a bit as it cycles around the lower wheel. Have you guys dealt with this? I thought I might attach the torch to the bottom of the bracket rather than resting it on top, so that the flames will point more upward. In padom’s pics it looks like the flame would be pointing way down, so maybe I’m worried about nothing. I don’t know if it’s the safest thing to have a torch flame pointing up . . .

The other thought I had was to reverse the direction that the lower wheel rotates. This would take the finished case straight down and away from the flames. I assume I can just reverse the wires on the motor and it’ll change direction, but I don’t know.

Anyne else worried about this?
 
No worries. Adjust your time in the flame accordingly... I run 6psi I think but I only used the swirl flame a short period as we found an even better torch...

This is the final torch I've been using for a while now and is the best by far.

Bernzomatic TS839T Swivel Head Torch
 
Ok thanks. $85 for the swivel head torch on Amazon? I am gonna have to think about that one.
 
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I found it for $35 at go2marine. Thanks as always for the help.
 
Cant really comment on the swirl torch because i dont use one. How long is the flame out of your torch? My brass goes around and sorta in front of the flame but not back through it. Your flame sounds kinda long.
 
Yeah I was doing it from 10-15 psi -- that was a controlled flame but still too long. At 30 psi the flame was nuts. I tried 6 psi based on padom's suggestion and that tamed things down to a nicely controlled flame. I moved the torch head a little closer to the brass so that the brass was still right in the sweet spot. I ordered the 1-15 psi gauge to replace the one that came on the goss regulator, because 6 psi will barely register on the original one, and I also went ahead and ordered the swivel torch.
 
Got the potentiometer meter hooked up. Piece of cake. Here’s a vid of it working. I have the digital readout just taped to the top of the machine. It’s kinda hokey but appears to work

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QluK4DySMcI



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Horns8491 said:
Got the potentiometer meter hooked up. Piece of cake. Here’s a vid of it working. I have the digital readout just taped to the top of the machine. It’s kinda hokey but appears to work

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QluK4DySMcI



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Now you just need the articulating arm and your golden for quick and exact torch position changes.
 
Yeah i have left mine the way it came for the most part except for the regulator/gas changes i made. I mainly anneal one caliber with it so i rarely have to make changes to speed or torch arm. Looks good though! It is a great machine for the price.
 
Do you have a pilot or something that lets you line up the torch with the shell before the torch is lit?
 
I could see how the upgraded arm would definitely help!

i just get it as close as I possibly can by eye balling it and then i light up the torch and feed brass through it with the speed very fast so im not even really annealing it. For the little amount of time the brass is in the flame i fine tune its position and then lock it down. Then i slow the speed back down and continue annealing as normal.
 
Not sure why the torch itself is discontinued but here it is with a tank of gas for $38..They have 9 in stock


https://www.harryepstein.com/index.p...QaAvD6EALw_wcB

EDIT
Nevermind it says they won't stop it. You have to buy locally. If it was me if he them to keep the gas and ship me the torch. Lolol. Torch is night and day better than what came with the unit and the other 2 I tested.
 
Last edited:
Horns8491 said:
Got the potentiometer meter hooked up. Piece of cake. Here’s a vid of it working. I have the digital readout just taped to the top of the machine. It’s kinda hokey but appears to work

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QluK4DySMcI



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...


Out of curiosity; is it as loud as it sounds in the video? Is everyone's that loud? I can barely hear mine run. I bought mine within the past month and have ran maybe 100 cases through it though. Love it so far but it's still stock and seems to work pretty well.
 
Mine isn't that loud to me. The sound of the brass falling into the bin is the loudest part of the whole process.
 
I think that video accurately represents how loud mine is but I’ve never noticed it or been bothered by it.

I got my swirl torch at go2marine about 2 weeks ago last but now I don’t see it on their site. I think bernzomatic discontinued the swirl torch. I have both torches that padom described and they both seem to work fine. The swirl is a little easier to aim for me but I’m not sure I notice the flame being much different.

I also went back to the annealeez v2 torch holder (with the turnbuckle and hook) rather than that camera thingy. Maybe padom has a better version than mine- he says it’s his favorite mod of all. My camera thingy wasn’t very stable and it felt like I was jacking around with it constantly.
 
Totally found another thread that was older where pardom answered my question.
 
Last edited:
It was easy enough to replace the parts on the goss regulator. Just have a vice handy. The gauge came off no problem, I needed a breaker bar for the stubby output and a pair of vice grips and ball peen hammer to impact the input piece off. Rounded the flats off trying everything else. Good luck

Guess I'm gonna drill a new hole for the turnbuckle so the stock torch can heat the case quicker. Already cut a 1" hole in the roof for my voltmeter, another 1/4" hole isn't the end of the world.
 
Last edited:
black5.3 said:
Just now getting a chance to update you guys.. so i got my annealeez thursday and set it up to check it out. I had already bought me a couple 1lb propane tanks to have on hand. I ran about 100 pieces of 5.56 brass through it to get my speed about right and it was doing good, brass looked annealed good. The regulator and fittings came in friday from amazon so i set out saturday morning to get the regulator and everything installed. So after 2.5 hours of dicking around and not getting any flow out of the torch nozzle i ended up determining that there was not enough pressure getting to the nozzle to open the little ball check valve that is under spring tension. So i removed the valve core in the hose that threads directly to the torch nozzle and used a 1/16" drill bit to drill out the check valve in the nozzle.. Now everything is working fine and regulator adjusts my flame perfectly. It was pretty aggravating but i finally got it figured out and i am truly pleased now. Well worth the cash!
Click to expand...

Is it possible that what you guys are removing is a one way check valve, and the simple solution would be to switch hoses. I.E your in is on your out.

I noticed this same problem on my Giruad. I was going to try a regulator.
 
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