Drying After Tumbling

[harleymac1]

What are you all doing to dry cases after wet tumbling? I have been drying in a food dehydrator and yesterday it bit the dust. Before I rush out and buy another I thought I would get an idea of other options.

 

[Xterminator]

Frankford dehydrator is what I'm using. Takes too long to air dry & it's cold outside. Definitely go dehydrator

 

[turnerdye1]

Food dehydrator here also. I got a cheap used one on Facebook marketplace

 

[Chance]

Can also lay them out on a metal tray and wave heat gun over them. Do not over heat. Doesn’t take much to dry them out.

 

[tsm]

For pistol brass, I wrap them in a towel, push them around a bit to get most of the water off, then put a fan on them for an hour or two to finish drying. No heat necessary. Doesn’t work as well for rifle due to the longer cases.

 

[bwframe]

I use the Frankford dehydrator and their brass spinner media separator.

 

[Maximinus Thrax]

I've been using an old toaster oven BUT it can't really handle a full load of brass from my tumbler so I'm itching to buy a used food dehydrator.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Food dehydrator. Works great!

 

[armalitesheepdog]

I also just tumble in a towel then lay out. In 2 hours there dry. Thats deprimed.
I have heard 20 min on a cookie sheet in a 170 degree oven works also.

 

[bigedp51]

I put my wet tumbled cases in a five gallon bucket and use a old hair dryer held in place pointing straight down. A piece of cardboard with a hole cut in it holds the hair dryer. The cardboard only covers 1/3 of the top of the bucket and allows the hot air to vent. The cases dry very quickly and I never thought about buying some kind of dryer. (yes I'm a cheap SOB)

 

[indysims]

Shake in a towel, place on a metal mesh tray with a small space heater blowing on them.

 

[harleymac1]

Good ideas here. I did some research today and it seems that most dehydrators quit working due to a thermistor. I am going to test that theory this evening and if that is the case it will play right into my cheap SOB side as well since I can pick up one of those for a couple bucks or less. Hoping to not have to pay for a new dehydrator.

 

[EyeCarry]

let's see....
Get most of the water out/off in a towel or shaking them in fine mesh onion bag or similar bag over the utility tub.
I've used the lid of a paper ream box lined with newspapers. Either out in the sun in the summer or in front of the warm air coming out of the dehumidifier.
Smaller batches in aluminum disposable pans placed in a toaster over on low for 20 minutes or so and then left to "coast" after turning off the oven.
On a cookie sheet sitting on top of one of those oil filled heaters set to low. Watch your balance or attach outriggers to the heater.
My basement has air ducts pointing down from the ceiling so I can put a box/tray under the vent and walk away.
Some people have a clothes dryer with a sweater shelf. I don't.
Heck, even spread out in a closed up car/truck on a sunny day with do it.
Mostly, just stay ahead of the task and use what is already dry and stored in coffee cans.

 

[sugarcreekbrass]

Cheap food dehydrators you can find at Wal-Mart or the like for $20-30. In the winter I fill the 4 or 5 trays with about 9-10lbs of brass total. I only run them for about 30-45 mins, maybe an hour for bottleneck, then lay them on an old blanket for a day. That way any extra moisture trapped in primer pocket will dry completely. In the summer I use big drying screens I made, similar to a screen door, that I put on saw horses and let the sun and wind today them.

 

[Chewie]

Cheap food dehydrators you can find at Wal-Mart or the like for $20-30. In the winter I fill the 4 or 5 trays with about 9-10lbs of brass total. I only run them for about 30-45 mins, maybe an hour for bottleneck, then lay them on an old blanket for a day. That way any extra moisture trapped in primer pocket will dry completely. In the summer I use big drying screens I made, similar to a screen door, that I put on saw horses and let the sun and wind today them.

+1. Bought mine at Wally world about 2 years ago for $20. Only change I made is to put metal screen door screen on a couple of the trays. load every other tray and about 1/2 later, dry!.

 

[JeepHammer]

Won't tell anyone else what to do, but this is how I do it...

Washing is cleaning, simple soap & water.
I screen out the water, dump dry walnut shell media right in and dry/polish at the same time.
Same screen that let the water out lets the dry media out,
Lube or wax (coatings) go in on sponges, easy to remove and keeps coatings out of powder cavity in the brass.

I then process or store, depending on lube or wax coating.
I don't confuse the mechanical process of polish with cleaning, which makes my dry media last MUCH longer,
I don't confuse coatings with polish, no matter what the bottle propaganda says.

I might have higher volume than you, so change as you feel necessary for your quantity.



The screen isn't over the mixer mouth in this picture, but power screening water/pins/chips, walnut shell out sure beats hand sifting, lifting 15 gallons of brass 3 or 4 times.

Dirty brass goes in, stays in until it's finished and ready to process/store.
Next wash takes care of any coatings left in the drum.

 

[dieselrealtor]

For small ammounts of brass, a $1 wire basket from Dollar tree placed on the heating vent overnight.

 

[canebreaker]

I pour my cases into a stocking, tie it off with a bread tie. Lay it on the condenser unit. During the summer it stays there an hour. During the winter it stays 24 hours. It then goes into the tumbler with corncob and NuFinish for an hour.

 

[Bill2905]

I only wet clean bottleneck cases and am not normally in a hurry to load them after cleaning. I drop wet cases onto a large towel, fold the towel over on them and roll them between the layers. After that, I place the cases neck down into a reloading block and let them sit and drain for at least a couple hours if not overnight. Then I dump them onto the towel and allow the insides to air dry which usually takes 24-36 hours. I should note that they are normally deprimed which helps.

If I ever need them quick, I will try some of the good ideas I have read on this thread.

 

[billybob44]

For me, especially on rifle brass, it's simple as this:
De-cap all-wash all-spread out on an old (Good Will Store bought) table cloth on the basement floor.
After a day or two-all dried..Bill.