How do ya'll dry your brass?

[southpaw]

I was wondering what the best way to dry my brass after wet tumbling. I have been drying it with a towel, then spreading them out on the towel and letting them sit next to the wood stove. Also, how long should I leave them to dry?

Thanks!!

Jerry Jr.

[w5pv]

I put mine in the oven at about 200 degrees and sometime I blow them off with air.

[scb]

I put mine in the oven at about 200 degrees.
me too

[Dutchninja]

Southpaw, I do the two towel thing as well. The first one to roll and dry everything off the second just to air dry without having them sit on a wet towel. I do put a fan on them to assist in air drying. I keep my dehumidifier as low as it can go as well.

If it is decapped prior to washing I will let t sit for a day, if the primers are still In may two days; all depends. If its stuff I need to reload right away I take the hair dryer to it and roll them around in a big Ackro bin till their nice and hot.

[prs]

Air drying in open roon, even by the stove is gonna be slow if spent primers are still in as is my routine. So I started using the convection oven at 300F. But recently I picked up a food dehydrator really cheap and it does a great job with very warm forced air. Holds at least 400 45ACP rounds on its four levels. Rated for continuous service, turn it on and let it go; two hours will do, but if you forget it, don't sweat it.

prs

[shredder]

I rinse in water as hot as the tap will provide and shake em up in a dry towel. I put them into the old red plastic federal catridge holders primer up and give each a tap to break the bubble in the primer pocket. Let em sit mouth down over night or better yet put 'em outside in the sun. As far as an oven goes, I would have some reservations about heating the brass and possibly changing the hardness/annealing of the brass.

[Artful]

Take two thick towels, sew them together along the bottom and two long sides put brass inside and fold the top over and safety pin it - put in the dryer (need thick towels or it makes too much noise and your wife will know what's up.)

[M Hicks]

I shake off most of the excess water and toss mine into a vibratory tumbler with walnut media and a little NuFinish. The walnut doesn't absorb the water like corn cob, the wax keeps it from tarnishing. It only takes about 20 minutes to get them dry.

[John Boy]

... How to Dry Your Brass in Under 2 Minutes!
http://www.theopenrange.net/forum/index.php?topic=7653.msg56060#msg56060

[Bayou52]

I use the rotary media separator as a "spin cycle". After the pins are separated and the water removed fron the rotary media separator, I leave the wet brasses in the rotary squirrel cage, throw in a dry towel and spin for 20-30 seconds. This removes 90+ % of the dampness. I then repeat a second spin with another dry towel.

These spin cycles will remove almost all remaining dampness. This is because the brasses are decapped, and moisture escapes from both ends of the brasses while spinning. Simply laying the brass out in open air will cause any remaining moisture to evaporate - usually in 10 minutes or so.

No need for any heaters, air blowers, dehydrators, ovens, etc, etc with using this spin cycle technique. Only a rotary media separator is used.

Hope this helps....

Bayou52

[Rumrunner64]

I put mine in the oven at 200 degrees for a hour. There is no chance of annealing at that temp.

[John Boy]

Simply laying the brass out in open air will cause any remaining moisture to evaporate - usually in 10 minutes or so.Bayou, doing this, I'd check the water that remains around the primer pockets on the inside of the cases. Even with a hair dryer @ 225F, I will find some cases that still have water there

[Bayou52]

Thanks, John-

It's a good idea to double check, as you suggest...

Bayou52

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

Let it lay on a towel on the floor.

[VHoward]

Food dehydrator set at 165 degrees for 30 minutes.

[Walter Laich]

I'm in no hurry so I use a couple of these drying racks. Nothing is touching case but two spots on rim
http://www.sagebrushproducts.com/catalog/item/7274306/7653923.htm

[southpaw]

Thanks guys! For some reason I forgot about the hair dryer trick. I had used it before but it had slipped my mind. I decap them before cleaning. One time I cleaned some 45 auto without decaping them and after a couple of days they still had not dried.

The oven trick has the potential for getting me into trouble with the wife. Since I seem to do pretty good at that on my own I think I will reserve that one for another time. I do like the dehydrator method. I will try that when I complete the next batch.

I do plan on getting the large dillon case separator after Christmas.

Thanks again for the ideas!

Jerry Jr.

[joelitespeed]

I use a fine mesh laundry bag and let is sit in front of small space heater with frequent turning by hand. I am going to try the stove method next time.

[roots911]

I have a small table top convection oven that I use to temper lead and also use to dry brass. Quick and easy.

[TNsailorman]

If I'm not in a hurry, I put them neck down in several old plastic Federal .45acp trays on the heating system registers overnight. They are usually dry in a couple of hours or so. If in a hurry, I put them in the oven on paper plates with the temperature set at 125 degrees for about 30 minutes. works for me. james

[jonas302]

Dehydrator that has a fan works well best plan is to not be in a hurry

[southpaw]

Dehydrator that has a fan works well best plan is to not be in a hurry

My biggest thing is I was just a little paranoid that there could be a case that wasn't completely dry. I like to do about 1000 or so before I start loading. I do all the prep (decap, trim and remove the primer crimp) before cleaning. I put 200 in the tumbler at a time. Most of the time I get a couple batches ready and when I am going to be around the house I will put them in the tumbler for about 2-3 hours. Then the drying process. I think now I am gonna do the hair dryer thing followed by the dehydrator and then let then sit in a medium flat rate box until I get to loading them.

Jerry Jr.

[JWFilips]

I don't wet tumble but when I run them thru my citric acid bath and water rinse I then drain & put them in one of those "Shamwows" cloths and do a bit of centrifugal force type spins a few times around my head. Then a few minutes with a hair dryer and I'm good to go... however that is for a small batch.

[zuke]

Deep fryer basket set into an open heating duct on the floor.
To dry in 4-5 minute's use rubbing alcohol,95% or stronger.
Pour into a small pail.add brass to just below surface and swish them around with your hand. Remove and shake off brass and return alcohol to bottle. Should be just about dry buy the time your done the last part.
Get alcohol from Walmart pharmacy.

[Dave C.]

The best way to dry brass is not to wet tumble it. All it needs to be is clean.
If you have time to polish your brass to a high shine what's a little more time for it to dry?
But if it gives you a warm fuzzy feeling go to it. All kidding aside do what makes you happy.

Dave C.

[jmorris]

I have used a heated blower to dry before.

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o213/jmorrismetal/reloading/SST/7.jpg

The best method involves the Sun in July/August in Texas, a batch of 3000 or so takes less than 2.5 beers to not only dry but also become too hot to hold.

http://i664.photobucket.com/albums/vv5/qvideo/IMG_20130727_144639_090_zpsd9095290.jpg

[EDG]

Rinse in 90% isopropyl alcohol , roll in a towel and then stand mouth down in a loading block in front of a fan.
The alcohol will absorb the water and dry in about 15 mins.

[Bullshop Junior]

any time I have wet brass, I punch out the primers, and set them on a screen sifter I have, and set them by the wood stove over night.

[OnceFired]

First I spin my brass in my home made media separator. It'll handle up to 10,000 5.56 at one time.

Then I use one of two things...

1) The big drying table I built, with a box fan underneath. I can spread out approximately 15,000 pieces on the 32" x 8' table. I also want to get a scrap mirror to put under that table for spring & fall drying sessions.

2) When I don't have sunshine, or if it's cold I'll use the convection oven at 200 degrees. That limits me to about 1500 pieces at a time, using cookie sheets as shelves in all four oven slots. I haven't tried replacing the solid cookie sheets with wire racks to increase airflow and decrease drying time yet.

[prs]

Regarding any loss of tempor or anealing of brass due to cooking oven or dehydrator heat, I have seen no evidence of this up to 300F. When I was using the convection oven I would place up to 1,000 rounds wet with primers in into the cold oven. Then program it to pre-heat to 300F. By the time the pre-heat cycle is done, the brass is perfectly dry. 250F or 275F might totally dry the spent primers that quickly, but they can be stubborn.

I now prefer the dehydrator, but was unaware that method could work as quickly as one above poster reported.

Wet tumbling or ultra sonic bath gives clean brass, inside, outside, and in the pockets.

prs