FA Platinum Series Rotary Case Tumbler 110 Volt

[SharuLady]

Hi,
FA Platinum Series Rotary Case Tumbler 110 Volt

Has anyone used this unit and what are the pros/cons?

I am also considering the next 2 items along with the tumbler.

FA Media Transfer Magnet for Stainless Steel Media
FA Platinum Series Wet/Dry Rotary Media Separator

TYIA, SharuLady

[DerekP Houston]

Hi,
FA Platinum Series Rotary Case Tumbler 110 Volt

Has anyone used this unit and what are the pros/cons?

I am also considering the next 2 items along with the tumbler.

FA Media Transfer Magnet for Stainless Steel Media
FA Platinum Series Wet/Dry Rotary Media Separator

TYIA, SharuLady

I use the "FART" tumbler it works great :D.

Pros:
Sparkly clean brass
Done faster than dry tumble
No dust when opening
primer pockets are cleaned

Cons:
Kinda messy
drying takes awhile
wastes water


I don't bother with a magnet on mine, I use a media separator full of water to rinse the brass free of pins and residue. I have no experience with the Frankford version but it should be fine. It looks identical to the RCBS/Lyman version.

[mold maker]

The magnet is a handy way to retrieve erent pins for which there will always be some. I place it near the drain and it catches them out of the water flowing past. After several years of steady use i still have a full 5lbs of pins. I realize there might have been a few extra when I bought them but the loss has been negligible.
As far as the FART, I have looked at them, but already have Thumblers and and STM systems. Both are enough better then dry tumbling to be well worth the price if you do enough brass.

[mac60]

I have one. Good machine. I cleaned 322 .30-30 cases the other day (1 load). I never use the ss pins - too much drama for me. Just Dawn, Lemishine & a spritz of purple power.

[slim1836]

I use one as well and like the results I get.

Slim

[Reddirt62]

I use both the fart and a dry for different situations... love them. Get a media separator, you'll be glad you did.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

[SharuLady]

I use the "FART" tumbler it works great :D.

Pros:
Sparkly clean brass
Done faster than dry tumble
No dust when opening
primer pockets are cleaned

Cons:
Kinda messy
drying takes awhile
wastes water


I don't bother with a magnet on mine, I use a media separator full of water to rinse the brass free of pins and residue. I have no experience with the Frankford version but it should be fine. It looks identical to the RCBS/Lyman version.

TY for your reply! As far as the drying, I have a older Ronco dehydrator with 7 trays (retired from dehydrating purposes since I got my Excalibur3 yrs ago) that I have/am using.

I will be using a magnet as I think it will go a long way to managing those pins. The FA media separator also allows one to separate the brass & pins then they can be rinsed again.

[SharuLady]

The magnet is a handy way to retrieve erent pins for which there will always be some.
As far as the FART, I have looked at them, but already have Thumblers and and STM systems. Both are enough better then dry tumbling to be well worth the price if you do enough brass.

TY, for your reply. I agree with your thoughts on the magnet.

[SharuLady]

I have one. Good machine. I cleaned 322 .30-30 cases the other day (1 load). I never use the ss pins - too much drama for me. Just Dawn, Lemishine & a spritz of purple power.

TY for your reply, I do plan to try both ways (with & without) and see the results.

[SharuLady]

I have one. Good machine. I cleaned 322 .30-30 cases the other day (1 load). I never use the ss pins - too much drama for me. Just Dawn, Lemishine & a spritz of purple power.

TY for your reply! I want to experiment with/without the pins.

[SharuLady]

I use one as well and like the results I get.

Slim

Ty for your reply and it is good hear you like the results!

[SharuLady]

[QUOTE=Reddirt62;4009560]I use both the fart and a dry for different situations... love them. Get a media separator, you'll be glad you did. QUOTE]

Ty for you reply. I will also continue to use my dry tumbler and FA Rotory to do some testing. Yes to the media separator.

[CraigOK]

A co-worker uses one for his polishing side business and he likes it and says it does a good job, except it has a rubber liner in it. Thats not a problem for reloaders though bc we wont be putting greasy parts in it. Just thought I'd mention it. Id like to build one, but I think I'd have at least that much money into it so I may go that route also

[Silverboolit]

I have the FART and it does an outstanding job. As for drying, I just pour the cases out on an old towel, roll the towel over to get off the water spots and then use a hair dryer. I put the dryer on one edge of the towel, and put another shop rag over the top with a couple of spring clamps to holt them together and let the dryer blow between the towel and the rag. Kinda like blankets on a bed. My brass is dry in about 10 minutes. It is hot, but dry as a desert in the summer.

[Gee_Wizz01]

I started using the FART about 2 weeks ago and I love it. I have cleaned at least 5000 rds of .223, 30- 06, 308, 45 ACP, and 9mm. I decap everything with a Lee decapping die and then clean with as pins. For the cleaning I use lemi shine and dawn. All the brass looks new when finished. I use the FART strainer caps and five gallon bucket to separate the brass and media. Then I dump the brass out into a large Rubbermaid bin. From there the brass goes into the FA brass drier. I just got the brass drier yesterday and after drying 3 loads of brass I am well pleased. The drier did a great job and it is much quicker than towels and a heat gun and does a better job. I also bought the FA magnet and it works much better than a plain magnet.
I still use my vibratory tumbler with walnut shell to remove case lube off the brass after resizing and trimming. I live in Fl. and all my brass gets a coating of fine sand when shooting and the FART leaves the brasa clean and shiney.

Sent from my SM-J700T using Tapatalk

[SharuLady]

Hi, CraigOK, Silverboolit & Gee TY for your reply's and comments. It certainly appears that the FART unit, magnet & FA media separator works & aids in cleaning up the brass.

[jmort]

I have one and it works well. Read reviews on Midway USA. It is highly rated and gets great reviews from owner users. I use a strainer to sperate the brass and media. I use the stainless chips and like them better than the pins. Takes about half the time. It comes with pins so start with those. Frankford makes a good brass dryer as well.

[Reverend Al]

I have the Frankford Arsenal unit and love it. I tumble with the ss pins with a bit of Dawn dish soap and a 1/2 teaspoon of Lemishine. The brass comes out absolutely new and shiny. I de-cap first with a universal decapping die so that the pockets are cleaned too. A couple of tips ... don't overdo the Dawn and Lemishine, you don't need much. Warm / hot water seems to work a bit better than cold water. As soon as they are done tumbling you should empty the tumbler rather than let them sit in the solution. I dump the waste water and the ss pins into a plastic washtub using the supplied slotted end cap, and then I dump the cleaned brass (and the few remaining pins) into the same tub and pour another gallon of fresh clean water onto them and rinse thoroughly by swirling them around with my hands. (I found if I left them sitting in the tumbler too long they can discolour and stain from the Lemishine.) I then pour the rinse water back into the tumbler drum for the next batch so that I'm not wasting as much water. I use a 7 tray dehydrator in the garage to dry them thoroughly before I put them into plastic tubs for storage. It's evolved into a system that works well for me ...

[SharuLady]

I have one and it works well. Read reviews on Midway USA. It is highly rated and gets great reviews from owner users. I use a strainer to sperate the brass and media. I use the stainless chips and like them better than the pins. Takes about half the time. It comes with pins so start with those. Frankford makes a good brass dryer as well.

TY for your comment. I have seen pros/cons on the use of stainless chips here on the board. Something to the effect of seeing small or minute chips of brass from the tumbling. Have you seen or noticed any of this? I do plan to use the pins that come with this unit at this time.

[SharuLady]

I have the Frankford Arsenal unit and love it. I tumble with the ss pins with a bit of Dawn dish soap and a 1/2 teaspoon of Lemishine. The brass comes out absolutely new and shiny. I de-cap first with a universal decapping die so that the pockets are cleaned too. A couple of tips ... don't overdo the Dawn and Lemishine, you don't need much. Warm / hot water seems to work a bit better than cold water. As soon as they are done tumbling you should empty the tumbler rather than let them sit in the solution. I dump the waste water and the ss pins into a plastic washtub using the supplied slotted end cap, and then I dump the cleaned brass (and the few remaining pins) into the same tub and pour another gallon of fresh clean water onto them and rinse thoroughly by swirling them around with my hands. (I found if I left them sitting in the tumbler too long they can discolour and stain from the Lemishine.) I then pour the rinse water back into the tumbler drum for the next batch so that I'm not wasting as much water. I use a 7 tray dehydrator in the garage to dry them thoroughly before I put them into plastic tubs for storage. It's evolved into a system that works well for me ...

Ty for details on your procedure. I also have a (Ronco ?) 7 tray dehydrator that I will be using. I want to look into putting in a fan and some kind of temperature control on it (maybe some kind of a timer as well. But until then it is quite usable as it is. :smile:

[jmort]

The chips are harder on the brass in my opinion. But the tumble time is way less. Like many/most things, there is a cost-benefit to it. The brass will have some scratching where the pins peen more. I also just run brass only, more often than not just to get it cleaned. You would be surprised at how clean brass gets just using water and cleaner. I think that many/most have gone to a car wash and wax product. It leaves a coating on the brass that prevents/inhibits tarnish.
https://www.amazon.com/Mothers-05674-California-Gold-Carnauba/dp/B004N5WHE0

[SharuLady]

Got the FA Platinum Rotary Tumbler, a FA magnet & the FA Rotary covered tub with 2 trays to separate brass and pins. I also got the Lyman Prep Center. Got them through Amazon with good discounts & free shipping. The FA Rotary covered tub was thru Amazon but being shipped by that seller but there will be shipping cost. But the cost of it was $17.00 which is the lowest price I have seen anywhere. Time will soon tell if I will be burned! Hope not.


SharuLady

[mortyg]

I use the FA tumbler.
I put the dirty brass with dawn and purple , no pins, for an hour, rinse well and dry. Then I decap and then put the cleaned brass back in the tumbler with dawn and leminshine with the pins, and tumble for two hours or three hours. I use two five gallon buckets. First I stand the tumbler on its end. Then remove the solid end cap and replace with one of the slotted end caps . I pour the contents in to one of the empty five gallon buckets, replace the other solid end cap with the other slotted end cap while the tumbler is facing down, keep shaking it well till all of the pins fall out. I don't shoot brass that will fall through grates in the end cap. Fill the other bucket about two thirds full with clean hot water. Plunge the tumbler into the hot water, end first, filling the tumbler,remove and repeat until the brass is well rinsed. Drain and turnout the brass into a pan with a folded towel underneath. The other five gallon bucket is full of dirty water and the pins. Take the clean bucket and place a fine metal sieve on the rim of the five gallon bucket and pour the dirty water and pins, into the clean bucket. Rinse the pins, in the sieve, and put in to a pan to dry and dispose of the dirty water.

[ulav8r]

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Utilitech-15-Amp-1-Outlet-Digital-Residential-Plug-in-Lighting-Timer/999911957 Timer for tumbler, dryer, etc. Only $9.97

[Drew P]

I got the blue thumbler clone on eBay, called ballistic bills. It's great! Cheaper than frankford and all steel construction. I also quit using pins, such a pain in the arsch and doesn't do anything for me as I'm not a primer pocket queen. YMMV

[M-Tecs]

Been very happy with mine. Got it when it first came out.