Case drying temperatures

[slim1836]

I've been using an inexpensive NESCO food dehydrator for years to dry my cases and have been happy with it overall. I recently checked how hot the unit would get with one of my P.I.D.'s and got 140 degrees. I have a silicon mat that sits on one of my trays for small objects which I like since I've been playing around with rebuilding primers. I place a spray paint can in the center tray hole when dumping cases to keep them from spilling through the center hole, when unloading I place the tray over a tub and rake the cases through the center hole to unload. This has worked well for me but YMMV.

I'm just wondering what others have used and what temps have been found on theirs along with perks you may have found on your machine.

Slim

[Nueces]

My electric oven bottoms out at 170F and works well for cases after rolling them about in a towel. I remove them after 30 minutes and let cool. Long experience shows no residual moisture, even in flash holes. I hate to devote counter space to a dehydrator.

[fc60]

Greetings,

I, too, use the NESCO dehydrator.

I like the idea of the fan blowing the moist air out of the unit.

Recently, I have been setting the temperature dial at 140F.

Prior, I used the lowest setting and let it run a few hours.

Cheers,

Dave

[bangerjim]

Here is AZ, I just spread them out on a big old towel on the side of the pool decking and leave them for a few hours. The get REAL hot! For free!

Everybody has access to the sun.......sometime! Use it and do not waste money on ovens, dehydrators, and electricity. Olde Sol does a great job of drying things.


banger

[hoodat]

I use the oven at 200 degrees. That is where water vaporizes, and not hot enough to mess with temper of brass. Also doesn't take but 15 minutes. jd

[lightman]

I set the oven at the lowest setting for 20-30 minutes.

[PJEagle]

I keep my dehydrator set at 155 degrees; according to my PID. If I go much higher it permanently tarnishes the brass.

[Castaway]

Living in Central Florida, I do it like bangerjim. I line the cases up so the case mouth faces the afternoon sun. Doesn’t take long at all

[15meter]

Look at the avatar, laying them out in the sun for several months of the year comes under the heading of wishful thinking.

But it is good sailing weather.

[Mal Paso]

Oven at 250F, just above the boiling point of water when I'm in a hurry and want to load them now.

[hoodat]

I must be the only guy these days who doesn't have a tumbler/vibrator, or specific case cleaning device. And I remember when NOBODY did. It just wasn't a thing.

I've always simply used a stainless pot with water and a couple spoonfuls of auto dishwashing granules. Bring them to a boil and stir a little, drain and rinse. Dump them on a towel, and shake them around a bit, then into a pan in the oven for fifteen or twenty minutes. Whole process doesn't take much more than a half hour. Don't have to worry about cleaning the medium out or other stuff that sounds like a big pain in the butt.

My brass is CLEAN, and actually pretty shiny. I've never felt ashamed of them when shooting with the guys. "Gee jd, is that a water spot on your cartridge??" :shock: jd

[Winger Ed.]

After reloading activities were banned from the kitchen oven, I lay them out in the sun on a towel for a day or so.

I'm never in a big rush, so in the winter I might leave them laying out on the loading bench in the shop for a week or more
before I get around to the next step in their process.

[Half Dog]

I also let mine dry in the sunshine. For me cleaning is a summer sport and during August it seems like the brass gets annealed as its drying.

[ioon44]

I dry mine on my Redwood deck, in full sun the temp can reach 150 deg F, in the winter I leave them behind the wood stove overnight.

[gkainz]

During the summer I also lay the brass out in the sun. During the winter, I have a screen box over a small bbq for heat.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220516/7245472b0ff46875d97bcb00d1763cee.jpg

[Sasquatch-1]

After I wet tumble for a couple of hours, I separate the pins with a magnet and put the brass in the vibratory tumbler, with Lizard Litter and a bit of Nu-Finish for another two hours. Brass comes out dry and has a coat of wax to slow tarnishing.

[farmerjim]

I use the same convection oven and trays that I use for powder coating and
Hi-Tek. I set the oven at 200 and they are dry in 15 min.

[rcslotcar]

Several years ago I bought a built in type convection from Lowes discount section. I set it up on a cart that I can move around as needed. I also use it for PC and drying. The lowest setting is 170 degrees which I set at 30 mins. At this temperature the brass dries with out a color change.

[Bmi48219]

Blue Coral car wash in the rinse water seems to reduce water spots. After separating pins and shaking on a towel I stack them on drying racks (boards with plastic pins) to dry in the sun. If it’s cloudy and the wife is out I put the racks on the sneaker drying rack in the clothes dryer for 10 minutes on low. The warm brass gets lubed and stored.
300241

[Drew P]

Here is AZ, I just spread them out on a big old towel on the side of the pool decking and leave them for a few hours. The get REAL hot! For free!

Everybody has access to the sun.......sometime! Use it and do not waste money on ovens, dehydrators, and electricity. Olde Sol does a great job of drying things.


banger
Not to be contrary but living in portland I can assure you that some don’t have access to sun for months and months at a time

[jetinteriorguy]

I just toss mine on a dedicated cookie sheet ( hint, don’t use wife’s ), set oven on lowest setting 170deg for thirty minutes and good to go.

[georgerkahn]

In not-sunny-warm-dry times (RARE!) I use a Frankfort electric brass dryer. I put in an outboard switch for heat, as I do not need/use it all the time. On the rare sunny warm days, I place the brass on an aluminum tray and set it in full sun, tray balanced on a shop stool. I've been fortunate in not-yet had a time constraint requiring any brass "now", so -- again -- re the brass drying time, it has been pretty much one of my least concerns. Bion, too, I have neither checked, nor been concerned re the temperature.300316300317
geo

[Walter Laich]

Here is AZ, I just spread them out on a big old towel on the side of the pool decking and leave them for a few hours. The get REAL hot! For free!

Everybody has access to the sun.......sometime! Use it and do not waste money on ovens, dehydrators, and electricity. Olde Sol does a great job of drying things.


banger

similar to bager's ▲

see-saw back and forth in towel to remove majority of water

placed on DIY hardware cloth frame that sits off ground a few inches to allow circulation

got a square of black fabric to put on hardware cloth and then brass on it--really gets warm in Houston Sun

let it go for a couple of hours

if evening or raining will take this setup inside and sit unde ceiling fan overnight

[BamaNapper]

I use the convention toaster oven I use for PC. I usually have it set around 200 to dry brass, give it a few mins and then spread them out on a towel and let the heat evaporate any remaining water. Once I made the mistake of tossing a load of 223 brass in and then turning the oven on. Only once though. Apparently too much heat from the oven as it comes up to temp. When the cases came out they were hardened to the point that it was a bear resizing them. Several other loads of brass went through the oven that afternoon from the same container and only the one batch hardened up. It was something new to me.