Question for FART owners and 9mm brass

[The Dar]

I have a lot of 9mm brass to process. The Fed Ex truck is supposed to be delivering my new FART on Wednesday. Website claims the FART has the capacity to hold 1000 223 cases. I'm guessing that's optimistic, sorta like the Lee 4-20 holding 20 lbs (mine tops out at about 17 lbs). I'd like to do batches of 1600 9mm but I'll probably settle at 1000 to 1200/batch.

So what say you FART owners, how much 9mm is reasonable without overloading the unit?

Thank you,

Dar

[Budzilla 19]

Put your pins in, load the brass till it’s up to the “sloped in” part, add Lemishine, splash of wash and wax car wash, then fill with hot water till full, add the lid, go for it! Start by using about 30 minutes, check at 15 minutes,if brass is dirty, then drain dirty water, redo lemishine, wash and wax, then 30 minutes, it’ll amaze you how clean it is! Never counted the brass.

[Bmi48219]

If you’re referring to the Franklin Arsenal Rotary Tumbler that goes for $190.00 or so,
I’ve had one for several years. I run about 500 - 9mm at a time. Part of the reason is because the pin separator / rinse spinner I made only holds that many. You may be able to fit 1,500 in it but there won’t be much room for the pins to thrash around the brass. Then too, IMO, with the weight of that amount of brass, water and pins you’re likely to exceed the max load they recommend. Be a shame to burn it out.

[JimB..]

I filled mine 75% then added pins, water, soap/wax. Leave a little room for suds. I usually twist the dial to 3 hours, but rarely let it run that long. I suggest that you’ll have a higher production rate if you avoid overfilling it.

Edit: several folks report good results wet tumbling without pins. If that works for you it’ll save a ton of time.

Have since moved to a 45lb tumbler, but keep a FART for odd calibers and small loads.

[NyFirefighter357]

You can do 1,300 deprimed 9mm cases per batch.

[dannyd]

Who knew there was a Fart chart

[The Dar]

Thanks all for the information. I'll probably settle on 1100 for the FART. I gather 2 to 3k 9mm brass each weekend and I'll be selling it in 3k lots (with extra). That's why I was hoping to do 1600 at a time and have a 3k lot in two batches. Fed Ex is delivering the FART tomorrow and I'll experiment with batch sizes this weekend.

[dannyd]

Thanks all for the information. I'll probably settle on 1100 for the FART. I gather 2 to 3k 9mm brass each weekend and I'll be selling it in 3k lots (with extra). That's why I was hoping to do 1600 at a time and have a 3k lot in two batches. Fed Ex is delivering the FART tomorrow and I'll experiment with batch sizes this weekend.

If it's range pickup; load and run the fart for 1 hr. then stop drain the water refill with fresh water and run for another hour with the pins. Makes the brass look new. Those three items below will really help in the long run.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://smile.amazon.com/Frankford-A...s%2C141&sr=8-8

https://smile.amazon.com/Frankford-A...s%2C141&sr=8-5

[JimB..]

Look at the price of 9mm brass. Great to pick it up, but I don’t think there is much, if any, premium paid for tumbling it. There is a premium for “ready to load” brass, but I think the market is smaller.

Good luck!

[The Dar]

The FART arrived today. I was surprised at the size of it, didn't realize it was that big. I put 1050 9mm cases and dry ran it for about 15 seconds. Looking through the end cap it appeared to cover a bit over half of the cap. I think I'll try that amount and run three batches.

Thanks again for the information and help.

[dannyd]

Yes, some of us call it a Big Fart.

[kevin c]

I clean a lot of 9mm brass in my FART, loading 1400 to 1600 per two hour run, using citric acid and car wash ‘n wax. I fill with enough water to cover the brass.

BUT, I don’t use pins, finding them a hassle and personally not caring about pristine case interiors. That’s, what, five pounds less weight? So more brass per run with less strain on the motor.

[LittleLebowski]

I get stellar results with no pins, just a little car wash soap and a pinch of citric acid powder.