Tumbler run times.
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When you're loading up your tumbler, make sure you realize the correlation between how full you load it with how long you'll have to run it.
As a rule, the more heavily loaded the tumbler, the longer the run time will need to be in order to get the desired affect on your brass.
Obviously I'm speaking about tumbling with rice as per the article I wrote on the subject, but it typically holds true with most media. You can view the speed at which the media is cycling in your tumbler and use it as somewhat of a guide. If you load light, often you'll only need a very short run time. I can finish 100pcs of .223AI in about 30 minutes. Where as if I load 270 pieces of 6 Dasher, I'll often need to run 2 - 4 hours to get the lube off and end up with nice clean dry cases. So, there's a strong argument for either buying bigger and more powerful tumblers, or choosing to run significantly smaller batches.
I typically run my entire batch of brass at one time. I feel that running it all at once, even though it may take longer, will keep the uniformity among the batch. Large cartridges such as 300 norma or even 7LRM, I typically keep my batch of cases I'm working with for that barrel relatively small. 50 pieces is fairly common. Sometimes 100. The smaller cases such as .223AI can be done in larger batches. The tumbler capacity is certainly a limiting factor when I'm selecting how many pieces of brass to press into service for a specific rifle or barrel at one time.
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@orkan
I have one of the smaller Dillion’s and it’s about had it. How does the ultra vide 18 compare in size to the smaller Dillon? I’m looking to upgrade soon and want one a little bigger than my current one.
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@bull81 I've not run dillon tumblers before, so I couldn't relate how it compares to the UV-18 I run. I really like my UV-18 for most of my batches.
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The correlation between runtime and load capacity also holds true for ss pins. My ss tumbler will hold about 4 gallons. I have about 30 lb of pins. It is faster to do four batches of 500 than to do one batch of 2000.
I can understand trying to keep all of one batch together...but I bet this same principle holds true for rice too.
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Is that rice media “Uncle Bens”? Or some other specific brand?
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@alfmoonspace Orkan uses a traditional medium grain rice.
We buy 15 pound bags off Amazon: http://amzn.to/2acofXY
Here is the full article detailing cleaning your brass with rice, for those who haven't read it before: https://www.primalrights.com/library/articles/clean-brass-with-rice
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@alfmoonspace said in Tumbler run times.:
Is that rice media “Uncle Bens”? Or some other specific brand?
It must be the type of rice listed here: http://amzn.to/2acofXY
Rice of different configuration will clog in flash holes, necks, and primer pockets too much.
