Vibratory tumblers and corn cob media

[Wendyj]

How often do you change the media in your vibratory cleaner? My first can lasted about 2 months. I bought a new can a month ago and it's not cleaning soot off or cleaning very good.

[jimbob86]

Never changed mine. Still works ..... though I tend to leave it run overnight .....

I do put used dryer sheets in with the media and brass- it soaks up the crud- and then discard.

[mchapman]

I use a mix 50-50 of corn cob and walnut with a little bit of nufinish car polish. You can also use the "used" dryer sheets to clean the media up when it starts to get dark. I think that mine will last about 4-6 months, cleaning about 2500 on average of pistol cases a month.

[Wendyj]

Never though about dryer sheets

[Marco Califo]

You can buy plain and treated corncob and walnut media.
A couple of tablespoons of paint thinner are supposed to refresh media.
Add a few squirts of auto polish and run, before adding the brass.

I decap and clean in hot detergent water before tumbling. This removes a lot of gunk and residue. Should make your media last longer. I also prefer to only handle clean brass.

Lyman sells TuffNut media which is walnut media heavily treated with Jeweler's Rogue (iron oxide). I use it mixed with at least equal parts of plain cob. It works very well.

The dryer sheets absorb residue, which contains lead, and reduces airborne dust.

[KEYBEAR]

I bought a real Tumbler last winter and use Walnut it does a very nice job .
It runs over night and is quiet I really like it . I run the Walnut until it is black and dump it .

[Gunplummer]

I used to keep the dirty stuff for really cruddy brass, and then ran the brass through cleaner media.

[jag2]

Why did you think you needed to change it and how long are you letting it run? Usually it will continue to clean, it just takes longer. What usually takes 2 hours may take 3 or 4. If it takes 4 hours and it still isn't as clean as I would like then its time for a change.

[Metal god]

I've went over a year and 5000+ cases . I then cleaned it in a bucket with a dab of soap and water . Strained it , spread it out on a half sheet of drywall to dry . It did another couple thousand after that .

It works but I don't do that anymore , Now I use two batches of media . I use one for the first cleaning after depriming . Then a second cleaner batch for final cleaning after all case prep is done . When the first batch gets to dirty I throw it out and start using the cleaner batch for first cleaning and poor a new second batch . I get thousands of rounds cleaned before I need to rotate the media . Now this is dirty stuff I'm cleaning . Most brass I use is once fire I by from my local range and they come dirty . It's why I use the two step process .

FWIW I'm going to wet tumbling soon .

[noylj]

30 minutes in 20/40 corn is good enough.
Bought 40 lbs many years ago and still have more than ¾ left.
Dust isn't the issue it is with nut media, but a few paper towel strips still get dirty.
Never thrown away any corn due to not cleaning--throw away is cleaning takes longer than an hour.
Buy real 20/40 corn grit from Granger's/Harbor Freight and not your local pet store or reloading shop.
It doesn't cost enough to make "cleaning" worth while--use it and dispose of it.

[Wendyj]

I've been running it about 3-4 hours. I don't have a decapper so I lube and full length size. Trim debur clean primer pockets. Brush inside necks and throw back in for another hour or so to get any excess lube off.
I didn't know they made a treated or untreated kind. Thought it was all the same.

[Economist]

I was using up my corncob media too quickly as well. Then I started throwing in used dryer sheets and Nu-finish with every tumbling load. Now my current batch of corncob media has been used over 30 times and still cleans brass like it was new.

It seems like the used dryer sheets will actually clean your media if you let them run.

[jetinteriorguy]

I'm not sure how this would relate to corn cob since I use walnuts, but I've had great success with a 50/50 mix of NuFinish and Mineral Spirits in conjunction with a used dryer sheet cut into 1" strips. I've been using the same media for about 4 years and still works good. First I throw in the brass with a couple tablespoons of the mix and a sheet for about an hour, then I lube, size and decap. Then I put it back in the tumbler with another dose of the mix and a sheet for a couple hours to clean off the lube and put a nice shiny finish on the brass. Then as a final step I trim if needed. This doesn't necessarily put a totally new look to all the brass but I'd say they are about 90% and definitely 100% functional.

[jag2]

I was going to say what noylj did. I bought #40 bag of 20/40 from Graingers about six years ago (cost around $25, more if you had to have it shipped) and still have some left. I've tried the mineral spirits but it seems to be ruining the rubber seal around the lid of my tumbler, also that brass seems to tarnish more quickly. Think I'll go back to Nufinish. I guess you can keep using it as long as you want but the cost is so low I don't think twice about throwing it out.

[boondocker385]

I just add more......and when the dust gets bad, I just run it outside with the small lid off, wind carries of the dust.....

[Dufus]

I have a big Ultravibe that I bought back in the early 90s. I have never changed the media.

I usually run the cases with treated walnut first for initial cleanup, then after the case prep, I will run them all in corncob to remove the lube and clean the pockets.

I guess one thing in my favor is that when I run a tumbler full (I just did 2000 9mm three days ago), the 20 lbs of media spreads the crud quite a bit as compared to a smaller tumbler. I give about 3 squirts of car polish and let it work in for 20 minutes before adding the cases.

I have not determined when a proper time to replace media is. If it still works, then I just keep on keeping on.

Those of you that are fortunate enough to be wet tumbling with SS pins don't have to ever worry about changing media.

[T. O'Heir]

"...Never changed mine. Still works.....though I tend to leave it run overnight..." Ditto but not over night. Few hours. The tumbling media rarely needs changing unless you put things like car polish in it.

[5whiskey]

Hmm... I haven't changed mine in several thousand rounds. I do treat it with car polish occasionally. Never tried the dryer sheet trick, I'll have to give it a shot.

I use walnut hull. Cleans well.

[jimbob86]

[QUOTEDitto but not over night. Few hours. The tumbling media rarely needs changing unless you put things like car polish in it.
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][/QUOTE]

Some people's "overnight" is shorter than others' .... go to be around midnight, get up at 5 ....that could be both "overnight" and a "few hours".

[Metal god]

I have mine on a 3hr timer . The kind you use to turn your lights on and off every night when you're away . I started it one night around 1am . Then forgot they were in there or didn't remember the tumbler was going to turn on every night at 1am . Well they sat in the tumbler for over a week . Yep 20+ hrs of tumbling . can you say BLING

[LE-28]

I use worn out wallnut and corncob mix when I have dirtier brass, I have another can of just corncob when I want to really polish it.

I change my media once in the last 30 years. I do use dryer sheet, mineral spirits, and polish in mine also.

If you put to much polish in it the media will quit working though. Keeping the dust out really helps also.

[F. Guffey]

Wendyj, I have tumblers, one holds 1,000 30/06 cases or 45 pounds of tumbling media . The Ultra Vibe 45 is an expensive tumbler. I also have a Ultra Vibe 10. Around here things ware out, my tumbling media wares out and looses its ability to clean cases then there is that stuff that accumulates in the media that could be hazardous to 'MY' health. Many years ago it was the government that made 1 cent coins out of zinc. It was about that time the government found people puts coins in their mouth and some actually swallowed them (the coin). And that is the reason zinc 1 cent coins are difficult to find.

Cases are made from brass, zinc is used to make brass. My media wares out and looses its ability to clean cases, the media could be warring its self out, who knows? Anyhow, I change my media, I want to reduce the numbers of hours my tumblers run.

F. Guffey

[mikld]

A bunch of fellers have told you what they use, so I won't bother but will chime in with a hint or two. Normally, it's time to change the media when it no longer cleans your brass to the finish you prefer, in a reasonable time. Like if you want clean but not necessarily shiny, when your media don't do that in 3 hours, mebbe it's time to change. There's a bunch of media out there that works great and this is one which is designed as a blast media http://www.drillspot.com/products/49...bs_blast_media. A lot of folks don't need a bright, shiny, virgin looking case so they use the media without additives (actually works good for me). Walnut is good for cleaning but normally doesn't give a high polish, more of a light matt finish, the coarseness of the grind and the hardness of the media makes a big difference.

While I haven't done it, a lot of folks clean their media in lightly soapy water, rinse good and dry. Works.

But like much of reloading practice, what works for Joe-Bob don't really make Willie happy, and Petuna may have a completely different slant on things...

[Wendyj]

Is lizard litter from the pets store the same thing as walnut media. If it is its $14.00 for 2 gallons. Cheaper than $19.00 for a quart jar full at Bass Pro.

[Average Joe]

The walnut cleans better, the corn cob mostly polishes.