Frankford Arsenal Platinum Series Rotary Tumbler with 7-Liter Capacity, Clear Viewing Lids, and Auto Shut-Off for Reloading, Cleaning and Wet Tumbling Brass Cases

Frankford Arsenal Platinum Series Rotary Tumbler:This tumbler works wonderfully, I used it upon receipt. I had brass from years ago that I had cleaned using a ultrasonic cleaner I ran through with Dawn Ultra a couple of tablespoons, and one quarter teaspoon of Lemishine. I ran the brass for 1.5 hours. WOW! It came out looking like brand new! There is no substitute for being able to see and inspect brass for imperfections and damage. The media is a bit messy but worth the trouble. I also purchased the FA magnet to help with cleanup of those works ok but needs a stronger magnet. I had no issue with the media getting stuck in the cases because it is 45 acp (straight walled cases). I do not shoot any high powered rifles or handguns that use this kind of ammo, so I cannot speak for those. Over all I am extremely please with the way it works and would certainly buy it again.Now, for the not so good issues. The shipper "AMAZON" should have more sense than to ship a product in the Manufacturers Box! When I received the box from the USPS It had been opened, retaped, the box had tears in it as well. The packet of FA cleaning solution was empty and absorbed by the cardboard packing in the box. Fortunately, there was no damage to the mechanical part of the machine. The packet of solution had been attempted to be taped shut. lol! Nope! It didn't work! There were two pieces missing from inside the box and that was the strainer for emptying the drum. I talked to a rep at FA and he was more than glad to send me out the missing parts. Thank You to him! Over all the function and quality is there, we will see about durability, but I believe it will last me many many years. I will not go into my disappointment in amazon, especially since I have had a Prime account and put up with them not getting me my purchases when they say they are to be here. As in not being here in their predicted time. Like next day if you order within the time noted on the page for the item. I may just cancel my prime account because it is No different that if I was not a prime member. Buy this tumbler and watch and listen to videos and articles on how to get it to work best, especially the part about using some silicone spray or lube on the gaskets for the drums. Not a losing prospect if you like clean brass!

Update company was able to get issue fixed and sent replacement cap. Had issues with the end caps the plastic is cracked. You deal with it leaking or ends break and leak. Messaged the company but still no response. After the sale company does not care and good luck getting in touch with them. Not sure I will buy anything else from them.

I don't write reviews this soon after getting a product but for this one I will make an exception. I've read lots of reviews and also watched you tube videos where the common thread is that this is more hassle for the end result. Well yes to a degree it is but it depends how you process the brass. The only real drawback for me is that it's a lot heavier but of course it is, it's a lot bigger than what I've been using. I've run 3 large loads through and have found there's an optimal load size to get really shiny casings as opposed to very clean but more of a golden color. For me when processing 9mm cases, I found that loading 25 handfuls of brass was the best load size: that's a little over 1/2 full drum including the steel pins. Then I add water up to just below the neck, I use warm rather than hot. After that I add dish soap (I prefer Dawn); about 3 table spoons (gentle squeeze and a 5 count if you don't want to measure). After this it's a teaspoon of lemi-shine grains and on goes the top.Dry the threads of the lock screws first or you will get some leakage when you tip it. Make sure they are tight. Process for the full 3 hrs.Once it's all done I open one end and remove the clear cover replacing it with the slotted seive. I also used the seive as a template and cut 4 circles of screen door bug netting that I put over the top of the open end once I insert the seive, then screw on the cap that holds it in place. This will allow you to drain the dirty water without losing any of the steel pins. It will also allow you to re-fill with clean water to sloosh around and drain again which gets rid of the excess dirty water and soap residue. Then I remove the screen, screw it tight again and tip it all into a mop bucket. I use a mop bucket with a pouring spout so I dont need to use a magnet to pick up the media. The pins will have very little water in with them and that will be clean so all you do is tip up the mop bucket and allow the pins to slide back into the drum, scraping the ones on the bottom with your hand, but before you do that you need to remove the brass!! I use a salad spinner (big one) and hand load a bit of brass into it and shake it around so any pins still with the brass fall to the bottom of the container. Then put those on a towel and continue a bit at a time until I'm done. There wont be a lot of pins in with the brass if you gave the drum a good shake when you were tipping out the pins into the mop bucket. When the brass is dry it's got a really bright shine and the primer pockets are clean. You don't need to spend $17 on Frankford's brass cleaner, although the sample that came with the tumbler did do a good job. You also don't need to spend $16 to buy a magnet to pick up the steel pin media if you use a mop bucket that has a pour spout (not an actual spout, just that "V" shape molded on the top). Which means you also dont need to buy a separator either. See, all that money saved; the tumbler has just about paid for itself. :)The only con to all of this is that I'm disappointed the screw on ends for the drum are out of true. They're not quite round so create a bit of a gap between the threads. That's why you have to make sure you screw them on tight to get a good seal on the clear end caps. I'm hoping this wont become a problem as I use it more but for now I can live with it.It's also noisy when running so you may want to run it in the garage and if you're going to put it on a table make sure it doesn't walk with the vibrations it makes when it's running. This is a great cleaner and even if you only process a moderate amount of brass it will get the job done way faster than using the little Harbor Freight rock tumbler which is what I've been using prior to buying the Frankford Arsenal tumbler.