Done with media and vibratory cleaning....Which Tumbler do you guys recommend? I'm not a high volume loader..And load 308 556 and 45 mostly

I would get the mini FART.

Its the perfect size for your needs.

Most will recommend the FART. Its a good system.

I went with the Lyman cyclone, also a great system, no complaints and would buy again.

Recently stopped adding SS pins and have been very happy with the results(just as clean((primer pocket WILL still have deprise though))) and a little less effort.

Try both ways and see which works for you.

The FART as its referred to is what I had narrowed it down to. Why the smaller version though?

If your not high volume go to harbor freight and get the 2 drum rock tumbler.

I use the shit out of mine for last year and does the job.

You said you don't load high volume.

If you do load high volume I would get the larger one. But it's a waste to get the big one if you're going to be throwing 50 pieces of 308 brass in there at a time. You're better off with the mini version.

I have the larger one and use it weekly. It's absolutely awesome.

I usually just clean a typical day at the range and use the dual tumbler from HF. It's nice for cleaning different brass but I wish I had the FART lite for larger quantities.

In my dual, I clean 200 rds of 9mm, 140rds of 45ACP and I think 120rds of 223.

I could maybe do more.

It is cheaper and will easily meet your needs.  I don't recall how much, but I want to say it is 60 or so less.  So not like 3 bucks cheaper.

IDK, but I bet it has a smaller footprint too, which I would appreciate it.  I keep it next to the sink in my bathroom by my reloading room, so I don't have a ton of space on that countertop once that is on there or the dehydrator.

I have the smaller one, and it does fine for me.  I am also not a high volume reloader.  When the urge hits me, I'll do a pile of 9mm and add that to the stockpile to make sure I have enough  brass ready to go when I do want to try to bang out a lot.  Which is seldom these days

Tumble in a FART (original) with pins (and soap & lemi-shine) to clean cases inside and out including primer pockets.  Dry tumble with (lightly) treated walnut to remove case lube and polish...

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My RCBS tumbler is good equipment.DO NOT skip the Lemishine,it really is amazing. I rinse mid cycle too,keeps the pins way cleaner.

+1 for the FART Lite.

I typically do around 100 pieces of 223 or 200 pieces of 9mm; the lite model does a good job and with small quantities of brass and pins I simply pluck my cases out by hand, no need to empty the drum or deal with tons of water

Hmmmm..
I only want to buy once....
May go large just to avoid buying another later....Or will it make it more of a hassle to clean the typical  100 to 200 ...308 6.5 0r 556 cases

RE: Frankford Arsenal Rotary Tumbler Light aka "Mini-FART"

This unit does not come with stainless steel pins so you'll have to buy some. The Mini-FART uses 2.5 lbs. of pins.

(I purchase pins from Guntap.com in Cibolo, TX. A 2.5lb. bag of pins is $16 no tax free shipping)

According to the mfr. specs this tumbler will handle up to 300 pieces of deprimed 223/556 brass. That's approx. 4 pounds which would mean the unit can handle 120 pieces of unprimed 308's or 320 pieces of .45 Auto (or 460 pieces of 9mm).

In contrast the full size FART tumbler can handle something like 1000 pieces of de-primed 223/556. It includes a 5 lb. bag of pins

The full size FA tumbler has a timer switch and a double end cap barrel. The smaller has an on/off switch and the barrel opens from one end only.

Sound like the Mini-FART might meet your needs unless you are a small-volume reloader who happens to own a ton of brass (like me ). In that case it might be worth it to get the larger tumbler and you can "one and done" your brass stash.

I used a vibe tumbler for years with no problems. I got the Franklin tumbler to give wet tumbling a try. I found several problems.

I found pins sticking inside rifle cases.

You have to find your preference for drying the brass. Sunshine, stove, dehydrator, etc.

The brass was getting TOO clean and the insides of the case mouths were sticking to the die that expands the case mouth. You have to either put a little lube on the die every now and then or lube the inside of the case mouths. The vibe media had a slight lube effect on the brass.

I still wet tumble with really dirty brass, but I no longer use pins. Afterwards I rinse and shake off as much solution as I can and then throw them in the media tumbler to absorb the residual moisture and put that little bit of lube back on the cases.

Do what I do. I size then tumble!

I spray a little lanolin lube on the inside of the case mouths just for this purpose. That's what I love about the homemade lube its easy to apply inside the case mouth!

This is what I use.  I’m producing low volume as well.

Stuck pins...How much of a problem is it?? And what are the steps I need to do to insure against it

Meh, I have not used pins in the FART and don't intend to.  Just did not want the added hassle, the brass comes out very bright and clean.  Primer pockets for pistol are no bother, rifle pockets are quickly dealt with a pocket brush chucked in a drill.  LR rifle brass and 5.56 brass is checked for loose pockets with the go/no gauge after a few loads.

Here’s my method.  I realize for pistol you can dry tumble and then reload with zero issues.  This is just my preference.

Below are the tools that I currently use.

- Sonic Cleaner (harbor freight) or Frankford Arsenal Dry Tumbler with Walnut for initial cleaning
- Wet Tumbler (harbor freight)
- Frankford Arsenal Standard Media Separator With 5gal bucket
- 2lbs of Frankford Arsenal steel media
- Car Wash with wax
- Liquid Dish Detergent
- Lyman Turbo Sonic concentrate

1a. First I clean them once to get the dirt off.  I used the sonic cleaner with a cap full of Lyman stuff on yours, but dry tumble with walnut works.  I bought the black Hornady tray (pictured) to put the cases in, but I left the white one in the bottom since the heating element will burn the Hornady tray.

1b. Dry Media for first step to clean cases.  This is way more efficient than using the sonic cleaner.

2. Then I decap them with a lee universal Decapping die and ideally resize them as well.

3.  I put 1lbs of steel media in each wet tumbler tub and then add hot (faucet hot) water until it’s about 1/2 full.  I then add cases until they are almost out of the water.  I tumble that for like 6+ hours, normally over night.  Most I’ve done is like 12hrs when I forgot about it.  Eventually it’s probably bad for the cases to leave them too long.

4.  After that, I pour one tumbler into that separator to rinse them.  I put the bucket with separator in the sink but you don’t have to do it this way.

Anyway, I find you get the most media removed if you do less cases.  It also happens to work out with the size of towels I use in Step 5.  I found its good to tip the separator at like a 45 degree angle and mix them around under the faucet to help the process.  Once they are rinsed, I pour them into the black tray from the sonic cleaner, then holding it over the separator I mix them around again to get water and media out.

5.  Next I pour the rinsed brass onto a towel.  I bunch it up like a nap sack and shake it to get most of the water out of the cases.  I repeat on a second dry towel.  I use microfiber shop towels for this step.

6. Lastly I dry the cases in the oven by putting tin foil on a cookie sheet then tossing it in the oven at like 200 degrees for 30 minutes.  I put as many cases on there that’ll fit.  I normally start the oven and timer at the same time that I put the cookie sheet in there because I’m lazy.  Then I leave it for a while after I shut off the oven.

This seems like it takes forever when I type it out, but honestly it doesn’t take that long once you get a system.

It’s worth noting that the tools I use won’t work great if you’re trying to process 800 cases at once.  In fact I recently bought a dry tumbler just so I can conduct initial cleaning of large quantities of range brass.  I’ve found that trying to wet tumble dirty brass sorta works but the water gets gross and they are just tumbling in filth.  That’s why I do the initial, but not necessary cleaning step.

I hope that makes sense.

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See my steps 4-6 in that I posted above.  It’s not the ends all, be all, but it works for me.  A really good rinse, then Microfiber towels, and finally heating in the oven (or whatever) really helps minimize media getting stuck in the cases.

I pour the brass into these large containers for storage and run my magnet through it as the final step.  I got these from Sam’s Club.

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Ordered the mini FART...Looking at cleaning solutions now

The Thumbler's tumbler I bought decades ago is still working like a champ.  Sure, I have had to replace drive belts a couple of times, but that is no different than anything else that runs on belts.

All I use is FA's cleaning solution that came with my FART...has worked excellent....

You can get a year's supply of Dawn and Lemishine for less than $10.

OP, since the FART Lite doesn't come with pins did you check guntap.com?

I’m going to try it first without pins. I’m using it to clean my Creedmoor brass which really doesn’t get that dirty. If the results are unsatisfactory I’ll add pins.