Having an odd problem using a wet tumbler,need help?

[jonbearman]

I have the frankford arsenal platinum tumbler using over 5 pounds of pins. I am running 30-30 and 300 savage and after 2 hours it turned them brown. They are clean but they look terrible like they have been in the rain for 6 months. I use a small amount of dawn and very very little lemishine and have done 40 loads with no problems. This time I used hot water as usual and was frightened when I opened the end up to peak. I dont know what the heck I did but any help would be appreciated.

 

[Mozella]

I have the same unit and here's what I do. I fill to the brim with warm water. I use about a tablespoon of Lemishine and a squirt of liquid automatic dishwasher detergent because it doesn't foam like Dawn. I'd guess it's about a tablespoon or so.

My guess is not enough Lemishine or perhaps too much Dawn. Take a handful of your brass and put them in a container with some warm water. Add a dash of Lemishine and agitate for a few minutes and see if that doesn't brighten up your brass. If it does, then do the whole batch. Next time use more Lemishine.

 

[Just Dave]

Brown tells me maybe you have some carbon steel in your media, or a steel case or two mixed in ?
.
My advice is just about 180 from above ^, You only need a tiny squirt of Dawn, and even LESS Lemishine, The citric acid is meant to ENHANCE the cleaning effect of soaps,
I run them ( 1x fired, not dirty range brass) for about 1 hour with just Dawn, rinse thoroughly, another hour with a cap of Blue Coral car wash, and a pinch of lemishine cleans just about any case, especially if your using a lot of pins .. Let the pins do the work,

 

[Mastershot]

I have the frankford arsenal platinum tumbler using over 5 pounds of pins. I am running 30-30 and 300 savage and after 2 hours it turned them brown. They are clean but they look terrible like they have been in the rain for 6 months. I use a small amount of dawn and very very little lemishine and have done 40 loads with no problems. This time I used hot water as usual and was frightened when I opened the end up to peak. I dont know what the heck I did but any help would be appreciated.

I have the same unit, I run a pinch of lemishine and a capful of armor all car wash. Then fill it a little over half way with warm to hot water.

You might throw those brown cases in case tumbler with new corn media and let her run for a few hours. Might help get a brassy color back.

 

[dickn52]

Lemishine removes the 'hardness' from the water. Nothing else. A small, very small amount of dawn. As said above the amount of lemishine is very small as well. When you open it up, there should be a small amount of sudsing, not a lot.

 

[jonbearman]

Will adjust to see if that helps. I went through dozens of loads and this is a first. The only thing I can think of is maybe I accidently poured too much lemishine in because I remember sneezing pretty hard when putting the stuff in and may inadvertenly dropped a bunch in without realizing it.

 

[jvw2008]

One Tbs Dawn, 1/4 tsp Lemonshine

 

[PDS]

If your setup worked good for 40 loads before something changed for the last load. Just re-tumble the brass again with your usual setup. You won't need as much time because your brass is already clean.

 

[JigStick]

FYI all of the guys i shoot with, including myself, have gotten away from using stainless media. It was such a pain in the butt making sure all of the pins got out of the cases, necks, and primer holes. And we have noticed no detrimental effects of doing so. On neck tension, case longevity, accuracy, etc.

 

[dickn52]

FYI all of the guys i shoot with, including myself, have gotten away from using stainless media. It was such a pain in the butt making sure all of the pins got out of the cases, necks, and primer holes. And we have noticed no detrimental effects of doing so. On neck tension, case longevity, accuracy, etc.

You say potato I say potatoe. What works works.

 

[JigStick]

Exactly. So why waste time separating pins from flash holes and case necks.

 

[Johnny_V]

Your problem comes from having some sort of lubricant on the cases. Re-tumbling won't solve the problem, just frustrate even more. Try cleaning your pins and cases with some dry gas or 100% alcohol, then re-tumble. Ask me how I know - it happened to me. Anybody who tumbles with SS pins will eventually have this happen to them.

 

[dickn52]

Probably why I tumble before I decap and lube. Sorry, but the only reason I clean and tumble is to clean the case BEFORE I ram it into the sizing die.

 

[jr600yd]

Run a table spoon of Simple Green with hot water for 1/2-1 hr. Cleans the pins and the inside of the tumbler.

 

[Johnny_V]

Run a table spoon of Simple Green with hot water for 1/2-1 hr. Cleans the pins and the inside of the tumbler.

I'll have to give that a try sometime.

 

[jden]

I have the frankford arsenal platinum tumbler using over 5 pounds of pins. I am running 30-30 and 300 savage and after 2 hours it turned them brown. They are clean but they look terrible like they have been in the rain for 6 months. I use a small amount of dawn and very very little lemishine and have done 40 loads with no problems. This time I used hot water as usual and was frightened when I opened the end up to peak. I dont know what the heck I did but any help would be appreciated.

Too much Lemishine and tumbled to long. Soak the brown cases in distilled vinegar until (5 min or so)bright. Rinse with hot water. You can also substitute Distilled vinegar for lemishine.

 

[arm017]

I had the same issue- i think it was some sort of combo from the dawn and our hard TX water. by no means scientific, but I stopped using the dawn and replaced w/ the hrdy brass tumbling liquid and they are perfect. I would be curious to know the chemistry behind it.

 

[msinc]

I have cleaned with sts for many years. I have only seen one thing in all this time that turns everything brown like you are describing and so far not a single person has mentioned it. Letting the brass set in the dirty water too long after it's done. When this system first got popular there were some guys that thought it might be a good idea to put a timer on the rig, fill it up, turn it on and go to bed. They learned that all that did was cause them to have to run the same batch again when they got up...you have to pour out the dirty water and take the cleaned brass out of the tumbler as soon as it is done with the run. If you don't do it right away the brass will stain and tarnish very quickly.
It's not a big deal either way as previously posted, just empty the dirty water and rinse as best you can and run it again with fresh soap and Lemishine.
2 hours is absolutely, positively NOT too long...in fact, it may not be long enough. I always run mine 4 hours. If yours get clean enough in 2 then okay, mine failed to clean the primer pockets at less than 4 on old range brass. It doesn't hurt the brass to run it longer at all. I have a 308 case that I sized and have miked out before I ran the very first batch and it goes in the tumbler every time. In years it has not changed dimensionally, still mikes the same.
Someone mentioned having non-stainless steel in there as being a problem...I don't think so, I have used mine to clean all kinds of stuff, including steel, copper, brass, aluminum and even plastic...many times all at once, no problems yet.

 

[Johnny_V]

I have cleaned with sts for many years. I have only seen one thing in all this time that turns everything brown like you are describing and so far not a single person has mentioned it. Letting the brass set in the dirty water too long after it's done. When this system first got popular there were some guys that thought it might be a good idea to put a timer on the rig, fill it up, turn it on and go to bed. They learned that all that did was cause them to have to run the same batch again when they got up...you have to pour out the dirty water and take the cleaned brass out of the tumbler as soon as it is done with the run. If you don't do it right away the brass will stain and tarnish very quickly.
It's not a big deal either way as previously posted, just empty the dirty water and rinse as best you can and run it again with fresh soap and Lemishine.
2 hours is absolutely, positively NOT too long...in fact, it may not be long enough. I always run mine 4 hours. If yours get clean enough in 2 then okay, mine failed to clean the primer pockets at less than 4 on old range brass. It doesn't hurt the brass to run it longer at all. I have a 308 case that I sized and have miked out before I ran the very first batch and it goes in the tumbler every time. In years it has not changed dimensionally, still mikes the same.
Someone mentioned having non-stainless steel in there as being a problem...I don't think so, I have used mine to clean all kinds of stuff, including steel, copper, brass, aluminum and even plastic...many times all at once, no problems yet.

This is something new to me, but makes perfect sense. I never ran into this scenario, as I always rinse my brass immediately after tumbling.

 

[msinc]

This is something new to me, but makes perfect sense. I never ran into this scenario, as I always rinse my brass immediately after tumbling.

Yes sir, I do too, and you bring up a good point...you really should get the cases out soon after it is done, it doesn't take long for the tarnishing to begin. Just like everyone else that started doing this back then I let a batch go thinking it couldn't be that bad...and I learned. I figured I could just take out the cases and wash them off good and that would do it....and I was wrong. I think it has something to do with having perfectly bare etched {from the Lemishine and tumbling} brass setting in the slum that gets cleaned off of it. Everything wants to stick to brass as it begins to "re-tarnish"...it is now in one of the worse environments for tarnishing all over again.
All this said, the op doesn't really say he left cases in the tumbler or not, so this may or may not be the answer, but I figure it's worth posting anyways...someone else might benefit from it.