Frankford Arsenal case tumbler

[CNubel]

Just a note of warning to those in the market for a new case tumbler. Yesterday I bought a new Frankford Arsenal case tumbler. It worked for about an hour....then it died. I have sent it back to the manufacturer (I paid for shipping ) for either repair or replacement. I hope their CS is on the up and up. So much for deal hunting.

Has anyone had any problems with Frankford Arsenal equipment? If so, how is their customer service?

 

[Shweboner]

I ahve had mine for almost 2 years. It has never failed me.

And I have let it run out in my garage for a day and a half a few times.

still kickin'

 

[Derby FALs]

I killed one running it overnight.

 

[steve4102]

I bought one less than a year ago. Crapped out about 3 weeks ago. The motor would still run, it just didn't have any power . I contacted Midway (Frankford Arsenal) and asked if they would send me a replacement motor. They said I needed to send the unit back to them. I didn't really feel like sending it back paying for shipping just to get another piece of junk, so I purchased an RCBS from Midsouth for $52.00. That is only six bucks more than I paid for the junk. Yhe RCBS tumbler is nice, really nice. It tumbles brass way faster than the junk ever did. Don't know if the junk had a bad motor right from the start or the RCBS is that much better. Anyhow, that's my story and I know if I have problems with this RCBS their customer service will take care of me.

 

[donkee]

Mine's going on two years. The only issue I ran into was the counterweight screws came loose. Tightened them up, and been running good since....

 

[USSR]

Have had one for more than 5 years. Still running great.

Don

 

[GunAdmirer]

A friend of mine and I each have one. They both work great. His is several years old and see quite a lot of use.

 

[armoredman]

HI have had one about 6 months so far - works great. I don't use it all the time, but when I need it, it works.

 

[TC66]

I bought one 2 years ago and I forgot and left it on over night and burned it up. Called MidwayUSA and they said it is covered under warranty and they would be happy to repair it or replace it. I sent it in and received a new one 5 days later. I was really happy with the support and the attitude of the Customer Support person at MidwayUSA I talked too. Even though it was my fault it died they did not care. Yeah it cost me $6 to ship it to them. They said they take care of their customers and they proved it to me. They will get a lot more of my business in the future.

 

[BigSlick]

Pick up a Cabelas Model 400 for $44 to replace it. It is the Berry's 400 model Tumbler with Cabelas name on it.

It's currently the best bang for the buck.

I have heard mixed reviews on the FA, but if you want another one of thise Bose Guns sells them on their website for $34 plus shipping.

BigSlick

 

[timuchin]

Burned it up running it overnight?

Ran mine for months straight, changing brass twice a day, in the morning and at night. It was only off when I was changing out the brass. Wore out the bowl that came with it, and was working on a second one when a tree crushed my house, tumbler and all. Only ordered a different brand when I bought a new one because I wanted a bigger one.

 

[The Bushmaster]

I have a Lyman 1200. bought it 20 years ago and decided to clean the motor compartment out for the first time . Waste of time. No dirt. Must have shaken it out every time I used it. If you can go first cabin...Do it. It pays in the long run. Like I said I've been using this one for 20 years and have had no problem...

 

[pdufren]

Burned it up running it overnight?

I ran mine for almost a month straight night and day, with no problems of any kind. I had been out of the reloading hobby for 10 years or so and had a lot of brass that I accumulated that needed to be cleaned up. Now that I am caught up, I only run it 4-5 hours every weekend. I am very happy with it.

 

[Wedge]

I probably don't run as much brass as many people have, but I have been happy with my Frankford Arsenal equipment.

 

[Rockstar]

If the motor's still running, but the it's just "not as powerful," then you probably need to make sure the counterweight screws are tight, per the other post.

 

[trickyasafox]

i just got one from boss actually. works more then well enough for the likes of me. but i accept that i may have just gotten a lucky one

 

[GunAdmirer]

Ironically, just after I posted to this thread, my friend called to tell me that he had suffered a tragedy in his garage. His FA tumbler had finally died after 7 years of hard service. He had bought it used 7 years ago. Not bad. He's buying another one just like it.

 

[LeonCarr]

Don't know anything about the FA, but if you buy a replacement try RCBS. I bought an RCBS in 1990, used it basically 24 hours a day, and it died last year after 14 years of service.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

 

[Ol` Joe]

I got my tumbler from MidWay ~18 yrs ago and it still runs fine. I don`t run it over night, it cleans in 3-4 hrs just fine IMO. They recalled it a few years back to replace a bad thermal fuse that was a suspect fire hazard, but other then that it works fine. I don`t know that it is a "Frankford" brand but they look the same and was MidWays "house brand" at the time.

 

[CNubel]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm glad to hear that Franklin Arsenal's customer service is good. I hope the replacement they send me will be one of the 12+ year models some of you have been lucky enough to get. I have to admit. It burned my but when that thing died after just one hours use.

 

[Peter M. Eick]

Interesting. My midway is at least 7 years old and still just chugs away. I bet the reduced the quality of something somewhere when they went to the frankfort arsenal route.

I figured an RCBS or Dillon would be my next replacement because the midway one is to small in my opinion.

 

[timuchin]

Frankford Arsenal brand name is owned by Midway.

So are a bunch of the other brands they sell, Adams & Bennett, Tipton, I forget the rest.

 

[TooTaxed]

Bought one from Midway about six months ago, have tumbled approximately 10,000 cases of all sizes in full loads, no problems to date.

 

[mrapathy2000]

mine has ran flawless for months love it. I understand that variety of brands are the same thing with different bowls and labels.

 

[HSMITH]

Mine died after about 2 years and at least a couple hundred thousand cases through it (it got loaned out a lot). I sent it back, Midway put a new motor in it and returned it to me. Cost me $8 or so to have it fixed, and was in the low $30's new. I can live with that.

Frankford Arsenal reminds me of Lee Precision. You are not going to get the best equipment from either company, but what you do get is a good value for the money spent. As long as you are aware that you are not getting top end equipment for bottom end prices and don't expect to I don't see how you could be disappointed with products from either company.