Toaster oven or dehydrator?

[Prowler53]

I usually toss my brass onto an old towel and grab each corner and toss the brass around in the towel for a minute, then lay them out on a fresh dry towel for a couple hours while I'm cleaning another batch. On a sunny day I'll throw them outside on a towel and they will be dry in no time. I don't see a need to put them into an oven, but I usually have plenty of brass that had been cleaned several days prior to load up.

 

[Prowler53]

I built a small wood kiln years ago for drying out blocks of green lumber that I used for building turkey box calls. It was heated with a 100 watt light bulb. It was just a wooden box with a hinged door and drying racks. A small hole in the side which had a small fan from a computer to move air, and one of those ceramic light bulb sockets. I insulated the inside with some 3/4" Foam insulation. The inside of that box got pretty warm with that light bulb. I bet it would dry brass pretty quick

 

[Ej3]

Did you deprime
And did you make sure the brass is primer side up?

Doing so, my brass dries within a day. Usually much sooner in summer.

I like to hand deprime using Frankford Arsenal tool, give the pocket a few twists of the Hornady primer pocket cleaner tool, then clean in a sonic cleaner. Air drying only takes a day or two. I use old 9mm ammo box inserts to hold the brass upright, with the primer side up. BTW, that Hornady tool works really well with very little effort.

 

[Skgreen]

Oven.
Preheat to ~225~.
Towel dry brass, then single layer deep on some dollar-store cookie sheets.
20 minutes in oven. Lay brass out on a towel to cool.
After cooling, recommend 24 hrs in an open container before storage.
(All of this done in a climate-controlled atmosphere. YMMV)

 

[Skgreen]

Y'all are going to have to help me understand the 'not in my oven!' position.

Squeeky clean brass that 's been scrubbed in a tumbler using detergent, (often the same detergent you use to wash your dishes) then rinsed with clean water, (again, like your dishes) spun in a media separator, (NOT like your dishes, I hope!!!) then towel dried,,(~similar~ to your dishes,,,),

I doubt folks would think twice about putting clean dishes in an oven, so, what it is that you 'see' in shiny clean brass that makes it's 'different'?

 

[Dudedog]

I usually toss my brass onto an old towel and grab each corner and toss the brass around in the towel for a minute, then lay them out on a fresh dry towel for a couple hours while I'm cleaning another batch. On a sunny day I'll throw them outside on a towel and they will be dry in no time

I just put them in the corner of an unused room in the house and they dry in a day or two. They do dry faster if deprimed.
In the summer here when it is 110, if you leave them in the sun they dry quick! (and get to hot to touch)

A Toaster oven or a dehydrator either one should work.
A heat lamp might be an option as well.
Hope wet tumbling is working out well for you.

 

[GBExpat]

I do not just lay out my newly-wet-cleaned cases (which are decapped, btw) as they come out of the separator.

Upon removing the wet cases from my RCBS "spinner" I place them in heavy Old Towel #1, carefully gather the corners and long sides in my grip and agitate the cases thru the towel to encourage water drainage.

From that towel I pour the cases into heavy Old Towel #2 and repeat the process as I slowly walk to the basement Long Room where I have set out the corrugated cardboard flats on the floor in front of the north gunsafe.

The towel-action only takes a few minutes but removes a LOT of water.

The flats get stacked in front of the 16" pedestal fan that I use for air circulation.

EDIT:
I am never in a hurry to get my cases dry so they are sometimes in front of that fan for days before I get back to them. I have been doing this a long time, so I have many bags/boxes of shiny-clean cases on shelves awaiting reloading.

For a periodic rush, I would have no qualms using my kitchen oven.

If I found myself usually/always in a rush for newly-cleaned cases (perhaps only due to lack of cases and/or space), I would probably source a large inexpensive dehydrator unit to speed the process.

 

[Bandit67]

I picked up a Lyman Case Dryer from the Bargain Cave at Cabela's last year for $25 because the box was damaged. Works like a charm. Has a timer just like the FART. 2-3 hours and done.

 

[dh1633pm]

I use a purpose bought aluminum pan and cook in the over at 250 for 30 minutes. Wife doesn't even mind. Pins are cooked on the stove until dry in an old frying pan. Done and done. In the summer, I go green and put them on the back deck in the sun. Doesn't take long for them to dry.

 

[George P]

Am I the only one who cleans brass with dry media anymore?

Nope; my Thumbler's Tumbler has been doing a great job for over 30 years

 

[Slamfire]

From Handloader’s Manual, Early Naramore, Major Ordnance Dept Reserve, Small Arms Publishing , 1937

“The best and surest way of drying cases is with the use of artificial heat, but care must be taken not to overheat them, as too much heat will soften the brass and may render it incapable of withstanding normal pressures. Most modern stoves, whether electric, gas, or coal, have oven thermometers that are, at least, fairly accurate. For stoves sold in the United States, these thermometers register degrees Fahrenheit and brass can be heated up to 428 degrees Fahrenheit without undergoing any change in its grain structure. For drying cases it is best to keep the temperature as low as 300 degrees. This heat is amply high for the purpose and offers a liberal allowance for any inaccuracy of the thermometer. If you oven has no thermometer, one can be purchased at small expense in almost any department or five and ten cent store. The thermometer should be placed near the cases as the temperature will not be the same in all parts of the oven. It is also well to place the cases on one of the sliding shelves or racks, away from the bottom of the oven, or the heating element if it is an electric stove.”

I doubt anyone has coal fired ovens anymore; this was written in 1937.

Based on reading Major Naramore’s book, it is obvious that the gentleman had a technical education in materials or materials engineering. He also worked in an era when the Army actually made rifles, cannons, cartridges and had research labs. Today everything is contracted out and data sharing just does not exist between contractors or anyone else. But then, he could call up an Army buddy and find out within the system whom had material data on cartridge cases.

I put my oven on low, or the toaster oven at 150 ° F and in a half hour or so, my “five and dime” store thermometers read 212 °F, and doesn’t go any higher. Since water boils at 212 °F (at sea level) I know my brass is dry. I don’t set the oven any higher than warm because all the grease in the oven evaporates on my brass.

 

[Varminterror]

Two tricks, and I wouldn’t wet clean brass without one or the other.

1) Methanol/Ethanol - dip the brass into the alcohol after cleaning to drive off the water, and evaporate away quickly. Does require an intrinsically safe area, so it’s not for everyone.

2) Brass dryer - my wife got me a Frankford Arsenal brass dryer for birthday or Christmas a couple years ago. Love it. Drives brass dry quickly, under an hour to be sure, I simply have never tried to figure out the exact moment it goes dry. I typically go tackle some other task for an hour and it’s ready when I get back.

 

[.308 Norma]

I doubt folks would think twice about putting clean dishes in an oven, so, what it is that you 'see' in shiny clean brass that makes it's 'different'?

Ha! As long as it has been since our oven has been cleaned, I wouldn't put "clean dishes" or "shiny clean brass" in it for fear of getting them dirty again.

 

[Axis II]

Ha! As long as it has been since our oven has been cleaned, I wouldn't put "clean dishes" or "shiny clean brass" in it for fear of getting them dirty again.

Now that's funny!!!

 

[reddog81]

I let my brass sit on a towel in the basement and it never takes more than 2 days to dry. During the winter when humidity is low it takes one day. I try and make sure that none of the cases are stuck inside one another as this can result in brass that's still wet after a week.

Spread the brass out on a towel and they'll dry quicker than piled on top of one another sitting in a colander. Use a fan and they should be dry in under a day. If I want to reload some immediately I use a heat gun and in under 5 minutes can get 100 pieces dry. A hair dryer would work just as well.

It seems like for cleaning, polishing and drying brass people try and make it as complicated and expensive as possible... Warm soapy water is all that's need to clean them sufficiently to be reloaded and even that's overkill for brass shot from revolvers that never hits the ground.

 

[Skgreen]

Ha! As long as it has been since our oven has been cleaned, I wouldn't put "clean dishes" or "shiny clean brass" in it for fear of getting them dirty again.

LOL!!! I hear ya!!!
Folks round here live in fear,,, Fear of Ma's Meatloaf and her '17 times-cooked' Lasagna!!! LOL!!!!

 

[straightShot]

I bought a cheap dehydrator and two extra platters to increase the capacity. So far, it works great and dries my cases. 1/2 hour would probably be good, buy I leave them in there 1 hour just to be safe. They seem to be very dry and I've shaken some to check and see if they're wet, but I haven't loaded any right after drying yet. They're still sitting and waiting in containers after drying.

The dehydrator was $35 (Nesco FD-37 Food Dehydrator) and the two extra shelves were about $12. The extra shelves were 'open box' items, but they work fine for brass and looked like new. This dehydrator is dedicated for my wet brass, so I won't be using it for food.

 

[Cooter Boolit]

Dehydrator`s dont cost much, and they work great. I bought one of the Frankfort Arsenal brass dryers. Money well spent. Toss the brass equally onto the trays, hour later, they`re ready for the press.

 

[jmorris]

You just need to watch the animals in the fall and remember to to that in the spring but flipped.

“Squirrel away” your brass when it’s crummy outside and knock it out when it takes 2.5 beers for 3000 45 ACP cases to dry by just being exposed to the sun.



If it makes you feel silly, tell a “tree hugger”, you use solar vs other means.

 

[Rule3]

Wow , 43 posts, folks are still drying brass, almost as exacting as watching the grass grow!

Heloise and Martha would be so proud!

 

[Cooter Boolit]

As a matter of fact, i`m drying 500 45acp cases right now in my frankfort brass dryer, and start loading them all up tonight...lol

 

[cfullgraf]

I just make sure I have enough brass on hand so that the time it takes to dry the brass is irrelevant. I am never short of a supply of cases on hand sized, cleaned and ready to load if the need presents itself.

I dry tumble my cases most of the time and wet tumble once in awhile to get them squeaky clean. I process the brass through cleaning shortly after shooting them and store them away for a future loading session. Relatively small batches of cases do not take too long to process. Better, in my opinion, than waiting until you have a boat load of cases to process.

For wet tumbling, I have one of the case dryers, Hornady if I remember correctly but I've slept a bit since I last looked at it.

I'm a "set it and forget it" kind of guy when doing tasks like cleaning cases. I do not want to wait around watching the oven for the exact time to remove the cases. I get distracted too easily with other projects and I'd hate to trash a bunch of brass because I forgot to pull it out of the oven on time.

 

[Cooter Boolit]

I just make sure I have enough brass on hand so that the time it takes to dry the brass is irrelevant. I am never short of a supply of cases on hand sized, cleaned and ready to load if the need presents itself.

I dry tumble my cases most of the time and wet tumble once in awhile to get them squeaky clean. I process the brass through cleaning shortly after shooting them and store them away for a future loading session. Relatively small batches of cases do not take too long to process. Better, in my opinion, than waiting until you have a boat load of cases to process.

For wet tumbling, I have one of the case dryers, Hornady if I remember correctly but I've slept a bit since I last looked at it.

I'm a "set it and forget it" kind of guy when doing tasks like cleaning cases. I do not want to wait around watching the oven for the exact time to remove the cases. I get distracted too easily with other projects and I'd hate to trash a bunch of brass because I forgot to pull it out of the oven on time.

I hear that! Normally i have a bunch of cases sitting and waiting for reloading (rainy) day. I just happen to have some friends over and we burned thru alotta 45acp and we`re shooting again tomorrow, so i had to run a batch off. I coulda just reloaded my dirty brass, but i`m picky when friends come over to shoot and i want them to look like brand new. Other than that, always got 9mm stocked up and ready to load on first notice. I`ll usually run off couple thousand in the wet tumber & dryer, then put them on the storage shelf for a rainy day.

 

[Dudedog]

2.5 beers for 3000 45 ACP cases to dry by just being exposed to the sun.

12 oz or 16 oz beers
Got to get the recipe right!
(looks like a 12)

 

[Swampman]

So should I spring for a dehydrator or will the oven work?

It depends, both are multipurpose tools.

Are you more likely to get into Alox tumble lubing cast bullets where the dehydrator would save you lots of time, or powder coating them where the oven would shine?

Either one will dry brass just fine.