Annealing setup….flame Annealers only!

nksmfamjp

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Jan 5, 2004
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So, I was a Tempilaq user, but lately, I worry it doesn't get me annealed enough. So, now I still set my flame cone about 30mm and set it to about 3-5mm from the neck/shoulder junction. Then I slow it down until it just starts to glow before dropping out of the flame, I in a dark room. I think I will set at that point.

How do you setup your flame annealer?
 
Tried the tempilaq when I first started many years back, never trusted it. Saw many competitive shooters turn out the lights and set the dwell to eject the case as soon as you can see the dull red glow. They all shoot smaller groups than me so I adopted their process. I have one case each for all 15 calibers I reload same brand as I'm loading. I've annealed them dozens of times. Biggest problem with flame annealers is the flame dies back as the bottle of gas runs out. I switched from 1lb bottles to regulated BBQ grill bottles so my flames stays consistent thru the whole batch.
 
Tried the tempilaq when I first started many years back, never trusted it. Saw many competitive shooters turn out the lights and set the dwell to eject the case as soon as you can see the dull red glow. They all shoot smaller groups than me so I adopted their process. I have one case each for all 15 calibers I reload same brand as I'm loading. I've annealed them dozens of times. Biggest problem with flame annealers is the flame dies back as the bottle of gas runs out. I switched from 1lb bottles to regulated BBQ grill bottles so my flames stays consistent thru the whole batch.
I've done the same thing with the big bottle and regulator. It's way more consistent this way!
 
sacrifice a case and coat the inside only with tempilac .. dont aim the flame inside , only at the shoulder .. youll see the end of mouth go clear black, and thats your time ..
 
I have an Annealezze and the only issue I have is with shorter cases (i.e. .233Rem/5.56 NATO) where the rubber carrier wheel (I guess that is what it is called) starts to get soft and smell like it is burning after running several dozen pieces of brass through it. The metal wheel in the EP video seems to be much more durable. I also have to change wheels when annealing .338 Lapua brass where the EP one appears to be adjustable. Looks like they are roughly the same price.
 
Biggest problem with flame annealers is the flame dies back as the bottle of gas runs out. I switched from 1lb bottles to regulated BBQ grill bottles so my flames stays consistent thru the whole batch.
Not just running out, but the draw rate on the bottle is better with a larger bottle. The liquid fuel in the bottle evaporates as pressure is reduced by drawing fuel, and that takes in heat - which is why the bottles get cold during use. Output is dependent on bottle ambient temp, amount of fuel in the bottle, and the rate at which it's being drawn. Colder temps or colder bottle is lower flow so colder flame. The smaller bottle it's harder to get consistency during and between batches, a larger tank would be more consistent. Basically would you rather take a drink after peeing in a cup of water, a bathtub of water, or a swimming pool of water? Taking out less means there's a whole lot more buffer capacity left to be uniform.

There has also been discussion about changing to a swirl torch to get better adjustments of the flame, I'm pretty sure Greg still uses this style of torch and his Bench make:
 
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