Having had one for over 40 years, I highly recomned the Thumblers Tumbler Model B. They essentially last forever for around $150 at Midway. I have replaced many belts and replaced the rollers once but the tub itself is more or less bullet proof. I clean all my brass and moly plate many bullets with mine.
My belts went bad for two reasons. 1, I tend to overload the tub and 2, I didn't used to take the belt (essentially a clear plastic o-ring) off when the tumbler wasn't being used. I now remove the belt when it's not in use and they last a whole lot longer. I think the current belt has been on there a couple of years! I also clean the belt with Brake Clean when it starts looking greasy or slips a bit. I keep a can of Break Free next to my tumbler and give it a squirt into both of the lube ports on the motor, everytime I tumble anything. I also put a bit of the Break Free on all 4 of the nylon rollers. I keep the tumbler on a piece of carpet in the basement. I usually run it for 4 to 6 hours. All nickel brass only takes a couple of hours.
The tub will hold perhaps 4 or 500 .223 cases. I decap all my brass first, then use the tumbler with BoreTech liquid cleaner and steel pins. Thd brass comes out looking like brand new, inside and out, including perfectly clean primer pockets.
I've used all kinds of stuff to clean cases, from walnut hulls to corn cob grit, to Dawn and steel pins and now the BoreTech (when I had a comnercial reloading operation, I used corn cob grit & Brasso in a cemet mixer!). I've never had *anything* work as well as the BoreTech! I happen to like my brass looking like new before I load it!
Yes, occasionally a couple of the steel pins will get stuck in a flash hole. Easy to spot and easy to remove. There's simply no way you're going to prime a case with a couple of pins stuck in it! I take the brass and pins and dump them into a heavy duty gallon jug with a lot of holes it, shake the brass around over a bucket and rinse the brass well (I don't want anything left in my cases before I load them!). I dry it for a couple of days on a towel, picking up any stray pins with a magnet, just to make sure there's no water left in a primer pocket.
This works perfectly for me. Of course, everyone can use whatever lights their candle! There is always a different way to skin the proverbial cat! If you're happy with what ever you are using now, why switch? When I first started reloading (using Lee "basher" dies), I used vinegar to (sort of) clean my cases! Doesn't work all that well and the brass doesn't like it long term but it was a start! But evolution happens, until you get to where you really want to be! Ah yes, progress!But
Cheers,
crkckr
