Brass Cleaning Made Easy with Frankford Arsenal Rotary Tumbler Kits

There’s just something special about the shine of freshly cleaned brass cases, but serious reloaders know that there are several reasons to keep your reloading brass clean beyond aesthetics. During a day spent shooting at the range or in the field your brass is exposed to dirt and debris, and this accumulated material can cause major problems for your reloading equipment, specifically your dies. Frankford Arsenal is one of the top manufacturers of reloading equipment, and their new Rotary Tumbler Lite kits are the perfect solution for shooters because they offer all the equipment you need to clean your brass quickly and effectively in a single package.

There are multiple methods for cleaning brass, but the simplest is to use a high-quality tumbler like the Rotary Tumbler Lite. The Rotary Tumbler Lite is a compact and lightweight version of Frankford Arsenal’s highly successful Platinum Series tumblers, which are popular with dedicated hunters and competition shooters. The Rotary Tumbler Lite offers the same level of performance in a smaller, lighter package. Most shooters are running out of room in their reloading shops (or the corner of the garage) and simply don’t have the space for larger tumblers designed for high-volume reloading. The Rotary Tumbler Lite is just 12.75 inches long, 12.5 inches wide, and 9.5 inches tall, and the empty weight of the tumbler is just 7.5 pounds. That’s half the size of other tumblers, yet it offers a capacity of 3.3 liters (300 rounds of .223). For most hunters and shooters, it offers the perfect balance of size and capacity.

The Rotary Tumbler Lite has been a big success, but reloaders increasingly want to simplify the buying process. To accommodate them, Frankford Arsenal is now offering the Rotary Tumbler Lite as part of a kit that addresses all your case cleaning needs.

Rotary Tumbler Lite Kits

There are two Rotary Tumbler Kits currently being offered. The Rotary Tumbler Lite Essentials kit comes with a Rotary Tumbler, a wet/dry media separator, and two pounds of high-quality stainless-steel media—a setup that will work for most reloaders. As an option, buyers can upgrade to the Rotary Tumbler Professional kit which includes all of the items from the Essentials kit as well as a brass dryer that helps speed up the reloading process.

At the heart of these kits is the Rotary Tumbler itself which is powered by a direct-drive electric motor for years of trouble-free operation. The base is compact and runs on 110 electricity which means it can be used almost anywhere. At the open end of the drum is a clear viewing window that makes it easy to keep tabs on the cleaning process, and a rubber seal prevents water from spilling out during tumbling. The lid screws in place and doubles as a handle for the lightweight drum.

The Wet/Dry Media Separator is equally easy to assemble. The primary components include the two halves of the basket which click together easily. A rubber latch holds the halves of the basket together during use, and twin arms extend from the housing of the unit to allow for manual turning. The top and bottom halves of the housing are light, and Frankford Arsenal added some convenient touches that make it easier to operate the separator including two cutouts on the sides of the polymer base (one for operation, one that elevates the basket and allows for simpler opening and closing) and a screen that allows you to filter out the stainless steel media when removing water from the separator. The stainless-steel media itself is high-quality and works well cleaning cases.

The Rotary Tumbler Lite, Wet/Dry Media Separator, and two pounds of stainless-steel media all come standard with both the Essentials and Professional kits. The Pro version also comes with a Frankford Arsenal Brass Dryer that holds up to 1,000 rounds of .223 ammunition, and one feature that I particularly like are the trays that allow you to dry different brass cartridges without mixing and having to separate them later. The 500-watt heating system that powers the unit makes short work of the drying process (it takes about an hour with a full load of brass) and the top-mounted fan guarantees that moisture does not interfere with electronic operation of the unit.

Frankford Arsenal’s Rotary Tumbler Lite carries an MSRP of $164.99, which is a good value for a robust and easy-to-operate tumbler, but at $179.99 the Rotary Tumbler Lite Essentials Kit with the included Wet/Dry Separator and stainless media might be an even better value. The top-tier Rotary Tumbler Lite Pro Kit, which includes the Platinum Series Brass dryer, offers everything that you need for effective, efficient, and hassle-free case care at an MSRP of just $249.99.

Testing the Rotary Tumbler Lite Kits

Many reloaders view brass cleaning as a chore, but credit Frankford Arsenal for making it as fast and simple as possible to complete this important component of cartridge reloading. From unboxing it took me less than 10 minutes to begin running a batch of rifle brass through the Rotary Tumbler Lite. The seal works well (though it’s always worth conducting a “tilt test” to make certain there are no leaks) and the clear window allows you to keep tabs on the cleaning process. The lid should fit tightly in place and leaving it too loose can cause minor leaks.

Once I’d cleaned a batch of .375 H&H Magnum brass. Which took about an hour, I transferred the contents of the drum to the separator and began rotating the handles to separate the media from the brass. Afterward, I could remove the brass and easily separate the steel media from the liquid contents using the aforementioned screen. From there, the brass went to the dryer, which is simple to operate and allows you to select temperature manually using a control knob. An hour later I had fresh, clean brass that looked factory new.

The compact Rotary Tumbler Lite is one of my favorite tumblers because it’s so small and easy to store. The separator is also light enough and small enough that it can be conveniently tucked out of your way. Simplicity of operation, smart features, and quality construction are all hallmarks of Frankford Arsenal reloading equipment. It’s no surprise, then, that the new Rotary Tumbler Lite Essentials and Rotary Tumbler Lite Pro kits are so convenient and easy to operate. Now there’s no more excuse for dirty brass.

For more information visit: frankfordarsenal.com