A statement or two on drying your brass...

[stilly]

After wet process, whenever asked, for ANY of those guys that said to get a food dehydrator from HF, as far as I am concerned they nailed it.

But since NOBODY ever really says why, I will tell you why...

1. They are only $23.99 - 20% off with a coupon right now.
2. They are quiet.
3. They do not take up as much space as they would appear, they are kinda small actually.
4. Put them on a timer and they are done in 2 hours so far for a 3/5 filled load of .45 ACP brass.
5. The brass comes out nice shiny golden and only a HINT of darkness added where in the oven they come out very hot and noticeably darker.
6. For the size of the dehydrator, it can do more than a full load of brass in a thumler tumbler. (or about 12+ lbs of brass)
7. If you need more space you can buy a second one I bet adn use the trays from it.
8. The temperature is just warm enough to make the water fog away and not melt stuff.

I am very happy with mine and I am glad I did not purchase one of those bigger ones for $75+ with a fan and everything. Maybe to make things go even faster, but not needed for now... The food dehydrator is a champ.

[Erik16]

What is HF?

[cleonard]

Harbor Freight.

I've just been using our ample California sunshine and a towel. I'm only using one of the rather small dual HF tumblers so that works for me. With a larger tumbler one of the dehydrators might be needed.

[XDmax]

I just picked up a HF unit to go along with my 2 HF tumblers

[Aiden]

Yes I have found the HF dehydrator works well if you are trying to dry brass after the sun goes down. I too prefer to use a towel and let them air dry outside when possible, but I bought one of these and have had good results. Can't beat the price either.

[reckoner]

I bought a Nesco dehydrator for about $25-30. It gets the brass bone dry and too hot to touch in only 15 minutes. I then dump the brass into an open top container to cool to room temp.

[stilly]

I bought a Nesco dehydrator for about $25-30. It gets the brass bone dry and too hot to touch in only 15 minutes. I then dump the brass into an open top container to cool to room temp.

I was going to buy one of those.

I REALLY wanted to because:

1. They are bigger.
2. They are faster
3. They are expandable (and you pay for that).
4. The preppers LOVE them so it is possible to do jerky and fruit leathers on the bottom and brass on top! Win win!
5. The price is really good at AMAZON.

I did not get one because I needed something THAT NIGHT and I did not see any at Walmart online that was close to the $20 after a coupon that HF has. But also because I HAD to get my brass dry and I do not like walking from the garage to the oven with dripping brass.

If I want to upgrade then I will get the NESCO or the Harvest Time or whatever it is called.

I was going to buy a Presto Dehydro dehydrator from someone over by UCR but they turned into a typical CL flake and stopped e-mailing me. I made an offer for $20 vs their asking of $25 (it was used, not new) after the ad stated to make him an offer and the guy stopped talking to me. WTF ever... Now that I know a bit more I realize that it would have been nice, but that guy just stopped communicating. So yeah whatever... I will keep an eye out for another one but I will certainly take my time. Having an adjustable thermostat is nice.

[XDmax]

I was going to buy one of those.

I REALLY wanted to because:

1. They are bigger.
2. They are faster
3. They are expandable (and you pay for that).
4. The preppers LOVE them so it is possible to do jerky and fruit leathers on the bottom and brass on top! Win win!
5. The price is really good at AMAZON.

I did not get one because I needed something THAT NIGHT and I did not see any at Walmart online that was close to the $20 after a coupon that HF has. But also because I HAD to get my brass dry and I do not like walking from the garage to the oven with dripping brass.

If I want to upgrade then I will get the NESCO or the Harvest Time or whatever it is called.

I was going to buy a Presto Dehydro dehydrator from someone over by UCR but they turned into a typical CL flake and stopped e-mailing me. I made an offer for $20 vs their asking of $25 (it was used, not new) after the ad stated to make him an offer and the guy stopped talking to me. WTF ever... Now that I know a bit more I realize that it would have been nice, but that guy just stopped communicating. So yeah whatever... I will keep an eye out for another one but I will certainly take my time. Having an adjustable thermostat is nice.

Is this the one you linked me to on Amazon last month? I only bought the HF one because I was able to use a 20% coupon.

[stilly]

Is this the one you linked me to on Amazon last month? I only bought the HF one because I was able to use a 20% coupon.

Probably. If you can afford the wait and want one that you can upgrade and use for food, then the Amazon one is probably the way to go. But if you just want to dry brass for the cheapest price, then stick with the HF model. It takes a little longer, but it is nearly half the cost of the other one, plus no shipping. You might be able to buy two though and make a 10 shelf drier but I do not know and that is only speculation. I was going to buy the one on Amazon but then I recalled that HF also sold one and since I had a coupon, and needed it sooner, and did not know the difference between the two, I went with HF. I am only regretting my purchase by about 3%. That 3% wishes that I had gotten a cooler one with a thermostat and fan, but only because I want to make fruit leathers and jerky as well as have buttons and dials to play with so that I can feel like I am in control of everything. I did not know the details about the HF model until I got it home and opened the 3 page document on operation. I still do not know what the best vent position is so I have the large holes covered. HF does not get hot enough to kill off certain things NOR does it include the fruit roll up sheets that others have. But oh well, for drying brass it works very well.

[Motor Man]

I got a harbor freight one a few weeks back for under $20 with the coupon to try out, been happy with the results. Also noticed it does not discolor the brass like the oven can. It's been good for what I use it for, just drying brass.

[bubbala]

just don't try to speed it up by adjusting the vents. leave them on the open hole. mine melted the two lower trays a little when i used the "grate" looking vents.

[reckoner]

Ooof, correction, the Nesco one is closer to $40...

[Lead Waster]

I also just use "solar drying"

[kouye]

I use the one I bought for making beef jerky 30 years ago. Justifies hoarding things forever...

[stilly]

just don't try to speed it up by adjusting the vents. leave them on the open hole. mine melted the two lower trays a little when i used the "grate" looking vents.

Oh really?

I have the large circles closed off/covered so the other grate looking vents are the only opening. I have not had any issues yet, but I have only run 3 trays since I have not done a large enough batch of brass to take it to four or five trays. From what I read and the directions I gathered that it would not get hot enough to melt anything. The directions also never told me anything about the stupid vents on top and what settings are for what...