Using walnut media

[fraz]

About how many batches of brass will walnut media handle? Thanks Josh

[Gio]

It all depends on how dirty your brass is, and what polish and or additives you use. Also depends on how coarse the walnut media is too, I say a good 6 times or more. I change out my walnut media when it starts turning black and it takes more than an hour or so to get a good polish going.

-Gio

[fraz]

Thanks Gio

[bootless]

Just in case you didn't know you can save some money on walnut media by going to the pet store (Pets-Mart, Pet Co, etc) and buying walnut bedding/litter. It's meant for birds and small animals but it works great. It's really fine and it's a lot cheaper than the real stuff. The brand I use is KAYTEE.

[swerv512]

i get my walnut from petco. it's lated me about 1500rds of rifle brass adding polish every 5 batches or so. it was thoroughly black by the time i changed it out for some new media.

[FieldsofFire]

I've been told a lot of things about the life of walnut media. Some people say to change it out every handful of loads and others say they have used their current batch successfully for years and tons of loads. I tend to go by what Gio does, when it starts taking the media more than an hour to get a batch of brass clean, change it out. If it starts looking really nasty, switch it. It makes sense and can't hurt, plus the stuff isn't expensive anyway.

[Seesm]

Use it till it does not work anymore...

[Ferdman]

I saw someone on Youtube upload his reloading instructions and when he tumbled his brass, he put in a used laundry dryer softener sheet along with the brass and walnut media. It supposedly collects the dirt and that the walnut media will last longer. The sheet was white when he threw it in, but came out black when he was done tumbling the batch. I don't reload yet, but will probably do that when I do start preparing brass. Doesn't look like it hurts anything and it does collect dirt.

[freonr22]

use a used drier sheet

[himurax13]

I saw someone on Youtube upload his reloading instructions and when he tumbled his brass, he put in a used laundry dryer softener sheet along with the brass and walnut media. It supposedly collects the dirt and that the walnut media will last longer. The sheet was white when he threw it in, but came out black when he was done tumbling the batch. I don't reload yet, but will probably do that when I do start preparing brass. Doesn't look like it hurts anything and it does collect dirt.

I chop up a drier sheet into one inch patches and throw one in with every load. I have used the same media for 3 months now and I have cleaned almost 15,000 cases with the same media. I say just keep using it till it doesn't clean too well anymore.