Frankford Arsenal Platinum Series Rotary Tumbler with 7-Liter Capacity, Clear Viewing Lids, and Auto Shut-Off for Reloading, Cleaning and Wet Tumbling Brass Cases

I have owned a Rebel 17 tumbler for a few years and I like it very much. However, when I saw the Frankford Arsenal Platinum Series Rotary Tumbler 7L (FA 7L), with its advertised capacity and lower price I decided to bite the bullet (pun intended) and try this one too. The Rebel 17 and the FA 7L sit side by side on my shop bench. I have had the FA 7L since March of 2016 and while I do like both FA 7L and the Rebel 17, if I had to choose just one I would go with FA 7L. Do not get me wrong, I like the Rebel 17; I use it regularly, and the customer service for the Rebel 17 (at http://www.stainlesstumblingmedia.com) has been outstanding. However, the price point for the FA 7L (when I purchased the FA 7L it was on an Amazon “lighting Deal” for $150) and the larger capacity make FA 7L the FA 7L a better option. Here are the details:Delivery (not too good): The FA 7L was shipped in its retail box without an outer box. There was a packet of some blue cleaning solution (a liquid) that was taped to one end of the tumbler. This was impacted during shipping (as far as I can see that was a foregone conclusion as the packet had no protection and was right on the end of the tank) so the blue liquid leaked all over the box and tumbler. I was unimpressed and thought I was going to have to send the tumbler back. However, only the box was damaged and the tumbler cleaned up fine.Capacity: The new tumbler is larger than the Rebel 17. For my 9mm test the Rebel 17 cleaned 227 cases and the FA 7L cleaned 734 case. I am not sure if the FA 7L will handle 1,000 - 5.56 cases as advertised, but based on my testing with 9mm the FA 7L probably will. The Rebel 17 recommends running about two lbs of brass (approximate 230 - 9mm cases) with five lbs of stainless steel media. I believe the Rebel 17 has a 17 lb capacity. The drum for the Rebel 17 weighs 6.5 lbs (without the cover). For my first test the Rebel 17 I ran 227 deprimed and dirty 9mm cases. The total weight of the drum, with SS media, brass, water, detergent, etc. was 23 lbs (15.5 lbs net). For the FA 7L 9mm test I ran 734 deprimed cases with 5 lbs of SS media. The total weight of the drum, with SS media, brass, water, detergent, etc. was 25.5 lbs.Operation: The FA 7L has a timer switch (the only way the tumbler can be operated) with a maximum of three hours. This may be an issue as sometimes I let brass run longer than three hours. However, the Rebel 17 runs at about 32 RPM while the FA 7L runs at about 63 RPM, so perhaps the FA 7L will clean better in three hours. As the Rebel 17 runs at about 32 RPM it is “gentler” than the FA 7L. This may prove useful for nickel plated brass – I have not tested this yet, but I have worn nickel plating off brass by running it too long with the SS media.I ran the brass in the Rebel 17 for three hours and the brass was clean and shiny (primer pockets too). The Rebel 17 does not have a timer so I use a timer that I can program to shut the Rebel 17 off at a specific time. This is one advantage of the Rebel 17 – it can run for longer than 3 hours if desired.I ran the brass in the FA 7L for three hours (the maximum time for which the FA 7L timer can be set). The brass was clean and shiny (primer pockets too). I did note that some of the SS media got caught on the edges of the “windows/caps” on either end of the FA 7L, but I do not believe that this negatively affected the cleaning operation.For me the capacity of the FA 7L is key. Being able to run three times the amount of brass in the FA 7L compared to the Rebel 17 in the same time period is great. Plus for three times the amount of brass I can run in the Rebel 17, I only have to drain, rinse, separate SS media, etc. once for the brass run in the FA 7L. I still use the Rebel 17 regularly for small quantities, but the FA 7L capacity is a huge time saver.

I have been reloading for going on 4 years. I have been using a Cabela’s dry media tumbler with corn and walnut media. Mainly I reload pistol rounds so the dry media has been severing me ok.Recently I moved into reloading rifle rounds. I had been avoiding them because of the amount of prep work that goes into it. Well I finally dove in head first.I use a Dillon 550B press for all my reloading. I bought the case trimmer tool head, dies and trimmer. I bought the RCBS case prep station and a Dillon 600 swager.The de-priming, resizing and trimming are a breeze with the Dillon. Removing military crimps with the Dillon swager is a cake walk compared to the RCBS primer crimp removal tool on the case prep station.How does all this have anything to do with the Frankford Arsenal Rotary Tumbler..... I am getting there.Recently I spent the better half of a Saturday cleaning the primer pockets with the RCBS case prep station. The deburring and chamfering was easy, but trimming primer crimps and cleaning the primer pocket with it was painfully slow and literally painful after 6-hours non-stop (bulk load for 1K cases).I thought to myself, never again will I spend this much time cleaning primer pockets.I have used a friend’s wet media tumbler once. It was a Thumler's Tumbler. The brass was clean but tightening all the little wing nuts, managing the little pins and the limited cleaning volume were a huge turn off.I was resistant to trying it again. I was very leery about Frankford Arsenal. It isn't a brand I am not familiar with as I mainly buy Dillon tools and reloading components.The video on Amazon was very helpful. It helped me see how it looks and works. I was shocked by the capacity and ease of use. I turned to my old friend, Youtube, to look at more reviews and demonstrations of the product.It is actually a very simple design.So, I took a leap of faith and bought it. A few days after receiving it in the mail, I finally had a chance to use it.It was simple compared to the Thumler's Tumbler. Sorting the pins and rinsing the brass was effortless compared to the Thumler's Tumbler. The brass comes out so clean and shiny comparted to a dry tumbler. It makes dry tumbled brass look dirty.More importantly to me, the primer pockets are clean, the case lube from the resizing is removed and it saves me many hours and many hand cramps compared to my other attempt.Until I learn of a better way, I am sold on my process of dry tumble, de-prime, resize and trimming on my Dillon, swaging primer pockets on my Dillon 600 super swager, de-burring and chamfering the RCBS case prep station, then a wet tumble in the Frankford Arsenal Rotary Tumbler then finishing it off back on the Dillon adding the primer, powder, and finally seating the bullet.It sounds like a lot of work, but with the equipment I have it is manageable and can be processed in bulk with relative ease.I highly recommend the Frankford Arsenal Rotary Tumbler. Especially if you are fed up with the Thumler's Tumbler and dealing with the pins going everywhere. I can’t say enough good things about the Frankford Arsenal Rotary Tumbler.The only drawback is you do have to really tighten down on the collars for a good seal. I am young and strong so it isn’t a big deal. More mature re-loaders that have arthritis or have lost their strength might find it difficult. But then again, where there is a will, there is a way.