LEM electromagnetic bullet case cleaner

[ovenpaa]

We had to collect a LEM electromagnetic bullet case cleaner today, has anyone tried one yet?

[Ballistol]

Ovenpaa,

I've had one for a year or so now, and to be honest my initial impressions were poor to say the least!
I persevered with it, learnt it's quirks and limitations and can honestly say I wouldn't be without one now using it to clean most weeks.

It cleans the outside, inside and primer pocket of the case to a very high standard, and is quicker and easier to do than any other method I've previously used. However it has it's own Pros and Cons as do all wet or dry tumblers.

If you have any specific questions, I'll try to answer them.

[ovenpaa]

I would be very interested to hear how to get the best out of the machine and where you initially went wrong and what it's limitations are

[andrew375]

What the heck is a "bullet case"?

[ovenpaa]

What the heck is a "bullet case"?

It is how the manufacturers describe the product as however as it is of Italian origin something was probably lost in translation.

[Ballistol]

I would be very interested to hear how to get the best out of the machine and where you initially went wrong and what it's limitations are

OK, here we go, in no particular order:-

Make sure the machine is level before use. If you don't, the container can slide and create an alignment problem with the magnetic field produced. This slows down the speed of rotation.

Don't overfill it. If you do, the velocity of the cases being cleaned slows too much and the hydraulic effect of the water is compromised. I tried many different trials and settled on a maximum of around 130 .223 cases, or around 100 .308. For me this gave the best blend of cleaning speed and batch size. Pistol cases however, without a bottleneck, are no problem for 200 .45 long Colt.

The water will get dirty very quickly, but I find 30-40 minutes per batch gives excellent results. You can run it less or more depending on how clean you want your brass.

Use a good quality detergent. Fairy liquid works fine, but the lubricant effect of this is as important as it's cleaning properties. The really cheap washing up liquid works, but you do use more and the lubrication effect is not quite as good. Remember, speed of rotation is your friend.

Although it certainly works with cold water, I get best results using hot water.

Rinse the cases well after cleaning and swirl extensively to ensure as many pins as possible are captured by the magnet (keep the magnet in a plastic bag to make removal of any rogue pins)

I tumble the cases in a media separator and then on a large towel to remove any pins trapped inside the cases (you will get some) and dry the cases on a towel. Nothing worse than getting a mirror like finish on your brass ruined by water marks.

Every now and then run the machine with a limescale remover, it builds up on the pins and container and really does slow the velocity of rotation down when it builds up.

Make sure you inspect every, and I mean every, case. You will get occasional pins stuck in the primer pocket or case neck.

I did try heavier gauge pins, but went back to the originals as they produced a higher lustre on the case.

Finally, don't clean any for your mates, cos they keep coming back!

[ovenpaa]

Thank you for that. I found a couple of write-ups suggesting 1.5kgs and 2.0kgs so I split the difference for the first load and let them run for around 50 minutes. The results are interesting in that the brass is spotlessly clean inside and out however not super shiny as the Thumbler would have returned. This is not a problem and one thing I have noticed is the difference in case colours between manufacturers. Careful inspection revealed one pin across a primer pocket and that was it.

I will try hot water next time and not load it up as much, the cases did rotate around however not as much as the videos show however if you take a close look you can see the pins flying round in the water which is probably why I ended up with clean cases eventually.

The micro pins are incredibly fine and I do wonder how many will get lost along the way, the good news is they are not outrageously priced if I do need to replace them.

All in all first results are impressive and I am impressed with just how robustly built the LEM is, it has a good weight and a sensibly sized motor and should last a lifetime.

[Ballistol]

You will definitely get a better shine if you reduce the number of cases. Once you've worked out a batch size and time it's easy to produce the desired result every time.