Frankford Arsenal Wet Tumbler - Timer not working

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Noobdle

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I just bought a FA Wet Tumbler and when I tried to start it up the timer wouldn't work. I can set it for whatever time but it always goes back to 0 (off position) in a matter of seconds. I'm thinking it's one of the timer's gear that is broken so I emailed the company. I tried looking up if it's a common problem but I seem to be the first one it happens to. Am I missing something?
 
The lowest price isn't always the best deal. :)
Frankford Arsenal quality ranges from poor to bad. Buying FA is like buying a lottery ticket - you might be a winner but probably not.
 
Tagged for interest. I was looking at picking up one of these now that I'm processing a lot more brass. Hopefully you can get the tumbler going again without any hassle. Did you buy it in Canada?
 
I have had one for about 8 months and used it a lot with no issues. Best way to clean dirty brass with it is with warm water, a couple tablespoons of Lemi Shine (dishwasher cleaner), and a squirt of dish soap. Comes out super clean. After sizing you can run it through again with steel pins to clean the flash hole and primer pockets. Haven't used my vibrating tumbler since I got it. Love it!
 
Walmart has a in line timer you can push button set in hour increments for around 10.00. I had looked everywhere for a timer like this for a long time and a shooter new to reloading found them there and passed on info. No more leaving forgotten tumbler on all night.
 
wheelgun said:
Walmart has a in line timer you can push button set in hour increments for around 10.00. I had looked everywhere for a timer like this for a long time and a shooter new to reloading found them there and passed on info. No more leaving forgotten tumbler on all night.
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Ditto. I have a Noma outdoor inline timer from CanadianTire that was on sale for $10.
 
Interesting, i was looking at getting one of these tumblers, i bought the FA case trimmer and like it so far. Beats using my old Forster hand trimmer, guess it is time to come out of the 70's reloading and gear up.:d Oh ya i have never had a tumbler in 40+ years of reloading.
 
Chinbullco said:
How hard is it to unplug? As long as it works when plugged in and turned on its usable. Thumblers I'm familiar with don't have timers.
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That's the whole issue, the timer goes back to zero as soon as you set it so it's always turning itself off. I'm thinking of simply locking it into place and using it like any other tumbler, I don't really care for a timer.
 
As for why I went with FA, I could've gotten the Thumler's model B for the same price but the reviews weren't that positive, cheap metal isn't better than a sturdy plastic. Overall it seems like a good tumbler, I guess I just got unlucky on this one.

Still looking for suggestions on how to fix it :confused:
 
I dont like the timer :p id rather my brass keep spinning if I forget about it rather than sit motionless, just lock it so its on and call it good

I have a model B, love my new FA one, soooooo much bigger
 
A quick update:

I sent an email as soon as I realized that the timer was broken (14/12) and after a short exchange of emails and a video of the problem they shipped out a new unit (18/12) at no charge even though I bought the item in the US. I received the new unit today and am sending them back the old one, all of this at no charge to me, didn't even have to pay for shipping.

I had time to run a batch and it works great, all the brass is squeaky clean and it has a huge capacity. I never tried the Thumler's, so I can't talk about it but I can say that the FA is well built and that they stand behind their products!
 
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