Vib Tumbler Melt Down

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  • Ellismd
    • Dec 2019
    • 11

    Vib Tumbler Melt Down

    Just curious if anyone has had a vibratory media tumbler basically catch fire and burn to nothing but a pile of melted plastic? I put some brass in last night, came out to my shop this morning and it was completely unrecognizable. Im fortunate it didn’t burn my shop down.
    Just curious if anyone else has ever seen this.
  • epm729
    • Oct 2009
    • 3422

    #2
    That's a new one on me. You are extremely lucky all you lost was the Vibe/tumbler.
    Just goes to prove anything can happen. I put mine on a timer and only run it 2 to 3 hours at a time. I have had them just stop working but never burn. Eddie

    Comment

    • Ellismd
      • Dec 2019
      • 11

      #3
      Well timer or not, I would advise that you place it somewhere that it wouldn’t cause a problem if it were to catch fire and burn. Eye opener to me. I’ve always left brass to tumble over night and never gave it a second thought.

      Comment

      • Rich/WIS
        • Nov 2009
        • 718

        #4
        What brand?

        Comment

        • Ellismd
          • Dec 2019
          • 11

          #5
          Model is a Midway 9212, I don’t know how to post a pic here but will email it to anyone that can.

          Comment

          • epm729
            • Oct 2009
            • 3422

            #6



            All I can say is, " HOLY S__T"

            Comment

            • epm729
              • Oct 2009
              • 3422

              #7
              Was this one of the blue Frankfurt Arsenal models or something older?

              Comment

              • Ellismd
                • Dec 2019
                • 11

                #8
                Something older. It is a Midway tumbler.

                Comment

                • Shomway
                  • Apr 2012
                  • 10280

                  #9
                  Originally posted by Ellismd View Post
                  Something older. It is a Midway tumbler.
                  The old orange one? If you hadn't said it was a tumbler, I wouldn't have a clue what that mess is....I do see a couple springs I think...
                  31- 100% ITrader feedback prior to removal.
                  Feedback....http://forums.thecmp.org/showthread.php?t=209950

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                  • Ellismd
                    • Dec 2019
                    • 11

                    #10
                    Originally posted by epm729 View Post



                    All I can say is, " HOLY S__T"
                    I agree!! I never in a million years would of thought anything like that could happen. I stood there looking at the molten pile for a couple seconds before it registered as to what had happened. It tripped the breaker and I am lucky that there wasn’t anything near it that could of caught fire.

                    Originally posted by Shomway View Post
                    The old orange one? If you hadn't said it was a tumbler, I wouldn't have a clue what that mess is....I do see a couple springs I think...
                    No it was the blue 9212.
                    Last edited by Big_Red; 01-20-2020, 11:44 PM. Reason: Combine consecutive posts

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                    • epm729
                      • Oct 2009
                      • 3422

                      #11
                      Mark,
                      Thanks for sharing the pictures with us. I'm happy all that was lost is the tumbler and the brass. Regards, Eddie

                      Comment

                      • a31b20
                        • Oct 2009
                        • 514

                        #12
                        Second instance I’ve heard about . Thought they used impedance protected motors. Will have to check the 2 I have.


                        A method of preventing burning damage when the motor is restricted from rotating; done by setting the motor winding impedance (AC resistance) to a value giving a temperature rise in the windings below the temperature at which burning occurs.

                        Comment

                        • ceresco
                          • Oct 2009
                          • 8758

                          #13
                          Yes they do overheat. Most have a small fan that pulls cool air in from under the housing. Not uncommon for the plastic fan blades to break off or something to be drawn up and block the air flow. Usually the motor fails from overheating but occasionally it goes up in smoke. I have replaced quite a few motors in the vibratory "tumblers". Good Shooting. ...

                          Comment

                          • 1hdrocks
                            • Oct 2009
                            • 817

                            #14
                            Not sure how old that unit was. I bought mine in the late 80’s or early 90’s. If my memory serves me right there was actually a recall on these many years ago. I never sent mine back. I have used that thing to no end all these years but also kept that recall in the back of my mind. Never ran it all night, always placed it in an area that I felt was safe. Last February I bought a Dillon SDB and a bunch of reloading stuff from a friend that was moving, it came with an identical Midway tumbler bought just a couple years after mine that still works fine. Bout mid summer I was resizing some brass and my ol Midway was doing its thing. I heard it stutter a bit, ran fine a minute, stuttered again and it was over. Upon inspection I found one of the wires on the motor had finally vibrated/broken free. I ain’t fixed it yet as I have the other one and also use a Dillon tumbler.
                            Glad to see you didn’t lose anything more than a tumbler and a few pieces of brass.

                            Comment

                            • Parkr1942
                              • Oct 2013
                              • 596

                              #15
                              Midway had a recall on their tumblers back around 96 on their vibrators tumbers and replaced/refurbished mine but I do not remember why or what the fix was other than it was an electrical issue.
                              Last edited by Parkr1942; 01-20-2020, 10:39 PM. Reason: Correction
                              CMP & GCA Member

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