Eutectic
posted this
16 December 2021
There are more good methods than Carter had Liver Pills (remember those). At the peak of my match shooting I was loading ~5000 rounds a year. That was a lot of cases.
I have had 3 case cleaners, a big homemade tumbler, a commercial high-powered rock polisher, which was great for liquid media, and a RCBS vibrator. I have tried a half dozen compounds.
The wet method with steel pins is the thing for cases which out-shine your wife's jewelry. Primer pockets are pristine. You have to put up with separating, washing and drying but they look nice!
Accuracy is not improved.
I bought a RCBS vibrator 20 years ago. After ten years the motor failed. I called RCBS they said "We have a better motor now, heavy duty bearings". Next week it was in my mailbox - no charge. It is still going strong.
The RCBS gets used the most.
I buy ground walnut blasting media at Harbor Freight when it goes on sale. A squirt of Midway polishing compound in the tub and a charge will do 5 loads of filthy range brass or 10 loads of clean revolver cases which never touch the ground. A load is two quarts of cases.
If you insist on cleaner (but not perfect) primer pockets you can add steel pins. They fall through in the case separator and you only need a magnet when changing media. They do not work as well in dry media, mostly I do not use them.
About one in 20 cases will have media in the flash hole. A LEE de-prime rod is set up vertically to deal with these. I inspect every case so this is no problem.
Comments about the slower speed of cleaning in dry media are true - but who cares? I have a light timer on the RCBS and set it to turn off in 2 or 3 hours depending on the cases. Then I go do something useful.
I guess if you sit there and watch the cases clean through a clear cover or peak in every 5 minutes, time is important. 
I have not solved the case separator problem. Two rotating basket models were nice, but each lasted less than a year. They were expensive plastic junk. My current homemade rig has lasted over 5 years and cost less than 10$. However it is slower to load and use.
Steve