If you accidentally got your brass wet, you may have tried or explored a few options to reduce the dampness. But nothing is as effective as drying brass using a food dehydrator.
When we look at the different alternatives, one problem with using an oven to dry some of the brass ammo is that you can get water stains on the casing. Other methods like wet-tumbling & ultrasonic cleaning have their limitations as well.
Yes, they will make cartridge brass appear brand new with a shiny reflection. At worst, water spots are a permanent part of it.
Once cleaned, the brass is expectedly wet, so how do you dry them quickly? We’ll show you how later in this article.
Why is it important to dry brass?
A wet bass could affect the speed of the gun when fired or FPS.
The table below shows where the rate drops as low as 13 fps.
Table 1.1 Our friends make this table from gunsandammo. All rights & credits belong to them.
While this might not seem to be much, having a wet brass could affect the safety of your firing gear.
If you have a hint of suspicions that it was compromised, stop whatever you’re doing and get your hands off it.
“Avoid a wet brass at all cost!”
Don’t even attempt to bring it to the next hunting or target practice activity before getting rid of all the remaining water from the brass.
Usually, most types of brass could survive when they got wet.
But that doesn’t mean that they are usable.
Another sign of a soaked apparatus is if the bullet sounds weaker than it usually is.
Experienced veterans could only use this tip with more than their fair share of firing under their belt.
Bonus: Food Dehydrator or Convection Oven (7 Important Facts to Remember)
Can you use a wet brass again?
The answer is dependent on how long it got wet and how much percentage of the brass ammo came into contact with the water.
Image 1.1 Gold bullets
If any cartridge brass has been submerged long enough in deep waters, it’s NOT advisable to use them even if you want to dry them and re-use them to avoid wasting money buying new ones.
To find out if your brass is subjected to deep flooded waters you can inspect some of the effects, such as the decline of quality. It may also cause the firearm to malfunction and block the barrel from fully firing.
It’s not the end of the world, though.
Some types of brass can withstand light rain, such as centerfire or shotshell types.
How to dry brass in a dehydrator?
Use the towel to dry off the majority of the water present in the brass.
Image 1.2 Dry the brass with a towel
Then leave it in the food dehydrator for 45 minutes to an hour.
Check to ensure no moisture is left before taking it out.
When it comes to choosing a food dehydrator, pick a unit that is round, see-through, and has plenty of trays to store your brass.
The heater is located at the bottom, so the airflow spreads evenly from base to top.
“You want to have a strong tray weight.”
You might want to check how much weight each tray can hold. You want to prevent accidentally overloading your tray so it won’t crack midway through dehydration.
Place the brass flatly on the tray, preventing any overlaps, which may cause uneven drying. You can put up to 50 – 60 cases per tray. Set the food dehydrator to 70°C (158°F), then wait for 60 – 90 minutes.
To determine if the cases are dry, open the machine’s lid.
You want to inspect the top since if they are dried, the bottom layers are most likely not to be wet. (The reason is that the air flows from bottom to top)
Check both the inside of the brass and the outside of each brass to make sure it is 100% dried.
We included a video here showing how you can dry brass immediately after the wet tumbling method.
How much time to dry brass in a dehydrator?
It would take between 60 – 90 minutes of drying time to dehydrate and remove any remaining moisture from the brass entirely.
“Are there any cheaper alternatives to using a dehydrator?”
If you are on a tight budget, there are several DIY methods that you can try to do, but we won’t generally recommend them since they are more time-consuming and inefficient. But we’ll show you what it would look like nonetheless.
Get a large paint bucket that isn’t previously used. Cut a significant hold in the bottom part, large enough to fit a hair blower. Then get a metal straining kit with holes across the surface. They are typically used in the kitchen.
Safety Tip: Avoid using the same metal straining kit with cooking food. You don’t want to mix in the brass remains no matter how often you attempt to clean it.
Here’s a quick 2-minute video on making your own DIY Brass Case Dryer.
We would avoid this option because you would need to give cooldown periods for your hair blower constantly.
They won’t last the recommended 60 – 90 minute mark to dry the brass thoroughly.
At best, you would need 6 – 8 cooldown periods with an air blower that lasts around 15 – 30 minutes each.
Plus, it produces more noise than the food dehydrator, which might irritate some of your neighbors if they sense that you have been operating for more than an hour.
Can I reuse a dirty brass if I heat it?
This question stems from a story by a person who managed to pick up a dirty, unused brass along the road.
Image 1.3 Person reloading with a brass.
They decided to clean it up, underwent the wet tumbling process, and managed to place it into a dry bowl to heat it on top of a roaring flame.
The account comes to a halt when there have been issues about how hot the temperature should be since setting it too high might end up damaging the bass’ integrity.
Many people aren’t sure how to respond to this story.
But one insight suggested that you might need to check with a thermometer. As long as the heat doesn’t compromise the brass’ hardness, then it might still be usable.
“You can also try sun-drying.”
Some offered alternatives such as sun drying, which is only applicable during hot summer days. Lay out an unused towel and leave the brass there for a couple of days.
However, it should be in a private area like your backyard. Not in plain sight where strangers might look twice and try to snatch it away.
Overall, sun drying or even air drying is only best if you are not in a hurry to dry the bass.
Bottom Line:
You now have read the possible risk and harmful effects of using a wet brass.
At the end of the day, you NEVER want to compromise your safety.
A good rule of thumb is always sticking to what your gut tells you. If it tells you it’s a bad idea, they’re probably right.
Don’t attempt to dry out brass that has been underwater too long. But if those are types of brass that just came into contact with light rain, one way to entirely reduce the moisture is through using a food dehydrator
