Feedback needed for a comparison of annealers

[LiveToHunt7]

I'm looking into buying an annealer setup. I've narrowed the choices down to 3 similarly priced units. They are the Ugly Annealer, Annealeeze, and the AGS annealer.

The AMP is out of the question.

Please let me know if you have experiences with them and the pros/cons of the unit.

Thank you.

 

[Pdyson]

Love my annealeze but it does have a couple flaws.
1. Setting the clamp to aim the torch is infinitely adjustable but kinda hard to get it exactly where you want it. It can move when you tighten it down.
2. Large batches of short cartridges like 222, 6ARC and Grendel can cause the plastic roller wheels to melt. I order to aim the flam at the neck shoulder the flame is too close to the plastic wheel. The annealed cases then hot glue themselves to the wheel.
they stick and fail to drop into the tray.

i made changes to fix the problem. I put a spacer on the front of the machine so the case sticks out further, moving the flame away from the plastic.
I also cut a brass case in half to hold the cartridge. since the hot brass never touches plastic it can't stick.

 

[Reelamin]

Annealeze and never had one lick of problems. For me super easy to adjust and set up. I have a deflector into a bucket so I dont have to empty the tiny tray just keep filling it up. I have annealed 500-1000 223 in a continual setting many many times, and never had one issue with heat on the wheels. Shorter cases I have no experience with.

 

[cm1021]

I'm running the annealeeze. Ive been happy with it so far. I havent used another annealer so I don't have anything to compare it to.

 

[338 dude]

Love my annealeze but it does have a couple flaws.
1. Setting the clamp to aim the torch is infinitely adjustable but kinda hard to get it exactly where you want it. It can move when you tighten it down.
2. Large batches of short cartridges like 222, 6ARC and Grendel can cause the plastic roller wheels to melt. I order to aim the flam at the neck shoulder the flame is too close to the plastic wheel. The annealed cases then hot glue themselves to the wheel.
they stick and fail to drop into the tray.

i made changes to fix the problem. I put a spacer on the front of the machine so the case sticks out further, moving the flame away from the plastic.
I also cut a brass case in half to hold the cartridge. since the hot brass never touches plastic it can't stick.

The problem I had with mine was flame continually changing, it needs a pressure regulator.

 

[Ol' Red]

Watching

 

[LiveToHunt7]

The problem I had with mine was flame continually changing, it needs a pressure regulator.

I've seen guys talk about getting a swirl flame brass tip.

Have you tried that?

I've also seen guys talk about the tank levels changing and this causing variations.

 

[Mike D Texas]

I'm no help. I didn't want an open flame in my reloading room so I just saved longer and got the AMP.

Worth every penny to me.

YMMV.

 

[338 dude]

I've seen guys talk about getting a swirl flame brass tip.

Have you tried that?

I've also seen guys talk about the tank levels changing and this causing variations.

No I sold my annealeeze to Butterbean and bought an amp

 

[QuietTexan]

X3 on saving for the AMP, I know the OP said that wasn't possible but in the grand scheme the AMP costs about what I consider to be the bare minimum for an acceptable scope, or for an action that's worth rebarreling at some point. If you're trying to reap the benefits of annealing then you're probably already so deep in presses, dies, scales, etc that the incremental cost isn't that much. If you aren't that deep, then why bother annealing? Spend the money you'd save not buying a flame annealer and spend it on improving a core process.

Personally I'd build an induction annealer before buying a flame annealer.

The problem I had with mine was flame continually changing, it needs a pressure regulator.

This is a pretty common problem for gas annealing guys, I think the best solution is a swirl torch and a 20# tank. There's no way around the physics of the liquid/gas in the cylinder, it has a finite draw rate that once you go over it becomes inconsistent even with a regulator, so the root of the problem is the fuel bottle.