I definitely prefer my Gen 2 over the newer Gen 3. Like somebody else said, I must have a "2.5" because my power supply is on the side. I like that the torch is mounted to the actual machine because I don't have to reset it every time. The changes on the Gen 3 seem to be only there to save costs/avoid supply chain issues. There's nothing wrong with that, but I'd assume if those weren't issues, the Gen 2 would still be the current model.
I have an early Gen 2 without the digital display. I added a display to mine. I prefer the hose as I run mine off a 20# bottle to maintain consistent pressure and flame. And 20# bottles I have a bunch of, so its just a better call for me. I have melted a set of wheels a little bit doing 223, so we faced the burned part off with a lathe about an 1/8" and I bought a spare set of wheels for 308 length cases. All together, good to see Jeff and crew making some changes as needed. Excellent machines overall.
Thanks for the comparison Vaughn. I plan to pick one of these up at a local sporting goods store, wanted to know what was different about the Gen 3, which is what they have on their shelves. I think I'll pickup a couple of rubber caps to put on the bottle clamp threads. Seems like it would help prevent scratching the table top and may help it stay in place. Looks like the torch will be really easy to adjust with this design.
I have the gen 2 works great. I can see how the gen 3 though would simplify the system a little bit and simpler is generally better, but the gen 2 works extremely well
The U bolt holding the bottle 🍼 seems like it will be much easier to adjust, and the almost kinked hose coming through the front panel has always bugged me, and makes it harder to adjust the flame angle etc especially for short brass. No pan and cheaper hose/torch....seems like it should be $250 now. Thanks for sharing. I do like mine too.
I reform 38-55 brass to make 30-30 brass to fit the long chamber in my 30-30 contender rifle barrel. I’ve had to anneal the cases by hand. Fingers get a little warm at times and cases don’t always reform correctly. The Annealeze might make the process easier.
I love my Annealeez, but I must have a Gen 2.5 because it’s a Gen 2 with the power supply outlet of the side. Nevertheless, it works great. Just an FYI to people looking to buy one, you need to be careful when annealing short cartridges like .300 BLK. Make sure you point the flame away from the wheels. They don’t like the heat.
Be careful laying those gas bottles on their side. They have small bits of rubbish in the bottom which can be squirted into the torch head and block it’s tiny holes. I’m talking from experience here. Jeff told me that was why my torch blocked up with my gen 1.
I have the gen 3, and the gas tank bracket ( a muffler clamp), is a joke. No real instructions come with it.............But , after using it, and sacrificing some old cases, it seems to work ok.
I got a gen 2 and love the simplicity of annealing. Looks like adjustments got easier on the gen 3. Appreciate Jeff trying to keep it at the same price point.
I waited too long and now I'm shopping elsewhere. Not a fan of small bottles or a loose torch. With the ugly annealer being released, he would have been better off keeping the features he tossed and raising the price to $300.
I had a Gen 1 and it worked ok. I could never get the flame consistent because the nozzle isn’t that great. I opted for salt bath annealing because I think it’s better. My opinion only. Jeff is a good man, I’m not digging him or the company. I just prefer salt bath.
It is cool as hell! My buddy must have a Gen 2 and I just got off the phone with him, asking him questions about it. Like I thought, he has had ZERO problems with the machine and loves it. I am getting tired of getting accidental blisters, and trying to get brass annealed by hand in a quick manner. My friend lights his up, starts his brass, and does other tasks in the room so he doesn't leave it unattended. I going to get one. The price is right, the tool is good, and they have great t-shirts🤣. Colorful connotations for sure! Thanks, Vaughn!
I thought Annealeez went out of business. I had sent them 3 emails through their website stating I wanted to purchase one of their units and just wanted to make sure they were still in operation and shipping considering all the Covid nonsense. I never got any reply, even to this day. I finally gave up and bought a annealer from a different company. I couldn't be happier with the different brand, I think it's a better design and works perfectly. And yes. I'm purposely not mentioning the other brand name as to not appear biased.
@@zekiah2 It's been over 2 years I've had it and I can honestly say it works as perfectly as it did on day 1. Two of my friends have the same unit and are very happy. We do long range benchrest so we're all annealing several thousand rounds a year. If you're looking for a great budget annealer I would still recommend the one I have. The company is still in business. (EP Integrations)
They seem to be a good unit but from the factory they need to be fixed sometimes... Mine came with the plastic gears not meshed but forced in so the gears overlapped on their sided... It sorta turned but stopped turning even when on because the gear teeth were not contacting each other. I had to disassemble the gear set and figure out how it needed to be set and aligned so the gears actually worked.
Occasionally I update my reloading equipment and new reloading tools, I've been watching your channel often to learn operational help. You have saved me time and a few headaches, excellent job with explaining and thank you, stay with us.
Good review, I have a G2 for a few years and use it all the time. With a little practice they work like A dream, you can spend more if You want, but there is no need
This was very interesting even though I am not a reloader or shoot much. I had no idea reloaders were annealing cases, but it makes sense. Merry Christmas everyone..
I think I would rather have the torch set up like the gen 3, easier to maneuver for different cases. I have noticed when I have issues with cases spinning it’s because I am running way too slow (I need a different propane source) because my torch isn’t hot enough. I have cleaned my wheel and recoated it with rtv and it helped a little. The tray is a non issue, dollar store is all I have to say about that. Overall I am happy with my gen2.5 (lol my plug in is on the side as well.).
Outstanding explanation, especially showing exactly how best to adjust the level and position of the flame. I'll be using mine for the first time tomorrow.
Best little hack ever was getting some grip tape/board tape. I got a roll from Amazon for about 6 to 7 bucks. You can put this on the wheels and it’s basically like a fine sandpaper. With adhesive on the backside. Stick it to the wheel and you’ll never have an issue with your brass not spinning.
The biggest problem I found with the annealeez was that after about 50 cases annealed that bottom wheel would get so hot in the channel from hot cases riding in it that it would actually start leaving a little material on the case.. I recently bought the burstfire machine and it is a much better design. The case falls out by an actuator door and is awesome 👌
Can you please answer this question if I heat up the next of my brass to open it up for a different size caliber is that okay or will it weaken the the brass I was under the understanding it made us stronger again
Great channel! I've learned a lot watching your expertise. As far as annealing brass, I use a propane torch, a cordless drill and a heat sink I made out of aluminum on the mini lathe to anneal my brass. Just stand up the torch, put the heat sink into the drill, the brass into the heat sink and hold the neck into the flame while spinning with the drill. Works great and cost me nothing as I had all of the materials / tools at my disposal.
They need more than one size of wheels, the ones it comes with are too deep and only work with large calibers, anything smaller than 308 and you are cooking the wheels and then the brass sticks to the wheels, big mess
I know this is a year old, but if you're damaging the wheels, you don't know how to setup the torch. I have run thousands of 223, and even 300 BO and never damaged the wheels on my gen 2
The winner is EP 2.0 BRASS ANNEALER ( th-cam.com/video/C8rAUASqTsA/w-d-xo.html ) It's a better machine AND the customer service is better than being ignored by the Annealeez guys!
@@vaughnprecision I love mine. I just did 1250 blackout cases. With just 3 screws adjusted by hand, I switched to 338 win mag then 270 WSM! For me, it even runs great on rimmed cases (30/30Win and 7.62x54R), and I have done up to 458 Lott on mine. It dry runs, it even handles little 7.62x25 cases pretty well (but I haven't actually turned the heat on for those yet).
I definitely prefer my Gen 2 over the newer Gen 3. Like somebody else said, I must have a "2.5" because my power supply is on the side. I like that the torch is mounted to the actual machine because I don't have to reset it every time. The changes on the Gen 3 seem to be only there to save costs/avoid supply chain issues. There's nothing wrong with that, but I'd assume if those weren't issues, the Gen 2 would still be the current model.
If you have lube on your brass from resizing then running it thru the Annealeez you are doing it wrong! You need to Anneal before you resize!
I agree but many people size first for some reason. I don’t, I shoot then clean, anneal and resize.
Shoot, clean, anneal, size. In that order.
I have an early Gen 2 without the digital display. I added a display to mine.
I prefer the hose as I run mine off a 20# bottle to maintain consistent pressure and flame. And 20# bottles I have a bunch of, so its just a better call for me. I have melted a set of wheels a little bit doing 223, so we faced the burned part off with a lathe about an 1/8" and I bought a spare set of wheels for 308 length cases.
All together, good to see Jeff and crew making some changes as needed. Excellent machines overall.
Thanks for the comparison Vaughn. I plan to pick one of these up at a local sporting goods store, wanted to know what was different about the Gen 3, which is what they have on their shelves. I think I'll pickup a couple of rubber caps to put on the bottle clamp threads. Seems like it would help prevent scratching the table top and may help it stay in place. Looks like the torch will be really easy to adjust with this design.
I have the gen 2 works great. I can see how the gen 3 though would simplify the system a little bit and simpler is generally better, but the gen 2 works extremely well
The U bolt holding the bottle 🍼 seems like it will be much easier to adjust, and the almost kinked hose coming through the front panel has always bugged me, and makes it harder to adjust the flame angle etc especially for short brass. No pan and cheaper hose/torch....seems like it should be $250 now. Thanks for sharing. I do like mine too.
That sounds like an awesome addition to anyone’s reloading bench
I reform 38-55 brass to make 30-30 brass to fit the long chamber in my 30-30 contender rifle barrel. I’ve had to anneal the cases by hand. Fingers get a little warm at times and cases don’t always reform correctly. The Annealeze might make the process easier.
Drywall mud pan, stainless, and bigger than original pans, there is different sizes of mud pans.
I love my Annealeez, but I must have a Gen 2.5 because it’s a Gen 2 with the power supply outlet of the side. Nevertheless, it works great. Just an FYI to people looking to buy one, you need to be careful when annealing short cartridges like .300 BLK. Make sure you point the flame away from the wheels. They don’t like the heat.
And also make sure you’ve got the shorty wheels to.!
Be careful laying those gas bottles on their side. They have small bits of rubbish in the bottom which can be squirted into the torch head and block it’s tiny holes. I’m talking from experience here. Jeff told me that was why my torch blocked up with my gen 1.
I have the gen 3, and the gas tank bracket ( a muffler clamp), is a joke. No real instructions come with it.............But , after using it, and sacrificing some old cases, it seems to work ok.
The Gen 2 instructions were awful as well. Once I got it working, it was fine,
Good stuff Brother I always enjoy your content! 👊😎🇺🇸 if you ever want to get rid of the 2nd gen let me know I am in the market at the right price
I got a gen 2 and love the simplicity of annealing. Looks like adjustments got easier on the gen 3. Appreciate Jeff trying to keep it at the same price point.
I waited too long and now I'm shopping elsewhere. Not a fan of small bottles or a loose torch. With the ugly annealer being released, he would have been better off keeping the features he tossed and raising the price to $300.
That Gen 3 looks like a really slick setup. Easy to adjust...
G3 seems like the flame could get moved accidentally. G2 is all bolted on.
that's the real downside to it, too easy to bump and knock the flame out of the correct position
I had a Gen 1 and it worked ok. I could never get the flame consistent because the nozzle isn’t that great. I opted for salt bath annealing because I think it’s better. My opinion only. Jeff is a good man, I’m not digging him or the company. I just prefer salt bath.
It is cool as hell! My buddy must have a Gen 2 and I just got off the phone with him, asking him questions about it. Like I thought, he has had ZERO problems with the machine and loves it. I am getting tired of getting accidental blisters, and trying to get brass annealed by hand in a quick manner. My friend lights his up, starts his brass, and does other tasks in the room so he doesn't leave it unattended. I going to get one. The price is right, the tool is good, and they have great t-shirts🤣. Colorful connotations for sure! Thanks, Vaughn!
Awesome 👏
I thought Annealeez went out of business. I had sent them 3 emails through their website stating I wanted to purchase one of their units and just wanted to make sure they were still in operation and shipping considering all the Covid nonsense. I never got any reply, even to this day. I finally gave up and bought a annealer from a different company. I couldn't be happier with the different brand, I think it's a better design and works perfectly.
And yes. I'm purposely not mentioning the other brand name as to not appear biased.
That’s neat but I am hoping to know how well yours has held up
@@zekiah2 It's been over 2 years I've had it and I can honestly say it works as perfectly as it did on day 1. Two of my friends have the same unit and are very happy. We do long range benchrest so we're all annealing several thousand rounds a year. If you're looking for a great budget annealer I would still recommend the one I have. The company is still in business.
(EP Integrations)
They seem to be a good unit but from the factory they need to be fixed sometimes... Mine came with the plastic gears not meshed but forced in so the gears overlapped on their sided... It sorta turned but stopped turning even when on because the gear teeth were not contacting each other. I had to disassemble the gear set and figure out how it needed to be set and aligned so the gears actually worked.
Occasionally I update my reloading equipment and new reloading tools, I've been watching your channel often to learn operational help. You have saved me time and a few headaches, excellent job with explaining and thank you, stay with us.
The puerile, sophomoric part of my brain will never not chuckle at the name of this product
Good review, I have a G2 for a few years and use it all the time.
With a little practice they work like
A dream, you can spend more if
You want, but there is no need
Totally agree
This was very interesting even though I am not a reloader or shoot much. I had no idea reloaders were annealing cases, but it makes sense.
Merry Christmas everyone..
Just got the Gen 3. I'd rather have the torch attached to the machine so it's location can be locked in.
Good to see another great video.
Merry Christmas to you and your family
Thanks Mr Vaughn. Great information!!
I think I would rather have the torch set up like the gen 3, easier to maneuver for different cases. I have noticed when I have issues with cases spinning it’s because I am running way too slow (I need a different propane source) because my torch isn’t hot enough. I have cleaned my wheel and recoated it with rtv and it helped a little. The tray is a non issue, dollar store is all I have to say about that. Overall I am happy with my gen2.5 (lol my plug in is on the side as well.).
I like the Gen 3 better to, it’s faster when doing different cases
Outstanding explanation, especially showing exactly how best to adjust the level and position of the flame.
I'll be using mine for the first time tomorrow.
Wonder if I could pull the hose on my Gen 2 and get a U bolt for the tank? The hose torques the head and makes it hard to adjust and keep adjusted.
Sure you could.!
Whatever happened with the Fluxeon Annie annealer you used to have? Did it not hold up?
Best little hack ever was getting some grip tape/board tape.
I got a roll from Amazon for about 6 to 7 bucks.
You can put this on the wheels and it’s basically like a fine sandpaper. With adhesive on the backside. Stick it to the wheel and you’ll never have an issue with your brass not spinning.
That sounds like a great idea.! Any chance I could talk you in to sending me a short clip of the function.? If it’s working I’ll make a video on it..!
@@vaughnprecision yup how do I send it to you?
I actually have a video on my phone already.
@@vaughnprecision just emailed you.
The biggest problem I found with the annealeez was that after about 50 cases annealed that bottom wheel would get so hot in the channel from hot cases riding in it that it would actually start leaving a little material on the case.. I recently bought the burstfire machine and it is a much better design. The case falls out by an actuator door and is awesome 👌
Can you get two torches positioned on this with the clamp setup?
On a new piece of 223 brass, how often do you anneal? Every couple of reloads? Longer? Shorter? Thx
Every second reload usually
@@vaughnprecision K thx!
I anneal every time
@@vaughnprecision if you are trying to be as consistent as possible why would you not anneal every time?
@@Gunner1972 depends on the type of reloading I’m doing. If I’m just loading up plinking or hunting rounds I don’t worry about it that much
Just got the gen 3 for Christmas. Awesome tool!
Can you please answer this question if I heat up the next of my brass to open it up for a different size caliber is that okay or will it weaken the the brass I was under the understanding it made us stronger again
Heating up the brass makes it pliable after firing it. I don’t recommend hearing it if your trying to change it to a different size.
Great channel! I've learned a lot watching your expertise. As far as annealing brass, I use a propane torch, a cordless drill and a heat sink I made out of aluminum on the mini lathe to anneal my brass. Just stand up the torch, put the heat sink into the drill, the brass into the heat sink and hold the neck into the flame while spinning with the drill. Works great and cost me nothing as I had all of the materials / tools at my disposal.
Did it that way myself for years.! It works good to.
They need more than one size of wheels, the ones it comes with are too deep and only work with large calibers, anything smaller than 308 and you are cooking the wheels and then the brass sticks to the wheels, big mess
They offer several sizes, I’ve got a few sets and they seem to work well
I know this is a year old, but if you're damaging the wheels, you don't know how to setup the torch. I have run thousands of 223, and even 300 BO and never damaged the wheels on my gen 2
Anyone know what size muffler clamp is needed to convert my G 2 t a Gen 3?
4 inch
For the fat bottles, not sure about the tall skinny bottles
You are NOT annealing that brass at that speed and torch setting!
The winner is EP 2.0 BRASS ANNEALER ( th-cam.com/video/C8rAUASqTsA/w-d-xo.html ) It's a better machine AND the customer service is better than being ignored by the Annealeez guys!
Very interesting for sure.! I’d like to test one of these machines.!
@@vaughnprecision I love mine. I just did 1250 blackout cases. With just 3 screws adjusted by hand, I switched to 338 win mag then 270 WSM! For me, it even runs great on rimmed cases (30/30Win and 7.62x54R), and I have done up to 458 Lott on mine. It dry runs, it even handles little 7.62x25 cases pretty well (but I haven't actually turned the heat on for those yet).