Burstfire vs Ugly Annealer

[EastHumboldt]

Looking at buying an annealer. The burst fire gen 2 and the ugly look like they work in a very similar fashion and get the job done at nearly identical price point.

The Burstfire pros that I can see
comes with a propane hose and burner head, and a hand adjustable mount for it
Has case prep tools right on it
Simple speed control


Ugly
Has a clear plastic shield on the feed hopper… is this needed?
Made of stainless… durability?

Anybody that has used either or both, what were your pros and cons?

 

[EastHumboldt]

Bueller, Bueller? Anyone?

 

[Schmo]

I have the Ugly. I really really like it. Feel free to PM me if you want any details

 

[EastHumboldt]

Thx. I’ll probably do that.

 

[kevingm1987]

I have the Burstfire and really like it lol.

Nothing to compare it to though. I like the case prep on top as well. Simple unit that does the job well.

 

[SDHNTR]

I had a Burstfire. Not a fan of flame annealing. Too inconsistent.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

I had a Burstfire. Not a fan of flame annealing. Too inconsistent.

Interesting, I thought most of them used flame. What model are you using?

 

[kevingm1987]

Interesting, I thought most of them used flame. What model are you using?

Everything under $500 CDN uses a flame. Induction is over $2K. Some people more talented than me can build their own though. Youtube videos.

 

[silencedmajority]

I have an Amazon gift card, I'll probably get an ugly and report back

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Everything under $500 CDN uses a flame. Induction is over $2K. Some people more talented than me can build their own though. Youtube videos.

Sounds like a flame is my friend at that price.

 

[SDHNTR]

Interesting, I thought most of them used flame. What model are you using?

I have an AMP induction annealer. The problem with a flame annealer is that you constantly have to adjust the flame based on the pressure in the bottle. The knob on the Burstfire I had was not very precise either. Hard to get just right. Became quite annoying.

 

[Schmo]

Not a fan of flame annealing. Too inconsistent.

I’m sure you’ve had inconsistent groups because of “inconsistent annealing?”

 

[SDHNTR]

I’m sure you’ve had inconsistent groups because of “inconsistent annealing?”

I wasn’t referring to group size. Truthfully, I have no idea if that had an impact in measurable group size. My point was that the number setting dial and the valve for the flame didn’t always produce the same results. You have to constantly adjust the number and or the valve to keep the flame consistent.

 

[Schmo]

I wasn’t referring to group size. Truthfully, I have no idea if that had an impact in measurable group size. My point was that the number setting dial and the valve for the flame didn’t always produce the same results. You have to constantly adjust the number and or the valve to keep the flame consistent.

Ah. I get what you’re saying, but even though it’s slightly inconsistent, it still accomplishes what you’re trying to do. It’s still tempering the case and giving longer life. Maybe it matters for Benchrest or F-Class, but it certainly doesn’t for NRL Hunter, ELR, or just hunters.

 

[SDHNTR]

Ah. I get what you’re saying, but even though it’s slightly inconsistent, it still accomplishes what you’re trying to do. It’s still tempering the case and giving longer life. Maybe it matters for Benchrest or F-Class, but it certainly doesn’t for NRL Hunter, ELR, or just hunters.

I’m only a hunter, and it mattered to me. It was annoying.

 

[jfk69]

You can get around the inconsistency of the flame annealer somewhat by using a hose and hooking the torch to a 20# tank instead of the 1# bottles. Helps a lot.

 

[Schmo]

what he said. Also, if you have a regulator on that tank, it helps even more. Not worth near $2k to go to induction

 

[muddydogs]

I have an AMP induction annealer. The problem with a flame annealer is that you constantly have to adjust the flame based on the pressure in the bottle. The knob on the Burstfire I had was not very precise either. Hard to get just right. Became quite annoying.

Funny how the internet claims one has to adjust the flame on green bottles as pressure drops but I have never encountered this internet issue whether I'm using my Burstfire annealer, camp stove, torch or any other green bottles device.

I don't find the knob on the Burstfire to be hard to adjust at all, it turns easy and smooth allowing fine adjustments.

 

[MooreAK]

I wasn’t referring to group size. Truthfully, I have no idea if that had an impact in measurable group size. My point was that the number setting dial and the valve for the flame didn’t always produce the same results. You have to constantly adjust the number and or the valve to keep the flame consistent.

I had the same issue/frustration with the Burstfire. I just replaced the the torch head with a Bernzomatic style and haven’t had any flame inconsistency until the bottle is almost out.

 

[EastHumboldt]

I went ahead and got one. I chose it over the ugly because it has the case prep center on the same machine.

I ran about 400 cartridges through it yesterday. I was going for a heat level where the machine would drop the cartridge right about the time I saw the first visible glow.

These are my impressions. Most of the comments are for those who don’t have this machine. If you already have the same or a similar design, a lot of this is not news to you.

Pretty easy to use and mostly intuitive for a guy who is handy.

The speed control runs from 0 to 100%. I ran some 7-08, .308, and 30-06 through it and I used a pretty narrow range of speeds between 20 and 30%. I found that it was a bit touchy and a 1% or less movement of the knob could make the difference between no glow and too much glow. I’m thinking the reason the machine is designed this way is so it can handle cartridges from 17 HMR to 50 BMG. You would need that wider range of speeds to do that. It would have worked better for me if it took 2-3 times as much knob movement to get the same speed change.

I noticed if I ran the torch at full throttle that the rotation speed became more critical. When I backed the torch off, the cartridge would get to the glow point more slowly, allowing better control of the timing/glow point.

I think my bottle was less than half full when I started and towards the end it seemed like I had to keep a closer eye on things because I think the bottle is almost empty. Which you would expect from any propane fired device.

Haven’t used the case prep tools yet. I’ll review those when I do.