AMP or Annie?

[GetReal]

So I *finally* got my Annie annealer with coil, water cooling system, etc.

But I'm also looking at AMP's $1,500 machine, w/ Aztec. Both would be brand new.

Is there any real difference to the quality of the annealled brass?

I'm aware of the Annie coil system drawbacks, and the AMP's system that doesn't need the coolant system. And the Aztec feature that spozedly gets the anneal time right for you.

What else should I be thinking about? Advangates of one over the other? Thanx.

 

[spife7980]

One is infinitely adaptable but on your discretion.
The other does it for you with out giving you much in the way of control.

Ive had the annie forever without water cooling and havent found the need for all that.

 

[cdeiglmeier]

If you're lazy (like I am) and don't want to fool around with getting annealing times right and having to change the setup constantly for different calibers....get the AMP. It's plug and play and stupid simple and there's no fooling around with it. For me the less time spent in the reloading room the better.

I can't speak to if there's a quality difference in the annealed product. But after reading a lot of the work/research the AMP guys have done I trust that it works and is sufficient for what we are doing with precision rifles.

 

[Carl_Ross]

So I *finally* got my Annie annealer with coil, water cooling system, etc.

Can't help with your question, but out of curiosity how long did it take to get? Their website is suggesting 6-8 weeks, which IIRC has been the same for a few years.

The AMP certainly seems like the easy button, but the cost difference is for real.

 

[Jrb572]

I had issues with my Annie from the start and it completely quit working after about 40 rounds. They took it back and refunded my money. But hey everything breaks. I went and purchased an AMP and have been happy with it.

 

[Winny94]

So I *finally* got my Annie annealer with coil, water cooling system, etc.

But I'm also looking at AMP's $1,500 machine, w/ Aztec. Both would be brand new.

Is there any real difference to the quality of the annealled brass?

I'm aware of the Annie coil system drawbacks, and the AMP's system that doesn't need the coolant system. And the Aztec feature that spozedly gets the anneal time right for you.

What else should I be thinking about? Advangates of one over the other? Thanx.

I cant speak to any machine other than the AMP, but it cannot be better, quicker, & easier than AMP. No idea if its worth the price, but if youre going to anneal, cant go wrong w/ AMP

 

[Threadcutter308]

Like Spife, I have an Annie. It does have the coolant system on it, but whether or not I could get away without it, I can't say. It's there, it works and I continue to use it. As of now, it has always done what I have needed it to do.

I have had flame type and salt bath annealers in the past. The salt bath one actually kind of scared me, more-so than the open flame type. I really like that the Annie (and Amp) are induction type and there is no molten salt or open flame. The other thing that I like about the Annie is that "if you leave a piece of brass inside the annealing coil for too long", the brass isn't ruined. The Annie is programmable/time based. At the end of the cycle, it just turns off current to the induction coil and the coil ceases to heat the brass any further. That can't be said of the flame type or salt bath types of annealers.

 

[Herb Stoner]

I went from a Giraud to an AMP and the AMP is totally quick and easy. Set-up is nothing - Plug it in, turn it on, run a piece in Analyze mode and you are underway in about 1 minute. I use the recommended code from the Analyse function and I've been happy with the results to date. The AMP does give you control as can go into the menu and change the settings if needed. I have yet to come across a situation where I thought this was necessary.

I still have the Giraud as I like the hopper as I can fill it up and it just runs. I use it mainly for non-precision rounds for 5.56, etc.

 

[GetReal]

Can't help with your question, but out of curiosity how long did it take to get? Their website is suggesting 6-8 weeks, which IIRC has been the same for a few years.

The AMP certainly seems like the easy button, but the cost difference is for real.

Sent first Annie pmt 11/ 12 / 21 RCVD - 2/16/22.

I called them on every single missed delivery date (3x) They were respectful and apologetic, but .... it is what it is.

I missed out on the last 2 AMP shipments (2/10 and 2/23) . First one the website crashed. Sold out in 14 minutes The second they sold out in 60 seconds. 54 total units sold in under a minute. No lie. AMP themselves told me this.

 

[Carl_Ross]

Appreciate it. That AMP demand is crazy...

 

[Threadcutter308]

Sent first Annie pmt 11/ 12 / 21 RCVD - 2/16/22.

I called them on every single missed delivery date (3x) They were respectful and apologetic, but .... it is what it is.

I missed out on the last 2 AMP shipments (2/10 and 2/23) . First one the website crashed. Sold out in 14 minutes The second they sold out in 60 seconds. 54 total units sold in under a minute. No lie. AMP themselves told me this.

I retired out of the power semiconductor industry last August. I was rapidly approaching retirement age and it seemed like a good time to get out. In hindsight, I wasn't wrong.
In terms of raw materials deliveries, things we getting extremely difficult back then and it was going downhill from there.
Annies use Silicon Carbide (SiC) MOSFETS in them and SiC wafers are about ten times more expensive and 10% as common as their standard Silicon counterparts. So, I strongly suspect that the primary gating item is the SiC MOSFETS. But, in addition, there were/are severe microprocessor and capacitor shortages too.

Unfortunately, long waits are going to be a way of life for some time.

 

[MarshallDodge]

I have had an Annie for a couple years, picked it up all setup with the cooler, etc from a guy that upgraded to the Amp.

Unfortunately I cannot compare the two but the Annie has worked well for my needs. It has been used to anneal around 1K of 223 brass and 100 6x47L brass. The only thing that I have noticed is that you will need to adjust the timer a little when changing between brass brands.

 

[jtake]

I have an Annie (one of the first group of purchasers) and without any cooling, it would get too hot after perhaps 50 cases. Because of that, I purchased the cooling system and use an ice bath water cooling tank, which allows me to do several hundred 308 cases before it starts to get hot. By that time, the ice in the water bath has melted and I add more ice to keep it cool. I like it as I can adjust the annealing between the various caliber cases that I use 225, 308, 30-06, and 338NM.

 

[GetReal]

I have an Annie (one of the first group of purchasers) and without any cooling, it would get too hot after perhaps 50 cases. Because of that, I purchased the cooling system and use an ice bath water cooling tank, which allows me to do several hundred 308 cases before it starts to get hot. By that time, the ice in the water bath has melted and I add more ice to keep it cool. I like it as I can adjust the annealing between the various caliber cases that I use 225, 308, 30-06, and 338NM.

Can you explain how you know when its "too hot?" The Annie unit itself? The brass? The water in the cooler?

Thanx.

 

[MarshallDodge]

Can you explain how you know when its "too hot?" The Annie unit itself? The brass? The water in the cooler?

Thanx.

There is a thermal warning but I've never run mine hard enough to trip it.

I take it slow. Anneal 20, then size and trim them. This gives the Annie time to cool off and then do another 20. There is a cooling fan that speeds up when things start to get warm so I know to slow down.

 

[England]

I've had an AMP Mark II annealer for 2-3 years from when Brownell's carried them and I could use a 10% discount code. It has worked flawlessly, easily changes cartridges, and I'm not running propane burners in my basement. The Aztec analyzer works well. I ran some cases through that had loose primer pockets and were destined to be scrap, and the readings are quite consistent (like 145, 146, 145, 144, 145). They clearly did substantial R&D in developing the AMP. I have no regrets.

 

[spife7980]

I run batches of 300 through it and haven’t hit the thermal warning ever with the standard coil.

 

[goober23]

For the Annie users, are you guys using the glow method or something else to determine annealing times?

 

[spife7980]

750 on the neck and shoulder

 

[MarshallDodge]

For the Annie users, are you guys using the glow method or something else to determine annealing times?

Tempilaq method but it's pretty close to the dull orange glow.

 

[goober23]

Awesome, thanks guys

 

[spife7980]

Oh, yeah, the color/sheen change, the neck glow in the dark and tempilaq all agree with each other.

You can very how far you hold it, neck centered, neck shoulder, base of shoulder to try and time the neck and shoulder tempilaq phase change to get both to line up together.

 

[acudaowner]

if i had it to spend Id go amp being i did not I went Annie not shooting and making money I can't justify it to my pocket . or take a crack at making one for my self then promptly after putting out the fire get the amp .

 

[jtake]

Can you explain how you know when its "too hot?" The Annie unit itself? The brass? The water in the cooler?

Thanx.

Sorry, was off for a bit.

The unit would get pretty hot and stop working. Presumably an overheat prevention. With 308 brass, it was maybe 50 rounds before it hit that level before water cooling. After, I can do several hundred before needing to change the water bath I have set up.

 

[secondofangle2]

OOps wrong thread my bad. deleted

 

[Accidic]

Does anyone have any advice on what pieces to get with the Annie?

110v/220v?

Water seems an obvious inexpensive for convenience.

Single stage or Quartic w/relays. My only concern with the latter is the relays lifespan.


I considered the Amp but the unobtanium factor made it seem not worth it. Plus I like to tinker.

 

[BadSquirrel]

Question for those with an AMP, if you annealing from different lot numbers, do you have to analyze a piece from each lot number using Aztec?

Another question is do you analyze brass only once? Does brass change over multiple firings?

 

[Robert4]

I have not noticed any real difference between lots of decent quality brass. Differences in AMP codes of one or even two points are very slight and no longer concern me. Only barrel burner and brass eater cartridges like 22-250, 243 Win, etc. would I analyze brass fired a few times. That has not happened yet.

 

[BadSquirrel]

Thanks for the reply.

I have not noticed any real difference between lots of decent quality brass. Differences in AMP codes of one or even two points are very slight and no longer concern me. Only barrel burner and brass eater cartridges like 22-250, 243 Win, etc. would I analyze brass fired a few times. That has not happened yet.