Sonic Cleaners?

[sgreen3]

Just wondering what you gouy thought of the sonic brass cleaners. Im needing something to clean my brass. Just wondered what would be best the sonic style cleaner or the tumbler style? Which do you use or which do you like better?

 

[AllenM]

Tumbler is more practical.
I have a sonic but am disappointed in how well it works and how long it takes. I use a tumbler for most of my pistol brass and stainles media in a wet tumbler for some really dirty brass or rifle brass that I want to get the inside real clean.
But really a tumbler with walnut shell will do 99% of what you need

 

[Que]

I have not used the sonic system, but I prefer the easy transition from tumbler to press that a dry tumbler with corncob media allows.

 

[sgreen3]

I have not used the sonic system, but I prefer the easy transition from tumbler to press that a dry tumbler with corncob media allows.

Yea that sounds like it would be a little easier, no need to let dry

 

[AllenM]

If you do decide to do wet, ovens are a wonderful thing

 

[mospeada]

Tumbler is more practical.
I have a sonic but am disappointed in how well it works and how long it takes. I use a tumbler for most of my pistol brass and stainles media in a wet tumbler for some really dirty brass or rifle brass that I want to get the inside real clean.
But really a tumbler with walnut shell will do 99% of what you need

This sums up my take on it as well. I really like the stainless media w/rotary tumbler, but it is totally unnecessary. Walnut or corn cob with vibratory or rotary tumbler is good enough. I like the rotary as it can handle more and isn't nearly as noisy.

 

[noylj]

There is cleaning the brass enough (wiping the outside free of any grit/dirt/etc. is all that is required), cleaning to save time (30 minutes in 20/40 corn), and carrying things a bit too far (wet/stainless, wet/ultrasonic, using polishing media in tumbler such as car wax or jeweler's rouge or such). Many people do not see any way to go too far in cleaning/polishing their brass and take pride in how new their cases look before firing.
You can achieve 95% in 30 minutes with just corn what you can get after 45-60 minutes in an ultrasonic (and the ultrasonic does not polish unless your cleaning solution has an additive in it besides detergent and citric/acetic acid).
Simply determine how clean you need and then go with what gets you there the fastest or easiest way.

 

[malern28us]

I guess its a matter of how clean you want it to be and how much time you have. I think ultrasonic cleaners are great for cleaning my wifes rinds but that's as far as it goes.

 

[WhitleyStu]

With an ultrasonic cleaner you have the ability to clean other items, too. I use mine for guns, tools, knives and of course my wife’s jewelry.

Here is what your brass will look like after 10-15 minutes in the cleaner. Note that all of the carbon has been removed, though not as bright as from a tumbler. Also, and your guns and other items can be cleaned too. Guns only need to be wiped down and lubed then reassembled.

After ten minutes in a tumbler the brass looks like new.

 

[Rob377]

Is that ultras-sonic cleaner bigger than a typical reloading branded ultra-sonic?

I've been kicking around the idea of picking up the hornady LNL ultrasonic, but was wondering about size.

 

[Mephitical]

I have a cleaner at my work I use from time to time. a few drops of dish soap, tablespoon of lemishine, and hot water makes the brass really clean...especially the primer pockets. I'd buy one if I didn't have this one to use.

 

[Aszerigan]

Ultrasonic cleaners are effective for cleaning, but they have several downsides.

First, on a positive note, they're very fast. So if you need to clean brass quickly, they're great for this, and they do an great job!

My issues are mostly personal. I don't want to tumble my brass and wait for it to dry before I reload. And yeah, you can put them in the oven, but sometimes you get water spots, brass darkening, etc. I'm super picky about appearance of my tumbled loads, which is why I think corncob and car wax works best. Load it, set it and forget it for a few hours.

Also, if you have a lot of brass to tumble, unless you buy a unit for several hundred dollars, you can't clean a bunch of brass at once. Constantly refilling, dealing with water, etc, not really worth it for small amounts of brass. But that's just my opinion.

I know people that swear by their ultrasonic cleaners.

 

[sgreen3]

Ultrasonic cleaners are effective for cleaning, but they have several downsides.

First, on a positive note, they're very fast. So if you need to clean brass quickly, they're great for this, and they do an great job!

My issues are mostly personal. I don't want to tumble my brass and wait for it to dry before I reload. And yeah, you can put them in the oven, but sometimes you get water spots, brass darkening, etc. I'm super picky about appearance of my tumbled loads, which is why I think corncob and car wax works best. Load it, set it and forget it for a few hours.

Also, if you have a lot of brass to tumble, unless you buy a unit for several hundred dollars, you can't clean a bunch of brass at once. Constantly refilling, dealing with water, etc, not really worth it for small amounts of brass. But that's just my opinion.

I know people that swear by their ultrasonic cleaners.

I like the idea of them but it does seem like a little extra work. I also like the idea of taking them out of the tumbler and loading and not haveing to wait to dry or put them in a oven. Im going to go with a tumbler an the corn cob media(seems to be what most people use from what Ive read) but could you tell me more on the car wax? Do you add it to your media? An what does it do? Thanks for the help.

 

[WhitleyStu]

I see some are concerned about drying the brass before loading. The brass is hot when it comes out of the ultrasonic cleaner as the solution tank has heating elements. My ultrasonic cleaner has a thermostat to set the solution temperature from 86°F to 176°F (I set mine at 130°F). I empty the basket of brass onto a towel then within 5 minutes the water has evaporated as the heat from the brass accelerates the drying process. Once you start using one you will see that most of the negative aspects many are concerned about are not present. My ultrasonic is not that large, but will hold well over 1000 rounds of .45 brass.

 

[PMY]

I use an ultrasonic cleaner.

It's fine for brass. Yes it is fast to clean, but yes I also leave them out to dry overnight.

But where it really shines (lawl) is cleaning gun parts. I drop the bolt carrier group from the AR-15, set it and forget it, and in 30 minutes I just wipe it down with a towel and its like-new clean.

Same with pistols. Drop in the barrel, set the slide in, and fill it up with water to a level just below the sights and again, 30 minutes later wipe it down and it's done.

If I were selling these things to gun guys I'd market them as gun parts cleaners instead of brass cleaners.

 

[Classic]

I have the Hornady Ultrasonic cleaner and I also use a vibrator tumbler loaded with rouge treated ground corncob after the ultrasonic. 4 min. in the ultrasonic followed by a hot water rinse and into the tumbler for 2 hours. In some cases I might not leave it as long in the tumbler if the brass is newer or leave it longer if the brass is older. Dirt does get removed during each step in the process though. Doesn't really cost me anything because I am usually not monitoring the tumbler for the entire 2 hours and can do something else.

 

[spitfire51]

I tried using an ultrasonic cleaner when I first started reloading but could never get it to work very well. Tried several different cleaning recipes but never found anything that got my brass the way I wanted. Broke down and bought a tumbler, and it works very very well in comparison.

 

[Modhydro]

ultrasonic solution

I had posted this a couple of years ago I think, so maybe it is time for a reminder.

Citric acid works great in the sonic cleaners. I got mine from Amazon for some low price that I don't remember any more, but it was cheap and arrived like a bag of flour.

If you can find an industrial multi transducer cleaner, they will work far better than the Harbor Freight style (and from what I can tell from photos the rebadged harbor freight models sold by reloading suppliers) The heat really helps as well. I wind up taking them from the citric acid bath in my baskets, rinse well with hot water and spread them out on towels with a fan blowing on them. I wait until the next day, but have had great luck this way.

Matt, give me a call sometime and I can show you what I do on them.

650-1087

Modhydro (Steve)

 

[sgreen3]

Thanks for all the insight fellas, I still think ill probably just go the tumbler route for now an just see how it goes. Do most use the corn cob style media to clean with that use tumblers?

 

[Plinkuh]

If you do decide to do wet, ovens are a wonderful thing

I think this may have inadvertently become someone's sig line...