Sonic Cleaners?

[jtull01]

Tumbler vs Ultra sonic

Hi Folks,
There seems to be a big variance in Ultrasonic vs Tumblers. My question is does a tumbler with media clean the inside of the casings?
And if one buys any cleaner, how big of one should you get?
I found this recipe for sonics on another site (UltraSonic Case Cleaning)
I’m torn between what to buy. Lets hash out more of the pros & cons.
Thanks

 

[rockhopper46038]

I bought one, used it a few times, then put it away. It works fine, but the batch size is too small for me, and I didn't like waiting through the drying time. And frankly, I decided I didn't need my brass to be pristine for my own use, so a tumbler does the job for me. I initially thought I'd use it for gun parts and for my wife's jewelry, but I've found I missed wiping and brushing the parts by hand, and there isn't much jewelry to clean. Come to think of it, I might make it my first ever listing in the Classifieds...

 

[jve153]

i took a jewelry class in high school and we used an ultrasonic machine quite a bit when polishing. worked very well at getting dirt and polishing materials off various metals. NEVER really thought about one until now as a gun parts cleaner. think i am going to look into one now. not really one for speed as i am ease of use. wouldnt mind being able to drop various parts in, turn on, and play on here for a bit then come back to nice clean parts.

 

[WhitleyStu]

This where I purchased my ultrasoinc clenaer. Type in "ultrasonic" in the search box. Balkowitsch Enterprises Inc :: Home
There so many different things you can clean in an UC. I even removed the carb from my weed eater and gave it a good cleaning in the UC when the engine would not run smooth. I also clean knifes, tools, guns, brass, basically anything that has areas you can't get to with a brush and you need it perfectly clean.

 

[mospeada]

Hi Folks,
There seems to be a big variance in Ultrasonic vs Tumblers. My question is does a tumbler with media clean the inside of the casings?
And if one buys any cleaner, how big of one should you get?
I found this recipe for sonics on another site (UltraSonic Case Cleaning)
I’m torn between what to buy. Lets hash out more of the pros & cons.
Thanks

With the appropriate media and a rotary tumbler, you can get the primer pocket and the inside of the case clean, nearly new looking. That would be stainless media with dish soap & lemonshine, which is what I use now for my larger cases. For 9mm, I use a smallish ultrasonic cleaner with the same dish soap/lemonshine solution as the batch size isn't so bad with the small 9mm case and there's less handling involved.

If I had a large ultrasonic, I might forgo the tumbler, but the larger, commercial US cleaners tend to be fairly costly.

 

[Classic]

Even after tumbling (vibratory w/crushed walnut) I can put cases that look clean into the ultrasonic and I ALWAYS get some sediment in the bottom of the bowl after just a few minutes running time. Anybody can try the same thing. That sediment is coming from inside the cases somewhere so I have to assume the ultrasonic is being effective to some degree. I hand-load anyway and I'm not in a real big hurry so I have added this step to the process. Using the diluted Hornady cleaner solution it adds about 8 to 10 minutes to my case prep time.

 

[LLDJR]

I sell Ultrasonic welders and the ultrasonic used in the cleaners are the same, Piezo Ceramic wafers vibrate " essentially at a specific "gain/amplitude" at a specific frequency i.e. 15-kHz, 20-kHz, 30-kHz , 40, up to 70 k-Hz etc

US is non contact i.e. the sound waves do the work and tumblers are contact,via the media you choose.

Typically, the US cleaners are used for Fuel Injectors and very small parts i.e. jewelry , medical and dental equipment etc.

 

[sgreen3]

Im still kind of torn on which to get. But I do like the idea of it being able to clean them inside an out, and not have to worry about stuff being left in there after tumbling. I may give one a try. I was looking a the Lyman cleaner.

 

[LLDJR]

Im still kind of torn on which to get. But I do like the idea of it being able to clean them inside an out, and not have to worry about stuff being left in there after tumbling. I may give one a try. I was looking a the Lyman cleaner.

I would get one from Branson or Crest, they are industrial type

 

[noylj]

The only people who would see an actual benefit to an ultrasonic cleaner would the black powder shooters.
I play around with an old US unit for cleaning gun parts and the occasional set of cases. Still, don't see any on-target benefit, but they sure are pretty inside...

 

[sgreen3]

I would get one from Branson or Crest, they are industrial type

What kind of price do them run

 

[WhitleyStu]

What kind of price do them run

They can be found here... http://www.balkowitsch.com/default.aspx Just type in "ultrasonic" in the search box.

 

[LLDJR]

crest ultrasonic | eBay

 

[jtull01]

How Big

Hi Folks
Just how big of a sonic , or tumbler cleaner does one need to get? On average how big is big enough to do a fair amount of cases at one time?
List model or capacity?

And do you recommend cleaning with the primer in or out?

Thanks

 

[mospeada]

Hi Folks
Just how big of a sonic , or tumbler cleaner does one need to get? On average how big is big enough to do a fair amount of cases at one time?
List model or capacity?

And do you recommend cleaning with the primer in or out?

Thanks

It really depends on how many cases you think are fair amount. I have a 2.5liter chicago tool which is pretty much the same as the Lyman cleaner & Lyman claims 900 9mm cases. I want to double the capacity or thereabouts for my 45Colt or 45ACP. I wished that I had gotten one of the beefier models like a Crest, but then I didn't want to dump a wad of cash on it if I didn't like it.

Essentially, set a price you are wiling to spend on an ultrasonic or tumbler and then buy one size bigger.

Also, by all means, you need to remove the primer first if using a wet method of cleaning. Captured moisture is not ideal when reloading.