Originally Posted by
Gobc
I have the regular 2L hornady ultrasonic cleaner and I'll weight in.
I like it but there things to be aware of when cleaning brass. In 2L, I clean about 100 308 win brass at a time. The max I can fit in my cleaner is 150 308 win. However you don't want to fill the tank to the max as it reduced cleaning effectiveness. You will need to change the solution at least twice to properly clean a batch of brass. When I say properly, I mean primer pockets completely clean and spotless. I generally spend about 3 Hrs+ cleaning one batch. Again I'm doing this to completely clean out the primer pockets. For detergents, I use dove and citramax for the first solution, then hornady one shot for the final solution. Do not use a vineger solution. Vineger will leach out the zinc in the brass weakening it. The brass is nice and shiny when done. However, It will tarnish while drying. So if you want it to be super shiny, you'll need to throw it in the tumbler for a little bit after it's dried.
If your not trying to clean the primer pockets, or maybe your reloading with a progressive press, you will be able to clean a batch of brass without having to change your cleaning solution.
Considering this monster is 9L, you will be able to clean a lot of brass at one sitting. However you still might want to tumble depending on how shiny you want your brass to be.
Is it worth it? To me it is. I really really REALLY hate cleaning the primer pockets. In the case of an ultrasonic cleaner, it won't mechanical warp the shape of the primer pocket. So I like it. I originally planned not to tumble my brass afterwords, but I just couldn't stand the sight of tarnished brass on my handloads. And even if you don't need to clean the primer pockets, ultrasonic cleaning gets the brass really really clean, inside the case and out. The brass is literally squeaky clean.