Ultrasonic cleaners

ryan_s

ryan_s

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Hey guys,

I am looking into getting an ultrasonic cleaner. I have increased the amount I shoot (been shooting about 1500 rounds of 40sw per month) and cleaning my brass with the tumbler is a bit time consuming. I am looking for recommendations for what everyone uses? I was thinking of getting a pretty big tank so I can do more in my time. Also, what does everyone use for concentrate or do you make your own concoction?

Ryan
 
I suggest get more brass and tumble clean while you are reloading.

I have 3 tumblers and load on a 1050 with a KISS Bulletfeeder.

I also have about 12 gallons of 40 S&W brass.
 
I have about 4 gallons but its slowly growing!

Thanks for the tip, to be honestly I never did think about getting more than one tumbler ...seems pretty dense now.

I am also just interested in the ultrasonic, my plan is to still tumble after it is dry to help get a nice polish. I wouldn't mind getting the sonic clean to help clean my pistol as well.

RePete said:
I suggest get more brass and tumble clean while you are reloading.

I have 3 tumblers and load on a 1050 with a KISS Bulletfeeder.

I also have about 12 gallons of 40 S&W brass.
Click to expand...
 
I have a Hornady ultrasonic cleaner. Doesn't hold a whole lot of brass but it does work pretty good. I clean in a few stages. 1 stage with an ounce of vinegar and other stage with a splash of simple green. It works well.
 
I have a 3 liter table top ultrasonic that I use for brass and small handguns. For the amount of brass you intend to clean, something a bit larger might be better, just browse through the selection on ebay; a 6 liter unit costs about $180.
 
Boomer said:
I have a 3 liter table top ultrasonic that I use for brass and small handguns. For the amount of brass you intend to clean, something a bit larger might be better, just browse through the selection on ebay; a 6 liter unit costs about $180.
Click to expand...

Any suggestions on brands? That's the part I am not sure about, there seem to be a lot of brands that I have never heard of. I dont want to spend the money and get junk.
 
The one I liked below are sold under many brands and made in China. These were actually based off a Mettler-Toledo old brand that were used in laboratory settings before they became obsolete and I am almost certain a Chinese laboratory picked up the tools and methods to make them to their quantity.
Reminds me of the truck winches that Cambodian Tire sells that they brand as TUNDRA TESTED and the US brands them as "HARBOUR FREIGHT"

You used to be able to find the ones without the heater option (just boil the water over a stove, barbeque, MRE food packet heater, heroin spoon, etc prior to putting it in) to save you money but it seems like those are no longer being sold. However, this is much cheaper and works best for its price so far.

https://www.amazon.ca/Flexzion-Comm..._7?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1556577242&sr=1-7
From amazon alone, it looks like they're being sold under the brand name Superland, Mophorn, Flexzion, Happybuy, and a bunch others.

I work in an organic and analytical laboratory and we use this exact on (albeit from the early 2000s) to break up harder samples in bottle necked glassware all the time in order to remove solids from materials. I also used to bring baskets of car parts from home to place in the ultrasonic cleaner and it was like magic util I got the 4 litre one from amazon to work at home. It's great to clean bolts and stuff with a neutral solution so get size larger than you think you need. Looking back, I wish I got the 15 litre bucket so I could clean my handguns without disassembling them.
 
ebay or amazon. I paid 300 for a 15 litre unit recently. Two guns disassemble at the same time.

Should do lots of brass but I would recommend a steel pin wet tumbler instead for cleaning brass.
 
I've never seen this question asked, so maybe I'll be the first.. has anyone tried adding stainless steel pins to their ultrasonic solution to remove stubborn carbon deposits on brass?
The pins should, I think, work with the ultrasonic "vibration" to remove carbon without using chemicals that might not be the best thing for you.
Maybe it's not necessary with the right solution, I'm trying to think outside the box.
I've tried cleaning brass with a borrowed ultrasonic cleaner with less than ideal results, this is why I'm asking. It's altogether possible I may not have used the right solution for the job either.
 
Chilly807 said:
I've never seen this question asked, so maybe I'll be the first.. has anyone tried adding stainless steel pins to their ultrasonic solution to remove stubborn carbon deposits on brass?
The pins should, I think, work with the ultrasonic "vibration" to remove carbon without using chemicals that might not be the best thing for you.
Maybe it's not necessary with the right solution, I'm trying to think outside the box.
I've tried cleaning brass with a borrowed ultrasonic cleaner with less than ideal results, this is why I'm asking. It's altogether possible I may not have used the right solution for the job either.
Click to expand...

It would never work because the pins would be a solid mass at the bottom of the tank.

The vibrations are what causes the liquid to move and along with the heat, the deposits are removed.

I've been using an ultrasonic cleaner for my guns for about 9 years.
 
Got mine on Amazon. You also need to get a fine mesh laundry bag or cloth bag of some kind so that the pistol brass stays in the steel basket. Makes it easier to get it in and out.

I prefer the ultrasonic now. For me, tumbling takes too long, it's too noisy and I'm just looking for clean brass, not polished brass. I was annealing brass on the weekend - from the annealer, to a quench bucket, to the ultrasonic cleaner. (Then size, reload and shoot...)

You don't need to buy cleaner. A few drops of Dawn and a small scoop - like a .3 or .5 cc Lee powder scoop - of citric acid powder. (Or you can use salt, vinegar and a bunch of other things....) Change up your water every other clean. That's about it.
 
Thanks for the response! I will definitely look into them!

dermolotov said:
The one I liked below are sold under many brands and made in China. These were actually based off a Mettler-Toledo old brand that were used in laboratory settings before they became obsolete and I am almost certain a Chinese laboratory picked up the tools and methods to make them to their quantity.
Reminds me of the truck winches that Cambodian Tire sells that they brand as TUNDRA TESTED and the US brands them as "HARBOUR FREIGHT"

You used to be able to find the ones without the heater option (just boil the water over a stove, barbeque, MRE food packet heater, heroin spoon, etc prior to putting it in) to save you money but it seems like those are no longer being sold. However, this is much cheaper and works best for its price so far.

https://www.amazon.ca/Flexzion-Comm..._7?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1556577242&sr=1-7
From amazon alone, it looks like they're being sold under the brand name Superland, Mophorn, Flexzion, Happybuy, and a bunch others.

I work in an organic and analytical laboratory and we use this exact on (albeit from the early 2000s) to break up harder samples in bottle necked glassware all the time in order to remove solids from materials. I also used to bring baskets of car parts from home to place in the ultrasonic cleaner and it was like magic util I got the 4 litre one from amazon to work at home. It's great to clean bolts and stuff with a neutral solution so get size larger than you think you need. Looking back, I wish I got the 15 litre bucket so I could clean my handguns without disassembling them.
Click to expand...
 
Question for those with an ultrasonic cleaner: How noisy is yours? I just bought one (not for cleaning brass) and it makes almost zero noise, but doesn't seem to clean anything either. I'm wondering if it's broken or if it's normal.

I do feel a little tingling if I put my finger in the water while it's on.
 
^^^ I can hear mine if I'm in the same room. A really annoying, pulsing buzzing. Not loud, but you can definitely hear it.
 
BAAC said:
^^^ I can hear mine if I'm in the same room. A really annoying, pulsing buzzing. Not loud, but you can definitely hear it.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I might try it again with something different to see if it's really broken or if it's just not supposed to work for my stuff.

Would it clean egg stuck to a fork? That would seem like a good test.
 
Lol. As crazy as that sounds, that's a good question. I would think it would - or at least make a good try of it.

Cut to me 6 hours later putting random dirty things into my ultrasonic...

A lot of it will also have to do with what you're using as cleaner. Everyone seems to have their own recipe for what works in their machine.
 
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