Anyone else not too satisfied with their ultrasonic cleaner results?

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Tikka223

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I’ve got an ultra sonic cleaner from Harbor Freight and have been using the cleaning recipe from the accurate shooter blog (written by Jason Baney):

24min - 50% water and vinegar + 1 drop of dish soap / 8oz of water
480sec - 1gr baking soda / 1oz water
480sec - Hot water
480sec - Distilled water

Maybe I’m doing things wrong and not using strong enough soap or not properly balancing the ph properly with the baking soda but my results are as follows:

- Brass is still dirty around the neck
- Primer pockets still have lots of crap in them
- Brass has lots of rainbow discoloration

Can anyone point me in the right direction or give me a better recipe? Note - I’m not prepared to buy expensive ultra sonic cleaning solutions.
 
Store bought solutions are not that expensive. They are concentrated and are diluted quite a bit. Also heat will discolor brass in a sonic cleaner. Also they can't be filled to capacity or it does a poor job.

The only decent way to clean necks IMO is a couple swipes with fine steel wool first.
 
probably the ultrasonic cleaner. the commercial ones I used would hurt if you put your finger in( not recommended, nerve damage) cheap ones do next to nothing, regardless of time. good ones work in seconds , not minutes.
 
First, I suggest you stay away from cheap HF crap in the future. Next, stay away from ultrasonic cleaners for cleaning brass as there are better and more efficient ways.

Get yourself some stainless pins and a tumbler. I recommend the Frankford Arsenal unit with some Guntap pins for a mid priced option that works well. I also recommend a brass dryer or dehydrator to speed up drying time. Once you get the hang of it(solution type, tumbling time, etc.) your brass will look like this every time no matter how dirty or tarnished(primer pockets too)...

NqhmV4e.jpg

This was dirty range pickup before I cleaned it.
 
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I only use the ultrasonic cleaner for jewelry now. It was a huge disappointment for me. I went stainless and will never use any other way. Just the fact that the primer pockets come out spotless is worth it to me. Of all the steps in reloading cleaning the primer pockets is the only part I hate.
 
Oddly I have had stellar results with mine. I use the same type of unit that we use to clean carbs on small engines. I use hot water, a drop of 2 of dish soap and a few pinches of Lemi shine. The unit runs for about 60 mins @ 170 F or 77C. I think the results are great. Primer pockets clean as well
IMG_20190127_215219.jpg

Afterwards I drop them in a bath with clean water and a pinch of baking soda to neutralize the lemi shine then dry Reload, fire, de-prime and repeat.
 

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Tikka223 said:
Which tumbler would you recommend?
Click to expand...

A friend of mine uses the Frankford Arsenal Platinum Series Rotary Tumbler. Got him some scrap stainless steel rod that he cut down to size for the abrasive media. It does a great job as well but takes much longer and has more processes to complete than the ultrasonic method I use. BUT he can do larger quantities than I can and he is a big reloader.

Good luck.
 
I use an ultrasonic cleaner and it never disappoints! It was not cheap but it is effective.
 
I’ll second the FA stainless tumbler kit. Bought mine out of the cabelas bargain cave for like, 165 bucks with zero issues or broken parts and I’ve loved it since I switched. Brass comes out like new, every time.
I couldn’t quite grasp how an ultrasonic cleaner would do a better job without some form of media.
 
I suggested to a friend that he tried the same ingredients I use for my cleaning with stainless steel pins.
Water with a squirt of dish washing soap and a dash of Lemishine.
He was ecstatic of his result with his Hornady ultrasonic.
 
FoxAlpha said:
I’ll second the FA stainless tumbler kit. Bought mine out of the cabelas bargain cave for like, 165 bucks with zero issues or broken parts and I’ve loved it since I switched. Brass comes out like new, every time.
I couldn’t quite grasp how an ultrasonic cleaner would do a better job without some form of media.
Click to expand...

Ultrasonic cleaners use the process of Cavitation. " Cavitation is a phenomenon in which rapid changes of pressure in a liquid lead to the formation of small vapor-filled cavities, in places where the pressure is relatively low. When subjected to higher pressure, these cavities, called "bubbles" or "voids", collapse and can generate an intense shock wave. " That along with a lubricating catalyst ( the dish soap ) will remove the powder residue and a acidic medium ( the lemi shine) will make the brass shiny.
I am not saying it does a better job, it is just 1 way to clean brass. For me and the smallish batches I do 50-150 rounds it works well. Less steps . I made a video a while back for a friend of mine in Germany so he could have a go at reloading. At the 30 second mark I think you can see the spent power dissolving away.

 
I really don't care if the brass isn't shiney like new. I tumble or sonic clean just to get most of the crap off to simply make sure it runs good through the dies. It's only gonna end up on the ground again...
 
I use mine until the solution is like mud. The biggest factor seems to be the amount of brass. Even with a filthy looking solution a 100 pieces at a time still come out acceptably clean.
 
Anyone care to share some recipes for their ultra sonic cleaners? I think I might try to run my brass through again but might as well try something different.
 
Vinegar will tarnish brass pretty quick.
I just use a bit of dish soap and pinch of lemi shine in about 3ltrs of water, run it 1hr+.
Some primer pockets can have a tiny bit of black left in them, but I'm not worried about it.
 
I just got mine a couple weeks ago, the Hornady 2 litre model. Results with the Hornady case cleaning solution are meh.. I'm not a fan.
A shooting partner recommended Lemishine and some dish soap.
I added 3-4ml (a short tsp) of Lemishine detergent booster and a tiny squirt of Dawn dish soap to 1.5 litres of water, just enough to cover cases sitting on their end in the solution.
30 minutes with heat turned on brought once fired rifle cases back to like new condition. Less time might have done the job, I'll try a shorter cycle next time.
4 times fired cases took an hour to clean, also in great shape at the end.
Using the heat tends to discolour the brass slightly, but I think it does a better job.
I clean the primer pockets with a brush first, though it might not be necessary.
I do two rinses after cleaning, one with hot soapy water, the second with hot clean water. Half an hour in an oven at 170 F, then let the cases cool in the warm oven finishes the job.
I'm pretty happy with it, I didn't want to use stainless pins and I don't want carbon and lead dust from a dry tumbler.
Lemishine booster was $4.49 at CTC. No idea how many doses are in the container, but it should be a lot.
 
I use both stainless pins and ultrasonic cleaning (not based on any fact but this is how I do it.)

I used stainless media with 1/2 oz of Hornady ultra sonic cleaner and a dash of lemi shine before I size (decap first so the primer pockets get done.)

Then after sizing and any other case care, into the ultra sonic, it goes with the same solution. Does a great job getting anything left over by the pins. I run for 45 mins in the heat. I think the trick is lemi shine, huge help!
 
I bought a cheap ultra sonic. It does very little. I migh as well just let something soak in the same solution. I believe to get any result at all you're gonna need to spend about as much on an ultra-sonic as you would on a rotary tumbler with SS pins.

So I'm not sure what an "Arbor Freight ultrasonic" is or what's the quality of your unit, but if it's the typical bottom of the barrel stuff (think mastercraft or B&D) like the one I bought, then don't expect miracles. I think those who have good results have paid at least 150$ for a small-ish unit. If your unit is an el-cheapo, don't bother trying to find a solution that will clean your brass well, it just won't work.
 
VinnyQC said:
I bought a cheap ultra sonic. It does very little. I migh as well just let something soak in the same solution. I believe to get any result at all you're gonna need to spend about as much on an ultra-sonic as you would on a rotary tumbler with SS pins.

So I'm not sure what an "Arbor Freight ultrasonic" is or what's the quality of your unit, but if it's the typical bottom of the barrel stuff (think mastercraft or B&D) like the one I bought, then don't expect miracles. I think those who have good results have paid at least 150$ for a small-ish unit. If your unit is an el-cheapo, don't bother trying to find a solution that will clean your brass well, it just won't work.
Click to expand...
Well said buy cheap get cheap results..
 
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