Tumbler vs Ultrasonic cleaner for cleaning brass cases

There are differences between ultrasonic cleaning and using a tumbler, but they have little to do with the end result. If you are using a 50% vinegar solution, with a drop or two of dish soap, usually 10 minutes will remove all of the carbon from the brass and at 20 minutes the brass will begin to take on a patina from the vinegar, by an hour I suspect the brass would be damaged beyond hope. Once the cleaning cycle is complete, the brass must be rinsed in a baking soda bath to neutralize the vinegar. After the baking soda bath, I rinse the brass in clean water to remove any lingering baking soda, then blow the brass dry with a blower chuck on a small portable compressor. With a tumbler you throw the brass in and let it work for hours or days, it doesn't really matter, the brass isn't damaged with corn cob or walnut media, and you don't have to stand there watching it like you do the ultra sonic. I don't doubt that stainless media cleans brass quickly, but there is a potential for damage to the brass, and I'm already invested in ultrasonic cleaning. I just have to be dedicated to cleaning brass for a while when I use it. What made me choose ultrasonic over the tumbler? Cleaning media out of flash-holes, and then still having to manually clean the primer pockets and flash-holes.
 
VinnyQC said:
Wet tumbling with SS pins.

Don't expect to save any money with an ultrasonic. To get any result with an ultrasonic, you'll need to pay as much as a rotary tumbler. The cheap ones do pretty much nothing, might as well just let the brass soak.
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If you buy junk why would you expect to save money? If you really want to save money, don't clean your brass at all. It will only last 5 reloads at full power anyway, so how dirty will it get? I knew a guy who simply welded a weight to the shaft of a small electric motor, hung a plastic ice cream pail from it, put his media and brass in the pail, and it seemed to do as well as the high priced vibratory tumblers commonly used by reloaders. My vibratory tumbler just get used for coating bullets with moly . . . no it doesn't make a mess if you do it right.
 
For a low volume (<50) of bottleneck rifle cases, I use the Hornady 2 L ultrasonic cleaner. 30 mins with a mixture of hot fresh water, a teaspoon of Lemishine detergent booster ($4 at CTC) and a squirt of Dawn dish soap. I use the heat option on the cleaner, it boosts water temp to 135F, thermostatically controlled.

No dust, no dirt, no noise. Other than whatever lead and carbon residue is in the dirty water, the leftover "solution" is easily and safely disposed of.


Don't bother with the Hornady cartridge case cleaner solution, it isn't worth the bottle they sell it in.

30 mins in a 170F oven, then turn off heat and leave in the oven til they're cool. I put the wet cases in the sun in summertime. Less than a day and they're dry either way.
 
Boomer said:
If you buy junk why would you expect to save money? If you really want to save money, don't clean your brass at all. It will only last 5 reloads at full power anyway, so how dirty will it get? I knew a guy who simply welded a weight to the shaft of a small electric motor, hung a plastic ice cream pail from it, put his media and brass in the pail, and it seemed to do as well as the high priced vibratory tumblers commonly used by reloaders. My vibratory tumbler just get used for coating bullets with moly . . . no it doesn't make a mess if you do it right.
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That's my point. Some people expect that a 50$ ultrasonic will work as well as a 300$ rotary tumbler. They don't. They barely do anything. And I'm not comparing to a vibratory tumbler, which expels the crap in the air, so should not be used in living quarters.

My brass last 20+reloads. Not sure wtf yours break that easily. Maybe soaking it in an acid bath has something to do with it...
 
I've used both, including industrial vibratory tumblers. Speed, from fast to slow: ultra sound, vibratory, rotary. I love the ultra-sonic Hornady, but my next step will be a laboratory size unit, big enough to do dishes with.
One invaluable accessory, which gun stores don't sell: a drying rack for test tubes. One case on each pin, crud falls out, remove entire to rinse (by immersion), then air dry.
Cleans better, less handling. Completely cleans 45/70 BP loads.
 
At the end of June I bought a $80.00 US iSonic ultrasonic cleaner at Amazon and it is a clone of the Lyman ultra sonic cleaner. that sells for $102.57 US Dollars.
https://www.amazon.com/Lyman-Turbo-Sonic-Case-Cleaner/dp/B004QUKJQ0/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1F5YABYRTHE29&keywords=lyman+ultrasonic+cleaner&qid=1566147789&s=electronics&sprefix=lyman+Ultrasonic+Cleaner%2Celectronics%2C175&sr=8-2

VS

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HLBKNKI/ref=twister_B01I6RPYQS?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1http://

On the iSonic the longest cleaning cycle is 8 minutes long and 4 cycles will clean pistol brass starting with hot tap water. It will clean faster once the water gets up to max temp and the heater shuts off. Meaning if you let the unit sit and just preheat the water it would clean the cases in fewer cleaning cycles, possibly only 2 cycles.

Bottom line, the hotter the water the better a ultrasonic cleaner works and all I add is 1 Tablespoon of dish washing liquid and a teaspoon of Lemi Shine to the water. And starting with hot tap water and the end of 4 cleaning cycles the pistol cases have all the powder residue and carbon removed from inside the case and the primer pockets.

And again with my STM and wet tumbling it will get your cases very clean with the added shine and bling. "BUT" the case mouth peening may bother you, and on my pistol cases I was getting small flakes of brass inside the case after expanding. And the ultrasonic cleaner cured the case mouth peening problem and the brass flakes and rolled over case mouths.

I also have a vibratory Lyman Turbo Tumbler that cleans very well, but the pet store lizard litter leaves walnut dust inside the cases.

There is no easy or perfect way to clean your cases and each method can have its drawbacks. And my "cheaper" ultrasonic cleaner does not chew up the case mouths or leave cleaning media residue inside the cases or flash holes and has no stainless steel media to separate from the brass.

NOTE, if you shoot a lot of brass out of a semi-auto that hits the ground and picks up dirt and grit then I think wet tumbling is the best bet because it scrubs the brass clean and not scratch your dies. I have been shooting my Ruger .357 and .44 special a lot the last few months and have been using the ultrasonic cleaner. So pick a cleaning method and work around its bad points and spend your time shooting and having a good time.
 
bigedp51 said:
At the end of June I bought a $80.00 US iSonic ultrasonic cleaner at Amazon and it is a clone of the Lyman ultra sonic cleaner. that sells for $102.57 US Dollars.
https://www.amazon.com/Lyman-Turbo-Sonic-Case-Cleaner/dp/B004QUKJQ0/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1F5YABYRTHE29&keywords=lyman+ultrasonic+cleaner&qid=1566147789&s=electronics&sprefix=lyman+Ultrasonic+Cleaner%2Celectronics%2C175&sr=8-2

VS

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HLBKNKI/ref=twister_B01I6RPYQS?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1http://

On the iSonic the longest cleaning cycle is 8 minutes long and 4 cycles will clean pistol brass starting with hot tap water. It will clean faster once the water gets up to max temp and the heater shuts off. Meaning if you let the unit sit and just preheat the water it would clean the cases in fewer cleaning cycles, possibly only 2 cycles.

Bottom line, the hotter the water the better a ultrasonic cleaner works and all I add is 1 Tablespoon of dish washing liquid and a teaspoon of Lemi Shine to the water. And starting with hot tap water and the end of 4 cleaning cycles the pistol cases have all the powder residue and carbon removed from inside the case and the primer pockets.

And again with my STM and wet tumbling it will get your cases very clean with the added shine and bling. "BUT" the case mouth peening may bother you, and on my pistol cases I was getting small flakes of brass inside the case after expanding. And the ultrasonic cleaner cured the case mouth peening problem and the brass flakes and rolled over case mouths.

I also have a vibratory Lyman Turbo Tumbler that cleans very well, but the pet store lizard litter leaves walnut dust inside the cases.

There is no easy or perfect way to clean your cases and each method can have its drawbacks. And my "cheaper" ultrasonic cleaner does not chew up the case mouths or leave cleaning media residue inside the cases or flash holes and has no stainless steel media to separate from the brass.

NOTE, if you shoot a lot of brass out of a semi-auto that hits the ground and picks up dirt and grit then I think wet tumbling is the best bet because it scrubs the brass clean and not scratch your dies. I have been shooting my Ruger .357 and .44 special a lot the last few months and have been using the ultrasonic cleaner. So pick a cleaning method and work around its bad points and spend your time shooting and having a good time.
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My Isonic crapped out, Just upgraded to a 3L stainless one, does 30mins intervals.
 
I just want to add I'm 69 and have been reloading since I was 18 and I'm not claiming to be a expert on anything. I just always find myself asking "how does it work" and if it works better. I'm on my third vibratory tumbler and used them far longer than wet tumbling or sonic cleaning. A vibratory tumbler is used by far more reloaders than any other type case cleaner and works very well.

Any type of wet cleaning adds steps and time over dry tumbling but there are many, many different type and brands of case cleaners. Basically meaning the time and quality of the case cleaning depending on what you use. And the opinions you read here will vary by the type cleaner used and my STM wet tumbler started out as a rock tumbler and newer ones are designed from the ground up to tumble cartridge cases and not rocks. The speed and diameter of the wet tumbler will effect the case mouth peening and with my STM tumbler less tumbling time is better. Other variables are water hardness and the amount of dish washing soap and LemiShine you add.

When I first started reloading I brushed the inside of the case and cleaned the outside of the case with 0000 steel wool. And what I remember are sore fingers and cases that were dark with carbon on the inside and wondering about case head separations.

And I can tell you I could not tell any accuracy difference in all these years between a sparking clean case or one a little dirty with carbon on the inside of the case. But I'm much better at shooting big groups than smaller ones. :bangHead:
 
VinnyQC said:
That's my point. Some people expect that a 50$ ultrasonic will work as well as a 300$ rotary tumbler. They don't. They barely do anything. And I'm not comparing to a vibratory tumbler, which expels the crap in the air, so should not be used in living quarters.

My brass last 20+reloads. Not sure wtf yours break that easily. Maybe soaking it in an acid bath has something to do with it...
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20 reloads? Really? Try putting some powder in them. FYI, when the primers fall out, stop using them.
 
VinnyQC said:
124grn at 1200fps. You're the odd one with 5 reloads. Everyone else does a lot more than that.
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I wouldn't waste my time loading 9mm, and I have so much .357 and .44 brass I have no idea how many reloads I could get from a single piece of brass. What I'm referring to is rifle cartridge brass, and the rifle brass we get from the majors today doesn't last long unless you buy Lapua, Norma, Nosler or some of the other premium stuff. I've found some .458 Winchester stuff I could seat the primers with my thumb from new.
 
I will say the tumbler media I am using has a way of jamming media in the primer pocket making another step before reloading, small pain and maybe a media change will fix it.
 
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