ultrasonic cleaner

ash243

Well-Known Member
i have been a bit neglect full in my reloading of late. when i was a good boy i had up 200 cases in batches of 25 in various states of prep ready to go now when i come home i put the mucky brass in the mucky brass bin now overflowing.i usually use some steel wool and the lee zip trim but i cant face the pile of brass so i looked into tumblers but don't have time to wait 3 weeks to clean 6 cases. So it is looking like ultrasonic is the future been looking on eBay but there is hundreds of them. so who's got what? who uses what? and which is best ?

thanks and all the best ash
 
I bought this:http://www.amazon.co.uk/JPL-7000-Ultrasonic-Cleaner-accessories/dp/B00112B0U0

and this:http://www.amazon.co.uk/JPL-Ultraso...2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1264891261&sr=1-2

I use Sea Clean at 10-15% in mix with warm water. You don't need to use filtered / distilled water, just warm tap water. Quite a bit of powder residue comes out from the cases and it cleans the primer pockets like new. I run the cleaner at the max time setting (few mins) for perhaps 3 cycles. Depends how grubby they are. Can fit perhaps 20-30 cases in the machine at once and I don't use the plastic tray that comes with it..just drop them straight in.

It's not the only way to clean cases, but it's the quickest I've tried. If cases are really grubby, then perhaps best to spin them against fine wire wool like the other guys on here suggest.

Cheers
 
ultra sonic cleaner

Ash

Mine is from Maplins
* use warm tap water
* 25/30 cases a time
* first time with degreaser (drop of washing up liquid) 360 seconds
* second time with 25% white vinegar 360 seconds
* rinse and dry

After the first lot are done you could always ask Jo to do the rest while you started re-loading !

Regards

Tony
 
Hi Ash
See the other ultrsonic cleaning posts got one from Aldi £16.00. 10 cases at a time in Citric acid crystals 3 blasts for 8 mins and then wash with water and then dry.

Works really well

Smithy
 
Ash, Ultrasound cleaners (the small maplin type) are ok for once fired stuff, dont expect too much for the hard worked brass, if you still have a tumbler, get yourself some media that is a red pot clay colour , smells a bit like kids crayons, 60 assorted cases in back to bright in under an hour, then if you still have primer pockets that need cleaning, chuck them in your ultrasound. :)
 
finnbear270 said:
Ash, Ultrasound cleaners (the small maplin type) are ok for once fired stuff, dont expect too much for the hard worked brass, if you still have a tumbler, get yourself some media that is a red pot clay colour , smells a bit like kids crayons, 60 assorted cases in back to bright in under an hour, then if you still have primer pockets that need cleaning, chuck them in your ultrasound. :)

Does this not defeat the purpose of an ultrasonic cleaner?
 
deer man said:
finnbear270 said:
Ash, Ultrasound cleaners (the small maplin type) are ok for once fired stuff, dont expect too much for the hard worked brass, if you still have a tumbler, get yourself some media that is a red pot clay colour , smells a bit like kids crayons, 60 assorted cases in back to bright in under an hour, then if you still have primer pockets that need cleaning, chuck them in your ultrasound. :)

Does this not defeat the purpose of an ultrasonic cleaner?
Quite. I'm halfway through using my ultrasonic cleaner and Sea Clean on a crate of 600ish ancient grubby .270 Norma from the shed and 200ish DWM 6 or 7 times fired and it cleans them up well.
Even makes the inside of the case bright and shiny.
 
I tend to use a mixture of ultrasonic and tumblers. I have found that in smaller cases such as .222 the corn husks tend to jam solid inside the cases and don't jiggle around enough to do their job. Therefore I tend to use the ultrasonic cleaner more for these size cases and the vibratory cleaner for cases with larger openings.

Does any one know anything about the ceramic type cleaning media used in vibratory cleaners by many in the U.S.? It is supposed to be much faster in operation but are there any disadvantages.
 
finnbear270 said:
I reckon I must have the only toy type ultrasound cleaner that doesn't perform,.. wonder why that other guy omits the plastic basket? :lol:
I leave out the plastic basket as it's for jewellery and valuables that can get scratched vibrating against the steel at the bottom of the cleaner, and also to fit more cases in. The plastic basket absorbs some of the of the waves and is for gentler cleaning of valuables. Sorry yours doesn't work for you Steve, but this one here does or I'd stop pricking around with it and go back to my 2 tumblers. I enjoy case prep, but hate cleaning cases; hence the crate of manky old Forestry 270 cases in the shed 8)
 
come on Steve put some brass in it with out the basket come on lets see if it is any better :confused: :confused:
 
Do try Sea Clean solution. None of my other concoctions worked anywhere near that well and some made the cases tarnish when they'd dried. Hence why the machine manufacturer recommends Sea Clean for metal / tarnish. If it's working properly the old cases should turn the water sooty black with a scummy metallic film after the 2nd or 3rd cycle.
 
My Maplins one worked ok with the basket,used 20% vinegar and a dash of washing up liquid for three cycles.I think the key to it is dont over load it,i did 15 .243 at a time and as you put them in tip each case up and make sure the air is out of it.When finished i gave them a quick rinse and then straight into a bucket with water and bicarbonate of soda to kill any acid,came up clean as a whistle with no discolouration.
Neil
 
OK this is all getting a bit Jack and Jill confusing with Vinegar and bicarb three cycles i have enough on with the better half on one cycle a month.

so how long will it take you to clean 50 rounds?
I am going to get the kit out to night and time my self cleaning 50
with the zip trim and wool.

Will those of you with ultrasonics clean and rinse and dry 10 and we will times that buy 5 OK

answers on a post card pleas To:-
I think I Am wasting my time.
OR
Have I got time on my hands
bbc.co.uk/god knows

all the best ash
 
Took me agood couple of hours to do 90 Ash,but i do have spare time now and again,if you want to do it quicker you'd need a bigger cleaner,best thing is the inside of the cases are spotless,just depends how much you like to fanny around i guess :lol:
ATB Neil
 
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