ultrasonic cleaner - problems
- Thread starter jamesm049
- Start date
Ditch the US cleaner - had the same issue. Wasted days of my life repeatedly running cycles with god knows which detergent I Googled. Bite the bullet and buy a wet tumbler - bought a Rebel 17 with SS pins and never looked back. Be warned, creating mirror finish brass becomes another hobby/obsession in its own right
Set them upright in a honey jar to allow gravity to help with the primer pockets.
I then fill the honey jar with hot water and a bit of citric acid with drop or two ofwashing up liquid.
place in U/S tank with the water levels of tank and honey jar matching.
Zap for 7-ish minutes, give the jar a shake which helps get a lot of the loosened clag in the primer pocket.
After another zap and shake they should be clean. But just check a few. And zap agin if not happy.
Two or three zaps totalling 12 To 15 minutes, has always cleaned my primer pockets.
I then fill the honey jar with hot water and a bit of citric acid with drop or two ofwashing up liquid.
place in U/S tank with the water levels of tank and honey jar matching.
Zap for 7-ish minutes, give the jar a shake which helps get a lot of the loosened clag in the primer pocket.
After another zap and shake they should be clean. But just check a few. And zap agin if not happy.
Two or three zaps totalling 12 To 15 minutes, has always cleaned my primer pockets.
What USC are you using?
Assuming you have something fit for purpose, either a citric acid mix or some sort of acid additive along with warm/hot water and a squirt of fairy liquid is what is needed.
I use 50/50 ratio of warm/hot water and distilled vinegar (bottles are about 25 pence from tesco which will do a cycle of 50 large cases or 100 small) My USC has a heater which is also useful but if yours does not, put hot water in there. I then give it an 8 minute blast, remove the tray and give it a shake and then give it another 8mins. That is all I do. Primer pockets are generally spotless but some will have the tiniest bit of scum still attached. I am more interested in cleaning the internals of the case and the neck prior to annealing rather than the primer pockets.
Once done, be sure to rinse the brass well in plain water and I also leave mine to soak in a bicarb of sod mix for a handful of minutes to help neutralise any remaining acid on or in the cases. I dry mine in the oven on a low temp (about 120 degrees) for 10 mins but you could leave them to air dry or do it some other way. Your cases will be dull and not shiny like a tumbler but I don't care about that cannot be bothered to have brass rattling around for hours no end for no actual benefit. That would be up to you.
Something I never thought about before is the type of water supply folk have and whether that makes a difference. I live in a soft water area which is good for having a shower or bath. The soap lathers up easily and the water seems less harsh on skin than when I lived in a hard water area. I think I prefer the taste of hard water. Anyhow, I wonder if that has an impact on how well USC's work?
Assuming you have something fit for purpose, either a citric acid mix or some sort of acid additive along with warm/hot water and a squirt of fairy liquid is what is needed.
I use 50/50 ratio of warm/hot water and distilled vinegar (bottles are about 25 pence from tesco which will do a cycle of 50 large cases or 100 small) My USC has a heater which is also useful but if yours does not, put hot water in there. I then give it an 8 minute blast, remove the tray and give it a shake and then give it another 8mins. That is all I do. Primer pockets are generally spotless but some will have the tiniest bit of scum still attached. I am more interested in cleaning the internals of the case and the neck prior to annealing rather than the primer pockets.
Once done, be sure to rinse the brass well in plain water and I also leave mine to soak in a bicarb of sod mix for a handful of minutes to help neutralise any remaining acid on or in the cases. I dry mine in the oven on a low temp (about 120 degrees) for 10 mins but you could leave them to air dry or do it some other way. Your cases will be dull and not shiny like a tumbler but I don't care about that cannot be bothered to have brass rattling around for hours no end for no actual benefit. That would be up to you.
Something I never thought about before is the type of water supply folk have and whether that makes a difference. I live in a soft water area which is good for having a shower or bath. The soap lathers up easily and the water seems less harsh on skin than when I lived in a hard water area. I think I prefer the taste of hard water. Anyhow, I wonder if that has an impact on how well USC's work?
Primer pockets get cleaned with a primer pocket brush after u/s. Also case trimmed and neck profiled if needed.
U/S gets the soot out but not shiny brass externally. If you can’t live with dull brass get a tumbler and a nice pink stock for your rifle. I find the deer don’t care.
Hot water. Drop of your fave washing up liquid and a teaspoon of citric acid powder.
Rinsed in a wash with some baking soda to nuke any acid left.
Dried in oven, usually plan u/s clean with when the oven in use these days.
U/S gets the soot out but not shiny brass externally. If you can’t live with dull brass get a tumbler and a nice pink stock for your rifle. I find the deer don’t care.
Hot water. Drop of your fave washing up liquid and a teaspoon of citric acid powder.
Rinsed in a wash with some baking soda to nuke any acid left.
Dried in oven, usually plan u/s clean with when the oven in use these days.
It depends how clean you want to get your brass.
If you want it shiny bright then forget ultrasonic cleaning - it simply can't do that
You really need wet tumbling to get that level of cleanliness
Cheers
Bruce
20-25 can’t remember off hand couple of dozen -ish. I just drop them in until it’s full with a bit of wriggle room.
Fascinating watching them individually rotate from the vibration.
Interesting point.
We are on a Cotswold spring water supply and it is very limey. We have 5 and 1 micron particle filters but there is still a bloom of lime left after evaporation.
I still give the cases a soda bicarbonate rinse to counter the citric acid but I probably don’t need it. Just a hangover from workshop routines of pickling probably.
Steel pins may well be the way to go as I’ve never had success with ultrasonic deep cleaning of primer pockets, and irrespective of the chemical used or how long they reside in the bath.
I just add a quick twist of the pocket with a battery powered wire brush to my case prep’ regime before ultrasonic cleaning/degreasing.
K
I just add a quick twist of the pocket with a battery powered wire brush to my case prep’ regime before ultrasonic cleaning/degreasing.
K
scrumbag
Well-Known Member
I find best results with:
1) Decap and soak in warm soapy water to start (Doesn't have to be that long, just a few mins whilst you set up everything else)
2) Cleaning solution - 1/2 teaspoon of citric acid, big squirt of washing up liquid in BOILING water
3) To dry, a drop of rinse aid in the water you use to neutralise the solution post cleaning will help remove limescale bloom / streaks
(If you want to be really anal use deionised water or water from your dehumidifier. I personally live with smeary cases)
Scrummy
1) Decap and soak in warm soapy water to start (Doesn't have to be that long, just a few mins whilst you set up everything else)
2) Cleaning solution - 1/2 teaspoon of citric acid, big squirt of washing up liquid in BOILING water
3) To dry, a drop of rinse aid in the water you use to neutralise the solution post cleaning will help remove limescale bloom / streaks
(If you want to be really anal use deionised water or water from your dehumidifier. I personally live with smeary cases)
Scrummy
I put the cases in the US cleaner within minutes of decapping them. The primer pockets are usually clean within three 8-minute cycles.
No problem with my £20 , 8 year old Aldi one .
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