Ultrasonic case cleaning.

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Ultrasonic case cleaning.

Post by Noisydad » 11 Jan 2014, 1:18 pm

After reading a fair bit about Ultrasonic case cleaning I thought it time to have a go. The machine is a small $30 job from Aldi. The solution is fairly warm water, a few drops of dishwashing liquid and good pinch of citric acid.
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Fresh cleaning solution.
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Attachments
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4 x 40-65 shells on right are after cleaning and wiped dry (inside and out).
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4 x 30-06 shells on the right are after cleaning and wiped dry.
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Dirty solution after 2 batches.
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There's still a few of Wile. E Coyote's ideas that I haven't tried yet.
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Re: Ultrasonic case cleaning.

Post by Aster » 11 Jan 2014, 2:40 pm

From ALDI :lol:

I still can't get my head around the stuff those guys stock.

Last time I was in there were Halloween chocolates and circular saw blades in the same section for some reason :?

Cheap wine and work benches in the next. Anyway...

Back to the cleaner, how did you find having to dry them afterwards?

No more hassle than normal tumbler medium?
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Re: Ultrasonic case cleaning.

Post by VICHunter » 11 Jan 2014, 2:47 pm

Drying them was the thing that put me off.

Seems liked more hassle than was needed compared to regular tumbling.

Interested to hear your thoughts on this Noisy.
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Re: Ultrasonic case cleaning.

Post by on_one_wheel » 11 Jan 2014, 5:31 pm

The wifes oven works well for drying if your in a hurry, Last time I used a u/s cleaner I had the primers out and gave them a good blow out with compressed air and sat them out in the sun.

I wasn't worried about the extra drying time as I needed to aneal anyhow.

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Re: Ultrasonic case cleaning.

Post by Noisydad » 11 Jan 2014, 5:50 pm

If you use "fairly warm" water, they dry very fast. I also wrapped a small piece of rag around a pencil to dry the inside of the 40-65 shells. That removed some more crud and left the shells very clean inside. It works very well on the black powder shells as the BP residue is water soluble anyway.
There's still a few of Wile. E Coyote's ideas that I haven't tried yet.
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Re: Ultrasonic case cleaning.

Post by Noisydad » 11 Jan 2014, 5:53 pm

Might have to start referring to Aldi as my LGS because I got my leather for the gun bag there too. :-)
There's still a few of Wile. E Coyote's ideas that I haven't tried yet.
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Re: Ultrasonic case cleaning.

Post by Baldrick314 » 11 Jan 2014, 6:41 pm

Noisydad wrote:After reading a fair bit about Ultrasonic case cleaning I thought it time to have a go. The machine is a small $30 job from Aldi. The solution is fairly warm water, a few drops of dishwashing liquid and good pinch of citric acid.
100_1725 (192x256).jpg


Great results mate. I have the same US cleaner but never got any good results from it, although I only used tap water. How long did you run those shells through for? When I was using it I did the longest cycle (4 minutes from memory) 4 times and still no great results
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Re: Ultrasonic case cleaning.

Post by Noisydad » 11 Jan 2014, 7:44 pm

Ran it for 2 x 3 minute cycles. I got a better result on the 40-65 shells than the 30-06 ones because they were dirty with BP residue which is water soluble but even so I think it worth while. The pics don't do justice to how clean they are.
There's still a few of Wile. E Coyote's ideas that I haven't tried yet.
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Re: Ultrasonic case cleaning.

Post by Will » 12 Jan 2014, 10:18 am

So never going back to a medium tumbler you think Noisy?
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Re: Ultrasonic case cleaning.

Post by cruze82 » 12 Jan 2014, 11:05 am

I have the Hornady sonic cleaner one of the best purchase that I have ever made the tumbler never comes out of the cupboard for some reason the instruction's said don't use warm water it causes tarnishing.

I use distilled water and about 30ml of the cleaning solution on a 30 min cycle and they come out spotless inside and out drying is not an issue here in Perth 3 min in the sun on a towel and they are good to load.
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Re: Ultrasonic case cleaning.

Post by hsv4me » 12 Jan 2014, 11:23 am

IMG_0670.JPG
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I have two from Aldi. The work Great.
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Re: Ultrasonic case cleaning.

Post by Blackened » 13 Jan 2014, 8:01 am

hsv4me wrote:
IMG_0670.JPG
I have two from Aldi. The work Great.


Looks good to me.
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Re: Ultrasonic case cleaning.

Post by Oldbloke » 16 Jan 2021, 12:35 pm

Regurgitating this thread. :D

Aldi catalogue says they are still $30 on sale 20th January.

I have one and holds about 25 30-06 cases. Two minutes and done.

Water
Dolop of Vinegar
Dish washing liquid
Dash of salt if you like.

Two or three minutes and done.
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Re: Ultrasonic case cleaning.

Post by rc42 » 17 Jan 2021, 1:34 am

I have a Lyman ultra sonic cleaner that I picked up second hand, it works well with the Lyman case cleaning solution and has the brass shining like new after about 20 minutes. Oddly the timer only goes up to 480 seconds so it takes several runs to get the job done.

The downside of ultra sonic is that after drying the brass tarnishes fairly quickly as oxygen gets to it and it goes dull within days and ever darker shades after that, any oil or wax protective coatings applied by manufacturers to make the brass shine when you open a new box are removed by the cleaning and I'm yet to find a cleaning solution that avoids that.

One big advantage of dry tumbling is that some dry wax or polish can be added so the brass comes out shiny and stays that way.
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Re: Ultrasonic case cleaning.

Post by Oldbloke » 17 Jan 2021, 3:07 am

That's true they only clean, they do not polished.
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Re: Ultrasonic case cleaning.

Post by wanneroo » 17 Jan 2021, 4:07 am

rc42 wrote:I have a Lyman ultra sonic cleaner that I picked up second hand, it works well with the Lyman case cleaning solution and has the brass shining like new after about 20 minutes. Oddly the timer only goes up to 480 seconds so it takes several runs to get the job done.

The downside of ultra sonic is that after drying the brass tarnishes fairly quickly as oxygen gets to it and it goes dull within days and ever darker shades after that, any oil or wax protective coatings applied by manufacturers to make the brass shine when you open a new box are removed by the cleaning and I'm yet to find a cleaning solution that avoids that.

One big advantage of dry tumbling is that some dry wax or polish can be added so the brass comes out shiny and stays that way.


One thing I always do once the brass has been dried in the brass drier, I put it in a sealed plastic container with desiccant packs to absorb any moisture. These desiccant packs change from blue to pink when they have absorbed max moisture so then I switch them out with new ones. I've had prepped and cleaned brass in these containers for years with no noticeable degradation.

One thing with ultrasonic is it will break up some dirt but I prefer the agitation action of a wet tumbler by far.
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Re: Ultrasonic case cleaning.

Post by cz515 » 17 Jan 2021, 6:35 am

rc42 wrote:I have a Lyman ultra sonic cleaner that I picked up second hand, it works well with the Lyman case cleaning solution and has the brass shining like new after about 20 minutes. Oddly the timer only goes up to 480 seconds so it takes several runs to get the job done.

The downside of ultra sonic is that after drying the brass tarnishes fairly quickly as oxygen gets to it and it goes dull within days and ever darker shades after that, any oil or wax protective coatings applied by manufacturers to make the brass shine when you open a new box are removed by the cleaning and I'm yet to find a cleaning solution that avoids that.

One big advantage of dry tumbling is that some dry wax or polish can be added so the brass comes out shiny and stays that way.


I use ultrasonic, a bit of car wash and wax, some vinegar and citric acid (seems like i need both to get enough acidity to clean) the brass comes out clean, shiny and doesn't really loose their shine. Not as shiny as wet pin method
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Re: Ultrasonic case cleaning.

Post by Madang185 » 17 Jan 2021, 8:32 am

Have used several of these cheap cleaners over the years with good results. Drying is easy, a bit of scrap timber and some nails about 2 inches in length. mine is over 30 years old and still working!

Invert the clean cases on the nails and leave overnight. Simple, easy, effective.
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Re: Ultrasonic case cleaning.

Post by wanneroo » 17 Jan 2021, 11:37 am

Madang185 wrote:Have used several of these cheap cleaners over the years with good results. Drying is easy, a bit of scrap timber and some nails about 2 inches in length. mine is over 30 years old and still working!

Invert the clean cases on the nails and leave overnight. Simple, easy, effective.


I have a brass dryer now, but if I didn't have a lot of money nor did the volume of brass I do now, the nail idea is a great idea.
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Re: Ultrasonic case cleaning.

Post by JimTom » 18 Jan 2021, 7:43 pm

I run mine on an 8 min cycle and they come out clean as a whistle. If I have the Lyman solution I use that, otherwise two parts water, one part vinegar and a squirt of dishwashing liquid works a treat. As for drying, Just turn upside down and leave for a day, as for the tarnish issue, if it is a concern then run them through the tumbler with a bit of polish or chuck in a bit of metho then let dry.
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Re: Ultrasonic case cleaning.

Post by Bottleshock » 18 Jan 2021, 7:48 pm

I get good results from my Hornady unit. I used citric acid and dishwashing liquid for a few years but after trying the Hornady cleaning solution I have since stuck with it.

My regime is 30 mins in the cleaner with distilled water and solution, rinse under the tap and then 15 minutes at 120 degrees on an oven tray. They do end up with spot tarnishing but I'm not too bothered with looks and they get annealed anyway.
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Re: Ultrasonic case cleaning.

Post by Oldbloke » 06 Feb 2022, 10:40 am

Pretty old thread. But I noticed Aldi have Ultrasonic cleaners again. $30
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Re: Ultrasonic case cleaning.

Post by Bill » 06 Feb 2022, 11:06 am

Yeap been using my Aldi cleaner for 7 or 8 years now, did 3 diff catridges last weeked, 256 WM, 357 Mag Nickel and some 6mm ARC . :thumbsup:
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Re: Ultrasonic case cleaning.

Post by Wm.Traynor » 06 Feb 2022, 3:02 pm

I use Demineralised water and Vinegar, 50/50, with a tsp of Shower Power. Where I differ from you blokes is, I hose them inside and out over the grass. Three cases in one hand, the trigger nozzle in the other. The strength of the vinegar is important as the strong stuff can weaken the brass.
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Re: Ultrasonic case cleaning.

Post by on_one_wheel » 06 Feb 2022, 4:08 pm

My ultrasonic cleaner has cleaned nothing but car parts since I bought a cheap wet tumbler
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Re: Ultrasonic case cleaning.

Post by jpsauer88 » 20 Apr 2022, 3:57 pm

I get good results with just a tablespoon of Earth lemon dishwashing ultra concentrate. One of the few with citric acid as an ingredient.
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