Hornady's sonic cleaner!

[tvfreakarms]

Hornady's sonic cleaner

[Air]

Hornady's sonic cleaner

You can get a small Ultra Sonic cleaner at Harbor Freight for about 40 bucks.

[The Custard Pirate]

Do you guys think it's worth it?

Hornady's sonic cleaner

Not at $134 each plus $25 for a bottle of cleaning solution. A rock tumbler which I bought for $25 has served me well enough and works with a variety of cleaning media: walnut shells, rice and even Cream of Wheat.

[captn-tin]

read somewhere that folks are using diluted Simple Green cleaner in their sonics. worth lookin into.

[C.G.]

You can get a small Ultra Sonic cleaner at Harbor Freight for about 40 bucks.

Yup, the Hornady unit is a rebranded Harbor Freight unit, which I bought a couple of years ago. I just bought a larger one with a heater on sale for 59.99 (now they are 79.99)

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=95563

[tvfreakarms]

Can you use regular dishwashing soap or does it have to be a special solution?
This might be a dumb question, but I will ask anyways; I have a pof upper and I plan on using this to clean my BCG, charging handle if need be,bolt assembly, firing pin, retaining pin, and other small item stuff i can fit it in. So, some of these have special coatings and what not, could these sonic cleaners ruin those protective coatings (pof np3 coating, lwrci nickel coating) and other types of coatings?

Yup, the Hornady unit is a rebranded Harbor Freight unit, which I bought a couple of years ago. I just bought a larger one with a heater on sale for 59.99 (now they are 79.99)
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=95563

[tvfreakarms]

What can you fit in the larger one? What is the heater for?

Yup, the Hornady unit is a rebranded Harbor Freight unit, which I bought a couple of years ago. I just bought a larger one with a heater on sale for 59.99 (now they are 79.99)
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=95563

[Wildhawk66]

What can you fit in the larger one? What is the heater for?

I was wondering the same.

[C.G.]

Can you use regular dishwashing soap or does it have to be a special solution?
This might be a dumb question, but I will ask anyways; I have a pof upper and I plan on using this to clean my BCG, charging handle if need be,bolt assembly, firing pin, retaining pin, and other small item stuff i can fit it in. So, some of these have special coatings and what not, could these sonic cleaners ruin those protective coatings (pof np3 coating, lwrci nickel coating) and other types of coatings?

No problem using dish washing liquid. The ultra sonic unit will not ruin anything, but you should be careful about the cleaning agent and read about incompatibilities before you try to clean. I am not sure what np3 coating is, but nickel is fairly hard to ruin.
For cleaning my SS pistol barrel I just use diluted vinegar and then add baking soda to neutralize vinegar.
I mostly use the unit for case cleaning.

[C.G.]

What can you fit in the larger one? What is the heater for?

I am not sure yet, because I haven't found a good double tray to put into it and also, at the moment I don't need to clean any cases. The older unit (same as Hornady) was 1 1/2 quarts fluid capacity, the new unit is 2 1/2 quart capacity.
The heater is there for the same reason it is in a dishwasher or washer; 150 F degree temperature cleans better then cold temperature. Only bummer is that it doesn't shrink any cases so you still have to trim.

[swerv512]

what i dont like about the sonic cleaner is that you'd have to wait for the brass to completely dry before reloading... I like to pull them out the tumbler and charge them pronto. also, i dont really care if the inside of the case is shiny like new....

if it's for your firearm parts, give it a shot if you like. seems like a gimmick unless you got arthitis or something. just keep your firearms clean as you go and you wont need to give them bath when they get cruded up.

[tvfreakarms]

Not to go off subject:
NP3 - THE PROCESS
The application of NP3 is auto-catalytic, that is, not requiring any form of electricity. This process is preferable to standard electrolytic plating as all active surfaces are evenly plated, which is not the case with any electrolytically deposited coating. With Robar's well-equipped laboratory, coating thickness can be maintained to within .0002" or two ten thousandths of one inch, guaranteeing consistent quality coatings. With the PTFE evenly distributed and locked into the nickel-phosphorus matrix, NP3 is a true composite. If wear occurs, fresh particles of PTFE are exposed to keep the opposing surfaces lubricated throughout the life of the coating.

No problem using dish washing liquid. The ultra sonic unit will not ruin anything, but you should be careful about the cleaning agent and read about incompatibilities before you try to clean. I am not sure what np3 coating is, but nickel is fairly hard to ruin.
For cleaning my SS pistol barrel I just use diluted vinegar and then add baking soda to neutralize vinegar.
I mostly use the unit for case cleaning.

[C.G.]

what i dont like about the sonic cleaner is that you'd have to wait for the brass to completely dry before reloading... I like to pull them out the tumbler and charge them pronto. also, i dont really care if the inside of the case is shiny like new....

if it's for your firearm parts, give it a shot if you like. seems like a gimmick unless you got arthitis or something. just keep your firearms clean as you go and you wont need to give them bath when they get cruded up.

Sonic cleaning and tumbling both have their pluses and minuses. With sonic, as you pointed out, one needs to dry the cases, which can be accomplished either by blowing commpressed air on them or putting them in a bag in front of a heater. With tumbling media can get stuck in the cases and you still may have to blow it out with compressed air.
I will agree that there are many ways to skin a cat, but I disagree that sonic cleaning is a gimmick. I personally prefer sonic over tumbling, but that is not to say that there is anything wrong with tumbling.

[tvfreakarms]

Have you used the sonic cleaner to clean BCG or other small ar15 parts(not ammo casings)? As for now, this is why i plan on getting the sonic cleaner to clean those smaller items.
If you do clean bcg or other smaller items, couldn't you dry them with a towel and air dry the rest? Or does it need to be completely dry? I figured the gun manufactures put on these coating would keep it from getting rusted.

Sonic cleaning and tumbling both have their pluses and minuses. With sonic, as you pointed out, one needs to dry the cases, which can be accomplished either by blowing commpressed air on them or putting them in a bag in front of a heater. With tumbling media can get stuck in the cases and you still may have to blow it out with compressed air.
I will agree that there are many ways to skin a cat, but I disagree that sonic cleaning is a gimmick. I personally prefer sonic over tumbling, but that is not to say that there is anything wrong with tumbling.

[tvfreakarms]

Well I ended up buying the same one you got at harbor freight. I wasn't sure if I was going to get one, but it was on sale for 59.99 and i also had a 20% discount. So, I decided why not.
I turned it on to give it a try. It makes a buzzing noise and i used the heat as well. It also had a fan noise coming from the bottom side of the unit. Does this sound right? Just curious to know if the unit is working.

When you clean your ar parts (bcg, piston parts or charging handle) do you have to separate them by using a glass jar or can you spread them out? Is there any danger to the metal if they are to close together?

No problem using dish washing liquid. The ultra sonic unit will not ruin anything, but you should be careful about the cleaning agent and read about incompatibilities before you try to clean. I am not sure what np3 coating is, but nickel is fairly hard to ruin.
For cleaning my SS pistol barrel I just use diluted vinegar and then add baking soda to neutralize vinegar.
I mostly use the unit for case cleaning.