Ultra sonic vs. Tumbler

[Hunter87]

Hey guys, just getting into the reload game and wondering which way to go for a cleaner. Not sure how much the solution for the ultra sonic runs but the versatility is very appealing. I was told "go get one at harbor freight" but not to found of their products.
Already have the RCBS tumbler on order but really considering cancelling it for an ultrasonic in the $80-$100 price range.
Opinions?

[Fordtrucks]

I can try both ultrasonic and dry tumbling with harbor frieght stuff and when u settle on what ur preference is get a good one. Even try wet tumbling with HF stuff. Settle on ur fave and then buy name brand.

[kalapa]

I can try both ultrasonic and dry tumbling with harbor frieght stuff and when u settle on what ur preference is get a good one. Even try wet tumbling with HF stuff. Settle on ur fave and then buy name brand.

Did you seriously just recommend that he spend ~$200 on HF stuff to find out which one he liked best? Then go buy a (more expensive) name brand?! lol.

What kind of reloading are you doing? How concerned are you with getting clean brass? Do you want it to be really shiny, like new? Or are you looking to just clean it enough to make it function reliably again?

[cgornet]

Wet tumble.

[Paseclipse]

I use both. I'll clean my brass with the ultrasonic cleaner first then the use tumbler for polishing after running everything through the press.

I don't use the Harbor Freight Ultrasonic cleaner but it does have 4/5 stars with 120 reviews (which isn't bad)- http://www.harborfreight.com/25-lite...ner-95563.html

[C.G.]

I use both. I'll clean my brass with the ultrasonic cleaner first then the use tumbler for polishing after running everything through the press.

I don't use the Harbor Freight Ultrasonic cleaner but it does have 4/5 stars with 120 reviews (which isn't bad)- http://www.harborfreight.com/25-lite...ner-95563.html

I've been using that unit (it replaced a smaller earlier generation Harbor Freight unit) for several years now, it is a good deal and works well. Ultrasonic is not for everybody but it works for me, but then again I don't clean large batches; people either love it or hate it.

[bazineta]

The HF ultrasonic that I have (got it for cleaning gun parts, rather than tumbling) looks exactly identical to the one that Lyman sells. I wet tumble using the Frankford tumbler, and it works great; the ultrasonic doesn't get things nearly as clean, but it does get them reasonably clean in a shorter amount of time. Downside that I see to that particular ultrasonic is that the longest it'll run is 480 seconds, so you tend to have to restart it a few times. For cleaning parts though, it's a great solution, and if you don't have a lot of cases to clean, it's decent, and there's no dust.

Overall, for cleaning cases, personally, I really like wet tumbling, since I like 'em squeaky clean. For me, the ultrasonic just ok in this regard.

[rsrocket1]

The object of case cleaning is to knock off the soot and grit from cases falling to the ground. Anything more is icing on the cake and usually costs more in dollars or effort. I bought the 2 liter HF US cleaner and tried it out for a couple of weeks. For true Ultrasonic cleaning where you see the tiny bubbles coming from the surface of the cases, the limit was eighteen 45 ACP cases. I needed four 8 minute cycles (32 minutes) to get those 18 cases clean.

Any more than that and the cleaning went down hill quickly. Brass is an excellent absorber of US energy. The pictures you see from Hornady where someone pulls out a full basket of clean brass is nothing more than vibratory cleaning where the solution is doing most of the cleaning and the US transducers are doing little more than vibrating the cases. Swishing them in a bucket of solution is just about as effective. Folks have been doing this with Simple Green for years before "US cleaners" were around just by swirling the cases around in a bucket. As a test, I tried cleaning some cases in an "ultrasonic jewelry cleaner" my wife bought a long time ago and sure enough, the cleaning action was just vibratory.

US cleaners do work for things like 1911 frames and AR-15 bolt carriers, but for big batches of brass, you might as well get a bowl and attach a vibrator to it and use some Simple Green, Citric Acid or LemiShine to the solution.
When used properly, it does clean the insides and primer pockets nicely but is a lot more work than just a simple vibratory tumbler and some crushed walnut.

[C.G.]

I needed four 8 minute cycles (32 minutes) to get those 18 cases clean.

Vow, either you had an inferior or defective unit or wrong solution. I never need more four 480 second runs and sometimes only 2 with more cases than you in the HF unit.

[Hunter87]

Thanks guys. I'll be using the tumbler for awhile. Maybe add a US in the future.

[mikeyr]

I find stainless pin tumbling to be a pain, its a mess to seperate all the pins from the brass but for me its the way to go.

I vibrate with shells sometimes because its so easy.

I have not tried Ultrasonic because the amounts of brass you can clean at a time are so small, I like doing my brass in batches 200-250 at a time for 308, 500 for 9mm or 45LC.

[hardhead]

Been using http://www.cabelas.com/product/Cabel...ler/731767.uts for some time now on pistol brass. It gets them clean and shiny enough for me. Add a little nufinish to the media and throw a couple cut up dryer sheets, let it work for about 2 hours and the result is desirable.