Ultrasonic or media cleaning?

[Smiley7661]

I am just getting started and purchased an almost complete setup. I only am lacking a brass cleaner and powder dispenser. Any advice would be appreciated.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[knucklehead0202]

6 of one, half-dozen of the other. mostly seems to be a matter of preference. seems to me that media lasts longer than the liquid cleaning stuff, but I imagine users have a "home brew" that works just as well for the ultrasonics and is probably cheap. I use a tumbler and rice, works fine. I imagine others will chime in with their experiences but it's probably a coin toss really.

[Germz]

Can't go wrong with either. both have pros and cons.

Vibratory tumblers..you can use just about anything as media; corn cob, walnut, rice.
after a while you can have a dust problem if you can even call it that. noisy too if thats a concern.

rotary "wet" tumblers...expensive for good quality ones. you will want one like a thumbler tumber that is polygonal and not round like the harbor freight ones; polygonal tumblers create "waterfall" effects. Stainless steel media is your only real option; never wears out.

ultrasonic cleaners: I ran this route for a while using water/vinegar/dawn/simple green with ok results. sometimes it took more than one session to clean brass. ultrasonic cleaners will not polish your brass though. I left a vinegar solution in my ultrasonic cleaner for a couple days to find the solution ate through the metal tray of my cleaner and spilled everywhere

I have been with a vibratory tumbler since then.

[rhbanjo]

Wow! Thanks to Germz!! I am in the process of looking for an ultrasonic cleaner- one of the gun mags did a story on how great they are. You saved me a couple hundred bucks! I use Corn cob and some walnut shell. Every so often I use a bit of Brasso (old habits die hard!) and maybe a couple of squirts of 409 for the dust.

[Smiley7661]

Ok perfect I think media it is


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

['ol shooter]

I am disappointed with my ultrasonic for case cleaning, am thrilled with my cheapo Harbor Freight tumbler. Only downer is drying the cases, but that is a minor issue, especially if doing several batches back to back. I like it also because there is no media residue on the cases like vibratory, even with a dryer sheet, and the primer pockets are spotless. Stilly's pins are a great addition to a wet tumbler.

[MR_X]

I was considering wet media also because I like really shinny brass but the cost and the extra step of drying kept me away.

I got me a media tumbler using reptile walnut bedding. Put a few drop of car wax and a few drops of Blue Magic metal polish and my brass comes out completely polished and cleaned after 2 hours.

[Wrangler John]

Wow! Thanks to Germz!! I am in the process of looking for an ultrasonic cleaner- one of the gun mags did a story on how great they are. You saved me a couple hundred bucks! I use Corn cob and some walnut shell. Every so often I use a bit of Brasso (old habits die hard!) and maybe a couple of squirts of 409 for the dust.

Gun mags are there to tout products and increase the marketing potential. You do notice they sell advertising? What I love is when they have a review on Brand X product and, lo and behold, there is a display ad somewhere near the article for Brand X, maybe even a full page glossy art paste up. Doesn't mean the product is good or bad, it's just the way things are.

My experience with ultra sonic cleaners is that they have no useful advantage over a vibratory tumbler running treated corncob. Instructions for the one I purchased required mixing the solution with distilled water and rinsing the brass with clear distilled water to prevent spotting after drying. It is slow, requiring about 30 minutes of operation, and the brass isn't polished when done. After rinsing I have to blow excess water from the brass with compressed air (fortunately I have a large commercial air compressor) and be certain no residual moisture remains before loading. There is absolutely no scientifically quantifiable data that demonstrates any accuracy or brass longevity gain from removing all interior carbon deposits on cartridge brass. So those sectioned cases showing pristine clean case interiors are meaningless hype - "But wait, if you order in the next ten minutes we'll double your order."

I use mine for cleaning muzzle brakes with a carbon solvent, which is about the only thing it does well.

I tossed my old Thumler's Tumbler in the recycle bin last year after three decades of sitting in the patio. It was gross, full of bug exoskeletons, cobwebs, cat hair, dust and leaves, and really disgusting stuff. My wife brought it home from Micro Sight as a present for me shortly after we were married. It was too slow, too cumbersome, and didn't do much a cheap Lyman vibratory tumbler wouldn't do faster and better today, but at the time it was the only thing available. With the Lyman there is the added benefit that with cheap extra bowls I can moly coat bullets, and I can toss the tumbling jar full of bullets and hexagonal boron nitride (HBN) powder in the regular bowl and HBN coat bullets too! I use the Lyman tumblers because they are cheap.

I don't want to wet tumble with stainless steel media either. Same problem with wet tumbling - the mess, drying process. Never figured what the effect on brass is from any peening caused by those stainless steel pins, although the water fill probably cushions the impact.

So, I just stick with corncob and case polish additive, or run a commercial treated corncob, or just plain corncob, and call it good. But if you're a guy that owns a smart phone, plays video games, feels the need to text message your girl friend, wife or partner sitting five feet away rather than open your mouth, then get the ultra sonic cleaner, a drum of stainless steel pins and the largest Thumler's Tumbler (it's Thumler not Thumbler) and scratch that gadget itch. Wrangler out.

[knucklehead0202]

^^^ my kinda guy, simple is best. once my corncob got super-dirty, I just bought a huge bag of rice from Costco and am using that as media. stuff comes out great and the rice doesn't stick in the flash holes as much as the corncob did either. also got a lyman tumbler and I love it! not the cheapest but not the most expensive either. I find more and more of their products I like.

['ol shooter]

^^^ my kinda guy, simple is best. once my corncob got super-dirty, I just bought a huge bag of rice from Costco and am using that as media. stuff comes out great and the rice doesn't stick in the flash holes as much as the corncob did either. also got a lyman tumbler and I love it! not the cheapest but not the most expensive either. I find more and more of their products I like.

More importantly, how does it affect the taste of the rice?

[stilly]

Can't go wrong with either. both have pros and cons.

Vibratory tumblers..you can use just about anything as media; corn cob, walnut, rice.
after a while you can have a dust problem if you can even call it that. noisy too if thats a concern.

rotary "wet" tumblers...expensive for good quality ones. you will want one like a thumbler tumber that is polygonal and not round like the harbor freight ones; polygonal tumblers create "waterfall" effects. Stainless steel media is your only real option; never wears out.

ultrasonic cleaners: I ran this route for a while using water/vinegar/dawn/simple green with ok results. sometimes it took more than one session to clean brass. ultrasonic cleaners will not polish your brass though. I left a vinegar solution in my ultrasonic cleaner for a couple days to find the solution ate through the metal tray of my cleaner and spilled everywhere

I have been with a vibratory tumbler since then.

Not entirely true. You can run dry media in them as well. When I feel like being lazy I will run Basmati rice (cause I got a lot of it) and it is good for decapped brass. I have walnut media but I have not tried it yet.

Running my thumler with Rice will leave a weird film behind. Also, it smells funny, but the brass comes out really shiny as well.
2 hours from start to finish and reloading for brass is not too bad if you ask me...

I was considering wet media also because I like really shinny brass but the cost and the extra step of drying kept me away.

I got me a media tumbler using reptile walnut bedding. Put a few drop of car wax and a few drops of Blue Magic metal polish and my brass comes out completely polished and cleaned after 2 hours.

Wow seriously? a $12.00 basket from Lowes and a trip to the oven at 250 degrees for 25 minutes is too hard to do?
Or if you do not like that, someone posted a link to a food dehydrator on Amazon that sells for $33.00, but now I think China Freight Harbor has a food dehydrator for $24.00. Those work really well too apparently...

:shakehead:

It must be all of the short attention spans that causes this... I blame spoogebob...

[downrange67]

I use an air compressor to dry the cases inside and out. 5 minutes and your done...

[knucklehead0202]

More importantly, how does it affect the taste of the rice?

the family next door I sell it to says it tastes like crap but the price is hard to beat

[OldShooter32]

Wet with stainless for nasty brass. Lemishine & Dawn added.
For once-fired brass, walnut media with a dab of NuFinish and a dryer sheet to kill the dust.