Thanks ahead for your opinions and experience. Anyone have a strong preference for case cleaner? Anyone pop out primers first? Anyone try a generic ultrasonic cleaner? I suspect some of the jewelry and general purpose ultrasonics are extremely similar to some of the overpriced ones with brand names.
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Next Survey: Vibratory cleaner vs Ultrasonic
- Thread starter IndyND
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- case cleaning
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It's best to decap before you put your casings in an ultrasonic cleaner. It equalizes the water pressure in the cases so they can fill for a complete cleaning.
Having said that, I like rotary tumbling because the cases clean up quickly AND I don't like having to wait for my cases to dry before loading them.
Having said that, I like rotary tumbling because the cases clean up quickly AND I don't like having to wait for my cases to dry before loading them.
Dirtdart504
Plinker
How about volume? I'm using vibrating tumbler with walnut shell. I have A LOT of .40 I'm trying to clean up. Will an ultrasonic or rotary hold more brass?
dukeboy_318
Master
Having tried both, I actually prefer the ultrasonic. If you're just doing pistol or other straight wall cases, a dry tumbler with corncob or walnut media will work fine. But I got tired of spending 15-20 minutes prying stuck media out of primer pockets/holes and out of shouldered cases like .223. Maybe the media i have, but that got annoying quickly. Since I tumble/clean my brass one day and size/prime another, the dry time is of no issue to me
I prefer Vibratory. I also use Lizard bedding from a pet supply store. It is a finer ground walnut that doesn't stick in the primer pockets. I also add one to two caps of Nu Finish car polish because I like the shinny cases to show up in the grass... but I still loose about 10%
Andrew has loaded a lot of ammunition and I echo his thoughts on the simplicity and economy of a vibratory tumbler with dry media. Stick to the finer-grained media and you never have to sweat cleaning primer vents. For those of us who like to tumble cases with primers still in, then use a turret-style or progressive press to load just minutes after the cases come out of the tumbler, wet media is more trouble than it's worth.
If you have a LOT of cases that you want to render perfectly suitable for reloading, but you are not overly concerned about cosmetics, vibratory with dry media is far more efficient, dollar for dollar.
If you have a LOT of cases that you want to render perfectly suitable for reloading, but you are not overly concerned about cosmetics, vibratory with dry media is far more efficient, dollar for dollar.
WhitleyStu
Keep'em Scary Sharp!!!
I use both... a few minutes in the ultrasonic cleaner for a fast and thorough cleaning followed by 10-15 minutes in the vibratory for a nice shine.
I can't say I've ever run across someone who uses both, as a rule. I consider myself a fairly patient person, but I don't believe I could do that.
For the purposes of reloading, "clean" is a highly subjective term. To me, it means free of any debris on the outside of the case that could create wear on my reloading die or the chamber of my gun. The internal parts of the case just don't matter. That's why the ultrasonic cleaners don't make sense for how I reload. Some folks would think the cases going into my guns are an assault on the senses, being discolored or otherwise "not shiny". I pay more attention the geometry of the case and where the bullets impact the target. I've not found evidence that pretty ammo is more accurate ammo.
For the purposes of reloading, "clean" is a highly subjective term. To me, it means free of any debris on the outside of the case that could create wear on my reloading die or the chamber of my gun. The internal parts of the case just don't matter. That's why the ultrasonic cleaners don't make sense for how I reload. Some folks would think the cases going into my guns are an assault on the senses, being discolored or otherwise "not shiny". I pay more attention the geometry of the case and where the bullets impact the target. I've not found evidence that pretty ammo is more accurate ammo.
As always, thank you all for the perspective. Lizard bedding, hmmm... never would have thought of that.
I like the concept of popping out primers and using ultrasonic, but I am not very patient and agree that the outside of the case likely has the most impact on dies and chambers. If the inside of the case looks nasty after a tumble I'll just pitch the case.
I like the concept of popping out primers and using ultrasonic, but I am not very patient and agree that the outside of the case likely has the most impact on dies and chambers. If the inside of the case looks nasty after a tumble I'll just pitch the case.
I was happy enough with the way the case looked after tumbling, I only switched after I had a lead test done and it came back higher than I liked.
Levels dropped after using the ultrasonic for a year, so I'll put up with having to wait for 'em to dry. Besides, I can dry a batch in about 15 minutes with a hair dryer if I just gotta, but that doesn't happen very often.
One bonus. The ultrasonic is quieter, and that makes the wife happy....never a bad thing!
Levels dropped after using the ultrasonic for a year, so I'll put up with having to wait for 'em to dry. Besides, I can dry a batch in about 15 minutes with a hair dryer if I just gotta, but that doesn't happen very often.
One bonus. The ultrasonic is quieter, and that makes the wife happy....never a bad thing!
