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Old July 20, 2000, 09:59 AM   #5
Opihi
Junior Member
 
Join Date: July 1, 2000
Posts: 14
Hi Sarah,

I am new to this too, but did some research online. My objectives were to find the best balance between price/quality/effectiveness.

In my search, I found that the biggest applications for such cleaners is jewelry, medical, and mechancial/electrical. Firearm cleaning is rarely mentioned, infact, I believe only L&R officially has a weapons application listed.

Please keep in mind that I'm by far no expert, but here are some basic responses to your quesitons:

"What is the deal with a heater"?
>>Heat plays an important part in the cleaning process. From what I've read, I recommend getting one with a heater. It shouldn't cost much more either.

"How powerful does it need to be?"
>>I'm not absolutely sure either. My undestanding is that the power has a direct impact on cleaning effectivness. The low end units will average 50-100 watts. The better ones will have 200 and higher. This also depends greatly on the size of the cleaner.

"How do I determine what size to get?"
>>This depends on what you want to clean. I'm strickly looking for a pistol cleaner. I also don't mind running several cycles if needed, instead of putting them all at a single run. So, I opted for the smaller version (3 quart). This is about the size of the L&R Q140 positioned as a weapons cleaner.

"What sort of ballpark prices am I going to be looking at for a decent one? And where do I get one from?"
>>Prices will vary greatly. After considering all of the factors listed above in addition to other preferences I had, I narrowed my search down to three brands: L&R, Branson, and Elma. The price will again vary based on the unit size you decide on. A 3 quart unit ranges from $350 to $500. My recommendation is to do a search on ultrasonic cleaners via Yahoo and check some retailers. Here is a list a few:
http://www.lrultrasonics.com/ http://www.elma-ultrasonic.com/ http://www.kassoy.com/clean002.htm http://www.lacywest.com/prodlist.htm http://www.kell-strom.com/tools/branson/branson.htm

Please let us know which model you decide on.

At the moment, I'm still trying to decide which lube to use. It's coming down between two manufacturers (L&R and MPro7). I've already decided on the MPro cleaner, but I'm still not sure about the MPros7 Gun lube, since I'm not sure how thick it will get in the hidden portions of the slide, etc.

Good luck and I hope this helps!

Opihi
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