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cryogenic419 · October 2, 2011, 07:43 AM

I have the Hornady magnum ultrasonic cleaner and love it.

When the time comes to clean brass I fill the unit with water and solution and run it so that both temperature (I like to run 135, seems anything hotter and the water evaporates too quickly) is good and the water/solution mix gets all the bubbles out. I read somewhere that this allows better ultrasonic cleaning action. While this is happening I go through and deprime all the used primers and fill the basket with dirty brass about 3/4 of the way up. I have a plastic container that I can place the basket in where I just soak everything for 10-15 mins. Seems to get rid of alot of the surface dirt/dust prior to going into the ultrasonic, which helps the longevity of the solution and helps minimize the sludge at the bottom of the cleaner. Don't have anything scientific to back this up but I am positive the more sludge that is laying on the bottom of the cleaner, the less effective the machine is able to clean. All that dirt, carbon and other debris on the bottom is absorbing the sonic waves before it can get to the brass.

OK so now I move the basket into the ultrasonic and run it for 10 minutes. Come back, stir up the brass so that brass gets different "cleaning" positions in the basket and run it for another 10 minutes. Come back again, stir again and another 10 minutes. At the end of that cycle check random pieces of brass to ensure that they are clean and to my liking. If not I give a stir and 10 more minutes which so far has been all thats needed. At the end of all this cleaning the brass looks as clean as new brass, inside the case and primer pocket is immaculate. From there I take the cases into a plastic storage container and rinse them throughly under the hottest tap water I have. Brass goes back into the basket and I shake it side to side to try to knock off excess water. From there its off to the tumbler with some lizard litter and Flitz tumbler polish. I run it for an hour or so, depending on the size of the load I am trying to polish. Throw it in the media strainer and I'm ready to load. Any pieces of media that might be stuck in flash holes is taken care of when I run into a sizing die.

So you asked is it faster than a tumbler. I would say yes it is. Would also like to add that it is a bit more thorough than a tumber but also requires a a little more work on your end but the results are totally worth it.

Is it quieter than a tumbler? Truthfully my tumbler isn't all that loud but I can feel it vibrating for probably 10-15 feet away. The ultrasonic doesn't vibrate things like the tumbler but does have a weird higher pitch noise that is kind of annoying. The good part is you walk around a corner and you can't really hear it and the ultrasonic doesn't need to run all day long like a tumbler.

Can you clean handguns? I guess it all depends on the size of the gun. I have cleaned my AR bolt and carrier and a pistol I have had since 1998 that has seen alot of rounds and everything worked out ok. The pistol was a bit tricky as I had to do the slide and frame seperately as there wasn't enough room.

Overall thoughts? I like my brass really clean and this does the trick. Seems to cut down the overall time it takes to achieve great results but will require more work out of you. I have noticed on my larger calibers like .45acp and 500 SW resizing now requires me to use a little bit of lube with carbide dies. I use Imperial sizing wax and have to do 1 case every 10 rounds or so. Kind of a pain but the overall results are worth the little extra work to me. I read somewhere, not sure if it was the instructions with the machine or somewhere else that you are supposed to use distilled water with ultrasonics. I tried tapwater but the results did not seem as good.

October 2, 2011, 07:43 AM	#8
cryogenic419 Senior Member Join Date: March 29, 2009 Location: NW Ohio Posts: 569	I have the Hornady magnum ultrasonic cleaner and love it. When the time comes to clean brass I fill the unit with water and solution and run it so that both temperature (I like to run 135, seems anything hotter and the water evaporates too quickly) is good and the water/solution mix gets all the bubbles out. I read somewhere that this allows better ultrasonic cleaning action. While this is happening I go through and deprime all the used primers and fill the basket with dirty brass about 3/4 of the way up. I have a plastic container that I can place the basket in where I just soak everything for 10-15 mins. Seems to get rid of alot of the surface dirt/dust prior to going into the ultrasonic, which helps the longevity of the solution and helps minimize the sludge at the bottom of the cleaner. Don't have anything scientific to back this up but I am positive the more sludge that is laying on the bottom of the cleaner, the less effective the machine is able to clean. All that dirt, carbon and other debris on the bottom is absorbing the sonic waves before it can get to the brass. OK so now I move the basket into the ultrasonic and run it for 10 minutes. Come back, stir up the brass so that brass gets different "cleaning" positions in the basket and run it for another 10 minutes. Come back again, stir again and another 10 minutes. At the end of that cycle check random pieces of brass to ensure that they are clean and to my liking. If not I give a stir and 10 more minutes which so far has been all thats needed. At the end of all this cleaning the brass looks as clean as new brass, inside the case and primer pocket is immaculate. From there I take the cases into a plastic storage container and rinse them throughly under the hottest tap water I have. Brass goes back into the basket and I shake it side to side to try to knock off excess water. From there its off to the tumbler with some lizard litter and Flitz tumbler polish. I run it for an hour or so, depending on the size of the load I am trying to polish. Throw it in the media strainer and I'm ready to load. Any pieces of media that might be stuck in flash holes is taken care of when I run into a sizing die. So you asked is it faster than a tumbler. I would say yes it is. Would also like to add that it is a bit more thorough than a tumber but also requires a a little more work on your end but the results are totally worth it. Is it quieter than a tumbler? Truthfully my tumbler isn't all that loud but I can feel it vibrating for probably 10-15 feet away. The ultrasonic doesn't vibrate things like the tumbler but does have a weird higher pitch noise that is kind of annoying. The good part is you walk around a corner and you can't really hear it and the ultrasonic doesn't need to run all day long like a tumbler. Can you clean handguns? I guess it all depends on the size of the gun. I have cleaned my AR bolt and carrier and a pistol I have had since 1998 that has seen alot of rounds and everything worked out ok. The pistol was a bit tricky as I had to do the slide and frame seperately as there wasn't enough room. Overall thoughts? I like my brass really clean and this does the trick. Seems to cut down the overall time it takes to achieve great results but will require more work out of you. I have noticed on my larger calibers like .45acp and 500 SW resizing now requires me to use a little bit of lube with carbide dies. I use Imperial sizing wax and have to do 1 case every 10 rounds or so. Kind of a pain but the overall results are worth the little extra work to me. I read somewhere, not sure if it was the instructions with the machine or somewhere else that you are supposed to use distilled water with ultrasonics. I tried tapwater but the results did not seem as good.