Lyman Ultrasonic Cleaner???

HoneyBadger · December 13, 2011, 02:17 AM

I've been looking at Lyman's Ultrasonic and was wondering if anyone has an opinions of the unit. Plus, I have a few questions about it. How well does it work? Does it make noise? Does the solvent emmit any odors? Could I use it indoors - inside the house? What in the hell do you do with old dirty/solvent from it. Should I just stick to what I know (media tumbling)?

**Shane Tuttle** · December 13, 2011, 06:06 AM

Funny you should ask. I have a good friend wanting to buy it and the cleaner Lyman sells. Once I'm back in the states and if he goes through with it, I'll let you know what we think of it. Right now, I have no clue on just how good or bad it is...yet.

deepcore · December 13, 2011, 09:07 AM

I have the Harbor Freight unit that looks just lime the Lyman.

http://www.harborfreight.com/25-lite...ner-95563.html

Was cheaper when on sale plus coupon. It works for me. Does it work as well as units costing $300 to $500 or more? Probably not. But it gets my brass clean.

It emits a high pitched buzzing sound (not loud). The Hornady brass cleaning solution doesn't emit any odor. I dump the used solvent down the sink. The solution might be citrus based, but I'm not sure. I use mine indoors haven't grown an eleventh toe yet.

hounddawg · December 13, 2011, 10:47 AM

Been debating on whether to buy one of these myself, I could care less how shiny my brass is so boiling with mild detergent would be sufficient for my pistol ammo but for my rifles I am concerned with how clean the inside of the necks are. These will supposedly get that out, other options I am considering is cleaning necks inside with a brush after a brief CLR soak or buying a Forster case trimmer and using their inside neck reamers

CMD-Ky · December 13, 2011, 06:23 PM

I have the Lyman and use one teaspoon per quart of crystallized citric acid in the ultrasonic after depriming. The case and the pocket are very clean.

I make a large solution in a gallon milk jug and drain the solution back to the jug when finnished. All solids precipitate out and next time by carefully pouring the solution into the cleaner the solution is clear. I get many cleanings from one mix. I am very pleased.

toolguy2006 · December 17, 2011, 01:13 AM

Normally I wouldn't step foot in Harbor Freight if you paid me.

That said, curiosity got the better of me, and I went in to look at the mentioned ultra sonic cleaner. I can't find any difference in specs or appearance between the Harbor Freight model and the Lyman model. Mine works very well, and I can't imagine prepping cases without it. I have used the process found here:

http://www.6mmbr.com/ultrasonic.html

I put the cases in one of these, which I found at a local restaurant supply store:

http://www.therestaurantstore.com/Ta...21496SKRD.html

The picture kinda sucks, but with these you can dump the cleaning fluid between cycles easily.

Also, the unit in question only seems to clean effectively directly over the transducer, so running multiple containers is kinda futile. The containers in the picture hold an even 20 .308 cases, and are plenty tall enough for my 7mm RemMag and .338 WinMag cases, for what its worth.

wncchester · December 17, 2011, 11:14 AM

I bought the larger HF cleaner a few years back for cleaning small mechanical parts such as chain saw carborators; for that, it's good. I tried it on cases a few times but soon went back to my vib. tumbler which is also good.

Dealing with repeated lots of small quanities of cases that require virtually constant attention while they are cleaning and then dealing with drying them before use just to obtain surgically clean cases that don't add a thing to the performance of the ammo is not my style.

December 13, 2011, 02:17 AM	#1
HoneyBadger Junior Member Join Date: November 29, 2011 Posts: 7	Lyman Ultrasonic Cleaner??? I've been looking at Lyman's Ultrasonic and was wondering if anyone has an opinions of the unit. Plus, I have a few questions about it. How well does it work? Does it make noise? Does the solvent emmit any odors? Could I use it indoors - inside the house? What in the hell do you do with old dirty/solvent from it. Should I just stick to what I know (media tumbling)?

December 13, 2011, 06:06 AM	#2
Shane Tuttle Staff Join Date: November 28, 2005 Location: Montana Posts: 9,443	Funny you should ask. I have a good friend wanting to buy it and the cleaner Lyman sells. Once I'm back in the states and if he goes through with it, I'll let you know what we think of it. Right now, I have no clue on just how good or bad it is...yet. __________________ If it were up to me, the word "got" would be deleted from the English language. Posting and YOU: http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/posting

December 13, 2011, 10:47 AM	#4
hounddawg Senior Member Join Date: March 1, 2009 Posts: 4,232	Been debating on whether to buy one of these myself, I could care less how shiny my brass is so boiling with mild detergent would be sufficient for my pistol ammo but for my rifles I am concerned with how clean the inside of the necks are. These will supposedly get that out, other options I am considering is cleaning necks inside with a brush after a brief CLR soak or buying a Forster case trimmer and using their inside neck reamers __________________ “How do I get to the next level?” Well, you get to the next level by being the first one on the range and the last one to leave.” – Jerry Miculek

December 17, 2011, 01:13 AM	#6
toolguy2006 Senior Member Join Date: December 28, 2010 Location: Western Washington State Posts: 144	Normally I wouldn't step foot in Harbor Freight if you paid me. That said, curiosity got the better of me, and I went in to look at the mentioned ultra sonic cleaner. I can't find any difference in specs or appearance between the Harbor Freight model and the Lyman model. Mine works very well, and I can't imagine prepping cases without it. I have used the process found here: http://www.6mmbr.com/ultrasonic.html I put the cases in one of these, which I found at a local restaurant supply store: http://www.therestaurantstore.com/Ta...21496SKRD.html The picture kinda sucks, but with these you can dump the cleaning fluid between cycles easily. Also, the unit in question only seems to clean effectively directly over the transducer, so running multiple containers is kinda futile. The containers in the picture hold an even 20 .308 cases, and are plenty tall enough for my 7mm RemMag and .338 WinMag cases, for what its worth. Last edited by toolguy2006; December 17, 2011 at 01:19 AM.

December 13, 2011, 09:07 AM	#3
deepcore Senior Member Join Date: July 24, 2010 Posts: 364	I have the Harbor Freight unit that looks just lime the Lyman. http://www.harborfreight.com/25-lite...ner-95563.html Was cheaper when on sale plus coupon. It works for me. Does it work as well as units costing $300 to $500 or more? Probably not. But it gets my brass clean. It emits a high pitched buzzing sound (not loud). The Hornady brass cleaning solution doesn't emit any odor. I dump the used solvent down the sink. The solution might be citrus based, but I'm not sure. I use mine indoors haven't grown an eleventh toe yet.

December 13, 2011, 06:23 PM	#5
CMD-Ky Member Join Date: November 6, 2011 Posts: 18	I have the Lyman and use one teaspoon per quart of crystallized citric acid in the ultrasonic after depriming. The case and the pocket are very clean. I make a large solution in a gallon milk jug and drain the solution back to the jug when finnished. All solids precipitate out and next time by carefully pouring the solution into the cleaner the solution is clear. I get many cleanings from one mix. I am very pleased.

December 17, 2011, 11:14 AM	#7
wncchester Senior Member Join Date: December 1, 2002 Posts: 2,832	I bought the larger HF cleaner a few years back for cleaning small mechanical parts such as chain saw carborators; for that, it's good. I tried it on cases a few times but soon went back to my vib. tumbler which is also good. Dealing with repeated lots of small quanities of cases that require virtually constant attention while they are cleaning and then dealing with drying them before use just to obtain surgically clean cases that don't add a thing to the performance of the ammo is not my style.